Devils' Luke Hughes: Strong stretch run in rookie year
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Hughes finished his rookie season with nine goals and 47 points while dressing for all 82 games in 2023-24.
Hughes showed off his puck-moving skills on the power play, notching 25 points on the man advantage. Similar to his brothers Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes (shoulder), Luke is highly skilled but undersized. The 184-pound blueliner was bullied in the defensive zone to the tune of a minus-25 rating, but fantasy managers will be willing to overlook those shortcomings from the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, especially if Hughes proves capable of sustaining his point-per-game pace from the last 14 games of 2023-24 over a longer stretch.
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Devils' Ondrej Palat: Another down year in NJ
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Palat finished the 2023-24 season with 11 goals and 31 points in 71 appearances.
Palat parlayed his strong play in Tampa Bay into a five-year, $30 million contract with the Devils in the 2021-22 offseason, but it's becoming more and more apparent that he was likely carried by playing alongside stars such as Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in Tampa Bay. After nine consecutive seasons with at least 34 points for the Lightning, Palat has produced meager totals of 23 and 31 points in his first two years in New Jersey. At age 33, Palat's more likely to go down than up next year.
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Devils' Dawson Mercer: Slumps in year three
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Mercer finished the 2023-24 season with 20 goals and 33 points in 82 games.
Mercer's sophomore slump came a year late, as he finished with the lowest point total of his three-year career. The 2020 first-round draft pick also had a career-worst minus-26 rating, and he posted his lowest shot total (134) despite seeing a career high in average ice time (17:13). On the bright side, Mercer still hasn't missed a game in his NHL career, and he'll be a bounce-back candidate next season after posting point totals of 42 and 56 in his first two campaigns. Mercer will be a restricted free agent this offseason after the expiration of his entry-level contract.
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Devils' Nico Hischier: Takes step back with 67-point year
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Hischier provided an assist in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders, wrapping up the 2023-24 season with 27 goals and 67 points in 71 appearances.
Hischier posted his second-highest point total and appeared in the third-most games of his seven-year career, but this season has to be viewed as a disappointment on the heels of his 80-point output in 2022-23. The first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft also took a significant step back defensively, with his rating dropping from plus-33 last season to minus-5 as the Devils missed the postseason in 2023-24.
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Devils' Erik Haula: Finishes with 35 points
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Haula ended the 2023-24 season with 16 goals, 35 points and 155 shots on goal in 76 appearances.
Haula also set a career high with 54 PIM, and his minus-1 rating was his worst since a minus-16 mark with the Golden Knights in 2017-18. Ironically, that season in Vegas was Haula's most productive from an offensive standpoint (29 goals and 55 points), but he didn't provide nearly enough offense in 2023-24 to help counterbalance New Jersey's teamwide defensive struggles as the Devils fell short of the postseason.
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Devils' Jesper Bratt: No playoffs despite career year
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Bratt had an assist in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders, finishing the season with 27 goals and a career-high 83 points.
Bratt took another step forward after consecutive 73-point campaigns, but the team around him took a step back, as the Devils missed the playoffs after winning a round in the postseason the previous year. The 25-year-old Swede signed an eight-year, $63 million extension last June, so Bratt's locked in as a key piece of New Jersey's core for the foreseeable future.
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Devils' Timo Meier: Lone marker in finale
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Meier scored a goal on two shots in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders.
Meier got the Devils on the board early in the second period, knocking home a rebound off Semyon Varlamov to cut the Islanders' lead to 2-1. The 27-year-old winger finished the year strong, tallying nine goals and 16 points in his last 14 games. However, it was a disappointing campaign overall for Meier -- he'll finish with 28 goals and 52 points after surpassing the 60-point threshold in each of his previous two seasons.
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Devils' Shane Bowers: Sent down to minors
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Bowers was reassigned to AHL Utica on Tuesday.
Bowers played eight games with the big club this year, registering seven shots on goal and three hits. The 24-year-old has played 40 games with Utica, logging nine goals and four assists. He will finish his season in the minors, as Utica has three regular-season games left.
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Devils' Graeme Clarke: Sent back to minors
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Clarke was demoted to AHL Utica on Tuesday.
Clarke saw action in just three NHL games this season in which he recorded two shots, six hits and two PIM while averaging 11:23 of ice time. The 22-year-old winger will return to the minors to suit up for the Comets, who are longshots to secure a place in the Calder Cup playoffs. In his previous time with the minor-league club, the Minnesota native notched 24 goals and 23 assists in 64 contests. He'll look to bring that offensive upside to training camp in the fall to make the Opening Night roster.
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Devils' Jake Allen: Struggles Monday
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Allen allowed four goals on 19 shots in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders.
Allen surrendered a pair of tallies in the first period before allowing a goal apiece in each of the final two frames en route to the defeat in New Jersey's season finale. The 33-year-old Allen struggled down the stretch, going 2-4-1 with an .876 save percentage in his final seven outings. He'll wrap up the campaign with a 12-18-4 record, .895 save percentage and 3.44 GAA across 33 starts between the Devils and Canadiens.
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Devils' Tomas Nosek: Limited in season finale
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Nosek managed just one shot and a minus-2 rating in Monday's season finale against the Islanders.
Nosek returned from an undisclosed injury to play in New Jersey's 82nd contest of the campaign. Injuries limited the 31-year-old winger to just 36 appearances this season in which he notched two goals on 38 shots, four assists and 33 hits. The Czech native will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and may not have stayed healthy enough to convince the Devils to keep him around for another year.
Nosek (undisclosed) is poised to suit up for the season finale against the Islanders on Monday, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Nosek will rejoin the lineup after missing the previous two outings due to his undisclosed injury. It will be the 31-year-old winger's last chance to end an eight-game goal drought during which he has managed just 11 shots on net while notching a pair of helpers. With Nosek returning to action, either Graeme Clarke or Kurtis MacDermid will be relegated to the press box.
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Devils' Jake Allen: Set to face Islanders
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Allen will patrol the home crease Monday versus the Islanders, according to Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.
Allen is coming off a 27-save effort in Thursday's 6-5 win over Toronto. He has a 12-17-4 record this season with a 3.43 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 33 appearances between New Jersey and Montreal. The Islanders rank 23rd in the league this campaign with 2.95 goals per contest.
Kahkonen made 20 saves Saturday in a 1-0 loss to the Flyers.
The only puck that got past him came off the stick of Travis Konecny, who broke in alone shorthanded and beat Kahkonen with a wrist shot from the slot. It's been a rough go for Kahkonen this season. He's 7-24-3 in 33 appearances between San Jose and New Jersey, and while his GAA and save percentage have improved since the trade, Kahkonen hasn't been able to translate that better performance into wins. He's just 1-4-0 with one shutout in six starts with the Devils. Kahkonen is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and his future is up in the air.
Nosek (undisclosed) will miss Saturday's game against Philadelphia, according to Catherine Bogart of the Devils' official site.
Nosek, who miss miss his second straight contest, has two goals and six points across 35 outings in 2023-24. His next opportunity to return before the summer will be the Devils' season finale versus the Islanders on Monday.
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Devils' Kaapo Kahkonen: Slated to start Saturday
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Kahkonen will start on the road against Philadelphia on Saturday, per Catherine Bogart of the Devils' official site.
Kahkonen will make his first appearance since last Sunday due to a lower-body injury, but he did return for Thursday's 6-5 win over Toronto as the backup goaltender. The 27-year-old netminder has a 7-23-3 record, 3.72 GAA and .897 save percentage in 36 outings between San Jose and New Jersey this season. The Flyers are tied for 24th offensively with 2.86 goals per game, so they figure to be a somewhat favorable matchup for Kahkonen.
