CHICAGO — We see it often in sports. A team has a successful season and enters the next year believing the same magic will happen again. One team that will be interesting to watch during the 2018-19 NHL season is the New Jersey Devils. After making a 27-point jump in the standings, they reached the postseason for the first time since 2012.
General manager Ray Shero made few changes to his roster, but they will get a healthy Cory Schneider back in net after Keith Kinkaid helped vault the Devils into playoff contention while the No. 1 was out injured.
After a taste of the playoffs, Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is eager to get going again and is confident that last season wasn’t a fluke.
“It’s easy to get complacent with us making the playoffs last year, but I don’t really see that with our group,” Hall told Pro Hockey Talk during the NHL Player Media Tour on Thursday. “We have a really hard-working group of guys and a lot of guys that are still playing for a lot -- whether that’s contracts and their future and everything like that. I’m looking forward to seeing if our young guys can take a step and really lead our team. If we can stay healthy, that’s probably the biggest thing for every team in the league, is just staying healthy — if we can do that we’ll be fine.”
In his third season behind the Devils’ bench head coach John Hynes pushed the right buttons and got help from Hall’s MVP play to get his team to the postseason. The additions of Marcus Johansson, Sami Vatanen, Brian Boyle and 2017 No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier were the ingredients that meshed well with the coach’s system and resulted in a winning season.
Hall credits his career year to his relationship with Hynes.
“I think he’s a guy that gets a lot from me, personally. He knows how to motivate me and knows what to say and what not to say,” he said. “For our group, he did a great job for us last year. It wasn’t just in the games coaching, it was off the ice, dictating how hard our practices were, how often we practiced, his messages to the team, how he wanted us to play. I think that really culminated into us having a successful season. He’s a coach that I have a great relationship with and I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
As the Devils surged up the Metropolitan Division standings, Hall went on an offensive tear, ripping off a 26-game point streak, something he believes may not happen again. He would finish with 39 goals and 93 points, both career highs, and become the first player in franchise history to win the Hart Trophy.
Like the Devils as team, Hall is confident he can remain at the level he reached last season.
“As far as being as successful player, a successful offensive player, I have no doubt that I can do that again this season for the Devils and I’m excited to see what happens,” he said.
MORE PHT DEVILS COVERAGE:
• Under Pressure: Cory Schneider
• Three questions facing the Devils
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.