The 2016-17 New Jersey Devils were bad. The Devils, as a franchise, are in the process of rebuilding. Even with Travis Zajac out for four to six months, a goal for this coming season should be to make some kind of improvement. As of this writing, the defense remains largely unchanged with the exception of Jon Merrill being taken by Las Vegas and Mirco Mueller picked up in a trade. The coaching staff remains; Ben Lovejoy remains; and so do other main players on the blueline. What can change? How about discipline?
One area where the Devils were weak in last season was the penalty kill.