Next Up On The NHL’s Off Season Report: The New Jersey Devils.

The New Jersey Devils were not really a bad club last season, they were solid offensively and defensively.  They could have used another scorer but no one could predict that they would lose in the playoffs theway they did.  New Jersey gave up two late goals in game 7 of their series with the Carolina Hurricanes.  I believe the Devils’ biggest need is on defense, they need to upgrade that group.  In a perfect scenario, they would add another top-four type to the blueline corps but we’ll have to see which direction New Jersey is headed in now that they signed head coach Jacques Lemaire.  Lemaire is notorious for playing a defensive style of hockey, he likes to pinch the neutral zone instead of attacking the net.  Lemaire, who coached the Devils for five seasons in the Mid 1990’s and led them to a stanley Cup Championship in 1995 will get a chance to match or better that record.  The deal reunites Lemaire with general manager and president Lou Lamoriello and goaltender Martin Broduer, the combination that turned the devils from a contender to a champion.  Lemaire first talked with the Devils GM about the vacant job before the NHL draft in June and the two reached an agreement this past weekend.

A problem for New Jersey is they let snipers Brian Gionta sign with the Montreal Canadiens and John Madden, 36, bid farewell and ended up signing with the Chicago Blackhawks.  Both players will have to be replaced by the same type of player otherwise the Devils offense will suffer.  The Devils are hoping that forward Tim Sestito who was just recently acquired from the Edmonton Oilers will be able to step up and fill Madden’s role.  They also addressed some goaltending needs by signing free-agent Yann Danis.  Danis spent last season with the New York Islanders organization and appeared in an NHL career-high 31 games, posting a 10-17-3 mark and leading the team with two shutouts. The 28-year-old had a .910 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average.

The Devils’ franchise player is now Zach Parise, the star forward who has improved in each of his four NHL seasons. Parise was a legitimate MVP candidate last season and now faces the challenge of duplicating or even exceeding his 94-point season.  At 32, Patrik Elias put up his best season since the lockout, notching a career-best 12 power play goals and tying his career mark of 31 power play points along the way.  The Devils also hope that captain Jamie Langenbrunner has a repeat performance as he put up career bests in goals (29), assists (40), points (69) and plus-minus (plus-25).  He has such good chemistry with Parise and Travis Zajac.  Zajac enjoyed a breakout season, scoring 62 points and finishing with a plus-33 rating.  As he matures, Zajac should become even more productive.

With the 20th pick in the draft New Jersey selected Swedish defenseman Jacob Josefson.  Josefson is a very good two-way player.  He shows good responsibility for his defensive duties.  He’s more of a playmaker, a guy who sees the ice really well and creates a lot of scoring chances with his smooth passing skills.  He’s also very good in traffic because he is an excellent stickhandler.  The Devils are hoping that he can contribute due to their defensive shortcomings.

Given that the Devils finished fifth in the league, with 106 points, there isn’t a need for a dramatic roster overhaul. Rather, some tweaking is really all that the Devils would need to get back among the best teams in the league and as long as Martin Brodeur is in goal, they can count on another playoff berth.  How far they go once they get there may depend on what kind of moves Lamoriello has up his sleeve this summer.