Devils add veterans Palat, Smith to complement young core

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2022-23 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the New Jersey Devils:

2021-22 season: 27-46-9, seventh in Metropolitan Division; did not qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Ondrej Palat, F:The 31-year-old signed a five-year contract July 14. He had 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 77 regular-season games last season and 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. ... Vitek Vanecek, G:The 26-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on July 8 and will compete for playing time with Mackenzie Blackwood. Vanecek, who was a restricted free agent and signed a three-year contract on July 19, was 20-12-6 with a 2.67 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games (39 starts) last season and 1-1 with a 4.21 GAA and .863 save percentage in two postseason games. … John Marino, D:The 25-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 16 for defenseman Ty Smith and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Marino had 25 points (one goal, 24 assists) in 81 regular-season games last season and one assist in seven playoff games. … Erik Haula, F:The 31-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins on July 13 for forward Pavel Zacha. Haula had 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 61 regular-season games, and three points (one goal, two assists) in seven playoff games last season. ... Brendan Smith, D: The 33-year-old signed a two-year contract on July 13. He had eight points (four goals, four assists), 73 hits and 40 blocked shots in 45 regular-season games, and four points (one goal, three assists) in 14 playoff games last season. ... Andrew Brunette, associate coach: The 48-year-old, who was hired July 15, is expected to run the power play. He finished second in voting for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year after going 51-18-6 following a 7-0-0 start in the regular season after he replaced Joel Quenneville on Oct. 29. Florida won the Presidents' Trophy last season for having the best record in the regular season (58-18-6).

Key departures

Ty Smith, D:He had 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 66 regular-season games last season and has 43 points (seven goals, 36 assists) in 114 NHL games. … Pavel Zacha, F: He had an NHL career-high 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 70 games last season. ... P.K. Subban, D:The unrestricted free agent had 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 77 games last season.

On the cusp

Alexander Holtz, F: The 20-year-old, who was the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, had two assists in nine games with the Devils last season and 51 points (26 goals, 25 assists) in 52 games with Utica of the American Hockey League. ... Simon Nemec, D:The 18-year-old, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, signed a three-year, entry-level contract on July 14. In his third season with Nitra in Tipos Extraliga, the top professional men's league in Slovakia, he had 26 points (one goal, 25 assists) in 39 regular-season games and 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 19 playoff games. ... Fabian Zetterlund, F:The 22-year-old, who was the No. 63 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, will challenge for a fulltime roster spot after he had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 14 games with the Devils last season. He had 52 points (24 goals, 28 assists) in 58 regular-season games with Utica and eight points (two goals, six assists) in five playoff games. ... Nolan Foote, F:The 21-year-old, who was the No. 27 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, had four points (three goals, one assist) in seven games with the Devils and tied for seventh with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 55 games with Utica last season.

What they still need

Depth at forward and consistent goaltending. The acquisition of Palat (6-foot, 194 pounds) helps, but New Jersey may need to find another power forward to create space for centers Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. Vanecek provides depth behind Mackenzie Blackwood, but the Devils look average at best at a position that hurt them last season (3.68 goals-against average, 29th in NHL).

They said it

"You can go back a couple seasons when we talked about having some adults around our children. We feel like we're doing that as our children are maturing and understanding the next steps in their career. It's just a super exciting time for the New Jersey Devils." -- general manager Tom Fitzgerald

Fantasy focus

Vanecek is a fringe top 25 fantasy goalie in NHL.com's rankings for this season as he goes from a timeshare with Ilya Samsonov for a perennial playoff team in the Washington Capitals (eight straight postseason appearances) to a potential starter for the up-and-coming Devils. Since entering the NHL in 2020-21, Vanecek is tied for 15th in wins (41 in 73 decisions), tied for 13th in shutouts (six) and tied for 24th in even-strength save percentage (.915; minimum 50 games), making him a fantasy sleeper ahead of an even heavier workload this season. -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Ondrej Palat -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Yegor Sharangovich -- Jack Hughes -- Dawson Mercer
Tomas Tatar -- Erik Haula -- Andreas Johnsson
Jesper Boqvist
-- Michael McLeod -- Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves -- Damon Severson
Brendan Smith -- John Marino
Mackenzie Blackwood
Vitek Vanecek