5 Defensemen New Jersey Devils Should Not Sign In Free Agency
The New Jersey Devils really need a defenseman to play on the top line. However, there are many defenseman who would actually make this team’s defense worse in the long run.
We are still a little less than two months away from July 1st. That means we have two months to dream about a future New Jersey Devils lineup that includes Erik Karlsson, Jeff Skinner, Jacob Trouba or Mitch Marner. Now, we’ve seen Ray Shero bring over a superstar before when he traded for Taylor Hall in 2016, but it’s much more likely those top of the market players go somewhere else.
There are some players who will be available this offseason who are clear traps. They are going to make a mint, but will never really deliver on that payment.
It happens every year. This especially happens with defensemen since there are so few great ones that teams are willing to overpay for mediocre ones. The last multi-year free agent deal the Devils gave to a defenseman was to Ben Lovejoy in 2016. Before that, it was John Moore. They were both… fine. They didn’t cripple the team, but they didn’t really help much either.
The Devils have very few spots available on their roster, but those open spots have to go to top-line players. They have a spot for one defenseman and re-signing one of their multiple restricted free agents. If they use that one last spot to sign yet another middle-line defenseman, this team is in the same spot.
Plus, wasting money on one of these players may crush them in the near future. They already have an albatross contract in Cory Schneider‘s (sorry Cory, you’re playing better but that contract is a lot). Adding a player getting $5 million to $7 million per season, and they don’t provide much, then it will set this team back terribly.
For this exercise, we will use the contract predictors from Evolving Wild.
Tyler Myers
People are obsessed with Tyler Myers size, and they should be. He’s 6’8, and when he was with the Buffalo Sabres, it looked like he had the makings of a number-one defenseman. Then, he fall off a cliff. He scored 48 points in his rookie season as a 19 year old. That remains his career high 10 years later.
Myers has had a negative Corsi For% Relative for the past three seasons, despite playing on the Winnipeg Jets who are a perennial contender.
What’s even scarier when looking at his advanced stats is his Corsi against per 60 minutes (CA/60). It’s been over 60 the past three seasons, and capped out at 63 this past season.
Let me put this in English, he isn’t very good. He’s big, so people seem to obsess with him, but he’s not mobile and doesn’t play well in his own zone. He may be physical, but he isn’t physical at the right times. There’s a reason that nobody thinks that the Jets are going to even attempt to re-sign him. That’s a major red flag.
Obviously, the Devils defense could use some size. Five of the six likely regulars in next year’s lineup are under 6’0 (here, we’re assuming Connor Carrick makes it over Steve Santini and Mirco Mueller). That’s extremely small, especially on the blue line. However, one should not sign a guy for size alone.
Then there’s the contract he’s expected to get. Evolving Wild has hum making a seven-year, $43 million contract. Paying a guy who’s 29 years old, saw his best year a decade ago, and wants more than $6 million over seven years will really hurt this team. Especially since the second half of that contract Myers will be a third-line defenseman at best.
Ben Lovejoy
Ben Lovejoy spent two and a half seasons with the New Jersey Devils. His time with the Devils was alright as long as he played in the proper role. He was good as a third-line defenseman with Will Butcher who player on the top penalty kill. He was not good at being a first-line defenseman, which the Devils tried to make him in his first season with the team.
The Devils traded Lovejoy at the NHL Trade Deadline for Connor Carrick and a 3rd-round pick in this year’s draft. His season just ended when the Dallas Stars lost to the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference semi-finals. Now, Lovejoy will look towards his free agency and which team he will spend the twilight of his career.
While another reunion with GM Ray Shero might sound tempting, but it’s not the right move. Lovejoy is now three years older, and his best role is third line. We already have four defenseman on the roster who could fill that role.
The Evolving Wild sheet says that Lovejoy is set for a one-year deal worth just $1.5 million. That might be nice for a team looking for a short-term solution, but the Devils need someone who can play on the top line. Lovejoy is nowhere near that now, especially at 35 years old.
Alexander Edler
It seems like a lot of Devils fans want what the current Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler has to offer. He did play as the Canucks top defenseman this season, proving he can be a top-line guy on certain teams. However, when have you ever heard anyone talk about how great the Canucks defense is?
They are a middle of the pack defense, and Edler is a middle of the pack defenseman. He’s not bad by any means, but Evolving Wild has him getting a three-year deal paying him close to $6 million per season. He’s 33 years old, meaning he’s leaving his prime. You’re paying him for past performance, and this isn’t Erik Karlsson we’re talking about. This is an average defender who’s going to decline quickly.
The only redeeming quality of this contract is the fact is it lasts for just three years. Once it’s time to re-sign Jack Hughes, his contract comes off the books.
Still, Edler’s a deal that’s going to hurt. He’s similar to Sami Vatanen and Damon Severson in he’s much, much better as a second-line defenseman, but if you absolutely have to he can slot in to the top line. The Devils don’t need another player like that, especially at that price.
Dan Girardi
Dan Girardi may feel like a good option when it comes to a pure stopgap. He’ll cost about $1.5 million, and he’s a player that can still play 18 minutes per game, despite being 35 years old. The Devils saw him oftem when he was a top-line defenseman for the New York Rangers. There’s a familiarity there.
Like others on this list, he’s just not a fit for what the Devils need. He’s a veteran presence that will go to the third line. He’s been playing with the Tampa Bay Lightning the past few seasons, and that’s where he ended up. That’s what he’s going to be on his next team.
Again, if the Devils are going to sign a defenseman in free agency, then he has to be someone that fills that top spot. Even if it’s a stopgap, it needs to be a stopgap who can play those important minutes. A different Lightning defenseman could. Anton Strahlman could be that guy good enough to fill those roles, but Girardi is not.
His contract is very cheap, and he’s a veteran presence, but the Devils already have that in their captain Andy Greene, and they just don’t need another one in the lineup. At least not on the blue line.
Jake Gardiner
This one a lot of our fans are on the fence about. Many want current Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner. Others think he’s going to command too much money.
Gardiner turns 29 this summer, so there are still prime years you can buy. However, Evolving Wild believes he’s going to make close to $7 million for seven years. That’s a large chuck of change. That would place him near the top ten in defenseman salaries. He’s nowhere near a top ten defenseman in this league.
Gardiner is fine on the top line in certain situations, but this isn’t that situation. He is a minutes eater, but the Devils could give those minutes to other players already on the roster. Gardiner is the best of the bunch on this list, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have him on the roster, but imagine using some of that precious cap space on a player for seven years that’s losing his prime in two.
Next. 5 Under The Radar Free Agent Targets. dark
It’s the major issue with unrestricted free agency. Most players hit it in the middle of their prime, and look to cash out. That’s exactly what Gardiner is doing, and since he’s likely the best free agent defenseman outside of Karlsson (not including restricted free agents) he’s going to get a major pay day. The Devils should be very weary of that.