3 Questions New Jersey Devils Should Answer Before Training Camp

Is this the final roster?

The New Jersey Devils may be done adding to the roster. It would be hard to blame them for not making another move. Fitzgerald guaranteed more than $90 million worth of contracts this offseason including the $63 million they gave to Hamilton. The Devils do still have $12 million in cap space despite the spending spree they went on this offseason.

Should the Devils spend that $12 million, or at least some of it, or should they keep it for a “rainy” day? The Devils definitely could go out there and sign one of the remaining free agents that are looking for a new one. Alex Galchenyuk has been an intriguing name as has Jason Demers and Eric Staal. Former Devils Travis Zajac and Sami Vatanen are also out there, but it just doesn’t seem like the right time to bring either of them in at this point.

There are some interesting veterans the Devils could try out on PTOs. Bobby Ryan and James Neal come to mind immediately. They are very much opposite players, and Ryan might never want to come back to his Jersey roots because of the history here, but for an opportunity anything is possible. The Devils hold the cards here because they have actual starting lineup spots open. The PTO would mean more when the players can prove to be everyday players.

Then, there are the trade possibilities. Vladimir Tarasenko is still on the St. Louis Blues, and nobody can be happy about that. There are rumors out of San Jose that some of their best players (namely Tomas Hertl) could be on the market. There’s always the possibility of a surprise September trade. Also, there’s the very slight possibility the Devils could send an offer sheet to some of the very good young players still available (cough cough, Brady Tkachuk).