Ryan Graves Trade Is A Home Run For New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Ryan Graves from the Colorado Avalanche for a second round pick and forward prospect Mikhail Maltsev. At first glance, general manager Tom Fitzgerald hit a home run. Graves solidified himself as a top four defenseman on a stacked Avalanche roster that includes Cale Makar and Devon Toews. The Devils relatively did not give up a whole lot for someone that should fit right into their own top four defensemen. Fitzgerald has stated over and over again since he took over for the Devils that they will weaponize their available cap space when the situation arises. Fitzgerald followed through on his statement and the Avalanche were the perfect team to make the deal with.

To quickly analyze this trade from the Avalanche perspective, this deal only happens because of the existence of the Seattle Kraken. If the Kraken didn’t exist, the Avalanche defense group next season is Makar, Toews, Graves, Bowen Byram, Erik Johnson, and someone else that is good. That defensive group is the reason why they are always a suggestion to compete for the Stanley Cup. With the Kraken, the Avalanche were going to lose a good player for absolutely nothing. They will undoubtedly protect Makar, Toews, and Girard which left Graves for the taking. The Devils are the perfect team to swoop in and make this deal. The Avalanche get assets for Graves instead of losing him for nothing, it is a win-win for both clubs.

What the Avalanche got is relatively not something that the Devils will absolutely miss. The second round pick that the Devils gave up was the New York Islanders draft pick that was acquired for then captain Andy Greene. Basically, Tom Fitzgerald turned an aging gunslinger in his last few seasons for Graves. Draft picks are always magic beans, some turn out great while others never make the NHL. With the way Colorado drafts, the pick may turn into something but time will only tell.

The other piece is Mikhail Maltsev. He may be missed by the fans, but he is nothing that the organization cannot replace. Maltsev is 23 years old and was in a logjam at the forward position for the Devils. They have plenty of prospects like him and it frees up a spot for someone else to step in. Maltsev made his debut this past season scoring six goals in 33 games. He can kill penalties and was trusted by the coaching staff to be out late in games with the team holding leads. The Devils will miss his potential more than anything, which at this point is a bottom six forward than has little offensive upside. It would also be a crime to not bring up Maltsev and his pre-season goal against the Rangers, which is what he is most known for.

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The Devils gave up little to get a player type they desperately needed. The Devils needed to add toughness to their lineup, but the right kind of toughness. Graves is not the type of player that will throw a cheap shot. However he is the type of player that will jump into a scrum and back up his teammates. The Devils have needed that pretty much since Brian Boyle left the team, which is saying a lot about the lack of toughness they have had. Coincidentally, Boyle was the tallest player on the team while wearing the black and red, Graves is now the tallest player on the Devils at 6’5. Only Kevin Bahl is taller than Graves in the Devils system at 6’6.

Graves saw his penalty minutes increase last season while his point totals went down, which may seem like a negative statistic. However, his number of giveaways decreased dramatically from the previous season. He blocked 91 shots this past season. The leader for the Devils last season was Ryan Murray, who at this point with the addition of Graves is most likely hitting the open market. The second most is Damon Severson who had 50 blocked shots last season. Graves provides the grit that Fitzgerald has been clamoring for. We get nervous when people in power say they need to add grit. The first thing that comes to mind are goons. Graves is a smart, gritty player, There is a huge difference between fighting to fight and laying it on the line for your team.

Even though Graves’ offensive numbers went down last season, his 15 points would have him fourth in points among Devils defensemen from last season. Ahead of him are Ty Smith, Severson, and PK Subban, two of whom are more offensively minded players. In 2019-20, Graves had 26 points while having a league leading plus/minus ratio of +40. Now, that statistic is flawed at times, but that type of plus/minus ratio has not been seen in New Jersey since Scott Stevens was playing. While it helps playing with the likes of Nathan Mackinnon and Mikko Rantanen, it shows Graves is a smart player while being competitive. If Graves can regain his offensive side while maintaining the toughness that the Devils desperately need, this is a huge deal.

The final area that Graves can contribute on, is the penalty kill. All the talk can be made about Alain Nassredine and his flaws regarding the penalty kill. However, the departures of Greene, Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman, and even Adam Henrique to an extent have hurt the Devils. Of the top 5 players that averaged the most penalty kill minutes last season, only Severson and Jonas Sigenthaler are still on the roster. Graves averaged the most time on the penalty kill while in Colorado, so he instantaneously makes the Devils penalty kill better. Although, he can’t make it much worse.

Graves will undoubtedly be protected from the Seattle Kraken for the upcoming expansion draft. Not only did the Devils just acquire him, he still has another two years on his contact worth $3.1 million. The trade helps the Devils get closer to the cap floor, even though they may lose a similar contact in Will Butcher when the expansion draft is all said and done. Heading into next season, excluding any additions or subtractions Fitzgerald makes, the left side of the Devils defense is more formidable than it was last season. Graves, Smith, and Siegenthaler on the left with Butcher possibly still there. Severson and Subban are on the right, which means one more right handed defenseman is needed for this team.

Severson, Graves, and Siegenthaler are the most likely suspects to be protected on the defensive side of things for the expansion draft. This leaves Butcher and Subban unprotected. Butcher is the most expendable one out of those two, while the Devils have a few options at forward. No matter who the Kraken take, the Devils cannot and are not done adding to their roster. This first move bringing in Graves is the perfect start to it though. This deal is an absolute home run.

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