2017–18 New Jersey Devils season

The 2017–18 New Jersey Devils season was the 44th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 36th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season. The Devils received the first overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft for the first time in franchise history by winning the draft lottery held on April 29, 2017. They used this pick to select Nico Hischier who was also the first Swiss player to be selected first overall. Taylor Hall set a Devils record for the longest point streak at 26 games, which is also the longest point streak in the 2017–18 season. The team also set their best start in franchise history, going 9–2–0 in their first 11 games of the season. This season also saw the team trade Adam Henrique in exchange for Sami Vatanen and also acquired Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner. The season also saw the franchise successfully make it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Devils would lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4–1 in the First Round.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
==Schedule and results==
===Preseason===
The preseason schedule was published on June 11, 2017, which includes seven games (two at home and five as visitors).
2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)	2017 preseason game log: 5–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 3–1–1)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 18 	Washington 	1–4 	New Jersey 	 	Kinkaid 	6,310 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 20 	New Jersey 	3–4 	NY Rangers 	OT 	Blackwood 	17,967 	1–0–1 	Recap
3 	September 21 	New Jersey 	4–1 	Montreal 	 	Kinkaid 	21,288 	2–0–1 	Recap
4 	September 23 	NY Rangers 	1–2 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	12,208 	3–0–1 	Recap
5 	September 25 	New Jersey 	0–3 	NY Islanders 	 	Kinkaid 	5,615 	3–1–1 	Recap
6 	September 25 	New Jersey 	8–1 	Ottawa 	 	— 	— 	4–1–1 	Recap
7 	September 27 	New Jersey 	4–1 	Washington 	 	Schneider 	14,858 	5–1–1 	Recap
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.	
Notes:
 Indicates split-squad.
 Game was played at Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
===Regular season===
The regular season schedule was released on June 22, 2017.
2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log 	2017–18 game log
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October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)	October: 8–2–0 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 4–0–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 7 	Colorado 	1–4 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	16,514 	1–0–0 	2 	Recap
2 	October 9 	New Jersey 	6–2 	Buffalo 	 	Schneider 	17,697 	2–0–0 	4 	Recap
3 	October 11 	New Jersey 	6–3 	Toronto 	 	Schneider 	19,103 	3–0–0 	6 	Recap
4 	October 13 	Washington 	5–2 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	13,458 	3–1–0 	6 	Recap
5 	October 14 	New Jersey 	3–2 	NY Rangers 	 	Kinkaid 	18,006 	4–1–0 	8 	Recap
6 	October 17 	Tampa Bay 	4–5 	New Jersey 	SO 	Schneider 	13,176 	5–1–0 	10 	Recap
7 	October 19 	New Jersey 	5–4 	Ottawa 	OT 	Kinkaid 	13,364 	6–1–0 	12 	Recap
8 	October 20 	San Jose 	3–0 	New Jersey 	 	Kinkaid 	14,381 	6–2–0 	12 	Recap
9 	October 27 	Ottawa 	4–5 	New Jersey 	SO 	Kinkaid 	13,763 	7–2–0 	14 	Recap
10 	October 28 	Arizona 	3–4 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	15,132 	8–2–0 	16 	Recap
===Playoffs===
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
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Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1	Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay won 4–1
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap
1 	April 12 	New Jersey 	2–5 	Tampa Bay 	 	Kinkaid 	19,092 	0–1 	Recap
2 	April 14 	New Jersey 	3–5 	Tampa Bay 	 	Kinkaid 	19,092 	0–2 	Recap
3 	April 16 	Tampa Bay 	2–5 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	16,514 	1–2 	Recap
4 	April 18 	Tampa Bay 	3–1 	New Jersey 	 	Schneider 	16,514 	1–3 	Recap
5 	April 21 	New Jersey 	1–3 	Tampa Bay 	 	Schneider 	19,029 	1–4 	Recap
==Player statistics==
As of April 16, 2018
===Skaters===
 Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	76	39	54	93	14 	34
 	82	20	32	52	10 	26
 	62	24	20	44	–1 	30
 	81	5 	39	44	1 	8
 	72	13	22	35	−16	18
 	76	19	13	32	–6 	84
† 	57	3 	25	28	–1 	32
 	72	13	14	27	12 	36
 	62	12	14	26	–8 	25
 	59	12	14	26	10 	20
 	79	13	12	25	7 	50
 	69	8 	17	25	-3 	30
 	76	9 	15	24	−8 	42
 	69	13	10	23	−9 	45
 	81	7 	11	18	3 	47
 	59	8 	7 	15	–20	10
 	29	5 	9 	14	–11	14
‡ 	24	4 	10	14	−5 	6
 	81	3 	10	13	–9 	21
† 	17	3 	10	13	–4 	13
 	36	2 	8 	10	0 	21
 	33	3 	6 	9 	–2 	6
 	57	2 	6 	8 	7 	25
† 	21	2 	3 	5 	0 	4
 	28	0 	4 	4 	1 	4
 	3 	1 	0 	1 	2 	2
 	2 	0 	0 	0 	–3 	0
 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
‡ 	4 	0 	0 	0 	–2 	13
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	5	2	4	6	–1	6
 	5	1	3	4	0 	0
 	5	1	2	3	–4	6
 	5	2	0	2	1 	4
 	5	1	1	2	0 	0
 	5	0	2	2	–4	6
 	5	1	0	1	1 	2
 	5	1	0	1	–2	0
 	5	1	0	1	–4	0
 	4	1	0	1	1 	4
 	4	1	0	1	–1	0
 	5	0	1	1	–1	12
 	5	0	0	0	1 	14
 	5	0	0	0	–1	14
 	5	0	0	0	–1	6
 	4	0	0	0	–1	12
 	3	0	0	0	–2	0
 	3	0	0	0	–2	0
 	2	0	0	0	–1	10
 	2	0	0	0	1 	0
 	2	0	0	0	–2	0
 	1	0	0	0	0 	0
 	1	0	0	0	0 	0
===Goaltenders===
 Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	40	40	2,333	17	16	6	114	2.93	1,228	.907	1	0	0	0
 	41	38	2,298	26	10	3	106	2.77	1,214	.913	1	0	0	0
† 	4 	3 	208 	1 	2 	0	11 	3.19	102 	.903	0	0	0	0
 	3 	1 	124 	0 	1 	0	3 	3.10	55 	.945	0	0	0	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	2	2	92 	0	2	9	5.87	46 	.804	0	0	0	0
 	4	3	202	1	2	6	1.78	113	.950	0	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.
==Transactions==
The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Washington CapitalsFLA's 2nd-round pick in 2018TOR's 3rd-round pick in 2018	To New Jersey DevilsMarcus Johansson 	
 	To Arizona CoyotesScott Wedgewood 	To New Jersey DevilsCGY's 5th-round pick in 2018 	
 	To Anaheim DucksJoseph BlandisiAdam HenriqueNJD's 3rd-round pick in 2018 	To New Jersey DevilsSami VatanenConditional 3rd-round pick in 2019 or 2020	
 	To Arizona CoyotesRyan Kujawinski 	To New Jersey DevilsMichael Latta 	
 	To Calgary FlamesDalton Prout 	To New Jersey DevilsEddie Lack 	
 	To Minnesota WildViktor Loov 	To New Jersey DevilsChristoph BertschyMario Lucia 	
 	To New York RangersYegor Rykov2nd-round pick in 2018 	To New Jersey DevilsMichael Grabner 	
 	To Edmonton OilersJ. D. Dudek3rd-round pick in 2019 	To New Jersey DevilsPatrick Maroon 	
===Free agents acquired===
Date	Player 	Former team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
 	Brian Boyle 	Toronto Maple Leafs 	2-year, $5.1 million 	
 	Brian Gibbons 	Albany Devils 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Bracken Kearns	New York Islanders 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Brian Strait 	Winnipeg Jets 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Drew Stafford 	Boston Bruins 	1-year, $800,000 	
 	Will Butcher 	Denver Pioneers 	2-year, $1.85 million entry-level contract	
 	Jimmy Hayes 	Boston Bruins 	1-year, $700,000 	
 	Cam Johnson 	North Dakota Fighting Hawks	1-year, $925,000 entry-level contract 	
 	Egor Yakovlev 	SKA Saint Petersburg 	1-year, $925,000 entry-level contract 	
===Free agents lost===
Date	Player 	New team 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars)	Ref
 	Beau Bennett 	St. Louis Blues 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Michael Cammalleri 	Los Angeles Kings 	1-year, $1 million 	
 	Seth Helgeson 	New York Islanders 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Jacob Josefson 	Buffalo Sabres 	1-year, $700,000 	
 	Luke Gazdic 	Calgary Flames 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Devante Smith-Pelly	Washington Capitals 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Andrew MacWilliam 	Rochester Americans 	1-year 	
 	Yohann Auvitu 	Edmonton Oilers 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Carter Camper 	Cleveland Monsters 	2-year 	
 	Christoph Bertschy 	Lausanne 	4-year 	
 	Yaroslav Dyblenko 	SKA Saint Petersburg	4-year 	
===Claimed via waivers===
Player	Previous team	Date	Ref
 	 	 	
===Lost via waivers===
Player	New team	Date	Ref
 	 	 	
===Players released===
Date	Player 	Via 	Ref
 	Yaroslav Dyblenko	Contract termination	
===Lost via retirement===
Date	Player	Ref
===Player signings===
Date	Player 	Contract terms(in U.S. dollars) 	Ref
 	Keith Kinkaid 	2-year, $1.5 million 	
 	Nico Hischier 	3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract	
 	Joseph Blandisi	2-year, $1.36 million 	
 	Mirco Mueller 	2-year, $1.7 million 	
 	Scott Wedgewood	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Blake Coleman 	1-year, $660,000 	
 	Stefan Noesen 	1-year, $660,000 	
 	Blake Pietila 	2-year, $667,500 	
 	Kevin Rooney 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Ben Thomson 	1-year, $650,000 	
 	Damon Severson 	6-year, $25 million 	
 	Brett Seney 	2-year, $1.65 million entry-level contract 	
 	Marián Studenič	3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract	
 	Joey Anderson 	3-year, $2.775 million entry-level contract	
 	Brian Strait 	2-year, $1.35 million contract extension 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the New Jersey Devils' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Round	# 	Player	Pos	Nationality 	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 	1 	 	C 	Switzerland 	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2 	36 	 	C 	Sweden 	Brynäs IF (SHL)
3 	631 	 	LW 	Sweden 	Färjestad BK (J20 SuperElit)
3 	812 	 	D 	United States	Chicago Steel (USHL)
4 	98 	 	RW 	Russia 	Prince George Cougars (WHL)
5 	129 	 	G 	Switzerland 	HC Davos (NLA)
5 	1433	 	RW 	Slovakia 	Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
6 	160 	 	C 	Finland 	Blues U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)
7 	191 	 	D 	Canada 	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
7 	205 	 	D 	Russia 	Dynamo Moscow (KHL)
7 	214 	 	D 	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
Notes:
# The Colorado Avalanche's third-round pick went the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent Eric Gelinas to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
# The San Jose Sharks' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as compensation for San Jose signing Peter DeBoer as their head coach on May 28, 2015.
# The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on June 17, 2017 that sent Boston's second-round pick and Nashville's fourth-round pick both in 2017 to San Jose in exchange for Mirco Mueller and this pick.
==References==
Category:New Jersey Devils seasons
New Jersey Devils