The New Jersey Devils have just three games left in their schedule before a long offseason rest. The team will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years, a frustrating result from a franchise that failed to make the playoffs just once between the 1989-90 season and the 2009-10 season.
The Devils were dealt a tough hand when captain Zach Parise departed via free agency prior to the beginning of this season, and the team has never really been able to overcome that loss.
Now the Devils will enter a long offseason where management will need to attempt to stop the bleeding. With a handful of valuable free-agents-to-be, an aging roster and a lack of firepower at almost every position, there will hopefully be lots of activity slated for GM Lou Lamoriello.
There's lots of work to be done to make the team competitive again, and the future of the franchise may depend on Lamoriello's ability to get some of the following done.
All stats prior to 4/23 games. Statistics obtained via NHL.com, Hockey-Reference.com and Capgeek.com.
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Article written by Peter Mills
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