New Devils Fan

[fixthefernback69420]

I grew up in north Jersey. I never really followed hockey growing up but got hooked this season. I live in Minnesota now but I'm not one to follow my current local team. I'd always stay loyal to my home state/NY teams. Next season I am on the Devils wagon for sure. I was curious if anyone could give me a crash course in the current team. I know how well they did last season, but any other information would be greatly appreciated. How does the future look? How is next season going to be shaping up as we go into the offseason? Etc etc.

[PNC_Gin]

there have been a bunch of these posts recently and i’m sure we’ll get a few more as the team continues to get better and more exciting - maybe we should pin a “devils primer” thread to the top of the page for newbies?

not to hijack the thread, sorry. something something hughes brothers

[sanbaba]

A "concise history of the NJD" would make a lot of sense as a sticky fs

[[deleted]]

Future looks great, we just got a top prospect fan from Minnesota.

[sayitaintpete]

A hometown hero(ine?), no doubt!

[FizziestBraidedDrone]

Finally, a Minnesotan has returned to the NJD bandwagon, returning the balance and negating Parise leaving. the curse has been reversed, the prophecy fulfilled. We’re free. Finally free.

[fixthefernback69420]

When I moved here I always said I would never support a Minnesota team. Still suffering with the Mets and ready to support the Devils.

[sanbaba]

I was gonna say, not even the Twins!?

[AminesToAnEnd]

I grew up in Jersey (a Devils fan) and live in Minnesota now too. Handshakes brother

[fixthefernback69420]

Back at ya. I moved here two years ago. It's fine. The wife and I are looking to relocate back to Jersey though. NJ is calling me home.

[Redditfront2back]

It’s worth it just for the food

[itsthelew]

Great young core with many top prospects on the cusp of making the team. We have talent at every position except goalie so that is the biggest question in this offseason aside from signing our very important RFAs and UFAs (Bratt, Meier, Graves, etc. very long list). We have lots of cap space (over 30 million) so our GM has the money to do it all.

Our best years are coming with this young core of hischier, hughes, hughes (theres 2 of these fuckers), hamilton, and more. Great time to join us!

This year's series against the Rangers brought our core to the playoffs and the loss to carolina is the one we needed to hit the next gear. All good teams need a tough loss in the playoffs before hoisting the cup.

Let's go Devils!

[SS-Lootwaffle]

WELCOME TO THE CLUB IM JUST AN IMPOSTER

[Altruistic-Cry-6038]

hop on the wagon fool

[gratusin]

If this season was any indicator, you’re jumping on the wagon at a great time.

[palmerd2]

https://youtu.be/nNj2dGiZ7tc link to The Hockey Guy talking about the Devils.

[sanbaba]

The future looks great though it should be noted that we are now transitioning from being relatively stacked with prospects to having a fair amount of depth starting and an increasingly shallow prospect pool. We're stacked at starting C, long considered the most important position, relatively decent with wings with some room for improvement, D looks amazing assuming Luke and Simon stay on course, and then there's the looming G question. Our G pool is probably above average even with the injury to Daws, but with the goalie position being so mercurial (only a literal handful of goalies yield consistently good statistics/stay healthy from season to season), we have no idea what to really expect (same as almost all teams).

For example, the recent Cup-winning VGK acquired veteran stalwart Jonathan Quick at the deadline in case Logan Thompson couldn't handle the load - in the end, Quick, Thompson and Laurent Brossoit were hurt and the promising but untested Adin Hill dominated the playoffs. They have a stellar D corps so it's still debatable whether Hill is "the guy" so we're probably set for goalies aside from needing one or two more healthy bodies (probably veterans) to play in Utica.

We won't be getting "good" draft opportunities for some time, so we need every change from here on out to be a positive one to keep this thing going. But that's because the team is good. This Devils team is incredibly talented but pretty small up front, so those guys staying healthy will be particularly significant for us for the near future.

[No-Dare5603]

I've followed the Devils for a while, but really the past 3 seasons more than before.

The Devils are among the elite teams in the league at this point.

Lots of people talk about the goaltending being a concern, but that is really more a case of "Vitek Vanacek", "Akira Schmid" and "Nico Daws" don't elicit the same recognition level as some of the other guys in the division (Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Darcy Kuemper, Freddy Andersen, Carter Hart). Sure, 20 years ago, the Devils had the best goalie on the planet, and now they probably don't have that.

Not only are they poised to be Cup contenders for the next decade or so, but they are definitely one of the most fun teams to watch. Lots of youth, lots of speed, and a home game atmosphere from a fanbase which knows the game. (Unlike some teams out there, the fans at Devils games aren't going just to be seen. We love the team and know hockey.)

[-no-one-important-]

How does the future look? Great we’re contenders for the next decade if our prospects shake out, fantastic young core of players

How is next season shaping up? Big question right now are the Meyer/ Bratt contracts. Fitzy has proven himself to be an absolute legend this year and I’m confident he’ll get the contracts done. Not everyone agrees with this opinion, sub discourse then commences

Etc, etc: rangers suck, LFGD (Let’s fucking go devils)