As each year runs into the next it gets harder for me to get into preseason games – really of any sport. Whether it’s spring training in baseball where most of the games take place during the daytime, or NFL preseason which has been completely de-emphasized due to fewer preseason games and more emphasis on controlled scrimmages for your key players as opposed to playing them when fans are in the stands, I’ve just never gotten into the camp battles for the back end roster spots and first callups. NHL preseason to me is the closest of the three to the real thing, and in most cases you’ll at least have some knowledge of a majority of the players in the game with any roster spot having the potential to be a pivotal choice.

This year has a new element though, with the Devils’ overseas trip to Prague before their opening two games against the Sabres next Friday and Saturday it’s led to a bit of a condensed preseason – at least for the players who matter at the moment. Oh the Devils still have six games for sure, but instead of having the camp fodder and prospects play the early games in camp with the key players getting more of a tuneup late, it’s pretty much been reversed this year with the key players getting in the early preseason games since that’ll be their only action before the trip and there’ll be no preseason games overseas (I can’t fathom why, there was at least one the other time we started a season overseas in 2018), while camp fodder that won’t be a part of the trip will be playing in the last 2-3 games.

Admittedly I’ve watched exactly one period of the first three preseason games and will likely not watch that much of the last three, so if you’re coming here for a recap of those look elsewhere. Our team website has put up streams of the last couple of games – as well as all of the Prospects Challenge last week though, true junkie material right there. I did wind up going to the Prudential Center last night but found a spot on the street so I didn’t have to waste any money on the parking lot (which is now up to $15 at least, from $7 a few years ago hah). With free parking I felt less compelled to stay at last night’s game with the Caps beyond the first intermission, it was more of an in and out trip to get re-used to the drive and see if there was anything new in and around the Prudential Center – short answer seems to be not all that much. So I saw a goal from one of the newest Devils in Brendan Dillon and heard the goal horn, yippidie doo dah.

Thankfully I left before the roof fell in the last two periods in a 5-3 loss, dropping us to 0-3 in the preseason. Which is about as relevant as last year’s undefeated preseason was. For fans, we only care about three things from preseason – the stars’ health, any potential holdouts and what prospects make the team. At least the middle concern got alleviated when Dawson Mercer signed a three-year RFA deal a couple days into camp. I wasn’t truly worried about a holdout, but it was kind of annoying to have negotiations stretch into camp given the odd nature of it. Even the prospect battles don’t usually hold my attention (after all, there is a difference between guys lighting it up in the preseason and doing it when it counts) but this year there is at least one younger player turning heads who could matter, rookie defenseman Seamus Casey, a second-round pick in 2022 who played two seasons at Michigan – one with fellow alum Luke Hughes.

Ironically, Casey is only getting more of an opportunity than anticipated in camp because of Hughes injuring his shoulder during offseason workouts, and he’ll be likely to miss the first few weeks of the season. Also, recent FA signing Brett Pesce has just started skating from his leg injury late last season and he’ll also probably miss the first few games at least. With at least two potential spots to fill on the starting blueline early in the season, players like Casey and fellow rookie defenseman Santeri Hatakka (who played twelve games with the Devils late last season) along with offseason trade acquisition Johnathan Kovacevic are all looking at this camp as an opportunity to stake their claims for playing time.

Early on by all accounts, it seems as if Casey is the leader in the clubhouse to supplement a blueline with vets Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler and Dillon along with second-year young gun Simon Nemec. Especially with Hatakka’s own undisclosed injury sustained earlier this preseason, along with Casey’s strong performances in camp and his first couple of preseason games.

Ironically the rehab for Luke and Pesce takes away some of the intrigue over what coach Sheldon Keefe and GM Tom Fitzgerald might decide, if we had a fully healthy blueline odds are Casey would be this year’s Nemec – sent down to the AHL despite everyone knowing and feeling he was NHL ready because of a logjam. It looks like he’ll definitely get to play in the early season games overseas at this point and likely the actual home opener on October 10th as well. Maybe I’ll get more into the season by then enough to write a proper preview. Admittedly part of my ambivalence to hockey being around the corner is due to the Mets playing huge games this week (and hopefully beyond!) and the Jets actually being relevant for the moment.

Part of it is also my lingering annoyance over last season for the Devils being inarguably one of the most disappointing in franchise history. Where you want to rank last year in comparison to 1995-96 when the Devils missed the playoffs on the back of their first Cup, or 2010-11 which the best team a $60 million cap could buy for $65 million was a grand flop before bringing back Jacques Lemaire at least salvaged some pride in the team’s performance the second half of that season is irrelevant at this point. Now we’re in the show-me stage.

And the first three games couldn’t have been scheduled any worse if you were a Devils hater looking for an excuse to mock us…two games against Lindy Ruff’s Sabres overseas followed by the Leafs coming to town in the Sheldon Keefe invitational (since he just got fired by them months ago). While I’ll probably be able to actually watch both overseas games, I might have a prior commitment I can’t get out of for the home opener. Our second home game is also a weird one – a one PM Monday game against expansion Utah – I haven’t had Columbus Day or whatever it’s being called now off since I was in school, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowd that gets. Hopefully we won’t be 0-3 by then…I’d even take 1-2 tbh, a split with Buffalo and ideally no worse than a competitive loss to the Leafs with a blueline in flux trying to learn a new system with an odd camp.

I suppose once the entire preseason is over assuming there are no surprises among roster moves or choices, that’s when I’ll post again and attempt to do more of a season preview since I doubt I’ll be paying much attention to the rest of preseason. Although on second thought, I might watch a little of tomorrow’s game against the Islanders just to see what’s new with the MSG broadcasts this year apart from the obvious in Rachel Herzog replacing the beloved Erika Wachter as studio host. We know what’s different with the team itself by now (plenty) although having not really been dialed in for the last couple of months since free agency, seeing guys like Tomas Tatar and Stefan Noesen play last night was an ‘oh yeah, almost forgot he was back’ type of acid trip.