NHL Preview: New Jersey Devils

Can New Jersey translate talent to results on the ice? Charlie Boccanegra reports.

Last year the New Jersey Devils were supposed to be a Cup Contenders after re-signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a $100 million contract. The season ended up with the John MacLean coaching experiment failing and the Devils losing their best player Zach Parise to a season ending injury.

Peter DeBoer has taken over from last year’s interim coach Jacques Lemaire but I am not sold on this decision because he proved absolutely nothing in Florida having multiple dismissal seasons in a row not moving the franchise in the right direction.

The oddsmakers see them as a middle of the pack team that should make the playoffs but not be considered a real Cup Contender. New Jersey is 22/1 to win the Cup and 8/1 to win the Atlantic.

Whatever about the Cup, there is tremendous NHL betting value at 8/1 to win the division. Anytime someone is considered a playoff team it can’t be ruled out they could win the division.

Offensively this team has four very good players that could go up against any in the league. Zach Parise is a top 10 scorer who plays terrific two-way hockey. Kovalchuk can be the most lethal goal scorer in the NHL. Travis Zajac continues to improve becoming one of the best second line centers playing along veteran Patrik Elias who’s been one of the best forwards in the game over the past 12-15 years.

After the top four there are some major depth concerns. Zubrus often seems disinterested, resulting in inconsistent play. He will need to step up his play along with 2009 20th overall pick Jacob Josefson. Josefson has the skillset to be a top six forward but he has yet to prove it. You can’t expect much offense from their checking line in Palmeri, Clarkson and Steckel.

From the backend, the Devils have never come close to replacing Niedermayer, Rafalksi, Stevens and Martin last year. Tallinder, Greene, Salvador and Volchenkov are all solid in their own end but offer zero offensive potential. This really hinders the power play with no threat at the point and also eliminates any potential stretch passes from their own end up to the speedy forwards. This year’s 1st round pick Adam Larsson appears to have those tools but is not ready to step into that role at the age of 19.

Martin Broduer is in the decline. He’s still a good goalie but no longer elite and cannot be relied upon to steal as many games as he did in previous seasons when the Devils were Cup Contenders.