The New Jersey Devils have arrived

They accomplished a lot during an extremely successful, window-opening season. And there's every reason to believe more is coming.

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The New Jersey Devils’ season reached an abrupt end on Thursday night, with an overtime loss sending them packing after five games against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It was a difficult way to say goodbye, with a much different result not hard to envision.

Timo Meier’s missed empty net will get the headlines – understandably so – but Nathan Bastian and Curtis Lazar also failed to convert on A++ chances at the doorstep to give the Devils a 3-1 cushion they so desperately needed.

All of those opportunities went by the wayside and the Hurricanes tied it up shortly after, giving a feeling of inevitably the Devils’ season would soon be over.

For the loss to come on the back of an unlucky, accidental infraction – Jonas Siegenthaler flipping the puck over the glass – makes it sting all the more.

But this doesn’t feel like the usual disappointment that comes attached to the end of a season. It is not hard to look right past this elimination and think about what could be in the not too distant future.

That’s somewhat cliche for teams that had successful years. Everyone always believes the same, if not better, is coming the following year. In many cases, that doesn’t prove true. But there’s every reason to think this Devils team is one of the exceptions.

A strong core of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, Dougie Hamilton, and Jonas Siegenthaler helped the Devils to their most successful regular season in team history.

That hardly factors in Timo Meier, a 40-goal scorer with a rare combination of power, speed, and skill who should be re-signed and help the team moving forward.

That barely factors in Luke Hughes who, in just his fifth career game, logged 25 minutes, posted a 72 xGF%, and led all players in game score against one of the league’s best teams.

That doesn’t factor in Simon Nemec, a cerebral puck-moving defenseman who should help further unlock an already lethal offense.

That doesn’t factor in Alexander Holtz, who showed signs of improvement in the NHL and has amassed 32 goals over his last 66 regular season games in the AHL.

Yes, the Devils will lose some regulars this summer. Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, and Miles Wood are almost certainly goners.

There’s some doubt whether Tomas Tatar – fresh off another underwhelming post-season – will be brought back as well. Those players aren’t nothing. But this team can move past them. They already have in a way.

The Devils had their share of downs during the playoffs – they won five of 12 games – but they posted a 53 xGF% at 5v5 and showed plenty of fight in the face of adversity along the way. There were a lot of positives.

And the players most responsible for them are under team control beyond this year. In many cases, long-term.

Tom Fitzgerald has some work to do in getting Bratt and Meier re-signed, and making alterations around the edges, but the vast majority of the heavy lifting is already done.

The Devils have arrived; and they’re not going anywhere.

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numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and HockeyStatCards.com