5 Under The Radar Players The New Jersey Devils Should Pursue In The Offseason
By Dave Browne
![NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 05: Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Los Angeles Kings scores at 32 seconds of the third period on the power-play against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on February 05, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Kings defeated the Devils 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - FEBRUARY 05: Tyler Toffoli #73 of the Los Angeles Kings scores at 32 seconds of the third period on the power-play against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on February 05, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Kings defeated the Devils 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2be03ceed1fb0547fd47d28d7d0f4600d3b23b3df904095c76b2d9cfce82bdb4.jpg)
Vince Dunn
Acquiring defenseman Vince Dunn may be a long shot, but the St. Louis Blues will have some difficult decisions to make this off-season. Their forwards are under contract account for almost 40 million against the cap, will need to open up their wallets if they wish to retain captain Alex Pietriangelo and looming large is re-signing Stanley Cup hero Jordan Binnington before he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2020-21 season. Binnington will be in line for a hefty raise of his 4.4 million, and could almost double his salary. Unfortunately for the Blues, they cannot keep everyone. Dunn is also a restricted free agent, who will look to get a raise from his 722,500 salary.
This is where the Devils could take advantage of a salary cap strapped team. Dunn is a young, promising left handed blueliner who is a smooth skater, savvy offensively and has very good underlying metric numbers. He has the highest corsi for percentage on a very good Blues team. He would be a welcome addition to a Devils defense that lacks his kind of offensive upside. If the Devils were to facilitate a trade, they could possibly entice the Blues by taking on another player with a high cap hit such as Alexander Steen, who has one year left on his contract for 5.75 million.
As the Devils inch closer to the off-season, it will be fun to debate who the Devils should go after in free agency and through trades. The Devils should strongly adding Kevin LaBanc, Tyler Toffoli, Robin Lehner, Thomas Greiss and Vince Dunn.