New Jersey Devils: Are They Done Adding This Offseason?

The New Jersey Devils have had an incredible offseason, but is there a reason to believe that they are done and will now bring what they have to camp?

The New Jersey Devils have been heavily improving their team since the offseason truly began during the 2019 NHL Draft. The team missed the playoffs in 2018-19 one year after ending a six-year drought. Now, they are looking to build on the pieces that they have and be ready to have a good year in 2019-20.

The began with making the first-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. They selected Jack Hughes from the United States National Development Camp. He has been the number-one prospect in the world since the preseason of last year and even before that in most people’s minds. He will join Nico Hischier as number one picks to build around.

The very next day they acquired P.K. Subban in a blockbuster trade with the Nashville Predators right before the second round began. It was a stunning trade for some, but some of us saw it coming. It was in the back of a lot of peoples minds and everyone knew general manager Ray Shero would be looking to improve this team big time.

On July 1st, the Devils signed free agent Wayne Simmonds to a one year deal worth five million against the cap. It is a low risk, high reward move for the Devils who are looking for Simmonds to have a bounce-back year and help bring some toughness to this young Devils squad. He can also contribute some offense, especially on the power play so hopefully, he can do that for the Devils as well.

Last week, the New Jersey Devils made a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights for the rights to KHL superstar Nikita Gusev. Devils fans have been wanting Gusev for pretty much the entire offseason and they came through. They immediately got him signed to a two-year deal worth 4.5 million dollars per year. He led the KHL in points by a lot and has a real chance to help bring some more offense to this Devils team.

Those four editions are really big for the Devils and should all help the team win more games. Some might be short term moves to help them along but some of them could help this team for years to come. Are they done this offseason? It is hard to tell because it is only early August but all signs point to them being done.

There are still some intriguing UFAs left and some superstar RFAs out there but the Devils seem to have a full roster of players to ice this year. They have lots of forwards, especially with the additions mentioned and there is a real chance they carry eight defensemen this year. Cory Schneider and MacKenzie Blackwood are going to hold down the goaltending duties and this team should be pretty good.

This part of the summer is likely going to go without much news because the Devils have already done so much. They have older veterans coming off the books in the coming years so what they have done in this offseason has been a nice touch to the team and it shouldn’t be long before they are perennial playoff contenders.

If they do make another acquisition this summer, it would be surprising but it would only be the right player at the right cost. Taylor Hall said he wanted to see more talent and more talent they got. Shero has done everything very well and hopefully, Hall is able to recognize that when thinking about his extension. This team could be good and training camp is just around the corner.