Five Things the New Jersey Devils Fans Should Be Thankful For

The New Jersey Devils have had an inconsistent season to this point. They are currently 9-10-3 with a total of 21 points, which has them tied for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. The expectation coming into this season was that they'd be slightly better then one game under .500 through the first quarter of the season, but fortunately for the Devils, the mediocrity and inconsistency of the Metropolitan Division still has them in the playoff hunt. With (American) Thanksgiving just one day away, here are five reasons why Devils fans should be thankful for 'Jersey's Team.'

1. Young Stars Locked Up For the Foreseeable Future

When Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and David Clarkson all left the Devils in two consecutive off-seasons, there was a definite level of uncertainty as to whether the Devils can keep their young stars in the center fold. Lou Lamoriello tackled that issue when he signed multiple players to long-term deals. The team currently has Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, Andy Greene, Michael Cammalleri and of course their work horse Cory Schneider signed through the 2018-2019 season. That's a ton of security for a team that didn't have such a bright future a few years back. 

2. Jaromir Jagr Taking a Dip in the Fountain of Youth 

The Devils took a significant risk by signing Jaromir Jagr shortly after Ilya Kovalchuk decided to 'retire' last off-season. Thankfully, Jagr was worth more than every last dime on that contract, as he posted 24 goals and 43 assists for a total of 67 points in the 2013-14 season. Now, one more year older, Jagr is back for his second consecutive season with the Devils and still looks far younger than 42 years old. Through the teams first 22 games he has a modest 13 points. Without him, who knows what the Devils offense would have looked like the past two seasons. 


3. The Best Young D-Core in all of Hockey 

Most teams around the league yearn for young top-six caliber defensemen to build their team around. Players that still need some experience, but have all the potential in the world. When I look at this Devils team and their respective farm system I see this in Damon Severson, Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill, Adam Larsson, Seth Helgeson and my ex-teammate Steven Santini. The main critique around the league is that the Devils roster has the oldest average age in the league, but clearly the aforementioned players show that they have plenty of youth to lean back on. 

4. Stable and Dedicated Ownership

After years of talks centering around bankruptcy, relocation and contract violations from the reign of Jeff Vanderbeek and co., the Devils finally have a pair of great owners in Joshua Harris and David Blitzer. Though they aren't regarded as hockey guys, they're still the type of owners anyone want's running their franchise. They let Lou Lamoriello take care of everything on the hockey end and trust him with their investment while they take care of everything else such as creating brand awareness, capturing fan avidity, etc. Is this not the best possible ownership situation for anyone? 

5. Three Stanley Cups in Twenty Years

The New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers have a combined total of zero Stanley Cups Championships since the Devils won their franchise first in 1995. Though we should't all live in the past, the three Stanley Cups in '95, '00 and '03 is something fans can stash in their back pockets while the other fan bases talk smack.