5 Reasons New Jersey Devils Should Have Moved On From Pavel Zacha
On Monday morning, New Jersey Devils Forward Pavel Zacha agree to terms with KHL club Avangard Omsk on a one-year contract. Zacha, who is entering his fourth year in the NHL, is still a restricted free agent, the only one the Devils have left to sign. With contract negotiations not going the way he or agent Patrik Stefan had planned, Zacha threw this curveball to speed up the negotiation process. Devils General Manager Ray Shero spoke to the AP about it, and to sum things up, he doesn’t care where Zacha goes as the Devils still own his rights.
While Zacha agreeing to terms with a KHL club doesn’t necessarily mean he will go to the KHL, as we saw with Zacha’s new three-year deal he signed Tuesday, it is Shero’s comments that say “we are fine with or without you”.
It may have worked out to let Zacha play in the KHL and get international experience and a break from New Jersey. Last season, Zacha was surprisingly sent down to the AHL after not meeting Shero or John Hynes’ expectations.
Zacha has seemed out of place on every part of the ice except when it comes to the penalty kill. When it comes to being a man down, Zacha is one of the best in the league. The PK seemingly is better with him on the ice than without. However he cannot seem to find the score sheet on a consistent basis, tying his career high in points last season with only 25. For being the sixth overall pick, that is relatively low compared to Mikko Rantanen who was taken a few picks later. It is time to cut their losses and let Zacha walk.
Here are the 5 reasons why the Devils should have moved on from Pavel Zacha:
1. The Penalty Kill would be fine without him
The reason why most people would like to keep Pavel Zacha on the roster is because of his presence on the penalty kill. However, they will be just fine if Zacha leaves. The penalty-kill unit is led and has been led by Travis Zajac for years. Even with his age becoming a topic of conversation, he showed last season he can still do it. Blake Coleman is a 2010s version of John Madden, seemingly getting a shorthanded breakaway every game. With a top penalty kill unit of Zajac and Coleman, the Devils should be fine.
On the other hand, one of the main reasons why the Devils go on the penalty kill is because of the sometimes inconsistent discipline of Coleman. With that being said, do not be surprised if Nico Hischier takes another step forward on the defensive side of the puck. He was given more defensive responsibility in his sophomore season, and don’t be surprised to see that role expand.
If Zacha were to leave, it would have opened the door for more players to earn spots on the roster on the penalty kill. Kevin Rooney is another prime candidate to see his role expand. He is a fringe player going into training camp, and with Zacha out of the picture his path to be a mainstay of the NHL roster would become clearer.
Other players than can see more time on the penalty kill include Jesper Bratt and Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds has also had spurts in his career for being a pest on the penalty kill as well as generating short handed opportunities. Then again, Simmonds has not been featured on the penalty kill for the last year. Maybe coming to the Devils and proving he can still compete includes working back on the penalty kill.
2. More money to give Nico Hischier and Taylor Hall
The deal that Zacha signed was only for $2.25 million AAV, which isn’t a whole lot of money. But it could mean the difference of keeping Taylor Hall or seeing him walk. That is $2 million that could have easily been thrown at Hall.
Hall’s contract is going to be a topic of conversation this entire season. There is no way around that for anyone. For the team, the player, the media, and the fans, until a deal is signed or a trade is made, this is going to be a lingering question. If offering Hall an extra million is the difference of keeping him or letting him walk, putting it towards a glorified penalty killer isn’t a good financial decision when you have some on the roster already.
If Hall signs for a solid deal, that money could have also gone to pending RFA Nico Hischier. Hischier is looking to get a comparable deal to Clayton Keller‘s eight year, roughly $7 million AAV. Hischier will most definitely be getting paid a little bit more money than Keller, so this $2 million going to Zacha could have gone to Hischier to keep him in New Jersey for another eight years.
The restricted free agent market has stalled this offseason. It is possible for next years class to be in the same scenario. So it would be smart for Shero to get on his first number-one overall pick to re-sign. It is also possible to give that $2 million given to Zacha to a veteran to play on the bottom six if Shero really thought they needed the depth.
3. Brings more competition for the younger players
With Zacha back into the fold, it takes up one less spot for a younger player to earn time on the NHL roster. Last season, we saw players like Brett Seney, Joey Anderson, and Nathan Basitan play on the big club. With an under achieving Zacha, that is one less spot for these guys, or even a training camp surprise to earn a spot.
At this point, you know what you are getting with Zacha. A good penalty killer that has minimal offensive capabilities at the big level. You don’t know what Seney, Anderson, or Bastian can morph into. They all only had a cup of coffee compared to Zacha.
Other players such as Michael McCleod who is on the verge of being labeled of a first round bust of his own, is going to have a hard time earning a spot now. He has been inconsistent on any level but the AHL. He is now slated to just be an injury replacement. Also Zacha coming back means a training camp surprise like Blake Speers was a few years ago may be out of the question. Players such as Mikhail Maltsev, Fabian Zetterlund, or possibly Brandon Gignac will have to wait a little more to play in the NHL. Also a chance of a PTO is slimmer now with virtually no real spots left in the forward core.
4. Hasn’t fulfilled his offensive potential
This is going to be comparing Zacha to a lot of the players that were taken before and after him in the 2015 NHL draft. Currently sixteen players outrank Zacha in points scored during their career out of the class. Four of whom are defenseman, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Noah Hanafin, and Tomas Chabot. Taken after Zacha was the aforementioned Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen has two hundred and nine points. More points than Zacha has games played. Zacha has not even sniffed the offensive potential that he was billed to have coming out of Junior. This was the last first round pick that Dave Conte and Lou Lamoriello fingerprints on it. They missed the boat desperately on this pick.
It may be a little harsh to label Zacha a bust, but when you are taken two picks after Mitch Marner and within five selections of Connor McDavid, you should be able to hold your own on the offensive side of the puck. That’s not even considering the amazing players that went after him.
If Zacha was taken in the 2ndround, it still would have worked out and he wouldn’t have had so many expectations for him to succeed. Zacha has only scored 25 points in a season as his career high. Something Mathieu Joseph surpassed his rookie season with 26 points. Joseph was drafted 120th overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is hard to see Zacha having any offensive potential at all. Offense the Devils desperately need from their bottom six.
5. The bottom six would survive
Depth scoring has been an issue for the Devils since the dawn of time. Zacha is sure to not pitch in to many depth points. With the top six virtually set with Hischier, Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Jack Hughes, Wayne Simmonds, and Nikita Gusev, depth scoring shouldn’t be an issue this season. Coleman is coming off a season where he scored a career high in goals, while Zajac is a lock to get thirty or more points. With Miles Wood having another year under his belt, he should also be primed to breakout and score some goals while being on the fourth line with Kevin Rooney and possibly John Hayden. Jesper Boqvist can be on the third line with Zajac and Coleman, if he proves himself in camp.
While that fourth line may not be the most attractive thing about the Devils, they would absolutely get underneath the skin of opponents. Wood and Hayden would be the pests that can ruffle some feathers while Rooney is the defensively responsible center. The forward group is solid without Zacha in the picture. Add him back into the fold, it leaves Boqvist as the odd player out and may not be able to play in the top 9 because Zacha is taking up a spot. Once again, this is all dependent on Boqvist being good enough to make it out of camp. Zacha fits the mold of a plethora of players the Devils already have. The bottom six would be fine without him.