Fantasy season preview: New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils were surrounded by the cloud of the Ilya Kovalchuk saga throughout the summer, giving the hockey world little time to discuss how strong their line-up is in advance of the 2010-11 season. Nevertheless the Devils boast one of the best
forward cores in the League and a defence group that always seems to put together brilliant seasons. New Jersey has a great chance of challenging for the Atlantic Division this year as well as the Stanley Cup.
The Devils are equally as impressive in fantasy hockey. Although they do not generate plenty of points from the back end they have one of the most dynamic forward groups in the League. Moreover, Martin Brodeur is a rock between the pipes, as well as fantasy
gold.
Forward
Up front the Devils are incredibly potent, with one of the best forward cores in the League. With plenty of top level talent, a bevy of Devils can be expected to go in the opening three rounds.
The first two Devils likely to be taken are Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise. Kovalchuk is a pure goal-scorer and is likely to post numbers similar to last year’s 41 goals and 85 points. Meanwhile, Parise is a fantasy gem across the board. Last year the youngster
was able to register 38 goals and 82 points to go along with a plus-24 rating and 26 power-play-points (PPP). Parise and Kovalchuk will have to share the puck in 2010-11, but both should attain high point totals.
The Devils' second tier of point-getters features Travis Zajac, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias and Danius Zubrus. Last season Zajac notched 25 goals and 67 points and is expected to tally more as he matures and develops chemistry with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Langenbrunner is good for roughly 60 points every year, but has a strong defensive game that saw him earn a plus-22 rating last season. Elias was injured last year, but was very effective in the line-up, notching 19 goals and 48 points in 58 games. Finally,
Zubrus may be overlooked in several pools because he only registered 27 points last season. However, the centre only played in 51 games.
Defence
The Devils are not known to generate offence from the back end and next season should be no different. The majority of their defenders stay at home and let the forwards do the heavy lifting on the scoreboard. Perhaps the only exception is Andy Greene, who
broke out last season for 37 points, a rating of plus-nine, 15 PPP, and four game-winning-goals (GW). However, outside Green, the Devils' blue line is without major point contributors and should be avoided in the draft.
Goaltending
New Jersey is lucky enough to have arguably the best goaltender in the history of the game in Brodeur. In the regular season last year the veteran did not miss a beat as he tallied 45 wins, a 2.24 goals-against-average and .916 save-percentage to go along
with nine shut outs. Brodeur continues to be the most consistent regular season goaltender in the League and for this reason should remain at the number one pick in net.
The fact that the Devils will be competing for a division title will only help to drive up what are already certain to be impressive numbers. Nevertheless, Brodeur is not likely to match his 77 games played last year, as the Devils acquired Johan Hedberg
in the off-season to take some of the workload. Expect Hedberg to fill in for at least 15 games this season so that Brodeur is more well-rested for the post-season.
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