New Jersey Devils: Ranking 10 Best Free Agent Fits

The New Jersey Devils could use free agency to make this team better.

This is a very important offseason for the New Jersey Devils. A lot of that has to do with the NHL Draft. The Devils have three 1st-round picks in this week’s draft, and then another six picks after that. It’s going to be crucial in making the Devils a competitive team for the long term, but it doesn’t do a lot for the team right now. One thing that could make the team better now is through free agency.

The Devils likely aren’t going to make moves for older players, but the way that free agency works there isn’t a lot of players under the age of 27 on the market. With restricted free agency rules, it’s rare a player hits the open market before then. There are only three players in free agency under the age of 25 that played any games in the NHL last season according to Spotrac. They are Sam Lafferty, Melker Karlsson, and Valeri Nichushkin. Nichushkin is the only one the Devils likely would have any interest in. There are only seven total players if you add all the 27 year olds.

The Devils still need some kind of a veteran presence on the team. Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri are the oldest forwards, with P.K. Subban holding down veteran status on the back end. Adding one or two players to this team would help in the long run.

Finding a fit is difficult for the Devils. Not many players make sense in free agency. It’s fun to talk about Taylor Hall, but it’s likely his best years won’t match up with this franchise’s Stanley Cup window. Other players who are already over 30 might be a hard sell to ownership. The Devils will likely be bargain hunters.

So, we ranked the available free agents based on their fit for the Devils. This takes salary, age, production, and chemistry into account. The Devils can only go after the perfect players with how their team is constructed and the timeline they are on.

10. Alex Pietrangelo

There’s a lot about Alex Pietrangelo that doesn’t fit with the Devils, but to keep him off the list entirely would be a mistake. Pietrangelo has been weirdly tied with the Devils, even having a situation brought up to general manager Tom Fitzgerald in a now-deleted NHL.com article. If Pietrangelo says he’d be willing to go to the Devils, they’d at least have to listen.

The issue here is the presence of Subban. Pietrangelo is going to ask for a minimum of $9 million. Let’s say by some miracle the Devils sign him for the minimum. That means the Devils are paying $18 million for the right side of the Top 4. Add in Damon Severson, and that becomes more than $24 million without making the Devils left side better.

Still, Pietrangelo has a lot left in the tank. He can be really good for another five years. The Devils need to consider the fact that he could still be good through Nico Hischier’s prime, and at least the beginning of Jack Hughes’ prime. He could be increasingly important to the Devils once they finally start making the postseason, which could be soon if they make this signing. Next season sounds like it’s going to be a grind. The Devils could compete since they have a talented roster that’s insanely rested. Adding a proven winner like Pietrangelo could speed up the rebuild as Artemi Panarin did for the New York Rangers.

It’s highly unlikely for the Devils, but it’s not like it is out of the realm of possibility entirely. This makes sense, but not as much as a lot of other moves the Devils can make.

9. Tyler Toffoli

Most analysts haven’t been paying much attention to Tyler Toffoli. That’s because it appeared he was bound to re-sign with the Vancouver Canucks, who spent a lot to get him from the Los Angeles Kings. However, we’re less than one week away from the start of free agency, and there’s no deal. There aren’t even rumors of an impending deal. Toffoli is this close to free agency. It appears he’s going to make it there.

Toffoli is a free agent we haven’t considered, but he’s a very interesting piece. He never really hit his ceiling with the Los Angeles Kings. He was a 30-goal scorer early in his career, but he never found the same scoring touch on recent Los Angeles Kings teams. It could have something to do with the talent level of the Kings plummeting, but great players can overcome that.

The Devils should still be very interested in a forward who can consistently score 20 goals in the right offense. It all comes down to price. If he asks for around $5 million, then the Devils could swallow that for three or four years. If he’s asking for $6 million and more term, the Devils can’t take that kind of chance on a player like Toffoli. Maybe he needs to find a place where it all clicks, but New Jersey has very rarely been that place for players.

This deal has a chance to be a problem if it’s a major overpayment, but for the right price, Toffoli could be one of the better options for the Devils. He’s low on the list because the price is a problem that can’t be overcome. If they Devils overpay, it’s a bad deal from day one.

7. Andreas Athanasiou

This is the one non-tendered restricted free agent on the list since it’s one of the few we know about at this time. The Edmonton Oilers gave up two 2nd-round picks to get Andreas Athanasiou at the NHL Trade Deadline, but it went so terribly they decided to give him up for nothing. He was a restricted free agent, so the Oilers could have at least tried to get something for him. GM Ken Holland couldn’t get a deal done, and now they are moving on.

Athanasiou is one of the few 26 year olds that are now available (he’s not on the free agency list because technically he’s still the Oilers property for now). Obviously, things didn’t go well in Edmonton, but he’s been a productive forward in the past. His qualifying offer was for $3 million, so that’s likely around what he will be looking for on the free agency market.

Athanasiou scored 30 goals two seasons ago. This isn’t like Toffoli who scored 30 goals four seasons ago. There’s one season in between Athanasiou being a 30-goal scorer and not. Asking him to bounce back into that isn’t asking for a lot. If the Devils give him a two-year deal for a total of $7 million, it’s well worth the risk.

This one is fun to think about. Athanasiou has a ton of speed. So does Hughes, Miles Wood, and Jesper Boqvist. It could be one of those X factors that help the Devils once they are ready to compete. Sure, speed on its own can’t win hockey games, but it sure helps. AA would be a good addition as Tom Fitzgerald’s first free-agent signing.

6. Torey Krug

There are three major differences between Pietrangelo and Torey Krug that makes Krug a better fit for the Devils. They are age, price, and handedness. Start with the latter. Krug is a left-handed defenseman that can fill the Devils’ biggest need. Adding Krug to a line with Subban could help him find his game again. Krug is undoubtedly the best left-handed defenseman on the market.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t without his flaws. He’s only 5’9, which would make a small Devils defense even smaller. He focuses on the offensive side of things, which makes him just a better version of Will Butcher and Damon Severson. However, he’s a legit first-line player unlike those two.

His advanced statistics look good over his career. He had a 55.46 CF% this past season. He had a career-worst 50.32 high-danger chance percentage this past season. For that to be the worst he’s had shows he’s bound for a bounce back in the stat.

He’s going to cost a lot less than Pietrangelo for a lot fewer years. If his price starts to get north of $7 million, then the Devils would opt out anyway. It might get that high, and then it’s a less than desirable situation for the Devils.

As far as age, he’s only slightly younger than Pietrangelo. He’s just over a year younger than the best defenseman on the market.

Outlets are predicting Krug to get $8+ million on the market, but with a flat cap, it’s hard to believe that will happen. Unless the Detroit Red Wings want to spend a lot of their available money on him, the highest bidder could get into the $7 million range. Krug would be a very good addition to the Devils, even if he gets $7 million on a four-year deal.

5. Dylan DeMelo

Dylan DeMelo is nowhere near as good as Pietrangelo and Krug, but he could be one of the best deals on the market this season. He’s falling under the radar since Cody Ceci is getting a lot of publicity since he’s so young, but DeMelo is only 27 years old himself. He took a little while to get some publicity as a contributing defenseman. His first couple of seasons with the San Jose Sharks didn’t go great before he was a part of the Erik Karlsson trade.

DeMelo blossomed in his first year in Ottawa. He did well with the opportunity to get more minutes. He played even better this season before he was traded to Winnipeg. DeMelo is a very intriguing player that’s going to sign for around $2 million.

Winnipeg was disappointing in the playoffs, but DeMelo was not. He had a 55.14 CF% in four playoff games. It’s an extremely small sample size, but it’s better than the alternative.

DeMelo is a right-handed defenseman, which is not exactly what the Devils need at the moment, but adding one for the third line would be good for the Devils. If they end up trading Severson like some rumors say could happen, then he could easily fill the second-line spot.

It’s a cheap option to see if the best is yet to come for DeMelo. He’s 27 years old, which is right in the middle of his prime. He’s also a late bloomer, so he could be even better than he’s shown so far in the middle of his deal. Maybe the Devils even consider overpaying slightly to add years to the deal. This feels like it could go four years and $12 million total.

4. Mike Hoffman

It might seem strange that Mike Hoffman is so much higher than Dadonov since they are similar players in their prime, but Hoffman seems like a much better fit overall for the Devils for multiple reasons. The obvious one is age. Hoffman is just a year younger, but that matters when considering a long-term deal.

Hoffman was one of the only players who showed up for the Panthers in the playoffs. He had five points in four games including three goals. Hoffman has always been the more consistent of the two forwards this season, Hoffman never had less than eight points in a month. Dadonov scored nine goals in January, then had two in the next 20 games to end the regular season. Hoffman never went more than seven without a goal.

Hoffman can go on some nice streaks himself. In February, he scored goals in nine of 16 games. The Devils have dealt with streaky scorers before. It’s time to get someone who can get the puck in the net consistently.

The question of cost is a legitimate one. Will Hoffman ask for more than a marginal raise? He’s making a little more than $5.1 million in the past four seasons. Is he going to ask for $7 million per season? To go from a no-tax state like Florida to a tax riddled state like New Jersey, another $2 million doesn’t go as far.

The fit is great for the Devils, so if they can get Hoffman to agree to a deal at around $6.5 million, it would be for the best.

3. Anton Khudobin

With Robin Lehner signing with the Vegas Golden Knights on a five-year deal, there aren’t a lot of backup goalies on the market worth forcing the Devils to buy out Cory Schneider. The player that carried the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final would certainly be one of them. Anton Khudobin has always been a really good goalie, but he was never able to find a starting job.

He would likely want to be a starter wherever he goes, which would not be what he would be with the Devils, but there isn’t a lot of starting roles out there. The Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres might bite, but there are rumors they might be destinations for a player like Matt Murray or Darcy Kuemper. That leaves Khudobin going to the place that gives him the most starts.

Mackenzie Blackwood played well last season, and he will be the “starter”, but with next season being so unpredictable, and likely a marathon of games in a short amount of time, it makes sense to pay a backup well who can play half the season. Schneider cannot be relied upon for 40 games anymore. Even though he’s the same age as Khudobin, he has a much longer injury history on his resumé.

If the Stars don’t re-sign Khudobin, then he will be joining his seventh franchise. He’s never played more than 41 games, but he’s also never put up a save percentage under .900. Khudobin’s run to the Final made him a lot of money, and the Devils should pay for that experience. The backup goalie position has killed them for years now. Schneider, Keith Kinkaid, Eddie Lack, and Louis Domingue are not good enough to win them anything at this point in their respective careers. Khudobin still has some greatness left to show.

2. T.J. Brodie

Now, we’re getting into “go all-in” territory. The Devils have a major need on the defense, and T.J. Brodie hurt his value this season with a weird turn of events. The Flames had a rough season, but Brodie had his own major health problems. He fought what was determined to be a fainting spell that ended a scary incident in practice, but it doesn’t seem like a long-term problem.

Brodie is a left-handed defenseman with spectacular advanced stats. He’s an offensive-minded defenseman that gets out of trouble with spectacular skating ability. He may be 30 years old, but he’s exactly the kind of player that would fit with Subban on the first line.

At the beginning of this article, we talked about fit. The number one fit the Devils need is someone who can play big minutes on the left side of the defense who compliments the game of Subban. It doesn’t look like Subban is going anywhere, and it probably doesn’t make sense to move him at his lowest-possible value. So, the Devils need to find a player that can unlock the old Subban.

Brodie would be a valuable player even at a big contract. He’s making over $4 million this season, so he’s going to want a decent raise. Paying Brodie $5.5 million isn’t out of the question. Coming into the season, Brodie was a $7 million defenseman. A couple of weird things that hurt his value and probably don’t have a long-term effect would only benefit the Devils.

1. Brenden Dillon

Another defenseman that would fit the Devils needs perfectly, Brenden Dillon would be the best possible option for the Devils in free agency. He plays that crucial left side, he’s exceeded when given a bigger role, and he’s under 30 years old (even if he won’t be when the season starts). Reports say the Washington Capitals are trying to move money to keep him, but with less than a week until free agency, it will be hard to keep him.

His cost is interesting. He made $3.9 million last season. Even with the uncertainty on the salary cap, he will want to make a little more. It likely won’t be a lot more like a Torey Krug, but it could be closer to $4.5 million. If the Capitals let him go to market, the Devils must come up with that kind of dough.

Dillon was one of the few brights spots on a trash bag of a Sharks team this season. He was eventually traded to the Caps for their stretch run. They gave up two picks (2020 2nd rounder and 2021 3rd rounder) to bring him to Washington. They will want him back, but if they can’t make the money work, the Devils sure can.

This is a no brainer for the Devils. He fits their needs, he has some time left in his prime as a defenseman, and he could fit with Subban. He doesn’t fit as well as Brodie would, but for the price, it makes a lot more sense.