New Jersey Devils: Biggest questions entering the 2018-2019 season
Can Taylor Hall put the team on his back again?
The most alarming thing about Devils last season was how far ahead Taylor Hall was of everyone on his team’s points list.
Hall led the Devils with 93 points. That is an impressive number and clearly got a lot of recognition.
However, the next Devil on the list was rookie sensation Nico Hischier at just 52 points.
That is a huge gap between points scored top players. It can also hurt the Devils how irreplaceable Hall is.
He was far and away the most productive player on the team and he would often carry them to wins by himself last year.
There are MVPs in this league who score a lot and are great, then there is Taylor Hall and what he did for his team last season.
Now, the biggest concern going into this season for the black and red is if anyone can close that gap?
light. Related Story. What should your expectations for the Devils be this year?
While it is not bad that Hall scored that much, obviously that is ideal, it would be a poor strategy to have no one else to rely on.
Even Sidney Crosby has Evgeni Malkin.
If the Devils want to return to the playoffs, they will need to allow room for Taylor Hall to make mistakes, by that, Hall will not likely be as ridiculously good as he wast last year.
So, the best way to make up for that is to have a player like Nico Hischier step up and score some goals. Nico’s ice vision is what makes him important, so the assists will come.
But if the Devils want to be a threat this year, they will need Nico to score a lot more goals and be able to be a pest to opposing defenses.
Another player who can step up is Kyle Palmieri, He scored the second most goals on the Devils last season but still 15 less than Hall.
It is highly unlikely that Taylor Hall will win the MVP again. That is a tall order. He will still have a great and productive season.
But, in order for the Devils’ formula to not break, others will need to step up to. Hall almost single-handedly carrying the Devils to a top eight spot in the conference will not work again, that is too difficult.
So, yes, Hall can technically put the team on his back again. He is the leader. However, the real question is if it would work again for him to be that far ahead and that answer is a resounding no.