New Jersey Devils Should Pursue Scoring Depth

After ending at the bottom of the league in scoring last year, and ending in the bottom four in the last four seasons, the New Jersey Devils are looking to add some offense to their roster.

The NHL saw 28 30-goal scorers last season, and the Devils had two of them in Henrique and Palmieri. I’m sure Cammalleri, who had 14 goals and 38 points in 42 games, would have hit that mark as well. On top of a healthy Cammalleri, Boucher, Blandisi, and Zacha should help out the struggling offense, but the Devils could still use some help in their bottom 6. The following is a short list of players that I believe the Devils can get for a relatively small deal.

Jiri Hudler

After putting up 76 points two seasons ago, he was brought back down to reality last season putting up 46 points between Calgary and Florida. Hudler is a good defensive player that will have instant chemistry with Cammalleri. We see how that helped Stempniak last year. Though he is 32 years old, he still has some upside, and if the Devils can ink him to a relatively small deal I think it would be a good idea.

Lee Stempniak

After breaking out with the Devils last year, Stempniak was traded to the Bruins at the deadline. Of course he will cost more than he did last year, he should be a bargain. He hit 51 points last year between the Devils and Bruins and the instant chemistry would sure be a plus.

Brett Connolly

Though he only put up 25 points last year with the Bruins, Connolly is only 24. He was a first round pick by Tampa that has the potential to be a middle 6 forward. His underlying numbers are pretty good to. He is a good possession player so even if he isn’t ripping up the score sheet, he is still helping the Devils.

Sam Gagner

Okay, so Gagner only put up 16 points last season, but he has put up at least 37 points in every season except this one. He was a sixth overall pick in 2007 that has a lot of skill. He has already proven that he can consistently put up around 40 points and I think, if utilized correctly, he can keep doing that. He is also a good possession player so again, he won’t be a liability if he isn’t putting big points up.

Michael Grabner

A speedy winger who put up only 18 points this past season. Grabner put up 30 goals his rookie season with the Islanders and he hasn’t been close to that since. He only put up 18 points this past season with the Maple Leafs but I believe there is more to him than that, and his past numbers show that.

Brandon Pirri

Between the Ducks and the Panthers, Pirri put up 14 goals and 29 points. He was traded to the Ducks at the deadline for only a sixth round pick. Two seasons ago, he put up 22 goals in 49 games, but his lack of assists (2) does not help his case. He his marked up as a center but he has played wing before, and I think he would be better off as a winger because of his poor face-off percentage and defensive play.

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All of these players would have a larger role with the Devils than they had with their past team which should be a positive for them. They all should be cheap players that would sign short term deals so their contracts won’t be lingering. With a weak free agent class, many GM’s tend to throw money at undeserving players. Okposo, Eriksson, Boedker, Backes, etc. would for sure be thrown money. If Ray Shero can get one of those players for a reasonable price, then so be it, but I can’t see that happening.