An NHL team can miss the playoffs for any number of reasons. Not scoring goals is a pretty big one.
The New Jersey Devils scored the fewest goals in the NHL last season, led by Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri with 30 apiece. After their contributions, the next highest goal scorer added only 14 tallies, and only four skaters notched double digit goals.
Finding a few more goals, whether through a pure goal scorer or a creative passer, could allow the Devils to gain a few more points in the standings and secure a playoff spot, rather than fizzling in the last couple of weeks of the season. 
New Jersey has not been a big player in free agency, so the draft is the path to finding these goals.
Drafting at the eleventh spot in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, the Devils will look to address their offensive woes. While some of the bigger names will be off the board, New Jersey will still be able to find a key offensive component.
Mississauga of the OHL will get their second first-round pick this year, as the Devils will select Michael McLeod, a play-making center.
Though McLeod will be the fourth straight center drafted in the first round by the Devils, the team’s lack of offensive punch necessitates the pick. 2013 first rounder Stefan Matteau, unable to find a steady spot in the team’s rotation, was traded to Montreal for big winger Devante Smith-Pelly.
John Quenneville, 2014’s top pick is currently playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Pavel Zacha has already debuted for the team, playing in his first NHL game late in the year and notching a pair of assists against Toronto after being selected in last year’s first round.
Their last first round defender Adam Larsson (2011) plays a key role on their blueline, but at this stage in the draft, NHL ready defensemen are not readily available. Also, their goaltending situation seems stable, with Corey Schneider under contract until 2022.
Michael McLeod of the Mississauga Steelheads.
McLeod brings to the table an array of skills. The most readily evident skill is his speed. He played alongside fellow soon-to-be first round pick Alexander Nylander with the Mississauga Steelheads, notching 21 goals this season, including four short-handed goals. This was a big jump from the previous year, when he scored only 12 goals as an OHL rookie.
His development continues, and his speed will help ease the transition to hockey at the highest level. His assist numbers, up to 40 last season from 17 the year before, bode well for the offensively challenged Devils. New Jersey has garnered a reputation as an older, plodding team, and while some of their best players are older (Andy Green, Travis Zajac and Mike Cammalleri are all on the plus side of 30), the speed McLeod brings to the ice should help the team change that reputation, as well as gather a few more standings points.
As the 2015-16 NHL season drew to a close, the New Jersey Devils found themselves competing for one of the final playoff berths in the East. While many teams below them in the standings found that position enviable, their eventual shortfall leaves them in one of the worst positions in sports.
While a low-seeded playoff berth could lead to a deep run, as the Devils themselves showed the last time they made a Stanley Cup Final, in 2012 as a six seed, missing the playoffs in this manner leaves the team without a reasonable chance to move up in the draft lottery. This limbo between competing for a championship and rebuilding around a high draft pick is a no man’s land in which a team can become mired for years without a chance of moving up or down. The Devils, new GM Ray Shero and coach John Hynes should be commended for trying to make the most of their roster, rather than tanking to try for the uber-talented youngsters available at the top of the draft.
“With the 11th pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the New Jersey Devils select, center Michael McLeod of the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads.”
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