Missing the playoffs means the New Jersey Devils have a long offseason to think about all of the things that went wrong in the 2023-24 season. Over the summer, Tom Fitzgerald will make changes to the roster and the coaching staff to piece together a stronger team. The Devils hope to turn things around in 2024-25.
The team as a whole fell short of expectations for a variety of reasons. Aside from injuries, coaching decisions and other factors, several players failed to live up to individual expectations. While the disappointing season doesn’t fall squarely on one player’s shoulders, regression contributed to the team’s struggles.
In order to contribute next season, several players need to return to form or elevate their level of play. Here are three Devils who need to bounce back in 2024-25.
3. Nathan Bastian
In order to maintain his position as a fourth line winger, the Devils re-signed Nathan Bastian to a two-year contract during the previous offseason. Despite his lack of goal scoring prowess, Bastian has always been a physically strong player who can exert pressure and energise his team. Prior to his injury from Matt Rempe, Bastian didn’t provide the Devils with as much pop as they would have liked in 2023–24. He missed the last two months of the season.
With 12 points in 54 games, Bastian’s point total was slightly lower than it was the season before. On the ice, he was less noticeable than before. Although he did manage 143 hits in 54 games, he was neither creating offence nor emerging victorious in puck battles. Bastian skated for 12:26 minutes on average per game in 2022–2023. His 2023–24 average was a mere 10:09. It says a lot that his coaches decided not to use Bastian on the ice as much as he once did.
It was a difficult season for Bastian to adjust because of his shifting line-mates. His days of being dependable with the BMW queue, where Miles Wood and Michael McLeod were his regular linemates, are long gone. The loss of McLeod undoubtedly affected the entire team, but Bastian must have taken it especially hard.
Bastian needs to contribute significantly to the fourth line in order to stay in the game because he isn’t really someone who can be moved up in the lineup. During the Stadium Series, he scored two goals and created a viral goal celebration, which turned into his season’s high point. Next year, the Devils will require more from Bastian.