Offseason Roundup: New Jersey Devils
Over the next month, theScore's NHL editors will review all the offseason moves for each team around the league.
Luck was not on New Jersey's side in 2013-14. The Devils were 0-for-13 in shootouts and missed the playoffs for the second straight season despite being one of the top puck-possession teams in the NHL.
A 42-year-old Jaromir Jagr led the oldest roster in the league in scoring with 67 points, but instead of skewing younger to rebuild, New Jersey doubled down on experience in the offseason and is the only team with an average age over 30.
Offseason Overview
The impending changing of the guard on an aging Devils roster was best exemplified by the departure of Martin Brodeur. New Jersey elected not to re-sign the 42-year-old netminder, who spent his entire record-setting career in a Devils jersey but made 39 appearances in 2013-14 and posted a save percentage of .901.
New Jersey made the transition complete by signing 28-year-old goaltender Cory Schneider to a seven-year, $42-million contract, pegging Schneider as the team's starter for the foreseeable future.
The Devils were forced to forfeit their 2014 first-round draft pick as part of the cap circumvention penalties for the Ilya Kovalchuk contract, but the league modified the penalty, awarding New Jersey the 30th overall selection. The Devils selected Brandon Wheat Kings center John Quenneville.
A lack of offense hurt the Devils considerably last season, as the team was one of four to score fewer than 200 goals. General manager Lou Lamoriello attempted to solve this problem by making a splash in free agency, signing veteran sniper Mike Cammalleri to a five-year, $25-million contract and snagging oft-injured veteran Martin Havlat for a bargain of $1.5-million.
While New Jersey made additions on offense, the team bought out defenseman Anton Volchenkov and lost Mark Fayne to free agency. Volchenkov's role had diminished below what his $4.25-million cap hit justified, but he was still one of the team's top penalty killers, while Fayne was lured away by a four-year, $14-million deal with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Devils did retain the services of blue-liner Andy Greene, extending his contract for another five years at $25 million. Greene led the team in ice-time at 24:34 per game last season and figures to maintain that leading role going forward. New Jersey also has a few promising younger players who could earn bigger roles on the blue line, including Adam Larsson and Eric Gelinas.
Key Additions
F Mike Cammalleri
F Martin Havlat
Key Departures
D Mark Fayne
D Anton Volchenkov
G Martin Brodeur
2014-15 Outlook
An aging roster is certainly a concern, but considering the Devils only missed the playoffs by five points after a tough-luck season, they should compete for a wild card spot out of the Metropolitan Division this season. New Jersey has not missed the postseason in three consecutive seasons since its days as an expansion franchise and many Devils players are nearing the end of their careers, so this is a team with plenty of reasons to play some playoff hockey.