What is up with the New Jersey Devils?

One of the biggest storylines as we find ourselves halfway through the 2020 NHL season has got to be, what’s wrong with the New Jersey Devils? After having arguably the best offseason out of any team in the league, they still find themselves at the bottom of their division, and tied for 2nd last in the conference, with a record of (16-21-7) According to MoneyPuck.com, the Devils have a 0.9% chance to make the playoffs this year, which is the 2nd last in the league. 

In the 2019 NHL offseason, Ray Shero, the Devils GM had been on an absolute tear. In the span of two months, the Devils had drafted potential superstar Jack Hughes, traded for former Norris winner P.K Subban (while giving up next to nothing in the process), acquiring Nikita Gusev from the Vegas Golden Knights and signing Wayne Simmonds to a 1-year contract. 

The Devils had made these acquisitions in hope to return to the playoffs just like they had one year prior with their MVP, Taylor Hall. Last year, playoff hopes were squandered as Taylor Hall had been injured most of the year, which is a valid reason for falling all the way down to the bottom of the standings and winning the draft lottery. 

With high hopes coming into the season, all in the span of a few months, the Devils have waived Cory Schneider, traded away Taylor Hall and fired their head coach. Only to find themselves still at the bottom of the metropolitan division. 

While the rest of the team is still very shaky, by far the weakest link of the entire team has got to be their goaltending. Today, the Devils have called up goaltender Cory Schneider from the AHL, in a seemingly desperate attempt for a win. The Devils goalies this season have definitely been below average as their starting goaltender, MacKenzie Blackwood posts a 2.97 GAA along with a .905 SV%. Their backup goalie posts even worse numbers with a 3.44GAA and a horrific .888SV%. 

While it may be easy to point fingers at the goalies, the truth is that the reason for the Devils lack of success is the entire team top to bottom. P.K Subban has standards have plummeted since starting the season, as he has just 10 points in 44 games played. It doesn’t help that the Devils are without their former MVP and best player, Taylor Hall after trading him to Arizona either. 

In the next coming months, maybe we’ll see if the Devils will win their 3rd draft lottery in 4 year!