New Jersey Devils Can Complete Offseason With Phil Kessel Acquisition

The New Jersey Devils completed their wish of adding a top-six forward with the signing of Tomas Tatar. However, there are some rumblings that the Devils are not done trying to add to their forward group. With such an influx of young talent in the Devils system, it remains to be seen if some are ready or not. The likes of Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Nolan Foote will all undoubtedly become NHL regulars one day soon. But what if they are not ready this season? That question is probably being asked in the Devils front office which is making them question about adding another forward or not.

Back in 2017-18, the Devils shocked the hockey world by qualifying for the playoffs a lot sooner than everyone thought they would or could. Then general manager Ray Shero followed up that stellar season by doing absolutely nothing. The team relied on prospects being ready to compete and play in certain situations and they were simply not ready. Michael McLeod, John Quenneville, and to a certain extent Joey Anderson just did not produce what management thought they could do. It seems that Tom Fitzgerald is trying to learn from his predecessor’s mistakes. What if the players expected to compete for spots just simply are not ready?

In no way is that saying the Devils had a stellar season this past year. It is simply suggesting that the Devils have added and should not stop adding. Tatar is 30 years old. He is now the oldest player in the Devils’ forward core. There is a name out there that would fit perfectly amongst the Devils’ young group. He is a proven winner. A proven goal scorer, which is something that Devils desperately need consistently. He is also a fan favorite wherever he seems to go, well except Toronto. That man is Phil Kessel.

Kessel’s resumé speaks for itself. He is an ironman, playing all 82 games in a season for nine straight years. He has scored 30 goals in a season six times and has had four 80+ point seasons. You also cannot say Phil Kessel’s name without mentioning that he is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion. Perhaps the most important part about Kessel’s game is that he is a right-handed shot.

As of right now, the only right-handed forward on the Devils’ NHL roster is McLeod. Holtz and Mercer are right handed, but once again, the “might not be ready” narrative is in play. Kessel as a right-handed shot will provide the left-handed heavy power play unit a force. Jack Hughes feeding Kessel one-timers should be a no-brainer.

Kessel’s cap hit is currently at $6.8 million for just one more year remaining. The Arizona Coyotes have been wheeling and dealing since the offseason started and do not seem to be done. With the current state of the team, it has been reported the Coyotes have been shopping the forward and he in turn seems to want out. The cap space means absolutely nothing to the Devils as of right now. With only Janne Kuokkanen to re-sign, the Devils will have roughly $13 million to play with. The Coyotes would possibly need to retain some of the contract to reach the cap floor. If Kessel does not work out, you can flip him at the deadline or let him walk, one year is a no harm-no foul situation.

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With the addition of Kessel, the Devils can take some pressure off of some of the younger players that are entering their sophomore seasons. The sophomore slump hit the likes of Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. The case could be made Yegor Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen might go through the same pains given the recent track record of luck the Devils have had. As mentioned before, the Devils desperately need a right-handed shot on the power play that has been in the bottom half of the league the last few seasons. Kessel may not be the greatest at 5v5, however, he is still dependable and not the worst the Devils could do.

With Kessel, the top nine forwards could look something like this:

Tatar-Hischier-Bratt

Kuokkanen-Hughes-Sharangovich

Wood-McLeod-Kessel

All three lines are capable to score at any time. Having a fourth line including Pavel, Zacha, Jesper Boqvist, and Andreas Johnsson is also a line that could be made up. But with Johnsson’s play last season, he will have to earn his way back into the lineup. AJ Greer can be added as a depth forward to add some toughness upfront. This buys Holtz, Mercer, Foote, and others more time to develop in the professional hockey world. Holtz has not had a full season in North America, Mercer had a shortened season last year, and Foote quite simply was not ready. It makes sense on most fronts for the Devils to go after Kessel.

The one front that would be a hard thing to work around, is what would the trade look like. The Devils are not going to give up a high draft pick for one year of Phil Kessel at $8 million. Not because of the cap space, but because it’s one year remaining on an older player. Fitzgerald has said he will not sacrifice the future for a certain move and acquiring a 33-year-old player with one year left on his deal is not a deal the Devils should be giving up a 2ndround pick for. The Coyotes could eat a portion of Kessel’s salary, but they would probably want some more assets for eating the salary. Another scenario could be the Coyotes adding Christian Dvorak to the mix and having it look like the Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland trade. Dvorak would take McLeod’s spot on the third line as the center.

Adding Dvorak gives the deal a few more wrinkles. If the Devils acquire both players, draft pick(s) and prospect(s) would be sure to go the other way. A player that seems to not have it figured out at this point, is Jesper Boqvist. He has had multiple cups of coffee at the NHL level but cannot stay with the big club. Some nights he is visible while others you are trying to think if he was even playing or not. At 22 years old, the former 2nd-round pick should be in the Devils core group, however, it may be enticing for the Devils to add him to a possible Kessel and Dvorak deal. Dvorak has four years left on his contract and is a solid player. The Coyotes will want something in return.

Most scenarios that can be proposed will be complicated ones. However, the one thing that is not complicated is that the Devils need to add another forward or two. Whether it be someone coming on a PTO in training camp or someone on a two-way deal, the current forward group has a few cracks in it. As it stands the fourth line has the potential of being Greer-Boqvist-Johnsson. That probably is not going to produce much. Fitzgerald has been shown that he is not scared to make a big move. Kessel should be the next big fish Fitzgerald reels in.