Complete Preview for the New Jersey Devils' 2014-15 Season

For the first time since 1990, the New Jersey Devils will open training camp without Martin Brodeur. 

That is a really, really long time ago. The highest-grossing film that year was Home Alone, a comedy about two men who invade a home with the implied intentions of harming a child and stealing everything of value.

It truly was a different time.

The unsigned Brodeur has moved on, and so have the Devils, and the end of that partnership could mean a first playoff trip since 2012 for an organization that spent nearly two decades as a postseason lock.

What We Learned in 2013-14

The two biggest detriments to the Devils' success were Brodeur and the shootout, only one of which is no longer part of the NHL (as of now).

The Devils' inability to score despite dominating possession was a strong No. 3, but there's no getting past Brodeur acting as an anchor around the neck of a drowning team and the ineptitude in a breakaway contest being the biggest killers in 2013-14.

RICH SCHULTZ/Associated Press

The average save percentage in the NHL last season was .914; Brodeur finished the season at .901 in 39 games. Among goaltenders to make at least that many appearances, only Ondrej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets was worse. Making the situation that much more confusing was the Devils had Cory Schneider, he of the .921 save percentage, the ninth-best mark in the league.

If the Devils had just an average goaltender in place of Brodeur last year, that would have meant 13 fewer goals allowed, not an insignificant number for a team that had a plus-two goal differential and missed the playoffs by five points.

Thirteen is a significant number for the Devils, because it is both the number of shootouts in which they participated last season and also the number of shootouts they lost. Dating to 2013, they have lost 17 shootouts in a row.

As a team, the Devils went 4-of-45 in the shootout and allowed 21 goals on 45 shots, with Brodeur and Schneider performing equally poorly. 

The Devils had the second-worst regular goalie and the worst shootout squad in the NHL last season and narrowly missed the postseason. The good news for the upcoming season is it's unlikely that either of those things will be a problem again.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Outlook for 2014-15

Schneider made 43 starts last season; it's a good bet that he will finish somewhere closer to 65 this season. While he has been the NHL's top goaltender in save percentage since 2010-11, this will be his first season as a full-time starter. As long as he is somewhere around his .921 of last season, the Devils should be a much better team, no matter who wins the backup job.

With the goaltending problems solved from within, the next step is solving the shootout issue.

The Devils' big free-agent signing was Michael Cammalleri at five years and $25 million. They also took a flier on the oft-injured Martin Havlat, giving him a one-year, $1.5 million deal. 

Left wing	Center	Right wing
Patrik Elias	Travis Zajac	Jaromir Jagr
Michael Cammalleri	Adam Henrique	Ryane Clowe
Tuomo Ruutu	Dainius Zubrus	Michael Ryder
Steve Bernier	Stephen Gionta	Damien Brunner
Martin Havlat, Jacob Josefson

Cammalleri doesn't take part in shootouts often, but he had two goals last season and is 4-of-11 the past three seasons. Over that same time, Havlat is 1-of-4.

That's not great, but the Devils are poised to solve their shootout problems by doing what so many of us do with our problems: avoiding them.

By improving their offense with the additions of Cammalleri and Havlat and improving their defense with the removal of Brodeur, they're more likely to find themselves tied after 65 minutes less often. Throw in the fact the NHL is installing the long change for overtime in an effort to have games avoid shootouts more frequently, and the Devils are set up for more success.

Left defense	Right defense	Goaltenders
Andy Greene	Marek Zidlicky	Cory Schneider
Bryce Salvador	Adam Larsson	Scott Clemmensen
Jon Merrill	Eric Gelinas	Keith Kinkaid
Peter Harrold

While the Devils look deeper up front and stauncher in net, the back end isn't exactly imposing.

Andy Greene should have been included in Team USA's Olympic orientation camp (and perhaps the team) last year. Beyond that, it's aging, declining veterans (Marek Zidlicky, Bryce Salvador), young players whom coach Peter DeBoer seems afraid to use regularly (Adam Larsson, Eric Gelinas), one young player DeBoer seems to love (Jon Merrill) and a player whose name I could be making up (Peter Harrold).

The youth gives the Devils potential for upside, but there's no offensive dynamo and no shutdown guy. It's Greene and a wishy-washy mix of defensemen who could be anything in 2014-15.

Still, this is the same group that helped the Devils finish ninth defensively.

And the Devils are also aiming for the most competitive training camp in NHL history, as they have invited veterans Tomas Kaberle, Ruslan Fedotenko, Scott Gomez and Mike Komisarek on tryout contracts.

The Devils aren't the only team to improve in the East after missing the playoffs; the Islanders and Capitals made big moves and will be pushing to crack the top eight this season.

But with the Devils finding ways to improve externally and internally after coming so close to the playoffs last season, they should find themselves back in the postseason in 2015.

All statistics via NHL.com or Extra Skater (obtained in advance).

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.