With all of the new acquisitions this offseason, there are a lot of expectations surrounding the New Jersey Devils for the first time in a while. Still, unforeseen things can and will happen: someone gets hurt, guys underperform, or guys may even be traded.
Either way, young players will have to contribute for this season to be a success. We saw it in 2017-18. As great as Taylor Hall was, without rookies Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Will Butcher, that team doesn’t even sniff the postseason. The same could be said about 2012.