Sometimes, teams need to take a step back to take a step forward, and the New Jersey Devils' young core needed to experience the challenges that accompanied the 2023-24 season.
"I think the worst thing would be if any of the players went into last summer and felt like they accomplished something. There is only one team that accomplishes what it sets out for each year.
That was my concern in the offseason. (...)You know, I thought, alright, can (New Jersey) get squeezed here? What does that look like? Can you find another level with them? The Devils have gotten to a certain level. Now they need to find another one."
In late February, ex-New Jersey Devils forward Mike Rupp spoke to Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News about his former team and how they would respond after a season where they took the league by surprise.
Not only did the Devils make the playoffs last season, but they celebrated an emotional Round 1 victory over the New York Rangers before being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2.
Looking back, the Devils played with house money because, entering the 2022-23 campaign, no opposing team in the league was worried about them. Why would they?
New Jersey was coming off a season where everything went wrong. The organization went through seven goaltenders in 2021-22 and finished as the seventh team in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 27-46-9 and 63 points.
"(New Jersey) was not a target last year," Rupp said. "Nobody was sitting there and worrying about the New Jersey Devils."
That lack of concern allowed Lindy Ruff's team to surprise their opponents night after night with their speed and skill. As Rupp said, every season, every team deals with adversity, but New Jersey was in playoff position for most, if not all, of 2022-23. There was no need for a second-half push for the postseason.
Since the Jack Hughes era began five years ago, this is the first season the Devils found themselves in a position where they had to fight and claw their way into the postseason.
In the NHL, there is no such thing as an easy game. Even teams near the bottom of the standings have good players who can change momentum to their favor. The Devils experienced this firsthand this season when they dropped games to the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators.
Over the past few months, the Devils struggled to gain traction in the playoff race but won enough games to stay in the hunt for a wild card spot.
New Jersey's inability to string together more than three wins has repeatedly burned them and put them in a situation where they need to depend on other teams faltering to sneak into the postseason for a second consecutive appearance.
This has led many outsiders to question the team's maturity and mental toughness because the Devils have been unable to get the job done when it counts. A recent example is their 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
With eight games left, this season will be primarily classified as a disappointment, with New Jersey in the fifth wild card spot and a slim chance of making the playoffs. But as Rupp pointed out, at the end of a season, 31 teams fail to win and face that same disappointment.
The Devils' window to contend has just cracked open, and the hardships faced this season will ultimately help the team's young core mature and learn what it takes to win when their opponents know what to expect and their backs are against the wall.
The 2023-24 campaign can be considered a character-building season for a young core that consists of Nico Hischier (25), Jesper Bratt (25), Jack Hughes (22), Luke Hughes (20), and Simon Nemec (20).
As a team, lessons needed to be learned, and young players needed to experience certain situations, including what it's like to play for their lives.
This is not the Devils' season, but with their talented core under contract for the next several seasons, it did not need to be. Sometimes, teams need to take a step back to take a step forward, and while it is frustrating for fans to witness, it can be a necessity in an organization's journey to being the one team that does not face disappointment in June.