New Jersey Devils Must Sign Brian Boyle Right Now

The New Jersey Devils are in a bad way right now after falling to 0-4-2 on Monday afternoon. The only man built to turn this team around is Brian Boyle.

It’s October, so most of the good NHL free agents are on their new teams and ready to help them go to the promise land. When looking at the crop still available, there are some names still out there. Devante Smith-Pelly is a former New Jersey Devils player that showed his best game when helping the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup. Dion Phaenuf was once one of the great defensemen in the league. Griffin Reinhart was once a prized prospect that garnered the New York Islanders the pick that got them Matthew Barzal, and he’s only 25 years old.

Still, the free agent that would actually make any sense on the Devils this season is one that we thought would sign long ago. Brian Boyle is the best free agent available, and he brings everything the Devils are lacking.

Boyle was traded to the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline last season. It netted the Devils a 2nd-round pick, one they used to eventually take Michael Vukojevic, Case McCarthy and Arseni Gritsyuk (they traded down twice).

That’s all well and good for the future, but it does not help the Devils now. However, it would be icing on the cake if the Devils were able to get all those picks just to get Boyle back a few months later.

We know that Boyle liked his time with the Devils. He didn’t seem happy to be leaving. However, the Devils sent him to an organization known for winning, so he couldn’t be terribly upset with the situation at hand.

Last week, there were reports that Brian Boyle was drawing significant interest from multiple teams. We have to imagine the Devils are one of those teams. It just makes too much sense right now. The team is missing purpose, and it desperately needs a leader to bring them back from the brink. This Devils team has some veterans, but not many that have pulled a locker room together like Boyle.

The 34 year old has literally been through everything. Not only has he played for six different franchises (and been a fan favorite at most of them), but he’s also a cancer survivor, and his son was dealing with a very rare jaw issue. Hockey is just a game that helps him make a living.

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Boyle is important off the ice, but he’s also still important on the ice. The Devils have been terrible at puck possession, and they have been really easy to knock off the puck. Boyle, on the other hand, can still hold on to the puck with the best of them. One thing he did best with the Devils is keep the play going in the corners. Right now, it feels like the Devils lose every single puck battle.

Boyle also can score on the power play. Is it ideal to put him on the power play? Probably not, but he’s definitely one to show a change of pace. He had 11 power play goals in just over 100 games in a Devils uniform.

Finally, the Devils could use another big body. We know that they brought Wayne Simmonds to play that role, but they absolutely can have both Simmonds and Boyle in the same lineup. The head coach should probably separate them on lines, but as long as they do that, it shouldn’t be a problem.

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The injury to Nico Hischier makes this even more of a priority. Replacing Hischier in the lineup with Kevin Rooney is something we really don’t want to deal with. Replacing Hischier with Boyle in the lineup hurts just a little less. Then, the Devils could go down the middle with Travis Zajac, Jack Hughes, Pavel Zacha and Boyle. Then, when Hischier eventually returns, the Devils could move either Boyle or Zacha to wing.

The Devils have to do something to turn this season around. Making a signing isn’t the biggest move they can make, but this will absolutely help get the Devils in the right direction.

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