The New Jersey Devils have multiple restricted free agents coming up this offseason. It’s going to be very interesting to see how they deal with all of them.
It’s been an awful season for just about every on the New Jersey Devils this season. The star player has been injured with an unknown ailment for months. The top defensemen is out with a concussion and may not return this season if it’s bad enough. This team’s goaltending situation is as bad as any team’s in the league. The depth players that helped them make the playoffs last season are nowhere to be found, or injured this year. It’s been bad.
It may not be fair, but we evaluate upcoming free agents for how they’ve played in the season most prior, and that is bad news for the Devils players coming into free agency. A large majority of them are in the midst of down seasons, and that could cost them when it comes to the negotiating table.
The one player that probably cost himself the most money is Will Butcher. Coming into this season, it looked like Butcher was on his way to earning a deal similar to Damon Severson‘s contract. He’s making $4.16 million over the six seasons. Maybe the term wouldn’t have been the same, but the price was going to be.
Now? Will Butcher has been average at best. He was playing really well to start the season, with insane advanced stats next to Ben Lovejoy. When Lovejoy went down with an injury, things fell off the rails. Even when he returned, Butcher could not replicate his Corsi numbers.
Things have been so bad, he was dropped to the second power play unit, by far his best skill, in favor of Severson. The Devils are not going to give him a long-term deal now, especially with Ty Smith about ready to make the jump to the NHL. He’s going to get re-signed, but not near the price he would have if they had to pay him after last season.
Pavel Zacha is another interesting name. The players drafted around him are going to get huge raises, if they haven’t already. Zacha will get a raise, but nowhere near what most 6th overall picks get. He’s probably looking at $1.5 million on a deal, despite having a “career year.” 11 goals is not the kind of production that has Ray Shero breaking the bank.
This may be surprising, but those two players are the only ones who are guaranteed to get an offer sheet. It sounds crazy, because the Devils have eight other restricted free agents in their system, but they could theoretically walk away from every single one. They won’t, because that would force them to restart everything, but it’s possible.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
One name who is anyone’s guess what they do with is Stefan Noesen. He’s been in and out of the lineup, whether that’s because of injury or just generally bad play. The Devils gave Blake Coleman a three year deal this offseason, and gave Noesen one year. It seems Ray Shero had a reason for that. The Devils might not even give him an offer and let him walk for free. If they don’t, they might look to give him a pay cut from his $1.725 million.
The reality is he’s 26 years old. He’s entering his prime now, so he is what he is. Could he be a useful player in this system? Yes, of course. However, is he in the way of guys like Joey Anderson, Mikey McLeod and Nathan Bastian? Well, he might be.
There’s one player who Shero really has to look in the mirror about and ask himself if he can give up on him. That player is Mirco Mueller. He’s been less than expected in his time with the Devils. He scored his first goal as a Devils the other night in garbage time against the St. Louis Blues. He followed it up with a less-than-stellar performance against the Chicago Blackhawks.
John Hynes has played Mueller about 60% of the time in the defensive zone, but that’s his role. The issue here is Shero spent two valuable draft picks on Mueller before last season. If he doesn’t work out, that’s basically a sunk cost. Sometimes a GM has to know when to fold em. This might be that time.
Now we look at the AHL, where the questions get really hard. There are four players with deals ending this season, and they are at various levels of their career, but none of them are considered the future of this franchise.
John Quenneville was supposed to be an important part of this year’s team. He started the season in the NHL, and played alright. However, he wasn’t scoring, so they sent him to Binghamton to find his scoring touch. He was able to get points in the AHL, but the NHL was a different story. He went pointless in 15 games with New Jersey. That’s not good.
The Devils will still likely re-sign the former first-round pick, but he will probably have to sign a similar deal to the one he has now.
Josh Jacobs has been fine this season. He’s about the only defensive player in Bingo worth talking about most nights. Ryan Murphy is an interesting name after his trade from Minnesota’s system, but he’s becoming an unrestricted free agent. Jacobs might also be coming back on a minimum type deal.
Cam Johnson’s deal ends this season, which seems fast. The Devils gave him two years last season. He’s been varied levels of goalie this season, but it seems he still has a ways to go before he can consistently be the guy. Luckily, Mackenzie Blackwood has taken that reign, so Johnson isn’t crucial, but it’s nice to have him in the system. His status is honestly tied to what the Devils think about Evan Cormier and whether Blackwood starts the year in New Jersey. Either way, the Devils probably want to keep him around.
The final guy is Brandon Baddock. They could keep him or let him go. He’s a good AHL player, but has a long line to wait in before he ever gets an NHL chance. At 23 years old, he might ask them to let him go.
The point of this is the Devils have a ton of restricted free agents to deal with. Unlike last season, when it was obvious they were all coming back, this season could see some restricted free agents become unrestricted free agents. With some prospects on the doorstep to the NHL, it might be time for the Devils to clear space.