# 2020–21 New Jersey Devils season

The 2020–21 New Jersey Devils season was the 47th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 39th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada, the Devils played a shortened 56-game regular season, which consisted of divisional play only, with the Devils being temporarily realigned from the Metropolitan Division to the East Division.
Fan attendance in home games was prohibited until March 1, 2021, per an executive order from Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy. The Devils reopened Prudential Center to spectators on March 2.
On April 20, following a 7–6 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Devils were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

East Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Pittsburgh Penguins | 56 | 37 | 16 | 3 | 29 | 196 | 156 | +40 | 77 |
| 2 | x – Washington Capitals | 56 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 29 | 191 | 163 | +28 | 77 |
| 3 | x – Boston Bruins | 56 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 25 | 168 | 136 | +32 | 73 |
| 4 | x – New York Islanders | 56 | 32 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 156 | 128 | +28 | 71 |
| 5 | e – New York Rangers | 56 | 27 | 23 | 6 | 24 | 177 | 157 | +20 | 60 |
| 6 | e – Philadelphia Flyers | 56 | 25 | 23 | 8 | 17 | 163 | 201 | −38 | 58 |
| 7 | e – New Jersey Devils | 56 | 19 | 30 | 7 | 15 | 145 | 194 | −49 | 45 |
| 8 | e – Buffalo Sabres | 56 | 15 | 34 | 7 | 11 | 138 | 199 | −61 | 37 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.
2020–21 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
  Postponement :

## Player statistics

As of May 11, 2021

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Pavel Zacha | 50 | 17 | 18 | 35 | –11 | 10 |
| Jack Hughes | 56 | 11 | 20 | 31 | –3 | 16 |
| Yegor Sharangovich | 54 | 16 | 14 | 30 | –4 | 4 |
| Jesper Bratt | 46 | 7 | 23 | 30 | +4 | 8 |
| Miles Wood | 55 | 17 | 8 | 25 | –6 | 29 |
| Janne Kuokkanen | 50 | 8 | 17 | 25 | –1 | 14 |
| Ty Smith | 48 | 2 | 21 | 23 | –9 | 22 |
| Damon Severson | 56 | 3 | 18 | 21 | –8 | 29 |
| P. K. Subban | 44 | 5 | 14 | 19 | –16 | 26 |
| Travis Zajac$^‡$ | 33 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 6 |
| Kyle Palmieri$^‡$ | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | –2 | 18 |
| Michael McLeod | 52 | 9 | 6 | 15 | –12 | 42 |
| Ryan Murray | 48 | 0 | 14 | 14 | +3 | 8 |
| Nico Hischier | 21 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −9 | 4 |
| Andreas Johnsson | 50 | 5 | 6 | 11 | –1 | 12 |
| Will Butcher | 23 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −3 | 2 |
| Nathan Bastian | 41 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 21 |
| Nick Merkley | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | –5 | 7 |
| Mikhail Maltsev | 33 | 6 | 3 | 9 | −4 | 4 |
| Jesper Boqvist | 28 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −5 | 2 |
| Sami Vatanen | 30 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 18 |
| Nikita Gusev | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –12 | 0 |
| Matt Tennyson | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Marian Studenic | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –2 | 4 |
| Nolan Foote | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –1 | 0 |
| Connor Carrick | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –2 | 5 |
| Dmitri Kulikov$^‡$ | 38 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 26 |
| Kevin Bahl | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyce Thompson | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –3 | 0 |
| Jonas Siegenthaler$^†$ | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –6 | 2 |
| Colton White | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| A. J. Greer$^†$ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | 35 | 35 | 2,090:37 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 106 | 3.04 | 1,081 | .902 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Wedgewood | 16 | 15 | 888:02 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 46 | 3.11 | 458 | .900 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Comrie | 1 | 1 | 60:00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 33 | .909 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aaron Dell | 7 | 5 | 319:10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 4.14 | 154 | .857 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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.

## Transactions

The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Arizona Coyotes7th-round pick in 2020 | To New Jersey Devils7th-round pick in 2021 |
| October 8, 2020 (2020-10-08) | To Columbus Blue Jackets5th-round pick in 2021 | To New Jersey DevilsRyan Murray |
| October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) | To Toronto Maple LeafsJoey Anderson | To New Jersey DevilsAndreas Johnsson |
| April 7, 2021 (2021-04-07) | To New York IslandersKyle Palmieri Travis Zajac | To New Jersey DevilsA. J. Greer Mason Jobst 1st-round pick in 2021 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2022 |
| April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11) | To Washington CapitalsConditional 3rd-round pick in 2021 | To New Jersey DevilsJonas Siegenthaler |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Edmonton OilersDmitri Kulikov | To New Jersey DevilsConditional 4th-round pick in 2022 |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Brandon Baddock | to Montreal Canadiens | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Corey Crawford | from Chicago Blackhawks | 2-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | John Hayden | to Arizona Coyotes | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Dakota Mermis | to Minnesota Wild | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Kevin Rooney | to New York Rangers | 2-year |
| October 11, 2020 (2020-10-11) | Scott Wedgewood | from Tampa Bay Lightning | 1-year |
| October 22, 2020 (2020-10-22) | Dmitry Kulikov | from Winnipeg Jets | 1-year |
| October 26, 2020 (2020-10-26) | Zane McIntyre | to Dinamo Riga (KHL) | 1-year |
| January 7, 2021 (2021-01-07) | Sami Vatanen | from Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year |
| January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11) | Fredrik Claesson | to San Jose Sharks | 1-year |
| February 1, 2021 (2021-02-01) | Mirco Muller | to Leksands IF (SHL) | 1-year |
| May 27, 2021 (2021-05-27) | Gilles Senn | to HC Davos (NL) | 3-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team |
| January 12, 2021 (2021-01-12) | Eric Comrie | from Winnipeg Jets |
| January 18, 2021 (2021-01-18) | Aaron Dell | from Toronto Maple Leafs |
| February 18, 2021 (2021-02-18) | Eric Comrie | to Winnipeg Jets |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | Sami Vatanen | to Dallas Stars |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| September 30, 2020 (2020-09-30) | Josh Jacobs | 1-year |
| September 30, 2020 (2020-09-30) | Brett Seney | 1-year |
| September 30, 2020 (2020-09-30) | Ben Street | 1-year |
| October 21, 2020 (2020-10-21) | Nick Merkley | 1-year |
| October 29, 2020 (2020-10-29) | Colton White | 1-year |
| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23) | Mackenzie Blackwood | 3-year |
| December 24, 2020 (2020-12-24) | Dawson Mercer | 3-year |
| January 10, 2021 (2021-01-10) | Jesper Bratt | 2-year |
| March 6, 2021 (2021-03-06) | Graeme Clarke | 3-year |
| March 19, 2021 (2021-03-19) | Michael Vukojevic | 3-year |
| March 24, 2021 (2021-03-24) | Tyce Thompson | 2-year |
| March 25, 2021 (2021-03-25) | Aarne Talvitie | 2-year |
| April 19, 2021 (2021-04-19) | Alexander Holtz | 3-year |
| May 5, 2021 (2021-05-05) | Nico Daws | 3-year |
| May 17, 2021 (2021-05-17) | Akira Schmid | 3-year |
| June 15, 2021 (2021-06-15) | Nathan Bastian | 2-year |
| July 6, 2021 (2021-07-06) | Scott Wedgewood | 1-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the New Jersey Devils' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing selections from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was originally scheduled to be held on June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the conclusion of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 7 | Alexander Holtz | RW | Sweden | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) |
| 1 | 18$^1$ | Dawson Mercer | C | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 1 | 20$^2$ | Shakir Mukhamadullin | D | Russia | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL) |
| 3 | 84$^3$ | Nico Daws | G | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 4 | 99 | Jaromir Pytlik | C | Czech Republic | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) |
| 4 | 120$^4$ | Ethan Edwards | D | Canada | Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) |
| 5 | 130 | Artem Shlaine | C | Russia | Shattuck-St. Mary's High School (Minnesota) |
| 6 | 161 | Benjamin Baumgartner | C | Austria | HC Davos (NL) |
* The Arizona Coyotes' first-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on December 16, 2019, that sent Taylor Hall and Blake Speers to Arizona in exchange for Nick Merkley, Kevin Bahl, Nate Schnarr, a conditional third-round pick in 2021 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
* The Vancouver Canucks' first-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 16, 2020, that sent Blake Coleman to Tampa Bay in exchange for Nolan Foote and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
* The Carolina Hurricanes' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 24, 2020, that sent Sami Vatanen to Carolina in exchange for Fredrik Claesson, Janne Kuokkanen and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).
* The Boston Bruins' fourth-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 25, 2019, that sent Marcus Johansson to Boston in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019 and this pick.