No Looking Back | THREE THINGS

What happened with this year's Devils, who finished third in the league with 112 points, was the next phase in a franchise's life cycle. It's the beginning of a window-to-win opening, backed by a young - now much more experienced - group of ultra-talented players. With just a day and a half gone by since their Second Round elimination, it was enough time to reflect on all that this group had accomplished - a lot.

As the 2022-23 New Jersey Devils packed up their locker room stalls Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center, no one was hanging their heads. From where they were just last season, to where they've gotten themselves to in the present, and what it means for the future, captain Nico Hischier and his team had a lot to say about where they were standing on May 13.

1. The Past

There wasn't much time given to the past, because that is where it stays - in the past. There were, however, a few nods to the years gone by today as the team reflected on not only the season they just had but also how far they had come over the last few years. Most notably, for players on the roster who have been in New Jersey for a while but never had true playoff experience (save for five games in 2018), it meant a lot to this group to be conducting exit interviews in mid-May.

"Just being here, out after the Second Round in mid-May, last few years it's been done for us way earlier, just being here makes me proud right now, having these interviews at this time," Nico Hischier, one of only a handful of players who were with the Devils during the five-game playoff experience in 2018, said.

It was a testament to the big steps the organization took this season and the overall feeling as the team prepares for their off-season. In the end, this group of Devils made it as one of the final eight teams left standing in the National Hockey League, finishing their year well beyond the early-April date of years past.

"This year, from all the struggle years, all the tough years packing up our bags in the beginning of April, that feels really good as an organization that we've been taking all these steps over the years and doing it together," Jesper Bratt added.

It's not lost on anyone in this group that it has been a process to get to this point and the patience of it all is never easy, but we are beginning to see it pay off.

"The whole rebuilding process, it does take time," Nathan Bastian said, "this year was a step in the right direction, it was a big step."

2. The Present

This season has been tremendous. The team and individual accomplishments are a lengthy list, from 112 points, a franchise-best 52 wins, tying a record for most road wins (28), a 13-game win streak, and an 11-game road win streak, the accolades go on and on. This season had just about everything as the team took a major step which left the group feeling indisputably proud.

"I'm very proud of what we accomplished this year as a team," Dougie Hamilton reflected, "I think you look back and when you reflect on the season, at the start of the year and the stuff we were talking about, you can kind of see what we accomplished. They're good memories, win streak, the records, the team records, and all that stuff, I think we have a lot to be proud of."

It started right from the beginning of the season, that feeling that the club was taking the next step in its evolution. Where it would take them, they didn't know, but this season just had that aura, that the next phase was in progress.

"Early when we had that winning streak, that set the tone for our season," Hischier said, "That's where we got together and understood that we can be that team, that team that we always wanted to be. If we play the right way, I think, everybody in here did a great job this year. It's been fun to be around these guys this year, off the ice and on the ice playing with them. We're building something here since a couple of years now already. It's great to see that a season like that shows you you're on the right track."

"We would have liked to go deeper," Jack Hughes added, "but for us to get to where we got it's pretty good coming from what happened the previous year. It's still, you're frustrated but at the end of the day you know, it's a pretty remarkable year for us."

"It's definitely been a really fun season, really proud of this group," Hischier said. "Think we proved a lot of people wrong and we've always believed in each other here. We've shown more. So we're excited for what's coming up for us but I think we can sit back a bit now, and look at how good of a year we've had. And we definitely can be proud of that."

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3. The Future

Proud yes, but not satisfied, as the team looks forward to what is to come as they ponder the 2023-24 NHL season. The off-season will be shorter than this group is used to and next season will be here before they all know it.

And they have big expectations of themselves and that's exactly what they want. This group is fueled by what they accomplished and are further motivated by raised expectations.

"A season like that shows that you're on the right track," Nico said, "but now expectations are going to be higher but that's what you want, that's what we want. We have this winning mentality here and building this culture up, I'm excited already for next year."

Not only is this off-season shorter because they participated in two rounds of the playoffs, but it also adds an extra layer to the summer mentality. Looking ahead, Jesper Bratt articulated how summer motivation has changed with a taste of real success.

"I think the motivation this summer, compared to last summer is even more," he explained. "Because we took the step in the right direction and we did something really good, but we're still far from the end goal. I feel like for us, we felt like playing against Carolina they were the hungrier team, they were doing the hard work and the will and the compete better than us. I feel like that is going to have to be our goal as individuals too to get that work done, to find that little edge to bring that motivation into the summer, combined with a lot of positivity that this was a good year, we did a lot of good things, I think that's a good combination you need for the summer."

When the team reunites for the start of next season, they know they will no longer be taking anyone by surprise and that's okay with them. This is where they want to be and have every intention to keep it going.

"Everyone is just saying, they're young, they're young, but we were a young team that took major steps," Jack Hughes said, "now I think people are starting to realize that we could be a really good team for the next bunch of years. We did a good job, and we're looking to build off that."

Added the captain: "A season like that shows that you're on the right track. But now expectations are going to be higher but that's what you want, that's what we want. We have this winning mentality here and building this culture up, I'm excited already for next year."