New Jersey Devils: Now That Offseason Is Here, Time To Get To Work
With the Stanley Cup officially hoisted by the St. Louis Blues, all eyes move to Ray Shero, and the New Jersey Devils. Not only to prepare for the NHL Draft, but also key moves that can be part of a crucial summer. There is a lot to get done between now and the start of next season. Shero knows he’s gotta improve the blue line, and with wing depth.
With key cogs like Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri, Jesper Bratt, Jesper Boqvist and Travis Zajac in place for offense, it is important for Ray Shero to utilize the $35.6 Million in cap space. Free agents like Erik Karlsson, and Anton Stralman are all possible targets for defense if a trade doesn’t come to fruition. However, with the extra draft capital Shero has in his arsenal, there are plenty of cap strapped teams that will need aid.
The addition of Jack Hughes (most likely) or Kaapo Kakko (still possible) the Devils top-two lines will be solidified either way.
Hall-Hughes/Hischier-Palmieri
Bratt-Hischier/Boqvist/Kakko
And lines 3-4 looking more like:
Wood-Zajac- Coleman
Seney-McLeod/Zacha- Joey Anderson pre-free agency.
The Defense to me looks like this currently pre-RFA tendering period:
Ty Smith-Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher/Jeremy Davies- Connor Carrick
UFA: Anton Stralman/Erik Karlsson
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Other possiblities: PK Subban (NSH), Colin Miller (VGK), Olli Maatta (PIT), and Jake Gardiner (TOR).
Nothing is set in stone until Ray Shero gets something prior to making that pick likely for Jack Hughes. Players like Subban, Miller, Maatta, Gardiner are all great defensemen who can very likely improve the odds of Taylor Hall re-signing long term. With a young team learning from last years downward spiral season, it is safe to say that Ray Shero can see a more durable defense that will improve over an 82 game season.
The down year came at the right time. The analytics department, amateur scouting, pro scouting, hockey ops, and player development are all crucial every day business operations that most fans really don’t think of nor care about. Meanwhile, the action we don’t see now is Shero, Castron, MacKinnon and other Devils brass going over who to draft, develop, sign, and possibly trade for.
The short term is becoming more exciting with the youth and growth of the team. It appears the patience will pay off. Teams like the Kings, Blackhawks, Capitals, and the Blues all built from within the draft, and kept their core players.
Patience is not only a virtue in life, but it’s the ultimate dividend when going for the long term in the business and the life in hockey. It is key that Ray Shero sticks to the recipe of building a fast, attacking, and supportive system from offense and defense to help grow this young franchise.