Today we look at some benefits and other effects of the New Jersey Devils returning to the playoffs after a disappointing miss last year.
With the NHL’s regular season ending tonight, the focus over the next few days will shift to the playoffs. For the New Jersey Devils, that focus has already kind of been there. Since the team clinched their spot, they’ve known their opponent. They get a rematch against the Sabre organization that eliminated them in the second round two years ago, the Carolina Hurricanes. Regardless of what happens in that series, coming back to the playoffs after missing last season is going to matter for a few reasons.
Firstly, playoff hockey is going to matter to the players. While there are some veterans in the ranks with a good amount of playoff experience, the core players only have that 2023 run under their belt. While Jack Hughes won’t be adding more playoff experience to his resume, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Luke Hughes and others will. If this team wants to keep growing and getting closer to bringing a fourth Stanley Cup to New Jersey, they need this experience. Anything can happen once a team is in the playoffs, so who knows maybe Cup #4 comes this season.
Playoff hockey also means more confidence in the team from the fans. There was concern about the direction of the team when times got tough this season. While there’s still some deserved criticism to go around with how inconsistent the team was, the desired result was still there. Even if the Devils go and win it all, there will still be adjustments made to the lineup due to contracts expiring and other factors. The Devils can take more steps in the right direction to being an even stronger team this summer. The fact that they moved the needle in the right direction from last April to now shouldn’t be lost in all of that.
To that point of the lineup changing next season, the playoffs could be a chance for some players to prove their value. The Devils have a glut of right shooting defenders at the moment and while it isn’t a problem next season, eventually the goal has to be to integrate one or more young guys into the lineup or to move on from them. If another defender of either handedness struggles in the playoffs, it could be an audition of sorts to see how Simon Nemec and/or Seamus Casey play under that pressure. The forwards could also be playing for jobs here; if certain players who struggled during the season provide just as little in the postseason, it makes it easier for the team to move on from them once they can contractually.
One last effect of making the playoffs for today: Tom Fitzgerald’s job is more than likely safe. Now whether you feel that is positive, negative or somewhere in between is dependent upon your feelings of the job he’s done. From an objective vantage point, he did what he set out to do over he summer and got the team to qualify for the postseason. Now he has a chance to see how the team does, and at least one more summer to keep augmenting the core he’s assembled.
The Devils will travel to Carolina to start their series. Regardless of how anyone feels their chances are, these are why the games are played and our goal now is to root for and encourage the team. They will play between four and 28 games depending upon how everything goes, but no matter what this playoff run will matter. Between and experience and hunger to get back to it again, another Spring of playoff games is a part of what this franchise needs to keep things moving in the right direction.
What are your thoughts on the Devils and this year’s playoffs; do you think the benefit of experiencing playoff games is important? Will it be a good way to evaluate roles going forward? Are you happy that it more than likely means at least one more season of Tom Fitzgerald? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!