Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason – Metro Division Early Offseason Power Rankings

Apr 9, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing

(18) is congratulated by teammates as he scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

8. New Jersey Devils

The Devils finished last season with a record of 32-36-14 and fell to seventh in the Metro. It was a dismal season for the normally defensive juggernaut that is still trying to recover from losing Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk.

In an offseason that has seen so many of their division counterparts re-tooling rosters, the Devils’ changes were made mainly in the front office and behind the bench. They hired former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero and former Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Head Coach John Hynes to begin their rebuild.

The Devils are a team with a ton of cap room, but very little when it comes to impact pieces on their roster. In my opinion, despite not finishing dead last this past season, they have what’s quite possibly the worst roster situation in the league. The addition of Kyle Palmieri was a nice start, but not nearly enough.

Ray Shero has stated that he’s comfortable going with mainly youth on this team. And, while that’s uncharacteristic for him, he’s likely not exaggerating considering that they’ve been very quiet through the first couple days of free agency.

I don’t see the Devils finishing any higher than eighth in the division in 2015-16.