New Jersey Devils: Finding Value In NHL Free Agency

Jordan Eberle

Jordan Eberle at $6.05m AAV for 7 years.  That contract may not seem that bad and Eberle has shown he can put up point and teams are certainly willing to pay for points.  However, over the past three years Eberle totaled 11.9 GAR, that’s a low total for a three-year period and towards the bottom of the list of all the players discussed.  Whether you like GAR as a statistic or not it’s generally not smart signing a one dimensional 29 year old winger for 7 years.

Alex Edler

Alex Edler was brought up a few times and at $5.85 million AAV for 3 years I cannot stress it enough that the Devils need to stay away from Edler.  Think Karl Alzner here.  A “stay at home” (that just means he’s not offensively talented enough) coming in at nearly $6m when he’s already over 30 Is a player to avoid.

No matter how many minutes he can eat up it doesn’t matter if your team isn’t better with you on the ice for those minutes.

Edler gets a huge Do Not Sign from me.

Tyler Myers

Myers is projected at $6.16m AAV over 7 years and is another player the Devils need to avoid.  Don’t let his size fool you because Myers is not a physical defensemen.  I’ve seen Myers name thrown around a lot on Twitter for the Devils, but he’s a less effective and more expensive Damon Severson.  Myers actually has a negative GAR over the past three years.  That’s not the kind of player you want to be tying up 7 years and over $6m a year on.

Wayne Simmonds

Last but certainly not least on the player to avoid list is Wayne Simmonds.  Simmonds projects at $5.04m AAV for 5 years and is also already over 30.  While you may think the Devils need a big scoring winger, Simmonds does not fit that bill.

Simmonds strikes me as this years James Neal.  Power forwards like Simmoonds tend to have issues over the age of 30, and we’ve already seen his production taper off.  I’d say it’s a tie atop my players to avoid list between Myers and Simmonds.