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New Jersey Devils Have Big Issue With Expansion Draft

By Nick Villano

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Co-owner Bill Foley, left, and general manager George McPhee of the Vegas Golden Knights make their selection onstage during the 2017 NHL Awards & Expansion Draft at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Co-owner Bill Foley, left, and general manager George McPhee of the Vegas Golden Knights make their selection onstage during the 2017 NHL Awards & Expansion Draft at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft seems far away, but it’s really not. The New Jersey Devils might be in a really bad situation once it comes around.

When the Vegas Golden Knights came into the league, the New Jersey Devils thought their expansion draft would actually help. Fans hoped the Knights would take a Mike Cammalleri off their hands. They ended up taking Jon Merrill, which was a blessing in disguise. The Devils came out of the expansion draft in alright shape.

The next expansion draft might not go so well. The New Jersey Devils have finally turned a corner. After acquiring P.K. Subban, Jack Hughes and Nikita Gusev this offseason, this Devils team looks like one that can contend now and in the future. By 2021, they hope to be true contenders.

2021 is the Seattle Expansion Draft. That means they are going to take one player from every single team. The Devils can only protect can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. So, that’s already a problem. Right now, the Devils have six players under contract after the 2021 season. There’s a lot of players still to re-sign, and obviously they will break that number at that time, but this draft has to loom over Ray Shero’s decisions as GM.

All first and second-year NHL players are exempt from the draft. That means Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist and Jack Hughes (among others) would be exempt from the draft. That’s a huge relief for this team, because those would be obvious choices for an expansion team. However, just about every other player on the Devils would be up for grabs.

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Right now, the only players the Devils have signed through that year is Miles Wood, Damon Severson, Subban, Will Butcher, Hughes (who’s ineligible) and Cory Schneider. So that’s only five people on the protection list, but the Devils by rule have to make at least one defenseman, one goalie and two forwards available.

Let’s say the Devils re-sign Taylor Hall long term. They will sign Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Mackenzie Blackwood and Pavel Zacha in the next two offseasons. Then there are older players that are still question marks. Travis Zajac will be 36 when his current deal ends. Could they bring him back on a team-friendly deal? If they do, they’d need to protect him (unless they signed him after the draft). The same goes for Blake Coleman, Gusev, Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Palmieri and Sami Vatanen.

So, the obvious protections are Hall, Hischier, Bratt, Butcher, Severson and Subban at this point. That only leaves the Devils with four forward protections and a goalie. (Editor’s note: a previous version of this article said Cory Schneider had a no-move clause. He has a no-trade clause, therefore he can be moved.)

The Devils have to find a way to keep all their young players without breaking any rules. They may have to lose a player like Zacha when it’s all said and done. They may not have a choice. It’s down the road, but something that’s still surrounding all of the Devils moves today.

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