Pos | Role | Name |
C | 1 | Nico Hischier  ActiveNico Hischier scored a goal in a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their Game 2 loss on Saturday to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hischier picked up the loose puck in the slot and fired home his first career playoff goal to tie up the game for the Devils in the first period. Unfortunately for New Jersey, the Lightning were uber-efficient in the second period, scoring four goals on 10 shots in the period to chase Keith Kinkaid. It's Hischier's first point of the playoffs. Sami Vatanen and Blake Coleman also scored in the loss. Apr 14 |
| 2 | Travis Zajac  ActiveTravis Zajac and linemates Stefan Noeson and Blake Coleman did a very good job of checking Tampa's stars in Game 1. The Zajac unit held Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov to one empty-net goal. This line will have to muster a repeat performance if the Devils are to come home to New Jersey with the series tied 1-1. Apr 14 |
| 3 | Pavel Zacha  ActivePavel Zacha will line up with Miles Wood and Patrick Maroon for the playoffs. At least to start the post-season according to coach John Hynes as the trio looked quite good on Saturday. Zacha had a pair of assists Saturday to give him 17 this season as well as 25 points. He is on a two-game points streak as he also scored on Thursday so the line seems to be clicking at this time. Zacha was selected sixth overall in 2015 so the talent is there. Apr 8 |
| 4 | Brian Boyle  ActiveBrian Boyle has been named as a finalist for the 2017-18 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a type of bone marrow cancer, before the start of the season. He was able to return to action Nov. 1 and produced 10 goals over his first 25 outings. Boyle finished the year with 23 points in 69 contests. Apr 21 |
| 5 | Blake Coleman  ActiveBlake Coleman felt he grew a lot in his first full season with the Devils. "Maybe at other levels - college and the American League - you score on a few shots that you can’t score on in this league," Coleman said. "You learn that poise and you learn goalie tendencies a little bit and you start to capitalize more frequently." Coleman's work seemed to paid off as he went from scoring six goals in the first 63 games to seven goals in the final 16 contests. He added another two markers in the playoffs. At the age of 26 (27 in November), he's something of a late bloomer, but we could see him continuing to grow next season. Apr 25 |
| 6 | Michael McLeod  ActiveMichael McLeod has joined the New Jersey Devils as part of the team's Black Aces squad. Christoph Bertschy, Nick Lappin, Blake Pietila, Kevin Rooney, Michael Kapla and Brian Strait will skate in New Jersey Tuesday. Apr 16 |
| 7 | Kevin Rooney  ActiveKevin Rooney has been reassigned to AHL Binghamton. Rooney played in his first NHL game of the 2017-18 campaign on Thursday. He had three shots on goal in 11:46 minutes of ice time. Jan 26 |
LW | 1 | Taylor Hall  ActiveTaylor Hall won't play for Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship. Hall has declined the invitation following New Jersey's first-round playoff loss to Tampa Bay. He notched two goals and six points in five playoff outings after he amassed a career-high 93 points during the regular season. Apr 24 |
| 2 | Jesper Bratt  ActiveJesper Bratt will make his NHL playoff debut on Saturday in Game 5. Bratt is projected to play on the top line alongside Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier. He is getting a chance to dress because of an injury to Stefan Noesen. Apr 21 |
| 3 | Patrick Maroon  ActiveThe Devils will explore the possibility of re-signing Patrick Maroon. Maroon is coming off a three-year, $6 million contract. He was acquired by the Devils from Edmonton and had three goals and 13 points in 17 games with New Jersey. Overall, he had 43 points in 74 contests in 2017-18. He recently expressed an interest in staying with the Devils, so we'll see if the two sides can find common ground in terms of money. Apr 25 |
| 4 | Brian Gibbons  ActiveBrian Gibbons picked up a pair of assists with a plus-3 rating, four blocked shots and a hit in Wednesday's 8-3 win in Vegas. Gibbons was recently promoted to a top-six forward position with Pavel Zacha (upper body) on the shelf. It was his first points in three games since returning from a six-week absence due to a thumb injury. Everyone was on the scoresheet in Wednesday's rout, so don't get terribly excited about Gibbons. He will need points in at least a couple more games before fantasy owners even in deeper leagues should pay attention to him. Mar 15 |
| 5 | Michael Grabner  ActiveMichael Grabner will be a healthy scratch in Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Grabner had just five points in 21 regular season games since being acquired by the Devils and he also failed to collect a point during the first two games of this series. Marcus Johansson (concussion) is taking his spot in the lineup. Jesper Bratt, Jimmy Hayes, Brian Gibbons, Joey Anderson and Mirco Mueller will also watch the game from the press box. Apr 16 |
| 6 | Miles Wood  ActiveMiles Wood found the back of the net in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wood's tally gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at the 17:02 mark of the second period and they never looked back. The 22-year-old has now scored 18 goals and 30 points in 75 games this season. Pavel Zacha also scored for the Devils on Thursday night. New Jersey has now rattled off four straight victories. Apr 5 |
| 7 | Blake Pietila  ActiveThe New Jersey Devils have assigned Blake Pietila to the minors. The 25-year-old played in two games earlier this week, but he was made a healthy scratch on Thursday night. Feb 24 |
RW | 1 | Kyle Palmieri  ActiveKyle Palmieri scored in Wednesday Game 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Palmieri took a feed from Will Butcher and blasted a one-timer in behind Andrei Vasilevskiy to open the scoring 8:23 into the first period on the power play. Unfortunately for the Devils, they couldn't muster up anything else offensively and eventually lost the game by a score of 3-1. Taylor Hall picked up the secondary assist on New Jersey's only goal. The Devils will head back to Tampa for Saturday's do-or-die Game 5 matchup. Apr 18 |
| 2 | Marcus Johansson  ActiveMarcus Johansson (concussion) will return to the lineup in Game 3 against Tampa Bay on Monday night. Johansson skated alongside Pavel Zacha and Patrick Maroon during New Jersey's morning session. This will be his first game since Jan. 23 because of a concussion. Johansson was limited to 29 games during the regular season and he posted 14 points. Apr 16 |
| 3 | Drew Stafford  ActiveDrew Stafford will play in Game 3 on Monday night. Stafford was scratched for the first two games of the playoffs versus Tampa Bay. He will skate on the fourth line alongside Miles Wood and Brian Boyle. Apr 16 |
| 4 | Stefan Noesen  SidelinedStefan Noesen won't play in Game 5 on Saturday due to a lower-body injury. Coach John Hynes said the Devils' lineup may have a game-time decision and it turns out Noesen will sit and Jesper Bratt will play instead. Apr 21 |
| 5 | Christoph Bertschy  ActiveChristoph Bertschy was traded from Minnesota to New Jersey on Thursday. The Devils got Bertschy and Mario Lucia from the Wild in exchange for defenseman Viktor Loov. Bertschy played nine NHL games with the Wild over three seasons. He had one assist in those games. He shouldn't pop up on your fantasy radar. Feb 10 |
| 6 | Jimmy Hayes  ActiveThe New Jersey Devils will scratch Jimmy Hayes vs. the Los Angeles Kings today. With Patrick Maroon out with a lower-body injury, the Devils elected to put Jesper Bratt back in the lineup over Hayes. Hayes will join Mirco Mueller as a scratch. Mar 17 |
| 7 | Nick Lappin  ActiveNick Lappin has been sent to the minors. Lappin has a goal in six games with New Jersey this season. He also has 17 goals and 29 points in 42 contests in 2017-18. Feb 21 |
D | 1 | Sami Vatanen  SidelinedSami Vatanen sustained a concussion and a facial laceration after he was hit hard by Nikita Kucherov in Game 4. Vatanen was not able to play in Game 5 against the Lightning and that was the last game of the series. He will use the off-season to recover. Vatanen had one goal in four playoff games as well as 28 points in 57 regular-season appearances with New Jersey after he was acquired from Anaheim. Apr 24 |
| 2 | Damon Severson  ActiveDon't be surprised if Damon Severson is in the Devils' lineup for Game 2 against Tampa Saturday afternoon. Severson was a healthy scratch for Game 1, but New Jersey coach John Hynes hinted at a few lineup changes after the Devils' 5-2 loss and there are strong indications one of them could be Severson suiting up. Chack back with us closer to the 3:00 pm puck drop. Apr 14 |
| 3 | Will Butcher  ActiveWhile Will Butcher had a great rookie season, one area that he needs to improve on is his shot. Butcher's teammates have been honest about it too, with Ben Lovejoy calling it "maybe even below average." While Butcher still recorded 44 points in 2017-18 regardless, working on his shot would help him become a better power-play quarterback. "I’m definitely going to work on my shot," Butcher said. "It’s hard to score from the blue line because the boys are so good. I think I need to work on that a little bit. Or a lot of bit." Apr 25 |
| 4 | Andy Greene  ActiveThe New Jersey Devils lost Game 2 with a bad 10 minutes in the second period. The Lightning scored four times in the second as the Devils crumbled in losing 5-3. "We had a bad 10 minutes or so and it cost us," Greene said. "We gotta be better on the PK there. Give up two net-front goals there. Besides that, we battled really hard. We had a really good third period. But we can’t give up chances like that. We have to be a little more desperate in front there, and make sure our PK comes up big, because we’re going to have to kill a few off. Obviously we had a really good kill in the first (period). Really, really good kill. I thought it gave us momentum, and then it took away from us in the second." The Devils trail the series 2-0 and will look to get back in it when the two teams play in New Jersey Monday for Game 3. Apr 15 |
| 5 | John Moore  ActiveJohn Moore is hoping to re-sign with the Devils. He's not sure if he factors into their plans for the summer though. "I want to (stay). It's not up to me. I haven't really talked to Ray," Moore said, referring to Devils GM Ray Shero. "Just in our meeting now, we said we'll get together and talk. I really like it here, my family likes it here. It's a good team, a lot of good guys and I want to be here." More had seven goals and 18 points in 81 games this season while averaging 20:01 minutes. He's coming off a three-year, $5 million contract and is likely going to get a significant raise. Apr 26 |
| 6 | Mirco Mueller  ActiveMirco Mueller will join Switzerland for the 2018 World Championships. Mueller only got into 28 games with New Jersey due to a broken clavicle, so he could probably use the additional work before he begins his summer program. "It was what it was with the injury. I couldn't really do anything about it. But I feel great now," Mueller said. "I feel strong. Going into the summer, I think I'm just going to do the same things I've been doing the last few years and see how it goes with the shoulder. I think it will be all good, but it definitely feels good on the ice." Mueller will be going into the second half of his two-year, $1.7 million contract in 2018-19. Apr 26 |
| 7 | Ben Lovejoy  ActiveBen Lovejoy tried to find a positive side after the Devils fell to 3-1 in their first round series against Tampa Bay. The Lightning earned a 3-1 win over New Jersey Wednesday night to push them to the brink of advancing to the second round. Game 5 will be played in Tampa Bay on Saturday. "This is a spot we’re comfortable - we’re comfortable being the underdog," Lovejoy argued. "We need to go out and win one game in Tampa." The Devils certainly weren't highly regarded going into this season and they proved a lot of critics wrong by getting this far. Going into this series, they were once again expected to fall short. So an argument can be made that if anyone is feeling the pressure right now, it would be Tampa Bay, but that hasn't helped the Devils enough in this series to date. We'll see if the Devils can manage to push this series into Game 6. Apr 19 |
| 8 | Brian Strait  ActiveBrian Strait signed a one-year, two-way deal with the New Jersey Devils. The deal is worth $650,000 at the NHL level. He had two points in six NHL games last season. Jul 1 |
| 9 | Steven Santini  ActiveSteven Santini will be a healthy scratch in Saturday's game against Washington. The Devils are resting key players like Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Sami Vatanen and Keith Kinkaid, but Santini still won't play. He was recalled from the minors earlier today. Apr 7 |
G | 1 | Cory Schneider  ActiveCory Schneider was great in the post-season. Schneider was in net for the Devils only win in the series and exploded for a .950 save percentage as well as a 1.78 GAA. This is in stark contrast to his play the second half of the season as he was 0-10-2 since December 27, his last regular season win. The performance in the playoffs gives him plenty of confidence heading into next season and he will likely battle Keith Kinkaid for the top spot in net for the Devils. Apr 22 |
| 2 | Keith Kinkaid  ActiveAfter Keith Kinkaid's strong 2017-18 campaign, he might enter the season as the Devils' 1B goalie as opposed to being the backup. Kinkaid certainly seemed to earn the starting gig towards the end of the season and even started in two playoff games. Granted, Kinkaid struggled in those contests, allowing Cory Schneider to step back in and do well the rest of the way even if the Devils were still eliminated, but taking in the campaign as a whole, it was an encouraging one for Kinkaid. It wouldn't be surprising to see Kinkaid and Schneider split the Devils' starts roughly even early in the season and for that to continue unless one of them clearly establishes himself above the other. Apr 26 |
| 3 | Eddie Lack  ActiveEddie Lack has been recalled from the AHL today. We wouldn't be surprised to see Lack backup Cory Schneider tonight and give Keith Kinkaid a full night off without having to sit on the bench in his pads. Lack was acquired from the Calgary Flames in December for defenseman Dalton Prout. Apr 7 |