3 reasons why Devils missed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

It is somewhat shocking that the New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs. It’s obvious that the roster is loaded with remarkably talented players like Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Those players alone should have given the Devils a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup, but the team rarely played up to its talent level after a very hot start.

Strangely, the Devils missed the playoffs even though they got out of the gate quickly. The Devils lost their season opener, but they reeled off eight consecutive wins to serve notice that they were a team that could light up the scoreboard and dominate opponents.

However, after their brilliant start, the Devils became an inconsistent team that rarely played to its potential after that. The lack of consistency was a shocker, considering the Devils finished in third place in the Metropolitan Division a year ago that earned them a first-round matchup with the second-place Carolina Hurricanes.

That matchup did not go well as the explosive lost in five games, but the belief around the NHL is that the Devils would build off an excellent season that saw them go 42-33-7 for 91 points. They had a crew of talented young players and an offensive minded coach in Sheldon Keefe who appeared to know how to get the best out of them.

Hughes brought explosiveness to the Devils, but they failed to capitalize

But that was not the case as the Devils did not mesh after their hot start. While they had one of the most dangerous and explosive players in the league in Jack Hughes, the Devils were not able to build off the surge of adrenaline that the quicksilver center brought with him after he returned home from his spectacular gold-medal performance in the Milan Olympics

Hughes has scored 77 points in 60 games, with 27 goals and 50 brilliant assists. Left wing Jesper Bratt was another clutch performer for the Devils with 22 goals and 49 assists for 71 points, but the Devils rarely got enough offense to overcome their leaky defense. They have scored 230 goals this season but they have given up 250.

Former general manager Tom Fitzgerald paid the price for the team’s shortcomings when he was fired late in the season. It seemed that Fitzgerald had provided the team with a slew of talented players and that he had done a decent job of providing Keefe with players that should have been capable of one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference.

Keefe’s contribution has been questionable

However, Keefe seemed unable to keep his team focused on the task at hand. The Devils faced a series of important games in late March and early April. They would have had to string wins together to get back into playoff contention.

However, they went 3-4-1 in the games that mattered most, and their high-powered offense failed to come through in games against the Flyers and the Penguins, and they also suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the lowly Rangers. If the Devils were going to make the playoffs, they couldn’t let a game against the Rangers slip through their grasp.

Keefe was apparently incapable of rallying his team when they faced key games. He had faced a similar situation when he was the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that has remained an issue with the Devils.

Overall defense a problem for the Devils

The The Devils regularly left their goaltenders out to dry during the season. They divided the goaltending responsibilities between Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen.

Markstrom has played in 44 games this season and he compiled a 23-19-1 record with a 3.07 goals against average and an .883 save percentage. When the Devils needed a shutdown performance in goal, Markstrom was incapable of delivering throughout the majority of the year.

Allen might have been just a tad better than Markstrom. He had a 17-17-2 record but his 2.74 GAA was impressive. He also had a .904 save percentage.

The defensive performance of the Devils’ blue liners was also lacking. Their two most talented defensemen are Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes. Neither one of them are stout defenders. This is an issue that has to be addressed in the offseason.

Hamilton’s name was involved in trade rumors for several months, but the Devils were never able to pull the trigger on deal involving the former first-round draft choice of the Boston Bruins. Hamilton has scored 12 goals and 26 assists, but it was clear the Devils were expecting quite a bit more from him this season.

The Devils have high hopes that Luke Hughes will be able to follow in the footsteps of brother Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild and dominate from the blue line. He is not at that point yet.

Luke Hughes suffered a shoulder injury in January and ended up getting placed on long-term Injured Reserve following surgery. He is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in September.

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