The New Jersey Devils have a lot of priorities this offseason, especially without a head coach and general manager. However when it comes to the players, Kyle Palmieri needs to be the person on top of the priority list.
The New Jersey Devils sent literally everything that wasn’t bolted down during this season’s NHL Trade Deadline. It started with Taylor Hall in December, but that was suspected. They got a lot of pieces from the Arizona Coyotes for their expiring superstar. Then, the surprises came. First, it was Blake Coleman, then a few hours later they traded away their captain Andy Greene. During the actual deadline, they made separate trades sending away Sami Vatanen, Wayne Simmonds, and Louis Domingue.
The entire time we were waiting for the Devils to trade away Kyle Palmieri, but nobody was willing to match the team’s price. At the time, interim GM Tom Fitzgerald made it clear that Palmieri was going to come at a premium. This is what Fitzgerald said when asked why Palmieri wasn’t a part of the fire sale.
"“I told teams they need to come in and blow my socks off. No one did. I think everybody knew exactly how I felt about Kyle Palmieri and felt that I wasn’t gonna be bullied to move him.”"
The Devils could still trade Palmieri this offseason. The reason he came at such a premium is that he still had a year left on his contract. It’s the same reason Blake Coleman got the Devils such a haul (1st-round pick and a great prospect in Nolan Foote). Now, the Devils are sitting on Palmieri, who’s probably the best veteran the team has. Should they still consider trading him this offseason?
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Honestly, they should actually re-sign him to an extension. Palmieri will be 30 years old by the end of his current contract. His skill set is something that actually ages better than other skills. Palmieri has a great shot, and that deteriorates slower than more speed-based skills.
The Devils don’t have a lot of money committed past next year. In fact, in 2021 their projected cap hit is only going to be around $36 million. The year after that, there’s only Nico Hischier and Damon Severson on the cap. Obviously, we expect that to change with Mackenzie Blackwood and Jesper Bratt getting new contracts this offseason. Plus, we expect some combination of Jesper Boqvist, Joey Anderson, Janne Kuokkanen, Ty Smith, Nolan Foote, Nick Merkley, Mikhail Maltsev, and Fabian Zetterlund to make the league. That, along with an eventual extension for Jack Hughes, will take up some of that money. Still, there’s plenty to give to pay Palmieri into his later years.
Signing Palmieri now before his impending free agency gives him that standing in the locker room that Travis Zajac has right now. He might even become captain with an extension. Either way, Palmieri has continued to excel despite the issues this team has faced. The Devils should make him a fixture for this lineup with an extension this offseason.