OPINION: Four Defining Moments of the Devils 2023-24 Season

While the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning are fighting for their lives to keep their postseason dreams alive, the New Jersey Devils players have already begun their offseason plans.

Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is back home in Switzerland visiting his hometown team, the ZSC Lions , while father of two Curtis Lazar is enjoying time at the aquarium with his adorable family.

Looking back on New Jersey's 2023-24 season, there are four defining moments that, for me, sealed their fate as a team on the outside looking in, and it all begins in St. Louis, Missouri.

1. Jack Hughes' Shoulder Injury on Nov. 3

Jack Hughes began the season on a seven game point streak. In that span, he scored five goals and amassed 18 points. By the end of October, many felt the middle Hughes brother would be in the Hart Trophy conversation as the most valuable player to his team in the National Hockey League come April.

All that changed on Nov. 3 when Hughes crashed into the boards during a game against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. At the time, he led the NHL in scoring with 20 points in 10 games.

He returned to the lineup on Nov. 18 but suffered another upper-body injury in early January that kept him out of the lineup until early February.

On Apr. 9, the Devils announced that "In recent conversations with Jack, his family and representatives, and the Devils' athlete care staff, it was determined that Jack should be held out of game action for the rest of this season and proceed with shoulder surgery."

"It is no secret that he has been struggling through it a little bit," interim head coach Travis Green said. "Kudos to him to continue to play and try to help his team get into the playoffs. We just felt like the timing was right to get it done now."

Hughes appeared in 62 games and earned 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists), and that was him performing below 100 percent. It is hard to say where the team would have been had Hughes been able to keep the pace he began the season with.

2. The Loss of Dougie Hamilton on Nov. 28.

The organization expected regression on the blue line with Ryan Graves' and Damon Severson's departures. The organization did not expect that their top defenseman, Dougie Hamilton , would only appear in 20 games.

Hamilton needed to undergo surgery for a torn left pectoral muscle after sustaining a season-ending injury against the New York Islanders on Nov. 28.

"Kind of just fell awkwardly on my arm, just felt something, and knew something was wrong," Hamilton said during his exit interview. "Unfortunately, it was as bad as it was. Definitely tough thing to happen … I think very tough, physically, mentally, everything. It's hard not being out there with the guys, win and lose, and going through it with them."

"(The loss of Hamilton) impacted the entire cohesiveness of what we wanted to do," Fitzgerald said. "He is one of the best players in the league at his position for a reason. He is here for a reason, and it is tough to replace."

His absence led to a struggling and inconsistent power play and the Devils using, at minimum, three rookie defensemen on a nightly basis: Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec , and Kevin Bahl.

3. The Team's 6-2 Loss After the Stadium Series

"It felt like it was almost a chance for us at that time in the season, beating the team we did; it felt like maybe we could turn a corner," Nathan Bastian said. "We were always looking for something as a group to build off of. That felt like that was maybe what was going to do it for us. Unfortunately, it didn't."

The Devils earned a 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 17 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The vibes were immaculate, and it truly felt like that could have been the turning point the club desperately needed. That is until the Washington Capitals handed them a 6-2 loss three nights later, and then the New York Rangers defeated them 5-1 two nights after that.

Related: Devils' Hischier & Daws Shine in 6-3 Stadium Series Victory Over Flyers

The club was unable to sustain momentum in 2023-24, and looking back, the 2024 Stadium Series was another example of a squandered opportunity.

4. Their California Road Trip

A road trip that began with so much promise after they earned a 7-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks ended in misery. Back-to-back losses to the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings ultimately sealed Lindy Ruff's fate as head coach as he was relieved of his duties on Mar. 4, the day after they concluded their trip.

A sweep of the club's three-game California road trip would have kept the Devils in a good position in the hunt for a wild card spot. Still, in keeping with the theme of their 2023-24 season, New Jersey could not build on the momentum of their victory over the Sharks, which helped solidify the team's eventual fate.

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