New Jersey Devils: The Devils Should Add Nikita Gusev
The New Jersey Devils have been improving their team all summer long, and this move would really put a bow on a fantastic offseason.
The New Jersey Devils are always looking to improve. They did a really good job of not giving out any contracts that they will regret 3-4 years from now on free agency day one. They have really been going about all of this the right way and it is really refreshing to see. The offseason can become even more awesome with one more acquisition.
The Vegas Golden Knights are a cap-strapped team and the Devils have all the cap they need. They are in position to take advantage. They have a few guys in the desert that would look awesome in red and black, but one in particular that has never even played an NHL game yet. Nikita Gusev is property of the Vegas Golden Knights but he has no contract and ti appears that Vegas can’t fit him under the cap.
It came out via a tweet from Jesse Granger, a Vegas Golden Knights reporter for The Athletic that the Golden Knights are looking at trade options for the 26-year-old left wing. A source told him that the two sides (Gusev and Vegas) are far apart in negotiations and that Vegas will flip him if they cannot get a deal done. This is something that the Devils can get done if they wanted.
The Devils have assets to trade and money to give. This is a match made in heaven so if Ray Shero sees his way to a deal, he should do it. This could be a player that comes in and is awesome right away if in the right situation.
A certain Russian player with the exact same story comes to mind when thinking of Gusev. This player, like Gusev, led the KHL in scoring the year before coming over to the NHL. His name is Artemi Panarin. The guy who just signed a seven year $11.6 million deal with the New York Rangers. Panarin came in and was so good that he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. That doesn’t mean that Gusev will do as well as Panarin, but he also might be very good in his own way.
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This is a risk worth taking if you’re the New Jersey Devils. He would fit in really nicely on the second line on the left of Jack Hughes and one of Kyle Palmieri, Wayne Simmonds, or Jesper Bratt. No matter what, he would just add some more young depth to this team that they need. This could end up getting interesting, Devils fans! Buckle up.