New Jersey Devils: Extending Kyle Palmieri Might Be Smart
The New Jersey Devils should probably be all in on Kyle Palmieri during his prime.
There are rumors out there that the New Jersey Devils are working on a contract extension with Kyle Palmieri. That is coming from David Pagnotta, also known as “The Fourth Period”. He has been right on big stories before, most notably the breaking of the John Tavares signing made by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Fans should probably hope that this rumor is true and the Devils can get something done with Palmieri. He has been a great player for them for a long time now.
Told the Devils have had preliminary contract discussions with Kyle Palmieri, who has 1-year left on his contract (and has been the subject of trade spec lately), on an extension. Too early to tell which way this could go, but the two sides are talking.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) September 23, 2020
David Pagnotta makes it clear that they are early in the discussions of the contract extension and could go either way. He does confirm that both sides are engaged and talking about getting it done. That makes complete sense if you think about it from a New Jersey Devils perspective.
Consistency
The New Jersey Devils have not had a more consistent player over the past five seasons than Kyle Palmieri. Taylor Hall was a better player, but he wasn’t even close to as consistent. He was either a mediocre scorer or an MVP candidate depending on the season you look at. Palmieri is a great scorer and both his playmaking and defense are way underrated. In 363 games played with New Jersey, he has 132 goals and 117 assists for 249 points. Those aren’t MVP or future Hall of Fame numbers by any means, but they all-star worthy for sure.
Leadership
It feels like since the departure of Andy Greene, it was always going to be either Palmieri or Nico Hischier as the next team captain. No matter what the decision is, Palmieri will be a leader in the locker room. His play on the ice and his attitude off it tells us that he has the character needed to be the captain of an NHL team.
Kid Centers
Palmieri, in all likelihood, will be on a line with one of Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier if he stays. That isn’t a bad thing for him as centermen like that can certainly find him in places where he is dangerous. He can also help them out with their development which would be really nice.
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Trade?
If the two sides decide that they can’t come to a deal, the Devils should try to trade him as soon as possible. A contending team would give up a lot for a guy who can score like he can. He is a better player than Blake Coleman and we know the type of return the Devils got for him. His value as a 25-30 goal scorer would get the Devils a lot if they decided to go that route. Either way, the Devils should be able to get something out of him whether it is a trade or his service.