John Moore walked away from the Devils in free agency, signing a five-year deal with the Boston Bruins on July 1.
Now the Devils are tasked with replacing a player who dressed in 81 games and averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time in each appearance last season.
Given the Devils' lack a major external moves this summer, Moore's replacement will likely come from within, and the two candidates best suited to fill his skates are Will Butcher and Mirco Mueller.
Butcher played in 81 of the team's 82 regular season games last season, plus all five postseason games.