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New Jersey Devils: What’s Miles Wood Worth?

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 05: Miles Wood #44 of the New Jersey Devils scores a goal at 17:02 of the second period against Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center on April 5, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 05: Miles Wood #44 of the New Jersey Devils scores a goal at 17:02 of the second period against Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center on April 5, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils have a few really good depth players that are becoming restricted free agents this offseason. One that’s really hard to put a price on is forward Miles Wood.

Miles Wood was one of the many breakout players on the New Jersey Devils roster. After a season where he played specifically because of his speed, he showed a much better all-around game this season. He’s still the fastest person on the ice most games, but now his intangibles are much better.

That’s not to say he doesn’t have his flaws. Wood still has serious trouble with puck handling.  He can get on his horse all alone to get a breakaway, but he doesn’t always get a good shot off.

Still, look at the trajectory of the 22 year old. In his rookie season, Wood scored just eight goals and recorded 17 points. Just one year later, he lit the lamp 19 times with 32 points. That’s with inconsistent ice time and different linemates on almost a nightly basis.

Wood clearly heard the message on the first night of the season. Head coach John Hynes chose to sit Wood for Opening Night at the Prudential Center. From that night on, he was better than expected.

Wood is now at the end of his entry-level contract, and is a restricted free agent. He isn’t the type of player that other teams would risk ill will in order to try and snag, but the Devils still need to figure out his value.

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Wood’s contract paid him $925,000 on the NHL level. He’s been there for the better part of two years. Not only has he been much better offensively this year, he was much smarter in both ends. He played close to 175 more minutes this season, but had two less penalty minutes. He’s still the team leader in PIMs, and it’s not close. However, it’s still better than what he did his rookie year.

All this being said, Wood just won’t get much of a raise this season. I can see GM Ray Shero giving him a two-year, “show me” contract. I would venture a guess it would look like two years, $2.5 million. The Devils may go up to $1.5 million AAV. It’s a nice little raise for a player that improved, but not the kind of raise that even makes a blip on the salary cap. It’s a major win-win for the franchise.

Wood needs to be re-signed. He’s a very good player to have on this team. His speed gives the Devils a major advantage, his toughness allows him to protect the team’s superstars, and his knack for goals in big moments (see the final Toronto game and the game in Tampa February) adds an X factor.

On top of that, he will keep getting better. He should work on his puck handling and his wrist shot all offseason. If he can work on his hands, he could be the secret weapon the Devils use to stay in contention for a long time.

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