It seems counter-intuitive to say but last season was great for the long term future of the New Jersey Devils. For the last few seasons, the Devils have been outside of the playoffs but not high enough to get a top 5 pick. Luckily for them, the lottery ball fell their way and Nico Hischier fell into their laps. They're still going to be bad this year (if they don't finish last in the Metro, it's a miracle) because their defensemen are an abomination but how bad is going to come down to goaltending and the progression of their young talent. The good news is their top six has a fair amount of talent for fantasy hockey so they're not a complete wasteland. Let's take a look at what the Devils are working with:
In these parts, we're a big supporter of the Jets for fantasy hockey. Going back to when I started writing here, the Jets love started with Blake Wheeler. An unheralded superstar, Wheeler has never received the credit he deserves for his consistent level of play. Another year goes by and it's another year where Wheeler is pushing the top ten overall forwards. Wheeler continued his recent hot streak with a goal and two assists with two shots in the 3-2 win over the Flyers. That brings his totals to 22+41 in 73 games with 43 PIM and 230 SOG. The safety he provides is the main reason why I ranked him 21st overall in the preseason and it looks like Wheeler is going to reach that value. So where will he be next season? He's going to turn 31 before next season starts which means he's likely to start marginally declining as he exits his prime. However, his quality of teammate is going to continue to improve as the rest of the Jets core moves towards their prime. Is he going to be worth a second pick again? It's going to be pretty close but at the least, Wheeler will be a high third round pick. I don't see him falling outside of my top 30. Let's take a look at the action around the league the last two nights:
