New Jersey Devils: 5 Left-Handed Defenseman To Target This Offseason
By Nick Villano
Torey Krug
We will start with the obvious one. Torey Krug is the best defenseman who plays on the left side that’s available through free agency. This is a very good defensive free agency pack, as we went through in the last slide. When there’s players like Pietrangelo, Muzzin and Barrie to distract teams who need both sides filled, this could allow the Devils to jump on Krug.
It’s hard to believe the Devils will be front runners for Krug, but with Taylor Hall‘s contract no longer a factor, the Devils can afford to slightly overpay to fill a desperate hole in the lineup.
It’s true that the Devils have had trouble in the past getting the top free agents to sign here. Kevin Shattenkirk picked the New York Rangers. Pat Maroon took a massive pay cut to go to the St. Louis Blues. There are other examples throughout recent history. The Devils are not great at getting those big names to come play in front of the Prudential Center crowd.
However, Shero has the opportunity to show that Krug is the last piece they really need to turn this around. The young players in Binghamton are playing better Mackenzie Blackwood is doing Yeoman’s work in net. Subban has finally worked his way through the system. If the Devils re-sign Vatanen, then Krug and Ty Smith can fill out the final two spots on defense.
Would Krug make this a Stanley Cup contender? Probably not, but if he’s on this team now, pushing the defenders all down a peg, then they’d be in a much better position.