New Jersey Devils: Standing Pat Could Be A Problem At NHL Trade Deadline

The New Jersey Devils aren’t looking at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline like they have in the past. There’s just not a lot to “sell” despite the Devils being in the same position they’ve been in previous years. The Devils might still be in or near last place, but the only real piece they have to move is P.K. Subban.

This could cause a problem for the Devils next season. On paper, it doesn’t seem like the Devils have any issues when it comes to the salary cap. They have Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dougie Hamilton locked up long-term, and they still have $24 million in cap space next season according to CapFriendly.

There’s an issue here, however. The Devils have three restricted free agents that are due raises. One is Jesper Bratt, who might be the best player on the Devils this year. He’s currently making $2.75 million this season. If that salary triples next season, nobody would be surprised. Let’s say Bratt settles in at $7.25 million average annual value. That leaves the Devils with around $16 million in salary cap space. That’s still very good.

Then, there’s the Pavel Zacha conundrum. What is he worth? He’s currently making $2.25 million. Reports say he is on the trade block, but the Devils don’t necessarily have to move him. He is a restricted free agent, so the Devils hold onto his rights. How much more is he going to want this season? We remember the last time Zacha and the Devils negotiated a contract. There was a rumor about defecting to the KHL, and then Ray Shero said this.

This year, he’s likely looking for $4-5 million on a long-term deal. Does he deserve it? That’s a completely different article. Anyway, let’s say he signs a deal that pays him $4 million AAV. Now the Devils are dealing with around $12 million. The Devils also have to re-sign Miles Wood. Let’s say that costs $3 million. The Devils are down to $9 million.

The Devils are down to $9 million in salary cap space, and they are sending the same exact team out that they did this season. They also have to replace P.K. Subban, Christian Jaros, Mason Geertsen, and Jimmy Vesey on the roster. We’ll pretend they do that with minimum contracts. Now, we’re at around $6 million.

So, if the Devils stand pat now, they go into the offseason likely looking exactly the same except maybe adding Alexander Holtz, Kevin Bahl or Reilly Walsh, and someone like Nolan Foote. Is that enough to turn this Devils team from worst in the Metropolitan Division to a playoff contender? Obviously not. This doesn’t address the goalie situation, which desperately needs fixing. It doesn’t fix the lack of depth scoring.

The Devils could push these decisions to the offseason if the deals don’t make sense now. They shouldn’t sell on players just to get them out of the lineup. There seems to be value in moving players, and there would be a lot of value in selling on a player with term. There is something they have to figure out. They need to see where they can make money appear, something that they haven’t had to do in a long time.