# 2016–17 New Jersey Devils season

The 2016–17 New Jersey Devils season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 35th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. New Jersey did not make the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. Also, this is the first time since the 1985–86 season that the Devils finished last in the conference.

## Standings

Metropolitan Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | 82 | 55 | 19 | 8 | 53 | 263 | 182 | +81 | 118 |
| 2 | x – Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 46 | 282 | 234 | +48 | 111 |
| 3 | x – Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 50 | 24 | 8 | 47 | 249 | 195 | +54 | 108 |
| 4 | x – New York Rangers | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 45 | 256 | 220 | +36 | 102 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 39 | 241 | 242 | −1 | 94 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 32 | 219 | 236 | −17 | 88 |
| 7 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 36 | 31 | 15 | 33 | 215 | 236 | −21 | 87 |
| 8 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 25 | 183 | 244 | −61 | 70 |
Eastern Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | ROW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | ME | x – New York Rangers | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 45 | 256 | 220 | +36 | 102 |
| 2 | AT | x – Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 40 | 27 | 15 | 39 | 251 | 242 | +9 | 95 |
| 3 | ME | New York Islanders | 82 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 39 | 241 | 242 | −1 | 94 |
| 4 | AT | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 42 | 30 | 10 | 38 | 234 | 227 | +7 | 94 |
| 5 | ME | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 32 | 219 | 236 | −17 | 88 |
| 6 | ME | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 36 | 31 | 15 | 33 | 215 | 236 | −21 | 87 |
| 7 | AT | Florida Panthers | 82 | 35 | 36 | 11 | 30 | 210 | 237 | −27 | 81 |
| 8 | AT | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 33 | 36 | 13 | 24 | 207 | 244 | −37 | 79 |
| 9 | AT | Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 31 | 201 | 237 | −36 | 78 |
| 10 | ME | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 28 | 40 | 14 | 25 | 183 | 244 | −61 | 70 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

2016–17 Game Log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Media

This was Sherry Ross's final season as a radio color commentator as she was let go at the end of the season. The next season, Chico Resch would return as color commentator on WFAN with Matt Loughlin.

## Player statistics

Final Stats

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Kyle Palmieri | 80 | 26 | 27 | 53 | 2 | 46 |
| Taylor Hall | 72 | 20 | 33 | 53 | −9 | 32 |
| Travis Zajac | 80 | 14 | 31 | 45 | −8 | 33 |
| Adam Henrique | 82 | 20 | 20 | 40 | −20 | 38 |
| Michael Cammalleri | 61 | 10 | 21 | 31 | −9 | 21 |
| Damon Severson | 80 | 3 | 28 | 31 | −31 | 58 |
| P. A. Parenteau$^‡$ | 59 | 13 | 14 | 27 | −16 | 35 |
| Pavel Zacha | 70 | 8 | 16 | 24 | −17 | 19 |
| John Moore | 63 | 12 | 10 | 22 | −7 | 39 |
| Beau Bennett | 65 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −3 | 20 |
| Miles Wood | 60 | 8 | 9 | 17 | −21 | 86 |
| Andy Greene | 66 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −16 | 8 |
| Kyle Quincey$^‡$ | 53 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 39 |
| Jacob Josefson | 38 | 1 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 16 |
| Devante Smith-Pelly | 53 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −19 | 12 |
| Joseph Blandisi | 27 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −10 | 26 |
| Stefan Noesen$^†$ | 32 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 22 |
| Nick Lappin | 43 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −17 | 17 |
| Steven Santini | 38 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −6 | 14 |
| Ben Lovejoy | 82 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −7 | 39 |
| Jon Merrill | 51 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −9 | 24 |
| Yohann Auvitu | 25 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Sergey Kalinin$^‡$ | 43 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −14 | 15 |
| John Quenneville | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Vernon Fiddler$^‡$ | 39 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −11 | 29 |
| Karl Stollery | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 13 |
| Dalton Prout | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −5 | 30 |
| Blake Coleman | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 27 |
| Reid Boucher$^‡$ | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Seth Helgeson | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Blake Pietila | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −5 | 4 |
| Kevin Rooney | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 4 |
| Blake Speers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Kapla | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| Ben Thomson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4 | 4 |
| Luke Gazdic | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 12 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Cory Schneider | 60 | 59 | 3,472:50 | 20 | 27 | 11 | 163 | 2.82 | 1,781 | 0.908 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Kinkaid | 26 | 23 | 1,476:05 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 65 | 2.64 | 778 | 0.916 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Devils. Stats reflect time with the Devils only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Michael Cammalleri | NHL Second Star of the Week | November 27, 2016 |

## Transactions

The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2016–17 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| June 25, 2016 (2016-06-25) | To Pittsburgh PenguinsDET's 3rd-round pick in 2016 | To New Jersey DevilsBeau Bennett |
| June 29, 2016 (2016-06-29) | To Edmonton OilersAdam Larsson | To New Jersey DevilsTaylor Hall |
| November 12, 2016 (2016-11-12) | To Philadelphia FlyersConditional 7th-round pick in 2017 | To New Jersey DevilsPetr Straka |
| February 4, 2017 (2017-02-04) | To Nashville Predators Vernon Fiddler | To New Jersey Devils 4th-round pick in 2017 |
| February 18, 2017 (2017-02-18) | To Toronto Maple LeafsSergei Kalinin | To New Jersey DevilsViktor Loov |
| March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01) | To Columbus Blue JacketsKyle Quincey | To New Jersey DevilsDalton Prout |
| March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01) | To Nashville PredatorsP. A. Parenteau | To New Jersey Devils6th-round pick in 2017 |
| March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01) | To Florida PanthersReece Scarlett | To New Jersey DevilsShane Harper |
| March 6, 2017 (2017-03-06) | To Ottawa SenatorsBrandon Gormley | To New Jersey DevilsFuture considerations |
| June 17, 2017 (2017-06-17) | To San Jose SharksBOS's 2nd-round pick (49th overall) in 2017 NSH's 4th-round pick (123th overall) in 2017 | To New Jersey DevilsMirco Mueller SJS's 5th-round pick (143rd overall) in 2017 |

### Player signings

| Date | Player | Contract terms (in U.S. dollars) |
| July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) | Devante Smith-Pelly | 2-year, $2.6 million |
| July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) | Jon Merrill | 2-year, $2.275 million |
| July 1, 2016 (2016-07-01) | Beau Bennett | 1-year, $725,000 |
| July 5, 2016 (2016-07-05) | Jacob Josefson | 1-year, $1.1 million |
| July 6, 2016 (2016-07-06) | Sergey Kalinin | 1-year, $800,000 |
| July 7, 2016 (2016-07-07) | Kyle Palmieri | 5-year, $23.25 million |
| July 18, 2016 (2016-07-18) | Reece Scarlett | 1-year, $600,000 |
| August 10, 2016 (2016-08-10) | Reid Boucher | 1-year, $715,000 |
| September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) | Blake Speers | 3-year, $2.775 entry-level contract |
| September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) | Colton White | 3-year, $2.775 entry-level contract |
| October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) | Michael McLeod | 3-year, $4.275 entry-level contract |
| October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) | Nathan Bastian | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| November 11, 2016 (2016-11-11) | Brandon Gignac | 3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract |
| May 9, 2017 (2017-05-09) | Viktor Loov | 1-year, 2-way contract, $650,000 |
| May 12, 2017 (2017-05-12) | Jesper Bratt | 3-year, entry-level contract |

## Draft picks

Below are the New Jersey Devils' selections at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 12$^1$ | Michael McLeod | C | Canada | Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) |
| 2 | 41 | Nathan Bastian | RW | Canada | Mississauga Steelheads (OHL) |
| 3 | 73$^2$ | Joey Anderson | RW | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 3 | 80$^3$ | Brandon Gignac | C | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 102 | Mikhail Maltsev | LW | Russia | Russia U18 (MHL) |
| 4 | 105$^4$ | Evan Cormier | G | Canada | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 5 | 132 | Yegor Rykov | D | Russia | SKA-1946 (MHL) |
| 6 | 162 | Jesper Bratt | LW/RW | Sweden | AIK IF (Swe-2) |
| 7 | 192 | Jeremy Davies | D | Canada | Bloomington Thunder (USHL) |
Notes
* The Ottawa Senators' first-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on June 24, 2016, that sent a first-round pick (11th overall) to Ottawa in exchange for the Islanders' third-round pick in 2016 (80th overall) and this pick.
* The Ottawa Senators' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent a second-round pick in 2015 to Ottawa in exchange for Dallas' second-round pick in 2015 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition—New Jersey will receive a fourth-round pick in 2015 or a third-round pick in 2016 at their choice—was converted when New Jersey did not take the 109th pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
* The New York Islanders' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on June 24, 2016, that sent a first-round pick in 2016 (11th overall) to Ottawa in exchange for a first-round pick in 2016 (12th overall) and this pick.
    Ottawa previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent Shane Prince and a seventh-round pick in 2016 to New York in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition—Ottawa will receive the lower of New York or Vancouver's third-round pick in 2016—was converted on March 25, 2016, when the Canucks were eliminated from playoff contention ensuring that they would finish behind the Islanders in the overall league standings.
* The Boston Bruins' fourth-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent Lee Stempniak to Boston in exchange for a second-round pick in 2017 and this pick.