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New Jersey Devils Face an Interesting Decision with Mike Cammalleri

By Nicholas Breitenstine

Dec 8, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New Jersey Devils left wing Michael Cammalleri (13) looks at the scoreboard during the second period against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY SportsODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New Jersey Devils left wing Michael Cammalleri (13) looks at the scoreboard during the second period against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY SportsODAY Sports /
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The New Jersey Devils signed Mike Cammalleri to bring goal scoring to a team that really needed it. That hasn’t been the case this season. With the expansion draft looming, the Devils face an interesting decision with Cammalleri.

Mike Cammalleri is in the middle of a five-year, $25 million contract. According to CapFriendly, he has a No Trade Clause on top of it. He has two years left, at $5 million per season, with no signing or performance bonuses. This isn’t a huge dent in the cap, especially for a team who is hovering around the salary cap floor like the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils have options when it comes to Cammalleri. The team needs to make the right decision when it comes to his and their future.

Expose Him

The most popular option would be to expose Cammalleri for the expansion draft. The Vegas Golden Knights are going to need all the help they can get, and it’s very possible they’d take Cammalleri if available. He only has a NTC, so the Devils don’t have to protect him.

Chris Johnston of Sportsnet also pointed out the Devils only have to protect Ryan Clowe. Unlike some teams, the Devils can protect/expose pretty much whoever else they want.

Exposing Cammalleri is something beyond thought last year, but this year is much different.

His tenure with the Devils has been up and down, but they’d still be losing someone who can put the puck in the net. That’s not something the Devils can afford to give up for nothing.

With that being said, getting rid of the $5 million cap hit for the next two years could help. As I mentioned before, Cammalleri’s cap hit isn’t a huge problem, but the extra space always helps. Cap flexibility is a huge asset in today’s NHL.

Trade Him

Another option would be to trade Cammalleri. The New Jersey Devils have the cap space to retain the max 50% salary. A team might bite on the chance to get Cammalleri at $2.5 million a year for the next two years.

Determining what the Devils could get back for Cammalleri is difficult.  He has injury problems and is pretty inconsistent. Now, he hasn’t played on the best teams recently, so that could be a factor. It’s possible (not guaranteed) Ray Shero could flip Cammalleri for a decent prospect or a decent pick.

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The expansion draft adds an intriguing wrinkle in what teams will do. If there’s a time for Ray Shero to the pull the trigger on a Cammalleri deal, it will be this offseason.

Keep Him

The New Jersey Devils could protect Cammalleri and keep him. Yeah, his goal scoring and point totals are down, but he’s still valuable. Cammalleri’s current shooting percentage is 8.1%, which is much lower than his career average of 12.4%.

Cammalleri is also scoring at a 0.55 PPG pace. If he played in every game, he’d currently be 4th on the team in scoring, instead of 6th where he currently stands. Cammalleri also has a positive CF% and GF%.

He isn’t a useless player, and there’s a great chance he bounces back next year. The Devils will (hopefully) be a better team next year, and Cammalleri can help them. Obviously it’s a huge if whether he stays healthy or not, but that’s a risk the Devils can take at this point.

What Should the Devils Do?

If I’m the New Jersey Devils, I would protect Cammalleri in the expansion draft and go from there. I don’t think it’s worth losing a good asset for nothing. If someone comes knocking on the door asking about a trade, you entertain it. I don’t think the Devils should be in a hurry to rid themselves of Michael Cammalleri.

I’m not saying Cammalleri is an untouchable player by any means, but he still has value. He is a prime candidate for a bounce back year. Eating the $5 million isn’t a problem for the Devils. I think they need to hold onto Cammalleri and see what he does next year. He’s had a down year for sure, but don’t let that sour you on someone who has otherwise been a good scoring presence on these Devils teams.

(Advanced Statistics via Corsica.Hockey and Hockey Reference)

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