The next team is the New Jersey Devils. Wow, who would have thought we would find the Devils in second place in the Metropolitan division at this point in the season. This year was supposed to be a bridge year for them, make some moves in the offseason to improve their roster and be fighting for one of the two wildcard spots at the end of the season. The Devils have exceeded everyone's expectations this season, and have proved themselves as legitimate contenders. Jack Hughes has been absolutely incredible this season. He is coming off of the best year of his career that was ended early by injury, but is now on pace for 100 points and 50 goals. Hughes isn't the only player who has elevated their play this season, former first overall pick, Nico Hischier has been excellent this season and is showing why the Devils took him at 1 in the 2017 draft. As it stands, Hischier is just under a point per game and has only missed one game this season when he has been quite injury prone so far in his career. Other players like Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, and goalie Vitek Vanecek have been outstanding for the Devils this year and are other key cogs in the team's success. The Devils find themselves looking to add some more scoring on the wing at the trade deadline, and one name that keeps coming up in trade talks is Sharks' winger, Timo Meier. If New Jersey can manage to trade for Meier, this team will solidify themselves as an offensive juggernaut. Meier is a proven scorer and is on pace for 50 goals this year on a subpar San Jose team. While he may have an expiring contract, the Devils would more than likely make some moves in the offseason to ensure that they retain him in the event they trade for him. The coming weeks are ones to watch for the Devils, Jack Hughes is labeled as week-to-week with an upper body injury and if they find themselves lacking scoring in his absence, you could see Timo Meier in red and black sooner rather than later.
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