Despite Acquisitions, New Jersey Devils Still Built Around Defense

By Nick Villano @nick_villano on September 30, 2014

The New Jersey Devils built their franchise’s legacy based off of defense and goaltending. They have had some of the best players of the last two decades wearing their uniform, including Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko and Martin Brodeur. In the upcoming season, the team is still built around their blue line.

Despite spending their money on free agents Mike Cammalleri, Martin Havlat and re-signing some of their other offensive talent, the team will be made or broken by how their defense plays.

They have a good amount of youth and experience on their blue line. Bryce Salvador is the oldest at 38 years old, and Adam Larsson is the youngest at 21. They have talent up and down throughout their defensive roster.

Speaking of Larsson, he should have a much better season. He felt the pressure of having the moniker of the next big thing last year. This year, he can just focus on playing his game.

Eric Gelinas and Jon Merrill will be able to build off of good rookie seasons. Gelinas had an entire offseason to hone his defensive skill and minimize mistakes. Merrill has shown in camp that he could eventually be the best player on the Devils’ defense.

Andy Greene just signed an extension that will keep him with the Devils throughout the end of his prime. He is the team’s best defender and one of the most underrated defenders in the league. He is a great man to take over Salvador’s spot as captain when he leaves after his contract ends.

Marek Zidlicky rounds out the defensive corps. He is clearly not the best defender, but he is one of the top offensive defenseman in the league, even at his advanced age. He is great on the power play and adds offense to a team that could definitely use it.

Then, of course, you have the goalie. Cory Schneider is officially the Devils’ goaltender for the future. He is one of the top players at his position. He is the main reason why a large portion of the league thinks that the Devils can bounce back this season.

The Devils’ offense has definitely improved, but they will still ride the defense. Head coach Peter DeBoer looks to ride them all the way back to the postseason. After two straight seasons just missing out, the Devils are ready to start a new tradition of winning. It all starts at the back end.