Drop In Salary Cap Helps New Jersey Devils More Than All Other Teams
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are looking at an offseason with a ton of questions, but fixing the salary cap is not one of them. With rumors the cap could even go down, it could be primed for the Devils to take advantage.
Some in the NHL world are dealing with some stress as we try and figure out how to start the hockey season once the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends. We’re not close to playing games any time soon, but it’s never too early to prepare. Speaking of preparing, NHL teams are now being prepared to play next season either on the current salary cap, or possibly one that’s even lower than the $81.5 million it is now. This will hurt now, but it could actually help the New Jersey Devils.
If the current salary cap sticks, the Devils will have $25 million to spend this offseason. If they get the rumored compliance buyout, then they would likely be able to shed the final two years of Cory Schneider‘s contract, saving them an extra $6 million. Even if they don’t get the compliance buyout, they will likely just buy out the Devils former starter, still saving $4 million next season.
Say it’s the worse of the two options, and the Devils have $29 million to spend this offseason. They have to re-sign Mackenzie Blackwood and Jesper Bratt as their two “big-money” contracts, but they’re still nowhere near other players around the league. We see the Devils signing both players for a combined $6 million AAV combined.
That leaves the Devils with $23 million to fill out the rest of their roster. They have A LOT of open spots on the roster. Joey Anderson is another player who needs to be re-signed, but we see them signing him for a generally affordable contract. Then, they need three defensemen, at least four forwards and a backup goalie.
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Some of those spots will be filled by minimum pay players like Ty Smith and possibly Michael McLeod or Nick Merkley. That would take up a maximum of $3 million to fill three more slots. That gives the Devils $20 million to fill the rest of their roster.
The Ottawa Senators have more cap space than the Devils, but they literally have four forwards under contract for next season, not including prospects. With two possible picks in the top three of the NHL Draft, that could fill two of those slots, but it’s not the best situation to be in having that many open slots, and the fact they are the Ottawa Senators.
The Los Angeles Kings have more players signed than the Devils, and $19 million in cap space if the cap stalls, but they have some real issues in next season’s cap, including paying more than $4 million for a non-rostered Dion Phaneuf. They are a team that’s really hoping a compliance buyout is coming to save themselves from likely the Jonathan Quick contract. They could see themselves right in the thick of things, but the Devils have things slightly better.
This offseason could be a big one for the Devils beyond the decisions of head coach and general manager. They have the right situation to weaponize their cap space. They could call some teams that are desperate to get off the snide this cap drop will cause, and it will take other teams out of the free agency running. The Devils are going to be a team to watch this offseason.