New Jersey Devils center Yegor Sharangovich (17): Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports

The New Jersey Devils are finally trying to get out of what’s felt like a 10-year rebuild. This team has had so many stops and starts, and when it feels like the team is finally ready to put a long-term contender in place, the rug gets pulled out from everyone. So many times, we’ve tried to argue this team could compete just for it to be one of the worst teams in the league again.

This year might be different for one simple reason. The Metropolitan Division is no longer one of the best in the NHL. In fact, one could argue it’s fighting the Pacific Division for the worst of the four. The Central Division and Atlantic Divisions are pretty stacked with top-tier talent. There are major question marks in the Metro.

Let’s look at the teams the Devils will face in their own division this season. Starting with the teams that didn’t make the playoffs:

The Philadelphia Flyers look like they are terrible. Is Carter Hart able to pull out some magic and pull this team into contention by himself? The Flyers seemed the obvious choice for Johnny Gaudreau this offseason if they were looking to avoid a long-term rebuild, but they might be kicking and screaming that way. When your big offseason addition to an already bad team was Tony DeAngelo, then it’s not really moving the needle.

The New York Islanders got worse. They fired Barry Trotz, quite possibly the best head coach in the league. The major addition to their team was Alexander Romanov, which is fine we guess? However, it cost them a first-round pick. And what else they did besides that is anyone’s guess. Again, this comes down to how far can Ilya Sorokin take them on his own.

The Columbus Blue Jackets got a lot better by adding Johnny Gaudreau, but their goalie situation is still cringy. It’s not like the Devils situation is worlds better, but coming back with Elvin Merzlingis and Joonas Korpisalo seemed like the wrong choice.

When looking at the playoff teams the Devils would have to usurp, it seems we go on a yearly tangent about how the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins have to fall off eventually. Could this finally be the year it happens? The Capitals replaced their goalies with Darcy Kuemper coming off a Stanley Cup win. The Penguins decided to bring just about everyone back, including Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang which seemed impossible. There are huge question marks here, but are we really going to claim these two teams for dead again just to watch them make the playoffs with ease?

The New York Rangers are the wild card here. They made a run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals with a good mix of veterans and young guns. They have some serious talent up and down the lineup, and they might have the best goalie in the NHL in Igor Shesterkin. It will be hard to repeat what they did last season. However, they have the right pieces if Artemi Panarin can keep up a superstar output and Chris Kreider can still be a scoring machine. It is possible one of those two things doesn’t happen and the Rangers fall off a little, but it’s still yet to be seen.

The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be really good if they get goaltending again. It’s that simple. That team is stacked even while waiting for Max Pacioretty to return.

Want your voice heard? Join the Pucks And Pitchforks team!

While this seems like it’s advocating against the Devils making a run, it’s actually time for a changing of the guard. There will be teams falling off, and the Devils are in the proper spot to take their place. As long as the Devils get the proper goaltending (expect a theme here), a run to or close to the playoffs is not out of the question.

Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on New Jersey Devils and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more.

Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices.

© 2022 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators’ opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.