What’s A Bigger Risk: A Damon Severson Trade Or Extension?
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are one of the worst teams in the league. Fans of this team know what that means when it comes to this time of the year. The NHL Trade Deadline is Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. Prior to that, we expect the Devils to sell off some of their assets. Maybe it won’t be like previous years when the Devils had obvious players available. We’re sure the Devils want to trade P.K. Subban, but the reports say he isn’t drawing a ton of interest. Pavel Zacha is another player who’s been of interest to some teams, but that has yet to settle itself. With him now injured, he might be staying put until the offseason.
The one name that remains the most intriguing is Damon Severson. Teams are massively overpaying for defensemen this season, and the Devils are looking at a phenomenal NHL Draft in 2023. If they can somehow turn Severson, who is signed through 2023 for an AAV of $4.16 million. He does make $5.1 million in actual dollars next season, the highest price of the contract. There could be a monetary reason the Devils move Severson, but it’s not like the Harris-Blitzer group is short on cash.
The Devils know that trading Severson could get them a haul because teams got a haul for Ben Chiarot, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson. Severson is much better than all three of those players. He might play a different style of game, but teams covet what Severson is able to do.
So, it seems like the smartest move for the Devils would be to see what other teams are willing to offer for Severson. He’s playing over 23 minutes a night, more than anyone else on the team. He can play in all three phases. He could jump into a team and be their second-best defenseman right away. He’s also right-handed. That is coveted when it comes to defensemen in the league today.
The Devils could get a haul if they make Severson available, but it sounds like that’s not what Severson wants.
While it might be the more likely scenario, nobody really expected it to become public before the trade deadline. Now that it’s out there, the Devils have to play a cost-risk analysis between trading Severson and signing him to a long-term extension.
There are many factors we don’t know in this situation that would vastly change the scenario. Are the trade assets the Devils are getting futures like draft picks and prospects or are they pieces that could help now? Is this the cost of a Brock Boeser move? How much does Severson want per season, and how many seasons does he want on his next deal? He signed a very team-friendly deal last time. Would he ask the Devils to make off for lost wages?
This is where all the risk lies. Does Severson want an eight-year extension? There is precedence for this, but it usually comes a little before Severson’s age. He will be 29 years old when he starts his next contract. Morgan Rielly, Seth Jones, and Darnell Nurse all signed eight-year contracts recently. They are all 27 years old. Those extra two years might not feel like a problem now, but it might be a major issue at the end of his contract.
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The Devils can’t afford to give Severson eight years on any deal. If that’s what he’s looking for, and that’s a make-or-break issue, then the Devils should trade him.
Obviously, there are also risks when it comes to trading Severson. The Devils have no upcoming right-handed defensemen who are NHL ready, and they are also losing Subban in the offseason. So the Devils go with one of the most stacked right sides with Dougie Hamilton, Severson, and Subban, to one of the weakest with Hamilton and who knows what else. Reilly Walsh is right-handed, and he’s having a decent season with the Utica Comets, but 10 defensemen got into games for the New Jersey Devils and none of them were named Walsh. That shows the Devils aren’t looking to push him to the NHL anytime soon.
The Devils are in trouble on the right side if they let Severson and Subban go. Maybe trading Severson allows them to bring back Subban, but the former Norris Trophy winner is still struggling even in a lesser role. He’s not bad like he was in his first year in New Jersey, but he hasn’t played himself into a promotion either.
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There is a lot to think about when it comes to the future of Damon Severson. It might be one of the biggest decisions Tom Fitzgerald has to make, and he’s already had to make some major decisions. This one might decide whether he puts together a future contender, whether he keeps the Devils in a rebuild, or if he’s setting this team up for cap hell. He has three options, and two of them are bad. This makes this a very hard decision of Fitzgerald.