At this time last year, the New Jersey Devils were considered a long shot to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Coming off a 63-point season where they posted a -59 goal difference, it looked like the young Devils were still a couple of seasons away from contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
There were reasons to be excited about the future, but the consensus was that this team still had an uphill climb of it.
It didn’t take long for that widely accepted hypothesis to be proven wrong.
The Devils won 19 of their first 23 games in 2022-23 and were essentially locked into a playoff spot by Christmas.
New Jersey didn’t go all the way, but the Devils provided quite a sweat for those savvy punters that backed them at long odds last summer.
As you’d imagine, after such a spellbinding season, the Devils are not long shots anymore.
New Jersey currently sports the fourth-shortest odds to win the Stanley Cup at +1300 (FanDuel), behind only the Colorado Avalanche (+800), Toronto Maple Leafs (+1100), and Edmonton Oilers (+1100).
With only three teams ahead of them on the board, is it possible we’ll see the Devils go into the 2023-24 regular season as the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup?
If you look at the teams around the Devils on the betting board — which would also include the Carolina Hurricanes (+1200), Vegas Golden Knights (+1200) and New York Rangers (+1400) — you could argue that New Jersey has the fewest big questions to answer this offseason.
Colorado has to find a second-line center, the Maple Leafs are in flux from top to bottom, the Oilers have a murky goaltending problem, the Hurricanes have no goalies and need more consistent scoring, while the Rangers and Golden Knights will need to fill holes on their rosters while dealing with a significant cap crunch.
The Devils, meanwhile, have plenty of cap space and assets to address their biggest flaw: Pedestrian goaltending.
And it just so happens that it is the perfect summer to require an elite netminder.
There are several big-time goaltenders on the market this summer, but the prize of the bunch is Connor Hellebuyck.
The Winnipeg Jets are looking to re-configure their roster, and Hellebuyck doesn’t seem interested in signing an extension in Manitoba while the club re-tools, so he’s signaled he’s open to a trade.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Hellebuyck would give his blessing to a sign-and-trade with the Devils.
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Should the Devils land Hellebuyck, which seems to be a distinct possibility, you’d likely see their Stanley Cup odds shorten into the single-digits.
The team is already loaded up front with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier (who looks likely to be re-signed), and Dawson Mercer, and New Jersey should have a high-ceiling defense with Luke Hughes and 2022 No. 2 overall pick Simon Nemec ready for full-time gigs.
And even if the Devils don’t acquire Hellebuyck, they have time, cap space, and assets to go after another top goaltender via trade or free agency.
It would take a mountain of assets to get Juuse Saros out of Nashville, but the fact that New Jersey is in on Hellebuyck shows that this team is willing and able to pay the price to fill its only glaring need.
Currently, there is no clear-cut betting favorite to win the 2023-24 Stanley Cup.
Any team in the mix at the top of the betting board could make a splash and establish itself as the one to beat as we get closer to Opening Night.
To me, there is an obvious choice for the team most likely to do that: The Devils.
