The 2020–21 New Jersey Devils season was the 47th season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 39th season since the franchise relocated from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

prior to the

1982–83 NHL season The 1982–83 NHL season was the 66th season of the National Hockey League. The Colorado Rockies relocated to East Rutherford, New Jersey, becoming the New Jersey Devils. The New York Islanders won their fourth Stanley Cup in a row with their s ...

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

, the Devils played a shortened 56-game regular season, which consisted of divisional play only, with the Devils being temporarily realigned from the

Metropolitan Division The National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division (often referred to simply as the "Metro Division") was formed in 2013 as one of the two divisions in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference as part of a league realignment. It is als ...

to the East Division. Fan attendance in home games was prohibited until March 1, 2021, per an executive order from

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...

. The Devils reopened

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Sirens of the Pro ...

to spectators on March 2. On April 20, following a 7–6 loss to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

, the Devils were eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive season.

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.

Player statistics

As of May 11, 2021

Skaters

Goaltenders

Transactions

The Devils have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Free agents

Waivers

Contract terminations

Retirement

Signings

Draft picks

Below are the New Jersey Devils' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, in a remote format, with teams convening via

videoconferencing Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

, and Commissioner

Gary Bettman Gary Bruce Bettman (born June 2, 1952) is an American sports executive who serves as the NHL commissioner, commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice preside ...

announcing selections from the NHL Network studios in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

. It was originally scheduled to be held on June 26–27, 2020, at the

Bell Centre Bell Centre (French: ''Centre Bell)'', formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the

and the conclusion of the

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2019–20 season. The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and concluded on September 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second ...

. # The

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

' first-round pick went to the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

as the result of a trade on December 16, 2019, that sent

Taylor Hall Taylor Hall (born November 14, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft selected by the Edmonton Oilers. ...

and Blake Speers to Arizona in exchange for

Nick Merkley Nicholas Merkley (born May 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing under contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Merkley was formerly rated as a top prospect who was ...

Kevin Bahl Kevin Bahl (born June 27, 2000) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes 55th overall, in the second round of the 2018 NHL entry draft. Play ...

, Nate Schnarr, a conditional third-round pick in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). # The

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

' first-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 16, 2020, that sent Blake Coleman to Tampa Bay in exchange for Nolan Foote and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). # The

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 24, 2020, that sent

Sami Vatanen Sami Vatanen (born 3 June 1991) is a Finns, Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a free agent. He last played for Genève-Servette HC of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). He was drafted in the fourth r ...

to Carolina in exchange for Fredrik Claesson,

Janne Kuokkanen Janne Kuokkanen (born 25 May 1998) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for Malmö Redhawks of the SHL. Kuokkanen was drafted 43rd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Before joining London Kni ...

and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). # The

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

' fourth-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 25, 2019, that sent Marcus Johansson to Boston in exchange for a second-round pick in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and this pick.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey Devils, 2020-21 2020-21 2020–21 NHL season by team 2020 in sports in New Jersey 2021 in sports in New Jersey 2020-21 New Jersey Devils season