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Devils Reveal 2019-20 Schedule

The Devils, along with the entire National Hockey League, revealed their 2019-20 regular season schedule today. It includes some interesting notes, so let’s dive in, shall we?

As mentioned, the team opens at home on Friday, October 4 against the Winnipeg Jets. This marks about the fourth or fifth straight season that they kick off against a Western Conference team. (Remember, they started last year in Sweden against Edmonton, even though their home opener proper was against Washington.) They then take off the very next day for a game at Buffalo on the fifth.

Wednesday, October 9 sees our first divisional game and it is against a rival. The Devils head down to Philly to take on the Flyers at 7:30 that night (going out on a limb, but assuming that this might be an NBCSN Wednesday Night Hockey game, given the start time and day of the week). They then return home the next night (October 10) to face the Oilers.

Saturday, October 12 has them in Boston to take on the defending Eastern Conference champs. That Monday, October 14, the Devils will play a Columbus Day matinee at 1 PM against the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center.

Circle your calendars for Thursday, October 17, as the Devils host the Rangers for the first time in the new season. It will also be Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko’s first regular season meeting as members of their rival NHL clubs. Like adding fuel to a fire, this one should get every Devils and Rangers fan going for the young season.

No rest for the weary, though, as Hughes will face his older brother, Quinn, and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, October 19 at Prudential Center. The Devils then have almost a week off as their next game comes on Friday, October 25 at home against the Coyotes. They then take on last year’s President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, October 30. New Jersey finishes off this homestand on Friday, November 1 against the Flyers.

The following night, Saturday, November 2, they travel to Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes. From there, it’s off to Winnipeg on Tuesday, November 5 as this year’s Western Canada trip kickoff in the Manitoba capital. Thursday, November 7 takes the team to Calgary, Friday November 8 to Edmonton and Sunday, November 10 to Vancouver.

They return home to face the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, November 13 and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, November 15. They then take a quick road trip to Montreal to take on the Habs on Saturday, November 16 before returning home on Tuesday, November 19 to face Boston.

On Friday, November 22, it’s another quick one-game road trip, this time to Pittsburgh before they return home to face the Red Wings on Saturday, November 23 and the Wild on Tuesday, November 26.

One nationally televised game that is confirmed is Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving Day here in the States) when the Devils travel back to Montreal to take on the Canadiens in a game that should end up on NBC.

The Devils return home on Saturday, November 30 to face the Rangers again in the first home Saturday matinee of the season (a 1 PM puck drop). Monday, December 2 takes them back on the road, this time to Buffalo before returning to Newark for a quick two-game homestand. Tuesday, December 3, the Vegas Golden Knights come to town and Friday, December 6, the Chicago Blackhawks visit.

Another big one is Saturday, December 7 as the Devils travel to Nashville. It will be PK Subban’s first trip back to visit the Predators and he should get a good reaction as he was beloved in that city.

From there, they travel to Dallas on Tuesday, December 10, Colorado on Friday, December 13 and Arizona on Saturday, December 14.

Coming back from that road trip, the Devils will face the Ducks on Wednesday, December 18 and the Capitals on Friday, December 20. Saturday, December 21 takes them to Columbus for the first time in 2019-20. They then finish off the schedule before the Christmas break on Monday, December 23 at Chicago.

Coming out of the Christmas break will see Toronto visit The Rock on Friday, December 27. They then travel up to the Canadian capital on Sunday, December 29 to take on the Senators before returning home on New Year’s Eve to face the Boston Bruins in a 1 PM start.

The new year kicks off on Thursday, January 2 as the Devils meet the Islanders for the first time. This game will be at Barclays Center as the Isles will again be splitting time between Brooklyn and the Nassau Coliseum.

The Avalanche come to Prudential Center on Saturday, January 4 followed by the Islanders on Tuesday, January 7. Thursday, January 9 kicks off two road games versus divisional rivals. That night, they play at MSG against the Rangers. Saturday, January 11, they travel to Washington to take on the Caps. From there, it’s back home for the Lightning on Sunday, January 12 and then to Toronto for Tuesday, January 14.

The road trip continues back in Washington on Thursday, January 16 and Columbus on Saturday, January 18. Following these games is the bye week and (I believe) the All-Star Game at St. Louis. Coming back, the road trip wraps up in Ottawa on Monday, January 27.

Coming back home, the team faces a pair of Western Conference foes first on Thursday, January 30 against Nashville and then on Saturday, February 1 against the Stars. This homestand finishes against the Canadiens on Tuesday, February 4.

Two days later, on Thursday, February 6, the team travels to Philadelphia, then it’s back home for Los Angeles (Saturday, February 8), Florida (Tuesday, February 11) and Detroit (Thursday, February 13).

Home games and away games alternate for a few as they travel to Carolina on St. Valentine’s Day (a Friday), then come home for the Blue Jackets on Sunday, February 16, then to St. Louis to visit the Stanley Cup champs on Tuesday, February 18, then home for the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, February 20. That turns into a quick homestand as the Capitals come to town on Saturday, February 22.

Following that, it’s off to Detroit on Tuesday, February 25 and then the California trip. That begins in San Jose on Thursday, February 27, then heads south to LA on Leap Day, Saturday, February 29 and Anaheim on Sunday, March 1. They then finish the western swing against the Golden Knights in Vegas on Tuesday, March 3.

They return to Newark on Friday, March 6 against the Blues. Saturday, March 7 takes them to Manhattan to face the Rangers for the final time. Then it’s back to Prudential Center for the Pens on Tuesday, March 10 and the Hurricanes on Thursday, March 12.

New Jersey then does a Florida trip as they are at the Panthers on Saturday, March 14 and at the Lightning on Sunday, March 15.

If you are a betting person, put money on the Maple Leafs wearing their Toronto St. Pats throwback jerseys on Tuesday, March 17 when the Devils are up there.

They return home for three games at The Rock. The Flames visit on Thursday, March 19, the Isles visit on Saturday, March 21 and the Blue Jackets on Monday, March 23.

It’s then back on the road, to Minnesota this time on Thursday, March 26 before they come back home to face the Flyers on Saturday, March 28 and the Hurricanes on Sunday, March 29.

It’s then time for the home stretch as they travel to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, March 31. On Thursday, April 2, the team finishes their home schedule versus Buffalo and then, on Saturday, April 4, the season concludes against the Islanders, this time at the Nassau Coliseum.

Not bad. According to NHL Network’s NHL Tonight schedule preview, the Devils will log the least travel miles in the NHL at just 31,758 miles traveled. Not a bad deal, but a perk all of the NYC metro area teams get to partake in, generally.

Hopefully for us, the season extends far beyond that game against the Isles on April 4, but for now, this is a good indication that the 2019-20 season will be here before we know it. Is it October yet?

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Draft Day Two: Devils Acquire PK Subban

What. A. Day. After getting Jack Hughes with the first overall pick yesterday, the Devils kicked off the second day of the 2019 NHL Draft by making quite the splash. The club acquired defenseman PK Subban from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Steven Santini, defenseman Jeremy Davies, a second-round pick in this year’s Draft (34th overall) and their second-round pick in the 2020 Draft.

The deal made sense for both teams as Nashville was trying to shed some cap in order to sign free agent forward Matt Duchene and the Devils will take on Subban’s entire salary. New Jersey finally gets to use some of their much-vaunted cap space and add a huge piece to their team going forward.

Subban is 30 years old and is one of the NHL’s premier blueliners. He has appeared in the “last three NHL All-Star Games (captaining his squad in the last two) and has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team twice” according to Chris Wescott of the Devils’ official website.

Subban played from 2009-10 to 2015-16 with the Montreal Canadiens and then the last three seasons with the Preds. One thing that Subban brings to the Devils, besides a booming shot from the point and great offensive skill, is notoriety. He is one of the most popular players in the league and also appears in commercials, endorsing things such as Bridgestone tires. He is also a charitable player who has given back to the community in Montreal and Nashville. It is not a stretch to think that with the combination of Taylor Hall, Jack Hughes and PK Subban, the Devils should now appear on national broadcasts a little bit more than in the past. The Devils suddenly become more interesting to a national audience.

The Devils are getting a player who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2013 and competed in the 2014 Olympics – where he won a gold medal with Canada. The native of Toronto had nine goals and 22 assists last season for 31 total points. He played in an abbreviated 63 game season due to injury. Over his career, he has notched 98 goals and 310 assists for 408 points in 645 games according to Hockey-Reference.com. NewJerseyDevils.com’s Wescott mentioned that he has played in 96 playoff games. In those postseason games, he has 18 goals and 44 assists for 65 points. He helped lead Nashville to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final.

Welcome to New Jersey, PK Subban!

The Devils also made one other (low profile) trade today, acquiring John Hayden from the Blackhawks in exchange for John Quenneville.

Hayden was the Hawks’ third-round pick in 2013, out of Yale University. He appeared in 54 games for Chicago over the last four seasons, scoring three goals and two assists for five NHL points. He also logged 27 penalty minutes. This information all came via Chris Wescott of NewJerseyDevils.com.

As for the other eight picks the Devils had in this year’s Draft, those were well-spent. The team picked d-man Nikita Okhotyuk of the Ottawa 67’s (Ontario Hockey League) 61st overall in the second round. Wescott said that he had a pair of goals and 15 assists in 56 games for the 67’s last year. The native of Russia was the “NHL Central Scouting’s 55th-ranked North American Skater” and “captained Team Russia to a bronze medal at the 2018 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.”

In the third round, the Devils had three picks. With the eighth pick, they took defenseman Danill Misyul from Yaroslavl 2 out of Russia. With the 18th pick in the round, they took Graeme Clarke of the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL. Clarke was born April 24, 2001 in Ottawa. He is a 6-foot, 174-pound right winger who plays “the game at a high level. Combines playmaking ability with a nose for the net” according to Future Considerations. McKeen’s Hockey said that he “is also a very gifted puck handler, blending skill with creativity.” He was ranked as the number 77 North American skater by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

With the 20th pick in the third round, the Devils selected defenseman Michael Vukojevic of the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. Born June 8, 2001, Vukojevic is a left-shooting d-man and is a “mobile shutdown defenseman who plays a physical brand of hockey” according to Hockeyprospect.com via EliteProspects. The reviews on him are that he is a good skater and “is accomplished at separating his man from the puck and can be punishing in front of his goalie” (McKeen’s Hockey). He was ranked number 76 amongst North American skaters by McKenzie.

Moving on to the fourth round, the Devils had two picks in that round including the third pick and the 25th pick. With the third pick, they took Tyce Thompson, a right wing from Providence College. He is the brother of Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and was born on July 12, 1999 in Oyster Bay, New York. He was ranked 83rd among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He put up eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 42 games for the Friars last season.

With the 25th pick in the fourth round, the Devils took Case McCarthy of the US National Development Team. McCarthy of Clarence, New York was born on January 9, 2001 and is a right-shooting defenseman. He was ranked 77th by the NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters. He is described as a physical player, who does not go out of position to chase the big hit. He also has an “excellent breakout pass to exit the zone” as per Future Considerations.

Moving on to round five, the Devils had two picks. With the third pick in that round, they took Cole Brady, a goalie from the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League. He is 6-feet, 5-inches, 165-pounds and catches left. He was ranked number nine by the NHL Central Scouting for North American goalies. The native of Pickering, Ontario was born February 12, 2001.

Two picks later, the Devils selected Arseny Gritsyuk, a right wing from Omsk-2 of Russia.

With a pick in the sixth round and one in the seventh, the Devils were on the clock two more times. In round sixth, with the third pick, they took Patrick Moynihan, a right wing from the US National Development Program. Moynihan will be playing next season at Providence College, but he Millis, Massachusetts native (born January 23, 2001) was ranked 73rd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He is considered a good two-way forward, with McKeen’s Hockey saying that he “is a diligent and versatile forward, able to impact the game in both the offensive and defensive roles.” Future Considerations said that he “has a good shot and is able to release it quickly to fool opposing goaltenders.” With him committing to Providence, the Devils may or may not be able to sign him following his NCAA career (ala Will Butcher and Alex Kerfoot), but that is the gamble you take on a college player and why you take them in the later rounds generally.

The third pick in the seventh round rounded out the Devils’ 2019 Draft and they took Nikola Pasic, a right wing from Linkoping Jr. of Sweden. A native of Gislaved, Sweden, he was born on October 16, 2000 and was ranked 88th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He is an offensive threat with Hockeyprospect.com saying that “Pasic is a dangler, where he uses his stickhandling to dazzle opponents and gets around them using fast hands and great balance.” McKeen’s Hockey said that he “has a quick release on his wrist shot and is dangerous when shooting while moving at top speed.” Future Considerations summed him up by saying that his “excellent vision and passing skills bode well for teammates and he is great at making plays happen.”

Overall, not a bad haul for the Devils this Draft (quite an understatement, I know). We will see where this takes us as we get closer to development camp and training camp through July, August and September. It is shaping up to be a great time for Devils fans. All I can say is enjoy the ride!