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As the days pass and we get closer to training camp one thing has become abundantly clear: the New Jersey Devils are not going to be very good next season.
While they have ridded themselves of a plethora of aging veterans and brought in some young pieces with potential - such as Kyle Palmieri and John Moore, among others - the Devils don't have enough to compete for a playoff spot next season.
There's still time to bring in another piece or two (which seems likely) but I don't expect anything substantial.
Even if the likes of Adam Larsson, Damon Severson and co. continue on their encouraging development paths the Devils are still going to be in tough.
That's not a knock on GM Ray Shero at all - I really like what he's done this summer - but no moves have been made that will drastically improve the team's chances for next season; and rightfully so.
The Devils aren't a piece or two away so selling the house to bring in a guy like Phil Kessel, for example, doesn't make sense given where the Devils are at.
They are embracing a youth movement and while the Devils are doing that many teams around them are getting better.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were already a very good team and they added Kessel, Eric Fehr and Nick Bonino, among others, to add more depth to an already elite offensive team.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were decimated by injuries last season and they still won 40 games. They won't be as unlucky (injury wise, at least) next season and they added a rising star in Brandon Saad.
The Washington Capitals lost Mike Green but they replaced Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer with Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie. That's a significant upgrade and when you factor in that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky, among others, will continue to improve it looks like the Capitals will be very good once again.
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders haven't done a ton but both teams have good cores in place that led them to very successful seasons last year.
Even the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers won't be pushovers.
New Jersey may have a better roster than last year but because many of their divisional opponents - who they play the most, obviously - have improved it's entirely possible (likely, even) that the Devils finish lower in the standings next season.
The Devils are in for another rough season but, given the names at the top of next year's draft, that may not be such a bad thing.
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