Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.
Key Exits: Simon Nemec (D), Jacob Markstrom (G), Maxim Tsyplakov (RW), Angus Crookshank (C), Zack McEwen (RW), Paul Cotter (LW), Dennis Cholowski (D), Evgenii Dadonov (LW), Colton White (D), Juho Lammikko (C), Brian Halonen (LW)
Key Arrivals: Evan Rodrigues (C), Jesper Boqvist (C), Anthony Mantha (RW), David Rittich (G), Étienne Morin (D), Declan Chisholm (C), Ben Steeves (LW), Vladislav Kolyachonok (D), Riley Tufte (LW)
Top prospects: Alexander Command (C, 18), Anton Silayev (D, 20), Mikhail Yegorov (G, 20), Seamus Casey (D, 22), Lenni Hameenaho (RW, 21), Shane Lachance (LW, 22), Daniil Orlov (D, 22)
The New Jersey Devils are always so hard to pinpoint... They went from a sports-redefining defensive machine in the 1990s until the mid-00s to a high-scoring team with Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk in the late 00s and early 2010s to an up-and-coming juggernaut on paper that seemed to dampen in water in the 2020s; hopefully analytics-driven new GM Sonny Mehta can keep what works, improve weaknesses and get rid of the optical illusions to help his team reach the heights it was always supposed to when they drafted the likes of Jack and Luke Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer.
What makes their odds look good:
That offense, for sure. Hughes and Dougie Hamilton on defense, with four other serviceable NHLers. Jake Allen is a good 1B solution in net, likely to provide top-15 or top-20 goalie stats when playing 30 to 35 games a year.
Question marks:
What's Sheldon Keefe's shelf life under this new management, after coaching through the season that cost the previous GM his job and five very disappointing finishes with the Toronto Maple Leafs before that? What does it take for the Devils to be at least as good as the sum of their parts?
Outlook:
When I think they will take a step forward, they take a huge step back - usually because of injuries. When I have them missing the playoffs, they overachieve. Things seem to be looking up from where I stand, so make of that what you will.
Prediction:
3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
Only seven players in Montréal Canadiens history have scored at least 50 goals in a single season: Maurice Richard (the first in NHL history), Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur (six times), Steve Shutt, Pierre Larouche, Stéphane Richer (twice) and Cole Caufield last year.
People were wondering if Richer, as the team's last 50-goal scorer, had gotten in contact with Caufield to encourage him during his own race to 50, but Richer, remembering how difficult he found it as pressure mounted when he was chasing the mark, didn't want to break Caufield's concentration and add even more pressure. In 1987-88, Richer missed three games early in the season to an illness, and went into game #68 (of 80) with 40 goals, and scored four in that game before going goal-less for three straight, scoring one against the Winnipeg Jets, not scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks, and then missing two weeks with an injury, leaving him with 45 goals and just two games left, both against the Buffalo Sabres. A hat trick and a two-goal game got him to 50, but it wasn't easy.
That's why he waited until Caufield actually scored his 50th before reaching out in a phone call from Florida, where he currently resides.
After a 31-goal season in 1990-91 and perhaps a bit of a falling out with head coach Pat Burns, Richer was traded to the Devils with Tom Chorske for backup goalie Roland Melanson and All-Star centre Kirk Muller prior to the 1991-92 season. He would have seasons of 29, 38, 36, 23 and 20 goals in New Jersey at the dawn of the Dead Puck Era before the Canadiens brought him back in exchange for stay-at-home defenseman Lyle Odelein. The Réjean Houle years being tumultuous in Montréal, Richer was only back for a year and a half before being moved to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would also suit up for the Detroit Vipers, and St. Louis Blues (25 points in 36 games to finish out the 1999-2000 season), took the 2000-01 season off, then came back with the Pittsburgh Penguins and a return to the Devils to finish his NHL career in 2001-02. He also suited up in the LNAH with the Sorel-Tracy Mission in 2004-05, putting up 8 points in 8 games.
He is a reserved man who has dealt with intense bouts of depression throughout his NHL career, which came at odds with knowing he had high-end skills (one of the hardest slap and snap shots of his era, to go with a power forward's size and speed, though perhaps not a willingness to battle the mid-1990s bears that populated NHL defenses in the day), wanting to be a difference-maker, and enjoying getting fans out of their seats. He knew what it meant to score 50-plus goals in a mad hockey market and wanted to be the guy who did it - not unlike the Seattle Gods of music from the late 1980s and early 1990s who made anthems for generations of fans and mostly loved playing live to them, but struggled with everything else in their daily lives. Here he is repping both of the Devils' uniforms, starting with the white (home) one on card #581 from Score's 1991-92 Score (Canadian Edition) set:
He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 (Canadiens) and 1995 (Devils), and reached the Final in 1989 with the Habs as well.
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