There was great excitement in New Jersey at the start of the season. The Devils and their new coach Lindy Ruff have not lost control in their first three games.
One small restructuring club has been knocked out of the playoffs seven times in the last eight seasons, and three of the five worst clubs in the NHL has been happily accepted, no matter how small, in any ray of sunshine.
The Devils lost their first game in a shootout at the hands of the Bruins, beating them in overtime at the next meeting, then beating their big rivals, the New York Rangers, 4-3.
Nico Hischer, without their two most promising players, was injured in the first overall pick in 2017, and Alexander Holtz, the seventh overall pick in 2020, achieved this feat without in Europe.
The fever was caused by the first youth center, Jack Hughes, being selected for the first time in 2019. After a modest first season with just 21 points from 61 games at 18 last year, Hughes scored six points in his first three games, including three against the Rangers.
Kappo Kakko, who is second only to Hughes in 2019, was discontinued in that game and will have to live with comparisons in every game that is less productive than Hughes. But we are not harsh on him Wednesday morning in the New York media.
In addition, Alexis Lafrenier, who has played in trio alongside Ryan Strom and Artemis Panarin, still has no points in three games, but he needs to give him time to get used to the NHL.
Another young Devils first-round pick Tie Smith, 17E Overall in 2018, the impact will be felt. He became the first rookie defenseman in history to score at least one point in each of his first three games on Wednesday. Smith, a minor defenseman, has been raining and shining with 201 points in his last 172 games at Spokane in the Junior Western League over the past few years.
After a tough season in his first year in New Jersey, PK Subban seems to be reaping the good old days moment. He has averaged 27 minutes per game since the start of the season.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, 24, who has been busier than expected with the early retirement of Corey Crawford, however, is averaging 1.90 on average and saving a .948 rate.
Former Devils GM Ray Shero can always say that he fired himself very quickly (he lost his job on January 16, 2020). He is not completely wrong. Many young players were drafted during his era, including Blackwood and Smith. We bother them a little because the pathetic asons of Hughes and Hischier Devils are a towel product.
Shero also owned Subban without giving Fancy anything in return, and without even the first transaction since Kyle Palmyri was hired in 2015.
But he also squandered several draft picks to speed up the reset and thus created false hopes in New Jersey.
There are also some serious flaws in the draft plan like Powell Zacha in 6E Wrong Avant Jack Verensky, Ivan Provorov, Miko Rantanen and Matthew Barzel N 2015, Michael McLeod 12 12E Charlie McAvoy and Jacob are ranked 1st over Chichran or HisherIs Miro Heiskanen, Kale Maker and Elias Peterson are in the front row. We can make repeated mistakes with 25E Overall picks, but not with players drafted in the top 10 or 12.
Among his successes was the purchase of Taylor Hall to replace Adam Larson. Hall gave the Devils some good seasons and brought home the first round pick (Dawson Mercer) and had some hopes when Sharo traded to the Arizona Coyotes in December before his shooting.
His successor Tom Fitzgerald accelerated the reset phase. He got first, second, third and fifth round picks for his veterans Blake Coleman, Sami Watten, Andy Green and Wayne Simmonds.
He took advantage of the teams trapped by the salary cap to add depth. Defender Ryan Murray and forward Andreas Johnson put nothing aside for him. Johnson got the bench on Tuesday in the third period, but Murray is making a big impact. He plays more than 22 minutes per game in the first duo with Subban. Only Subban and Damon Severson have been used extensively since the start of the season.
Shortcuts need to be avoided in New Jersey. Welcome every success with joy, but young people thrive on veterans and look forward to the arrival of Holtz, Mercer, Muhammedulin, Fute, Bahl, Tice Thompson and company.
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