This ain't your dad's trap-era Devils. Led by Jack Hughes, the Devils are an offensive machine with plenty of fantasy options.

Outlook

Last season:
52-22-8, 2nd Metro, 3rd overall. Eliminated Round 2 by Carolina, 4-1.
3.52 GF/GP (5th), 2.71 GA/GP (8th), 21.9 PP% (13th), 82.6 PK% (4th)
54.12 5v5 CF% (4th), 56.13 5v5 GF% (4th), 56.53 5v5 xGF% (22nd)

The outstanding offensive and possession stats showed it, and the eye test proved it: the Devils run and gun better than anyone else in the league. This is not your trap-era Devils; it’s the total opposite with Jack Hughes emerging as one of the league’s top superstars and one of the fantasy elite.

In just about every projection, including THN’s Fantasy Guide and my fantasy rankings, Hughes is projected to finish top 10 in scoring. Even at a deep position – and note Yahoo already has Hughes listed as a dual C,LW player – he will be one of the first players off the board. In both my fantasy rankings and dynasty league rankings, Hughes is ranked fourth – I’m more bullish on Hughes than most this season – and he’s the second-youngest player in the top 10 after Tim Stützle in the dynasty rankings.

With the addition of Tyler Toffoli, and full seasons from Timo Meier and Luke Hughes, the Devils also boast an incredibly strong supporting cast. Nico Hischier is one of the most underrated players and a perennial Selke candidate with Patrice Bergeron’s retirement, and Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer round out one of the best top six in the league. There are no shortage of options with five of them ranked inside the top 100 and Mercer just missing the cut at No. 122.

The projected lineup below has top prospect Alexander Holtz making the squad, but his spot is not assured with veterans Curtis Lazar and Chris Tierney in the mix. Holtz, a goal-scoring right winger, would benefit the most playing in a top-six role with some power play, but the spots are crowded. Even when Lindy Ruff mixes up the lines, it’s usually to mix up the wingers between Hughes and Hischier, and his preference is to move Haula or Palat up the lineup, not Holtz.

Dougie Hamilton is a fantasy gem on defense, capable of producing point-per-game numbers with an extremely talented power play. Luke Hughes will be their top defensemen in a few seasons, so he’s not a threat to Hamilton as the top power-play quarterback at the moment. This is why Hughes ranks lower in the rankings relative to his potential.

It’s really encouraging that Hamilton was also able to produce 46 points at even strength, fourth-best among defensemen, and finished first in shots on goal with 275. It’s no easy feat to beat Roman Josi in that category, and given the extremely high rate the Devils are able to generate scoring chances, another 20-goal season is certainly possible. In the cap era, only three defensemen have been able to score 20 goals in consecutive seasons: Brent Burns from 2015-17, Oliver Ekman-Larsson from 2014-16 and Erik Karlsson from 2013-15.

Projected Lineup

Timo Meier – Jack Hughes – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Nico Hischier – Tyler Toffoli
Ondrej Palat – Erik Haula – Alexander Holtz
Tomas Nosek – Mike McLeod – Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – John Marino
Kevin Bahl – Colin Miller

Vitek Vanecek – Akira Schmid

PP1
Bratt – Hischier – Meier – J. Hughes – Hamilton
PP2
Palat – Mercer – Toffoli – Holtz – L. Hughes

Player Rankings

The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Jack Hughes, 108 points
Dougie Hamilton, 75 points
Jesper Bratt, 73 points

(The NHL Fantasy Guide 2023-24 is free if you subscribe today! Click the image below and click 'Add to Cart')

Top 300 Ranked Devils (Full List, including individual player write-ups):
4. Jack Hughes, C
36. Nico Hischier, C
47. Timo Meier, RW
59. Dougie Hamilton, D
61. Jesper Bratt, LW
62. Tyler Toffoli, RW
95. Vitek Vanecek, G
122. Dawson Mercer, C
255. Ondrej Palat, LW
268. Erik Haula, C
274. Luke Hughes, D

Top 300 Ranked Devils (Banger League) (Full List):
7. Jack Hughes, C
25. Timo Meier, RW
38. Nico Hischier, C
45. Dougie Hamilton, D
81. Tyler Toffoli, RW
86. Jesper Bratt, LW
143. Dawson Mercer, C
148. Vitek Vanecek, G
232. Luke Hughes, D
247. Erik Haula, C
257. Ondrej Palat, LW

All positions courtesy Yahoo Fantasy.

Breakout Star

It’d be easy to pick Alexander Holtz in this spot, but I’m not convinced he’ll get the requisite ice time to make a big impact in fantasy. That leaves Dawson Mercer, the youngest player in their top six who made major strides in his sophomore season when most players hit a wall. He improved his goal total by 10 and swung his plus-minus by 47 points even though he didn’t shoot the puck more often or get much more ice time. His two-way game is underrated, leading all Devils forwards in blocked shots – two more than Hischier – giving him additional value in banger leagues. There’s 30-goal and 60-point potential in Mercer, so don’t forget about him in the middle rounds.

Regression Candidate

Erik Haula is a fantastic role player, but in a strictly third-line checking role with limited playing time with Jack Hughes, it’s going to be a struggle for him to reach 40 points. Of Haula’s 27 assists last season, eight came from a goal scored by Hughes, and another five were scored on the power play. Haula averages two shots per game and wins plenty of faceoffs, and that’s likely where his fantasy value ends. For a player who tops out around 40 points, there are options with far more upside.

Goalies

We need to talk about Vitek Vanecek and if he has the chops to be the starter all season. The Devils gambled on him and won big after Vanecek was jettisoned by the Caps, including a perfect January where he went 8-0-0 with a .932 SP. His home and road splits weren’t drastic, which means the matchups didn’t really bother him, and his .892 SP on the penalty kill ranked among the league’s elite with Ilya Sorokin, Juuse Saros and Jake Oettinger. These are all good signs.

Two issues: He’s been atrocious in two straight playoffs and there’s still questions whether he can handle a heavy workload. With the Caps, he ousted Ilya Samsonov for the starting job in the playoffs, but by Game 2 was the backup again, finishing with a .863 SP and 4.21 GAA in the first round. Last season, Vanecek was replaced by Akira Schmid by Game 3, finishing his playoff run with a .825 SP and 4.64 GAA. Had Schmid not faltered against the Canes in Round 2 and replaced by Vanecek, we’d be going into the season with even stronger conviction that Schmid should be the No. 1.

The upside is tremendous as the starter for one of the league’s best teams, but the question is how long Vanecek can hold that job. He was very good up until when he really needed to be, and when the workload piled up and the pressure mounted, Vanecek caved. A more cautious fantasy manager would roster both Vanecek and Schmid to capture all of the Devils’ upside. In leagues where quality goaltending can be scarce, Schmid is a sneaky stash whose fantasy value may not be realized until later in the season when Vanecek starts having trouble managing the workload, or when the Devils elect to keep Vanecek fresh for the playoffs.

Vanacek is the 13th-ranked goalie in the fantasy rankings, sandwiched between two maybes in Thatcher Demko, a good goalie on a mediocre defensive team, and Jacob Markstrom, a potentially good goalie on a potentially good team. At that point in the fantasy drafts, which goalie you choose will depend on whether you prefer the low-floor or high-ceiling option.