New Jersey Devils: 3 storylines to watch this season

theScore's NHL editors take a look at three storylines to watch for each NHL team heading into the regular season.

Schneider's time to shine

After spending the majority of his career backing up Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur, Cory Schneider's time appears to have finally arrived.

Schneider, of course, was acquired by the Devils at the 2013 Draft in exchange for the Vancouver Canucks' ninth overall pick (used to select Bo Horvat). While the deal was made with a view to the not-too-distant future (ie: in anticipation of Martin Brodeur's eventual exit), the Devils probably would have benefited from giving the 28-year-old a few more starts last season.

In 45 appearances in 2013-14, Schneider posted a save percentage of .921, with a record of 16-15-12 that was hindered by New Jersey's 122 goals at 5-on-5, good for 29th in the league. While Schneider played more games than Brodeur, the latter's .901 save percentage suggested the former probably deserved a higher start rate.

For his career, the Salem, Massachusetts native boasts a sparkling .925 save percentage, and, with Brodeur now firmly out of the picture (and no other veteran option on the roster), Schneider will finally have every opportunity to prove he's a bona fide starting goalie, and an elite-level one at that.

Can these old dogs still bite?

The Devils were led in scoring last season by Jaromir Jagr; the legendary forward - set to turn 43 in February - scored 24 goals and added 43 assists while appearing in all 82 games, finishing the year a full 14 points ahead of second-place Patrik Elias (who celebrated his 38th birthday in April).

General manager Lou Lamoriello didn't do much in terms of sparking a youth movement in Jersey over the summer, instead choosing to sign 33-year-old Martin Havlat and 32-year-old Mike Cammalleri to help boost the offense (and giving out a number of training camp tryouts to older players to boot). 

As per Stats.NHLNumbers.com, the Devils will ice a roster with the NHL's highest average age this season (31.6), and will be counting on the likes of Jagr, Elias, Michael Ryder, Danius Zubrus, Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky and Andy Greene to help lead the team back to the playoffs.

Young defensemen with something to prove

While the forward corps will be made up of wily veterans who have been around the block more than a few times, the blue line features at least a couple players with several things to prove in 2014-15.

Adam Larsson and Eric Gelinas both signed one-year, $900,000 contracts over the course of the summer, and both will be out to show Lamoriello that they are worthy of long-term commitments from the club.

Gelinas, 23, was drafted 54th overall by the Devils in 2009, and made an immediate impact after making the jump to the big club by scoring seven goals and adding 22 assists - including 17 power-play points - in 60 games. Jagr said Gelinas "might be a superstar in this league if he keeps working", and the Devils would greatly benefit from continued progression in his game.

Speaking of progression, Larsson's has been lacking since being selected with the fourth-overall pick in the 2011 Draft. He split time between the Devils and the AHL last season, mustering one goal and two assists in 26 NHL games. He did, however, post an impressive 55.4 Corsi rating at even strength, and needs to step up in a big way in order for the Devils not to feel like they wasted a lottery pick on a dud D-man.

With the departure of stalwart defenseman Mark Fayne, the opportunity will be there for this pair to make their mark and set themselves up as the Devils' next wave of star blue liners.