New Jersey Devils: Making Decisions On Upcoming UFAs
The New Jersey Devils have some big decisions to make this season with their UFAs.
The New Jersey Devils have some big decisions to make over the next year or so. We all know by now how COVID-19 has affected the National Hockey League. The Devils have not played a single hockey game since the pause which was in the middle of March. They weren’t invited to the return to play bubble so they are going to go north of ten months without playing a game and that might change around some of their plans.
The two biggest keys to their decision making have to be Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev. There are some key players that are RFAs but we know they will be brought back and the question is just the price. With Palmieri and Gusev, they are each unrestricted free agents after 2020-21 which means the Devils have to act on it or they will be gone.
The Devils would love to keep both but they have to decide if it will be in the best interest of the team. They are both in their late-20s so they aren’t youngsters by any means but they both have a lot of good hockey in them. Each of them also brings something different to the table.
Kyle Palmieri is captain material. They might choose Nico Hischier over him because of the age/contract situations but Palmieri is definitely a candidate. His on-ice play is also something any team would want. He is a sniper who can give you anywhere from 25-35 goals in a full season. He also has underrated playmaking ability and an underrated defensive ability. This is a complete player who makes any team he is on better.
Hot. Jaromir Jagr was so good for the New Jersey Devils. light
As for Nikita Gusev, he is a premier passer. He makes plays to set up the teammates around him. He can score some goals too but he really earns his money by setting up some of his linemates. He created some great chemistry before the pause with Jesper Bratt and Pavel Zacha which is clearly a line that has a bit of everything on it. It took Gusev a little bit to adjust to the NHL game in his first season on North American ice but it did start to come.
The ceiling appears to be higher for Gusev because of what he did in his first season but the floor for him is probably lower than Palmieri’s. Either way, losing one of those two would make New Jersey a lesser team but if they get a good haul in a trade, they might be better off in the future. No matter how you look at it, the Devils probably need to have answers by the time the trade deadline hits for 2021.