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Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic recently released his fantasy draft kits for the 2019-20 season. Whether you're a casual player or a fantasy nut, I can't recommend them enough. They're really good, cheap, customizable, you can purchase different tiers based on your needs, and a chunk of the profits will be going to charity.
I know this kind of thing is not for everyone so if all you're curious about is point projections for members of the New Jersey Devils, well, today's your lucky day.
I'm going to post them below and share some thoughts. We'll start with what looks to be a very potent forward group.
It's hardly a surprise to see Taylor Hall leading the way by such a large margin. He's averaged well over a point per game as a member of the Devils despite the team largely struggling to score goals. As much as I love Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, they're probably a year or two away from joining Hall's class as a truly elite point producer.
Dom's model is clearly quite high on Hughes. As a rookie centering the Hart Trophy winner, Hischier managed 50 points. Getting 63 from Hughes would be quite the debut season. I don't think it's an unreasonable projection, though, as Hughes has a more dynamic offensive skillset and should benefit from avoiding the top lines and top pairings of opposing teams.
Gusev is a tough guy to project. I could see his total coming in higher but I certainly wouldn't complain about getting a 50 point winger for $4.5 million. That's the same price range as guys like Artem Anisimov, Alex Killorn and Brandon Sutter, after all.
Simmonds' projection will probably seem low to many but a) not everyone can produce 600 points; b) the goal output is still solid and; c) this isn't prime Simmonds we're talking about here. This is a 31-year-old who has averaged the same amount of points/60 as Michael Raffl, Blake Comeau, Brad Richardson and Milan Lucic over the last *three* seasons.
Lastly, I don't see Joey Anderson playing that many games. I'm comfortable saying John Hayden enters camp higher on the depth chart, and I'd like to think Jesper Boqvist will make a much more enticing case than Anderson for a spot on the team.
To the blueline we go.
Those numbers sound about right for Subban. He is no longer at his peak but the guy has still averaged 50 points/82 games over the last three years. He's had a full summer of intense training to get his body right and joins a Devils team looking pretty stocked up front. There's no reason he can't flirt with 50.
I agree that Subban's presence will probably hurt the outputs of Severson and Butcher. The former won't get as much ice at even-strength, and the latter may not QB PP1. Still, they figure to be very important pieces again on this year's team.
What's really encouraging to see: the Devils have *five* defenders projected for 25+ points. It's hard to argue they are overly optimistic in any individual case, too. These guys can move the puck and they actually have legitimate talent, and depth, in front of them.
The picture certainly wasn't as bright this time last year. I mean, the Devils only had three defenders projected for more than 19 points. This year's squad, assuming Smith is on it, has five over 25. That's a big difference.
I can't remember the last time the Devils iced a defense core with this much talent. They certainly haven't this decade.
Bring on the season!
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