New Jersey Devils: Would A Short Term Deal For Pavelski Be Smart
The New Jersey Devils are going to be a pretty young team for a few years, so some veteran presence might be nice for this team for the next few years.
The New Jersey Devils are going to be a team where all of their best players are on the younger side. They have awesome talent and are looking to build that into sustained success. They are going to need some more veteran leadership at the forward position and one that scores goals at an elite clip would be an added bonus.
The San Jose Sharks signed Erik Karlsson to an eight-year extension that carries an $11 million cap hit. That now means that 40% of their cap is taken up by five players. They now have much less money to sign a crop of good players looking to be paid.
Their captain Joe Pavelski is one of those players. He has been an elite goal scorer for most of his career and he can play any forward position. He would fit in nicely on the Devils and could really help some of these young guys grow. In 75 games last year he had 38 goals and 26 assists for 64 points. Those 38 goals would look nice on any team in the league.
The only issue is his age. He is 34 years old, so most of his best years are in the past, but he still has some more to give. It would only work for the Devils if he was willing to sign a short term deal. The Devils can afford the salary he likely desires, but only a one-to-three year deal would be smart for the Devils. This isn’t the kind of guy you sign to a seven-year deal, but he will have something to give while some of the youngsters are on their entry-level deals.
Another thing you can almost be certain of is the fact that Joe Pavelski plays in most of his team’s games. He missed seven games in 2018-19 and that is the first time he missed more than one game since 2010-11. He is always reliable and you know what you are going to get out of him.
Related Story. Devils Miss Out On Trouba. light
He is a guy that scores most of his goals from within five feet of the blue paint. He is also one of the best puck deflectors in the NHL. He would love to have guys like Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes to set him up. This would be a very smart short term move for Ray Shero and the Devils. It may be unlikely simply because he probably wants to stay out west, but it is something to think about for both Pavelski and the Devils.