With a shortened training camp and the preseason to prepare for the NHL season, a lot of teams are at a disadvantage, and the Devils, with a new-look roster, will experience early-season struggles.
The new rules change everything for the NHL teams. An 84-game regular-season marathon plus a shortened training camp and preseason, is forcing teams to prepare differently than they have in the past.
Many teams are figuring everything out on the fly during the condensed preseason. Hockey was once a game where the players used training camp and the first two months of the season to get into shape. Now, a slow start dooms a team.
The New Jersey Devils are one of the teams feeling the heat with preseason underway. They aren’t the only team adjusting to the new reality, but there’s an urge for the Devils to get it right early.
An Overhauled Roster Needs Time To Gel
The Devils were an active team this summer, making more changes than most teams to improve the roster. A new general manager wanted to make some moves, and Sunny Mehta did, adding Anthony Mantha, Luke Evangelista, Evan Rodrigues, and Amadeus Lombardi to help the forwards while acquiring defenseman Declan Chisholm for depth. In the long run, the Devils are better now than they were a season ago.
It’s given the Devils a different roster, a much-improved one that is expected to be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That said, it will take time for this new roster and his coaching staff to figure everything out. What does the top six look like? What about the defense? Do the Devils have a third line that gives them favorable matchups?
These are all questions that are generally answered in the preseason. The Devils don’t have much of a preseason with only four games, and the season starts on Oct. 1. So, a slow start where they struggle out of the gate wouldn’t be a surprise with this team still trying to figure everything out.
The Devils Need Time & Time Isn’t On Keefe’s Side
With an upgraded roster, all the pressure shifts to head coach Sheldon Keefe. He enters his third season behind the bench in a prove-it season. Yet, with all the new faces, the Devils might play poorly at the start, making him look like an undeserved scapegoat.
It could put Keefe, who is already in the hot seat, on a hotter seat. If the Devils start the season at the bottom of the standings, change will be demanded even if the struggles are expected.
Presumably, Mehta is accounting for the marathon that is the 84-game season. The Devils might play poorly, but there will be patience with Keefe. The first month, in some ways, is an extension of the preseason.
This is what teams around the league will experience. A team can’t win a championship in the first month of the season, but they can certainly lose one. For the Devils, it’s pivotal to stay in the mix and find chemistry without falling behind in the standings. By the end of the season, they'll be positioned to go on a run, especially with all the new pieces they have in their lineup.
Where This Schedule Benefits The Devils
For an 84-game season, having depth goes a long way. This season, the Devils have plenty of it, starting with the NHL roster. Thanks to the offseason moves, the Devils have plenty of forwards and reinforcements on their defense. The only question is in the net, and the Jake Allen and Nico Daws tandem, while a weak link, might be good enough.
The good news is that the depth goes down to the American Hockey League team as well. The Utica Comets have young borderline NHLers like Lombardi and Ben Steeves who can become valuable parts of the Devils' roster, and they have veterans like Riley Tufte and Chisholm who can fill in for a game or two without the team experiencing a drop-off.
In an 84-game season, injuries are all but expected. Likewise, the season will take a toll on players, especially star players who are averaging over 20 minutes of ice time in every game. The Devils are in a position to handle the grind, more so than they have in the past.
