New Jersey Devils: 5 Players In Jeopardy In Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft
The New Jersey Devils are terrible this season, but unfortunately, this doesn’t stop them from losing a decent piece in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. They might be a tire fire on the ice, but there are some very talented, young players. There are only so many that the Devils can protect. The Seattle Kraken are going to want to get some young players because there will be veterans available from the other 31 teams. There will be a limited amount of young players available, so the Kraken will take advantage of it when they can.
The Devils might lose a veteran in the expansion draft. P.K. Subban is an interesting option. He would be great with the media, he would give the team a marketable star, and he probably could use a change of scenery. He doesn’t have a no-move clause, so the Devils can expose him for nothing. Will Butcher is another vet (saying that lightly since he’s only been in the NHL for four seasons) that could go to the Kraken. He’s an interesting young defenseman
Despite those veterans being available, the Devils have to make really hard decisions when it comes to its young forwards. We will focus on this group here. The Devils are going to make Subban and Butcher available. Tom Fitzgerald won’t really have to sweat about that. Who he makes available at forward is going to make him sweat.
First, we want to thank Cap Friendly’s Expansion Draft Simulator for making this much easier.
The obvious protections are Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Pavel Zacha. That’s probably it for the OBVIOUS players. Let’s add Yegor Sharangovich to that group (yes, he needs to be protected). That gives the Devils three spots to protect an unexpectedly large group of talented young forwards. Who is on the chopping block?
Michael McLeod
Michael McLeod finally came into his own this season. After the Devils took him with their 1st-round pick in 2015, he was expected to be on the team after one more season with the Mississauga Steelheads. While his draft+1 season was absolutely great, when he went back for his final season in juniors with an injury, it seems like he was never the same. He spent two pretty ho-hum seasons with the Binghamton Devils. That included an absolutely awful stretch where he went 33 NHL games without a goal.
This season, he broke the ice. He has eight goals in 44 games. He’s been much, much better at just about every part of the ice. The Devils desperately need players who are at least decent in the faceoff circle, and McLeod is now the best one on the team. He plays a two-way game that’s good enough at the next level. He also plays on a line that seems to change the pace when the team needs it. The only problem is the team needs it all the time.
McLeod is probably going to get protected because of the investment the Devils have in him. Also, he is a restricted free agent at the end of the season. There are some rules about restricted free agents, but it more deals with the requirements of exposed players, and the Devils should meet that. So, McLeod could be exposed if the Devils want to expose some of their other options.
The fact that the Devils used a 1st-round pick on him, that he plays center, and that he’s finally giving them something for all the time and effort put into him makes it seem like he’s unlikely to be exposed, but it’s definitely possible.
Nathan Bastian
Now it’s time to go to the other half of the “Super Buddies”. The real-life friends have been going through the Devils’ ranks together all the way back to their days in junior. They both played for Mississauga, Binghamton, and now New Jersey. The Devils have been playing them on the same line for most of the season, spending just under 250 minutes together on the ice at even strength.
As far as Bastian goes, he brings a size component that McLeod does not. He’s 6’4 and a few ticks over 200 lbs. He can throw down with anyone, and the Devils don’t really have anyone that brings that combination of size and strength to the lineup. Bastian gives the Devils an edge that they really want. He can also keep up with his linemates.
Bastian might end up being the odd-man out, however. He’s a good prospect, but it’s hard to fathom he could be a lock in the lineup like other players on this list. His upside seems somewhat limited. Crazier things have happened, and again, Bastian brings something to the lineup that the coaching staff seems to like. He can argue that his size brings enough to the team that he has to be protected. It’s just someone the team can’t lose for nothing when they have a lot of prospects that mimic each other.
Janne Kuokkanen
This is where fans have to really look at this team and make a decision. It seemed obvious the Devils should protect Bastian and McLeod, right? That is, until it becomes clear they have to choose between Kuokkanen, Bastian, and McLeod. They can only protect two of the three (but it might be three of four if we add Sharangovich).
Kuokkanen has spent time on what we call the “Youths Line” with Sharangovich and Jack Hughes. The 22 year old has 21 points in 42 games this season, his first full season in the NHL. After playing 16 games in Europe before the season, it was clear that he was ready to take the next step as an NHL player. There are times when he’s a driving force.
The Devils got Kuokkanen as the main piece in the Sami Vatanen trade. It is clearly a huge win for the Devils, as he’s a very good middle-six player who can jump onto the top line in a pinch.
There’s no way the Devils leave Kuokkanen unprotected, right? If they do, it’s a no brainer that the Kraken would take him immediately. He’s exactly the type of player Vegas targeted back in 2017 to build a perennial contender. The Devils cannot afford to lose guaranteed NHL players, and Kuokkanen feels like that at a minimum.
Nick Merkley
Nick Merkley was an extra piece in the Taylor Hall trade. He was probably the fourth most important piece outside of the two draft picks and Kevin Bahl. However, he’s made the most immediate impact on the NHL club.
He hasn’t been perfect by any means this season, but there are inklings of a contributor in there. Nobody is going to go home about his nine points in 23 games, but he plays with an edge and he seems to know where to go. Outside of Hischier, Merkley has one of the worst differences between his CorsiFor% and his GoalsFor%. His line gets more than 50% of the chances while they are on the ice, but they give up 60% of the goals.
This is Merkley’s first NHL look, so the Devils will take the numbers with a grain of salt. He’s only 23 years old, and he’s also a former 1st-round pick. The fans have grown to like Merkley, probably because of how he was treated immediately after the Hall trade. It’s clear the Devils won that trade, and now the team’s fanbase is getting behind everyone involved (which is a much different thought process than they had right after the trade was made).
Merkley could have a long-term future in New Jersey, but he could also get eclipsed on the roster next season. If Alexander Holtz, Graeme Clarke, Dawson Mercer, and Nolan Foote all fight their way onto the roster next year, wouldn’t Merkley be the easiest odd-man-out on this team? The Devils will almost certainly make Merkley available, and the player might be very intriguing for GM Ron Francis.
Miles Wood
So, here’s where the scenario gets hairy. The Devils can’t protect Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, and Miles Wood (assuming Sharangovich and Zacha are locks). Wood is literally the team’s leading scorer this season. He might score 20 goals in a 56-game season that was destroyed by COVID. Wood has been the best story on the team all season long. He went into one of the fanbase’s most despised players. Now, he is a fan favorite.
He is doing everything that made him a good player before, but he’s eliminated a lot of the issues he had that made him so frustrating. He’s on pace to have a CF% over 50% for the first time in his career. His penalty minutes per game are way down. There can’t be any complaints about how Wood has played this season.
Wood is a player that will be an automatic take for the Kraken. He’s probably even more desirable than Kuokkanen (although, there can’t be many scenarios where both are exposed). He is one of the fastest straight-line skaters in the NHL. He finally learned how to use that speed to his advantage with consistency. He does a lot of the little things (tries to stop icings, hits players in the corner, gets underneath on the power play) that helps a team win.
Wood is finally taking advantage of the gifts he’s been given. He is still spending most of the time on the fourth line, but he’s doing the most with the time he’s been given. Lindy Ruff usually plays what line is hot at the time, and the Wood-McLeod-Bastian line is right up there with anyone.
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This is an incredibly hard decision for the Devils, and whatever they do, the Kraken have a chance to make them look very, very bad.