Cardinal Point Athlete Advisors recently released a lifestyle ranking of all NHL cities, and the New Jersey Devils came in near the bottom, ranked 29th out of 32 teams.
The rankings were based on seven equally weighted factors, where a score of “1” indicates the best relative ranking among NHL cities. The top-ranked city was home to the Montreal Canadiens, while the Devils landed closer to the bottom.
The only teams ranked below New Jersey were the Seattle Kraken (30th), the Washington Capitals (31st), and the New York Rangers (32nd).
The Devils currently play at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a location that ranked as the fourth-worst NHL arena location in this report.
The overall score was based on seven key factors:
Each category was scored out of 32, with the Devils’ results as follows:
When all scores were combined, the Devils ranked 29th out of 32 teams.
The rankings were created using two reports from Numbeo.com, a global cost of living and quality-of-life database:
Cost of Living Index by City 2025 Mid-Year
Quality of Life Index by City 2025 Mid-Year
According to the data, Newark scored particularly low on safety, with a Safety Index of 23.17, categorized as “low.” Only Detroit, home of the Red Wings, scored lower in that category (32nd), although Detroit still ranked 18th overall in the lifestyle rankings.
While Newark wasn't ranked the worst NHL city, the Devils still landed in the bottom tier—primarily due to concerns around safety, high grocery costs, and poor traffic conditions.
Photo Credit: © Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Cardinal Point Athlete Advisors recently released a lifestyle ranking of all NHL cities, and the New Jersey Devils came in near the bottom, ranked 29th out of 32 teams.
The rankings were based on seven equally weighted factors, where a score of “1” indicates the best relative ranking among NHL cities. The top-ranked city was home to the Montreal Canadiens, while the Devils landed closer to the bottom.
The only teams ranked below New Jersey were the Seattle Kraken (30th), the Washington Capitals (31st), and the New York Rangers (32nd).
The Devils currently play at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a location that ranked as the fourth-worst NHL arena location in this report.
The overall score was based on seven key factors:
Each category was scored out of 32, with the Devils’ results as follows:
When all scores were combined, the Devils ranked 29th out of 32 teams.
The rankings were created using two reports from Numbeo.com, a global cost of living and quality-of-life database:
Cost of Living Index by City 2025 Mid-Year
Quality of Life Index by City 2025 Mid-Year
According to the data, Newark scored particularly low on safety, with a Safety Index of 23.17, categorized as “low.” Only Detroit, home of the Red Wings, scored lower in that category (32nd), although Detroit still ranked 18th overall in the lifestyle rankings.
While Newark wasn't ranked the worst NHL city, the Devils still landed in the bottom tier—primarily due to concerns around safety, high grocery costs, and poor traffic conditions.
Photo Credit: © Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
The New Jersey Devils signed forward Thomas Bordeleau to a one-year, two-way contract on July 24th, following a trade with the San Jose Sharks earlier this month.
The deal is worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 in the AHL, with $125,000 guaranteed. Because it’s a two-way contract, Bordeleau may begin the season with the Utica Comets, giving the Devils added roster and salary cap flexibility.
However, cracking New Jersey’s deep prospect pool might be Bordeleau’s biggest challenge.
Now entering his fifth professional season, Bordeleau has spent most of his time in the AHL with the San Jose Barracudas. He’s appeared in 44 NHL games, tallying 18 points (six goals, 12 assists), but has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHLer.
At 5'10", Bordeleau is a quick, skilled center whose speed and versatility could make him a valuable asset in the Devils’ bottom six. Still, he hasn’t found much success at the NHL level, and even his AHL production has left room for improvement. He recorded just 38 points in 59 games last season with the Barracuda.
One thing working in his favor? Familiarity. Bordeleau played alongside Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and Utica’s Ethan Edwards during the 2021–22 season at the University of Michigan. Reuniting with former teammates could provide the chemistry and confidence boost he needs.
That said, the path to the NHL is crowded. As Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News recently outlined, the Devils have one of the league’s most promising prospect pools:
Top Devils Prospects
LW: Lenni Hämeenaho, Cole Brown, Josh Filmon, Shane Lachance C: Conrad Fondrk, Gustav Hillstrom, Samu Salminen, Matyas Melovsky, Mason Moe
RW: Arseniy Gritsyuk, Ben Kevan, Cam Squires, David Rozsival
LD: Anton Silayev, Daniil Orlov, Topias Vilén, Daniil Karpovich
RD: Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, Sigge Holmstrom, Charlie Leddy
G: Mikhail Yegorov, Trenten Bennett, Veeti Louhivaara, Tyler Brennan, Jakub Malek
Bordeleau will be competing with the likes of Conrad Fondrk and Lenni Hämeenaho, both of whom have already made strong impressions on the Devils’ staff.
If Bordeleau hopes to solidify an NHL future, he’ll need to outperform the competition and prove he belongs on a team with playoff aspirations.
There’s a real chance everything clicks for him this season. He’s got the pedigree, the speed, and the support system in place. But make no mistake: this might be his final shot to carve out a career in the pros.
For Thomas Bordeleau, the time to make a statement in New Jersey is now.
Photo Credit: © David Gonzales-Imagn Images
The Anaheim Ducks have missed the playoffs every year since 2017-18 and in doing so, have drafted in the top ten for seven consecutive seasons and procured one of the NHL’s deepest and most potent prospect pools.
Despite several young players having graduated and become full-time NHLers, such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, the Ducks still have an impressive pipeline of potential impact and depth prospects yet to make the jump.
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For this exercise, only players who haven’t lost rookie status are eligible for a ranking, and to be clear, these are my (Patrick Present) subjective rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Yegor Sidorov, Herman Traff, Tarin Smith, Lasse Boelius, Calle Clang
Top Ten:
10. Nathan Gaucher, 21, C, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
9. Ian Moore, 23, RHD, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
8. Sasha Pastujov, 22, W, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
7. Tomas Suchanek, 22, G, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
6. Eric Nilson, 18, C, Michigan State University (NCAA)
5. Lucas Pettersson, 19, C, Brynas IF (SHL)
When making this list, there was a sizable gap between the four players at the top and the prospects ranked at five and beyond. While there will certainly be very good NHLers that I ranked between five and ten, and even some after ten, the Ducks’ top four prospects are expected to become impact players at the NHL level and even core pieces of the franchise when they hope to be perennial contenders.
Coming in at the four-spot is a player sure to become a fan favorite (if he isn’t already) with his consistent physical play and knack for scoring big goals from the blueline: Stian Solberg.
Solberg’s defining quality is how difficult he is to play against on a nightly basis. He punishes opponents when they look to get to the high-danger areas of the ice, and he finishes every hit after his check distributes the puck. Every inch of ice in the offensive zone comes at a cost when being defended by Solberg.
He’s a powerful skater with an advanced knowledge of angles, even after making the jump from European ice surfaces to North American ones in 2024-25. Everything he does on every shift is done at full effort, whether it’s netfront battles, puck retrievals that lead to crisp breakout passes, or everything in between.
He makes decisive, smart decisions with the puck and is quick to join a rush from the weak side when it’s available. His shot selection drives his offense at the blueline, as he consistently gets a heavy shot through traffic, and when a lane opens below the top of the circles, he leans on his stick and buries pucks more often than not.
At the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Ducks traded picks 31 and 58 to jump up to 23 and select Solberg, who was awarded the moniker “most violent player in the draft.”
He spent the majority of his 2024-25 season, his first outside of his native Norway, playing for Färjestad BK of the SHL, where he totaled 12 points (3-9=12) in 47 games before his role decreased as the playoffs approached. To ensure more ice time and get a head start on the transition to a smaller ice sheet, as well as a different style of game, the Ducks organization deemed it best he finish his season in San Diego with the Gulls of the AHL.
“I don't think they valued him enough in Färjestad to deserve to keep him around for longer, that’s just my personal take,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden said. “I think he proved in his short stint in San Diego, and right now at the World Championships, that he has a really valuable role already. He can have an impact when you trust him with ice time.”
He fit in seamlessly, as his signature style is as conducive as it gets to North American professional hockey. He tallied five points (2-3=5) in ten AHL games to end the season before heading to Europe to play in his second consecutive IIHF World Championship representing Norway, where he scored six points (4-2=6) in seven games, including a hat trick against the United States.
The only area of his game that will need polishing before he makes his NHL debut is rush defending. He does well to angle and seal on the wall, especially on the smaller ice surface, but when pucks move up ice, he could stand to close gaps sooner to not be so flatfooted against an opposing transition attack.
Solberg will projectably assume a sizable role with the Gulls in 2025-26, likely killing penalties and featuring on the power play. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he plays NHL games at some point during the upcoming year as well. The organization has a lot of faith in him as a future impact contributor to their team.
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Photo Credit: INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN