In exactly one month, New Jersey Devils rookies will prepare for a Saturday night game against the Buffalo Sabres as part of the 2024 Prospects Challenge.
Meanwhile, the club’s veterans will be in Newark, preparing for the official start of the Devils 2024-25 training camp.
With general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s acquisitions and signings, the players who will make up the roster seemingly appear set. Still, one thing to remember is that regardless of how many open spots are available, every player enters training camp with a goal: to take a spot from a starter, fight for a specific role within the lineup, or become the seventh or eighth defenseman.
Looking at the current roster, these three players face the most pressure when things get underway at RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House in mid-September.
NHL.com released their projected 2024-25 lineup for the Devils at the end of July.
With a new head coach in Sheldon Keefe, the exact line combinations will remain a mystery until the team’s season opener. Most can agree that the above 12 forwards are most likely New Jersey‘s regulars, despite restricted free agent Dawson Mercer not re-signed at the time of publication.
Nathan Bastian is entering the final year of his contract and will need to earn his spot and play for a new deal. During his end-of-season media availability, he spoke about his 2023-24 campaign, which ended on Feb. 22 due to an injury.
“I honestly don’t think the timing of the injury could have been any worse,” he said. “Missing 25 games when the season picks up, and a lot of those games are important games, and not being part of that sucked.”
Through 54 games last season, Bastian scored five goals and earned 12 points. He averaged the lowest time on ice per game at 10 minutes.
During a recent media availability, Fitzgerald mentioned Curtis Lazar being the team’s fourth-line center in 2024-25. The 29-year-old is coming off the best offensive season of his career and possesses all the characteristics his general manager is looking for. New Jersey also acquired Paul Cotter as part of his new look bottom-six in June.
If a young player like Nolan Foote or Brian Halonen hopes to jump from the American Hockey League (AHL) to the NHL, they will likely play a fourth-line role in New Jersey, and…