Even if you have never been there, New Jersey holds a special place in everyone’s heart. The same is true of the New Jersey Devils, which has managed to remain a respectable team despite some bad referee calls that arguably stole many a game from them at the last minute. They are the team everyone will be looking to in the years ahead, seeing if they can make a title, and keep up an impressive series of feats they have thus far been maintaining.
The Players
A team is only as good as its players. Rounding out the roster for the New Jersey Devils at the moment are:
No. Player
| Ken Appleby
11 Brian Boyle
63 Jesper Bratt
8 Will Butcher
20 Blake Coleman
39 Brian Gibbons
40 Michael Grabner
6 Andy Greene (C)
9 Taylor Hall
10 Jimmy Hayes
| Adam Henrique
13 Nico Hischier
90 Marcus Johansson
1 Keith Kinkaid
31 Eddie Lack
| Nick Lappin
12 Ben Lovejoy
17 Patrick Maroon
2 John Moore
25 Mirco Mueller
23 Stefan Noesen
21 Kyle Palmieri
| Blake Pietila
| Dalton Prout
| John Quenneville
| Kevin Rooney
| Steven Santini
35 Cory Schneider
28 Damon Severson
18 Drew Stafford
45 Sami Vatanen
44 Miles Wood
37 Pavel Zacha
19 Travis Zajac
Fan favorites at present are Hall and Hischier, scoring 93 and 52 points, respectively. They are trailed shortly behind by Palmieri and Butcher tied at44 points, the ordering of which also reflects their number of assists. As a team, they scored a total of 97 points this season, which is pretty average, and played a total of 82 games, going right to the wire on many of them. They had a mediocre season, winning 44 games and losing 41, many of which were crap shoots. This is very average for the league, which may be part of the reason they are not picking up some love this season by fans old and new.
There probably is not as eclectic group of players as there is here on the New Jersey Devils, hailing from all over the world across many continents. This is likely part of the reason they receive so much love despite not playing that well lately. Fans are so into them, in fact, that they have begun wondering if the league was conspiring against the team, which is a common fan theory. Eddie Lack is also making a return as goalie, with Chuck Fletcher hired as a new Senior Advisor of operations. They are clearly gearing up for a good next season, and are not going to take their many defeats laying down like so many other teams in the NHL have become accustomed to. They have had the most wins in a single season before, and are looking forward to beating their own record.
Why Fans Love Them
Passion like this from the team and fans is part of the reason that the New Jersey Devils are and remain one of the most liked teams at the moment. Anyone taking it out on the ice against them has a lot to contend with, and that is only looking to remain true in the near future. There is a reason they just signed Kurtis Gabriel as a forward and John Ramage as a defenseman. They are ready to amp up.
The Bottom Line on the New Jersey Devils
We look forward to seeing what the New Jersey Devils can and will continue to do. They have historically been an average team with a tight fanbase, and that may change with some heavy hitters that they are bringing in next season. They may not be the team to beat, but they are the underdog that everyone loves rooting for!
