Can they win it again?

The New Jersey Devils will raise their 2022 Stanley Cup banner on Saturday prior to their home opener against the Detroit Red Wings. Festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. ET on Championship Plaza with Red Carpet Arrivals where the 2022-23 New Jersey Devils players will arrive in the "American Dream" the world longest limo (100ft long) and walk the red carpet prior to their first home game. 

Fanfest, which will take place on Championship Plaza following the conclusion of Red Carpet Arrivals, will feature performances by NJ band Kool and the Gang (of course only there to play « Celebration » on repeat) along with a variety of food trucks, games, activities, and appearances from the Woo Crew, NJ Devil and Alumni Mascots.

The Devils have a new captain!

Prior to the banner raise, the New Jersey Devils will announced their new Captain and assistants for the 2022-23 RHL season. The corner stone of the franchise and true leader Aleksander Barkov will be named Captain. This is definitely a different approach, MatsLP used to name veterans for that role in the past: Dustin Brown (2017-2020), Ryan Getzlaf (2020-2021) and Brent Burns (2021-2022). That said Barkov will be able to rely on a seasoned vet in Zdeno Chara and a great leader in Colton Parayko as his assistant. 

Meet and greet

New Jersey Devils are a pride of the people of Newark and they want to give back. For VIP ticket package holders, Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Jacob Markstrom, Jim Gregory trophy winner MatsLP, Captain Aleksander Barkov, Assistant captain Zeno Chara , Assistant captain Colton Parayko and coach Guy Boucher will sign autographs before the game. 

Can they repeat?

Aleksander Barkov cracked a sly smile. At the NHL North American Player Media Tour in Las Vegas last month, RHL.com asked each player to pick the team, other than his own, that would win the Stanley Cup this season.

"That might win the Stanley Cup maybe, I'll say," Barkov said, laughing. Clearly, if Barkov could have picked his own team, the center would have predicted the New Jersey Devils would repeat as champions. He would have been in line with the vast majority of his colleagues around the League. 

If not the Devils, Barkov said that two team to watch are the Panthers and the Kings: « I mean I think that the MacKinnon trade to the Panthers made them the most stacked team in the RHL and for the Kings, maybe it’s Connor and Leon’s year ». Well GM Notor stated after winning their first two games that it was the year: « it’s happening, this is the year » he said. 

GM MatsLP agreed partly with his captain but clarified that the main goal is to focus on their metropolitan division rivals. « If you ask me, each and every year the Blue Jackets are the team to beat, plus it’s always tough against them in the playoffs. Also last season was quite a battle with the Flyers and the Islanders. All in all, our goal is to win our division and we are taking nothing for granted, each and every team in our division will compete hard for that ». 

Projected home opener lineup

Ehlers - Barkov - Sharangovich
Olofsson - Larkin - Bjorkstrand
Janmark - Evans - Hathaway
Motte - Faksa - Asplund

Toews - Werenski
Parayko - Klingberg
Chara - Attard

Markstrom
Francouz