5 Forwards New Jersery Devils Should Avoid In Free Agency

Ryan Dzingel

We start with a surprise. A lot of people really like Ryan Dzingel, especially for the New Jersey Devils. He’s not going to cost a ton, he’s going right into his prime years, and he’s not going to cost an absolute fortune.

He’s scored more than 20 goals for two straight seasons, and finally made headway with the Senators after years with Ohio State University and in Binghamton. He’s a steal when it comes to former 7th-round pick and the production he’s had the past two seasons.

Now, to be clear, this is the player we’d be least upset with on this list. To be fair, there are a lot of really good players that fit on the Devils this offseason. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s focus on Dzingel himself.

He was not good in the playoffs this season. He scored one goal in two rounds, despite the Columbus Blue Jackets putting on a clinic against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It his rock bottom when John Tortorella made him a healthy scratch in game two against Boston. Was this a sign of things to come, or just a player having himself a bad stretch?

The biggest problem with Dzingel is sometimes he doesn’t use his best asset when things are going bad, and it turns into long slumps. His shot in amazing, but on the ice if he hasn’t scored, he’s tentative to put the puck on net.

His predicted contract has him making $4.33 million over four seasons. That’s actually a good deal. Personally, I’m worried about a team coming in with a bigger contract for him, but either way he’s a frustrating player that may not be enough to play on a top six when you have two young centers who are looking to distribute. He only took 159 shots this season. We’d want someone who’s ready to put the puck on net, similar to Kyle Palmieri. Dzingal will be fine for someone, but the Devils may not be that team.