It’s no surprise the New Jersey Devils are where they are for the past couple years. They haven’t exactly had the greatest record drafting over the past decade. They have Nico Hischier as the only cornerstone player taken in the 1st round since Travis Zajac in 2004. That’s 13 years where the Devils either traded away or blew their 1st-round picks. It takes an effort to be that bad.
Looking back, there are so many more Matthew Correntes and Mattias Tedenbys than there are Zach Parises. That’s a major reason why the Devils are having major struggles.