Predicting the Fate of All Pending New Jersey Devils Free Agents

As Good as Gone:

There are only a handful of players that are completely gone from the organization. The names that come to the forefront are Brett Seney, Josh Jacobs, Brandon Gignac, and Aaron Dell. Another name that comes to mind is Mason Jobst, who was also a warm body for Binghamton acquired in the Palmieri/Zajac trade. A lot of the other players that could be gone come Wednesday can all be seen as legitimate options to be brought back for organizational depth.

Jacobs was the Devils second round pick in the 2014 draft. He is the last remaining player from that draft class that was the last of the Lamoriello-Conte era. This draft class will go down as the worst in franchise history. The new regime of the Devils have no emotional connection to Jacobs, therefore he is not seen in the teams long term plans. He spent the last five seasons in the AHL with only three NHL games to his name. He never was able to separate himself from the rest of the group, even as a right handed defenseman. Expect Jacobs to end up on an AHL deal with a different team somewhere.

The Devils will not be successful with the trio of Blackwood, Wedgewood, and Dell in net. Last season is all anyone needed to see as to why that is the case. The Devils need a better backup to Blackwood with Wedgewood as the third string goalie. With Schmid and Daws as the AHL tandem, Dell will want to be the third string somewhere, maybe even the backup. His poor showing last season shows why that will not be with the Devils. Evan Cormier is also in the same boat. The Devils can bring in someone like Jeremy Brodeur again to be the third string in Utica. There is just no room for Dell or Cormier organizationally.

The other names in this category are Seney, Jobst, Gignac, and Colby Sissons. Jobst is a career AHL journeyman that can easily be found on the open market. He had a little flash of success in Binghamton after he was traded, but he has yet to make his NHL debut at the age of 27. These types of players are a dime a dozen and are everywhere. The player in this category that is not Dell with the most NHL experience is Brett Seney. Seney seemed to be a part of the Devils forward core playing in 51 games and putting up 15 points in 2018-19. But since then, Seney has only played two games in the NHL the past two seasons. Being 25 and not having played in the last two seasons, Seney is similar to Jacobs. Both have had two much time and have not taken that next step.

Gignac was a third round pick for the Devils in 2016 and played in one NHL game a couple of years ago. He spent a majority of last season in the ECHL. When a third round pick has fallen this far off and you do not qualify them, it is a signal of giving up on them. He will end up on an AHL roster next season as depth, but it will not be for the Devils. Sissons was signed to an ELC in 2016 but never played a game in the NHL. He played all of last season in the ECHL. Once again a numbers game.

A special mention will go to Matthew Hellickson. Hellickson was the Devils 7th round pick in the 2017 draft and just was never able to showcase what he could do for the organization. He finished his career at Notre Dame, did not sign an entry level deal, and was able to play five games for Binghamton on an AHL contract. He is a left handed shot, something the Devils have plenty of and will fall victim to the numbers game. It is possible Utica brings him back on a try out, but Hellickson does not figure into the future plans in the organization.