New Jersey Devils: Brian Boyle Playing For Extension

The New Jersey Devils only signed Brian Boyle in free agency two seasons ago. Despite questioning the signing at the time, now Boyle is fighting to get an extension.

Saturday night, the New Jersey Devils were facing a shut out from the Nashville Predators backup goalie. Despite great opportunities from John Quenneville, Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman throughout the game, the Devils were not able to get a puck past Juuse Saros. That is, until Brian Boyle got his hands on the puck with 90 seconds left in the game.

Boyle isn’t the most consistent scorer on the team. However, when he does score it seems to be in clutch situations.

His last goal came when the Devils could not find a way to score. He tied the game at two and secured a point for a team that’s desperate for them. His last goal prior to that came against the Winnipeg Jets. The Devils were down two with five minutes to go. He scored a goal to cut the Jets, one of the best teams in the league, lead in half. Taylor Hall eventually scored the game-tying goal, which gave the Devils another important point.

Boyle’s biggest game came in the Devils win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he scored a hat trick on Hockey Fights Cancer night. Boyle has scored in seven different games this season, and the Devils have points in five of them.

Boyle is on pace to score between 23 and 24 goals this season. It would be a career high for the big-bodied forward. He’s had one 35 point season before, and he’s looking to his that mark again.

If Boyle can find a way to be that clutch scorer the Devils hoped for, could Ray Shero look into re-signing him?

Boyle is one of the names many float when it comes to who to trade at the deadline this season. It makes sense. He’s on an expiring deal, and teams love having a player like him on their team. They would give a decent draft pick or two to acquire him for the stretch run. Yet, maybe that’s not the plan.

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Could the Devils look to re-sign Boyle to stick around to see out this rebuild? He’s a great guy to have around, he defends his teammates, and he finds a way to be physical without being dirty. Every good team needs a player like that on their team.

Honestly, the situation with Boyle comes down with one thing; Pavel Zacha. It probably doesn’t make sense now. Zacha is currently the second-line center, but he’s not producing like one. He does provide a lot in the form of a defensive center and he’s an elite penalty killer. If that’s what he’s going to be, then he will likely be on the fourth line moving forward. That likely takes a spot away that would usually go to Boyle.

That’s still far away. The Devils clearly aren’t ready to give up on Zacha’s offensive game. That could mean Shero looks to re-sign Boyle. Even if Shero decides to give Boyle a raise, it will be small. He would make at most $3 million per season, which is nothing when the Devils have this much cap space.

No matter what the Devils do, it’s probably a good decision. Boyle is great to have around, but the Devils could also use the draft picks they’d get in a trade. It seems like whatever the Devils do with Boyle, as long as they don’t let him go for free in the offseason, it’s a good move for now and the future.