Do New Jersey Devils Have To Overpay Jordan Eberle?

The New Jersey Devils have been tied to Jordan Eberle as he heads into free agency. Would the Devils be forced to overpay for him?

Ah, heated Twitter arguments with my fellow Pucks and Pitchforks brethren. As more and more NHL “experts” tie the New Jersey Devils to free agent Jordan Eberle, fans get more and more worried he will be a bust from the time pen hits paper.

It’s very possible that’s the case. Eberle has seen sharp declines the past two years, and according to Evolving Wild’s contract predictor, he’s set to make more than $6 million on a seven-year deal. Woof. No thank you. That’s the type of contract you regret in year two and want to trade him for a ham sandwich in year five.

The crux of the conversation was based around Eberle guaranteeing Taylor Hall‘s re-signing to a long-term deal with the Devils. However, nothing is worth giving Eberle $42 million. Let’s make that very clear.

Let’s make another thing very clear. There are much better free agents the Devils should target, and Eberle should be low on their lists, if at all. This is an exercise in discussing what everyone else has been bringing up.

Eberle’s play fell off a cliff this season. The counting stats and the advanced stats all agree, he was average at best. He scored less than 20 goals, had increasing troubling getting a shot off, and his possession numbers drove right off the cliff with them. He’s a far cry from his days of 30-goal seasons.

Would Eberle be an upgrade on the roster next season? Sure, by a little bit. However, the Devils would still need someone to play on the top line right wing, as now they have two players who are better suited on the second line. Eberle and Kyle Palmieri are both decent fill ins on the top line, but going forward if they want to be contenders they’d need an upgrade.

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So, the question is, is the only way to sign Eberle to give him a ridiculous amount of years on an overpayment?

Obviously, it would be near impossible to sign Eberle to a pay cut. He’s coming off his own $6 million per year contract. If he was going to sign a short-term deal, it would be a for a pay bump.

Would it be worth it for the Devils to sign Eberle to a two-year deal for $14 million?

His play in the playoffs will certainly earn him some type of raise. He scored in every game in the Islanders sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then, despite getting swept themselves, he still recorded three assists in the next round. Maybe that’s old news at this point, but teams some times make that a priority in their free agent signings.

Listen, there’s much better options out there, but like they say, when there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Eberle and Hall are indeed friends. That might be the only evidence people have trying the Devils to Eberle. It also came out that the New York Islanders will allow Eberle to test free agency, and with them trying to re-sign Anders Lee and Robin Lehner, it’s likely he’s not coming back.

If the Devils and Eberle are going to be joined this offseason, the Devils definitely can’t tie themselves to him long term. Going beyond two seasons for Eberle is a deal breaker. He’s going to be way overpaid next season. In three seasons, he’d become an albatross contract.