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New Jersey Devils: Despite Successful Draft Weekend, There’s More To Do

By Mike Luci

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 10: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly poses with New Jersey Devils General Manager Ray Shero after the New Jersey Devils won the first overall pick during the NHL Draft Lottery at the CBC Studios on April 10, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 10: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly poses with New Jersey Devils General Manager Ray Shero after the New Jersey Devils won the first overall pick during the NHL Draft Lottery at the CBC Studios on April 10, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils came out of the draft weekend as winners after selecting center Jack Hughes with the first-overall pick and acquiring defenseman PK Subban the following day. These moves undoubtedly bolster the roster in areas where they sorely lacked depth and should make the Devils more competitive in an extremely talented Metropolitan Division next season.

In Hughes, the Devils addressed their need for another top-six center, giving the team a one-two punch down the middle. That’s something they haven’t had in quite some time (if ever at all). With Subban, New Jersey acquired a genuine top-pairing blue liner that can anchor their backend.

The Devils haven’t had a defenseman of Subban’s caliber since the days of Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer. As we saw last year, it was their subpar blue-line depth that factored mightily in the derailment of their 2018-2019 season.

While the New Jersey Devils have started the offseason on the right foot, there is still much work to be done. Even after taking all of Subban’s $9 million AAV, the Devils are still below the cap floor by about $4-5 million and have over $25 million in available space (per CapFriendly). While the Devils improved considerably this past weekend, General Manager Ray Shero still has much to do in the coming weeks if he wants to assemble a genuine playoff contender in 2020.

He certainly has the cap space and resources at his disposal to make that happen.

Yes, acquiring Subban improves the Devils defense considerably. As of writing this, the locks on New Jersey’s defense (in addition to Subban) are Andy Greene, Sami Vatanen, Damon Severson and Will Butcher. Out of those five, Subban and Severson are the only blue liners who’ve played more than 200 games that are signed beyond 2020.

While hopes are high that former 2018 1st-round pick Ty Smith will make the team out of training camp, there are no guarantees when it comes to prospects. The 19-year old is sure to endure growing pains that inevitably occur during an NHL player’s rookie season. Acquiring another tenured blue liner would benefit the New Jersey Devils by bolstering their defensive depth and as a form of insurance in case a rookie like Smith doesn’t impress at training camp.

With Greene and Vatanen currently poised to become unrestricted free agents next summer, it would also benefit the Devils to have control of another experienced defenseman beyond next season. This is especially true if they’re looking to establish themselves as perennial playoff contenders.

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The pickings for free agent defensemen are slim, and after absorbing all of Subban’s $9 million AAV, the more coveted options like Jake Gardiner or Tyler Myers are probably out of the question. For a quality pickup, another trade is probably the more viable scenario, especially if it’s for a second or third-pairing blue liner. Projected free agents like Carl Gunnarson or Anton Stralman could work on short-term deals, while defensemen like Colin Miller or Alec Martinez of cap-strapped teams like the Vegas Golden Knights or Los Angeles Kings (respectively) could be had for more-than-reasonable prices.

Hughes joins a promising forward core that currently consists of Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri, along with supportive players like Jesper Bratt, Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman. Even with Hughes, the Devils still have holes in their top-six. Players like Coleman, Bratt or even Miles Wood can play the role of a 3rd-6th forward, but are better-suited on the third or fourth line for the most part.

Next. Devils Five Most Tradeable Players. dark

Between being one of the less-desirable destinations for top free agents and being flushed with quality center depth at the NHL-level, I can confidently say the Devils won’t lure top free agents like Artemi Panarin or Matt Duchene. Having said that, someone like Gustav Nyquist, Ryan Dzingel, or Anders Lee could round out New Jersey’s top-six forward depth nicely. While there are potentially dozens of options on the trade front (too many to list), the Devil’s glut of cap space gives them more flexibility than most teams that will court these players for their services.

It’s not even July 1 and the New Jersey Devils already look like a much more improved team than last year’s squad. Ray Shero is staying true to his word on aggressively improving his team this offseason, and despite his major pickups at the draft, I’m sure Shero is very much aware that more work still needs to be done if he wants the league to take the 2019-2020 New Jersey Devils seriously.

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