The New Jersey Devils have been the surprise of the NHL season alongside the Vegas Golden Knights. The most surprising element of the team remains Brian Gibbons. The team should reward his play with an extension.
Brian Gibbons needs to be up there with the surprises of the 2016-17 season. Speaking to experts prior to the season, some may not be so surprised if you told them the New Jersey Devils were in the position they are right now. They would guess that Cory Schneider returned to form and carried the Devils into playoff contention. Experts would guess that Taylor Hall finally found his fit, and became the superstar we all knew he could be. Having the first overall pick in Nico Hischier also helps raise a team up to a higher potential.
Gibbons season, however, nobody was even guessing he could be what he has been this season.
He’s scored 12 goals and eight assists through over 36 games. Sure, he’s cooled off relatively over the past few games, but it’s undeniable what he’s brought to this team through the first half of the season.
Devils general manager Ray Shero should consider extending Gibbons now to reward him for what he’s done so far this season.
If the Devils approach Gibbons’ agent now, they could probably get him at a discount. His current contract pays him just $650,000 on a one-year deal. Most fans didn’t even pay attention when the Devils signed him in the offseason. The fans that did see this happened just thought it was add depth to a new team in Binghamton. In fact, here at Pucks and Pitchforks, we questioned John Hynes sanity when he put Gibbons on the opening night roster.
Gibbons beat all the odds to be a great part of this team. Not only is he scoring goals, but he’s doing it on the penalty kill. We all knew he was a good penalty killer, but a scoring winger? That’s been possibly the most fun part of the season.
Why not give Gibbons a two-year contract paying him a total of $3 million? That would still be less than the Devils are paying Michael Cammalleri over that time.
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If the Devils allow Gibbons to make it all the way to the offseason, it could cost them. If Gibbons stays on pace, he will score 27 goals. Even if he peters off and scores just 20 goals, teams will line up to pay him $2-3 million per season. Teams prove they will pay for players who can play a two-way game, show a ton of effort, and prove they can score at least at a decent clip.
Could this blow up in the Devils face? I mean, I’m not sure. What’s the worst that can happen? Some will say Gibbons will get in the way of players like John Quenneville and Michael McLeod from making the team, but I will argue they are mutually exclusive. Having Gibbons on the roster to bolster the fourth line only helps take the pressure off the first three.
Make it happen Shero. I know this team doesn’t usually give contract extensions mid-season, but this isn’t Lou Lamoriello’s Devils anymore. Time to make it happen to save the team money in the long run.