Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils: 5 Moves That Would Unnecessarily Speed Up Rebuild

By Nick Villano

Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils (2nd from left) celebrates his game-tying goal at 5:30 of the third period against the New York Rangers and is joined by P.K. Subban #76, Nolan Foote #25, Ty Smith #24 and Nicholas Merkley #39 at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils (2nd from left) celebrates his game-tying goal at 5:30 of the third period against the New York Rangers and is joined by P.K. Subban #76, Nolan Foote #25, Ty Smith #24 and Nicholas Merkley #39 at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8): (Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports) /

Alex Ovechkin, five years $60 million
Brandon Saad, four years $16 million
Niklas Hjalmarsson, two years $6 million

The New Jersey Devils need to make power moves in free agency this offseason. The one move that makes the most sense for a team trying to go from laughing stock to competitor overnight would be to sign Alexander Ovechkin to whatever he wants. The Devils would be giving him $12 million per season to continue his quest to beat Wayne Gretzky in New Jersey.

Ovechkin changes this offense overnight. More importantly, he changes the dynamic of the power play. The Devils’ power play is awful. However, the Capitals’ power play hasn’t ever really fallen below league average because of how great Ovechkin is with the man advantage. That isn’t going to go away with age, either. He’ll always be able to sit in “his office” and score goals. It’s the move to make the Devils a contender.

Brandon Saad is having a decent season with the Colorado Avalanche, but he never hit the highs that made him a trade piece that sent Artemi Panarin the other way. The Chicago Blackhawks famously lost three trades involving Saad, which is honestly sad. Either way, he’s worth a contract this offseason. He can easily be a 20-goal scorer on a really good second line. Maybe someone offers him more, but it’s hard to tell what free agency will look like this season.

Niklas Hjalmarsson is a defenseman that made sense for the Devils for years, but Arizona never pulled the trigger on a trade. Now, he’s 33 years old and is at the end of his prime. He has a few good seasons left in him, and it would be interesting to see him next to Erik Karlsson.

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