New Jersey Devils: 5 Huge Surprises That Could Happen This Offseason
The New Jersey Devils are looking at a very important offseason to get this franchise out of its rebuild phase. What massive surprises could come with that desperation?
Everyone is under evaluation. That was the message from New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald. It’s clear this season has put the team on notice that failure is no longer acceptable. The last time the Devils went “all in” like they did in the 2021 offseason, it was a similar type of failure. Ray Shero wanted to make one last run with Taylor Hall before his free agency decision, and it ended up getting him and his coach John Hynes fired.
This season, the Devils already parted ways with assistant coaches Alain Nasreddine and Mark Recchi. Those were the first two casualties of falling well below expectations for the season. The Devils finished the season with 27 wins, its worst output since the early 80s. It’s hard to come out of games on the losing end 55 times and not feel a certain type of way.
The New Jersey Devils could make some moves this offseason that would floor its fans.
For now, Lindy Ruff is still the head coach of the Devils. As of right now, there is no other option. The Devils allowed him to do exit interviews with all of his players, and the team seems okay if Ruff is the option to start next season. Some options might not be good enough for them to keep. And some might end up surprising you with how the Devils move on.
1. Pavel Zacha Doesn’t Get A Qualifying Offer
The New Jersey Devils have a few very serious restricted free agent contracts to deal with. Some might be more complicated than they appear, and then there’s the Jesper Bratt deal. The Devils have to figure out just how high they want to go for Bratt. Is he going to get paid like others coming off a career year? Are the Devils worried about giving him a contract that they regret?
This leads us to Pavel Zacha. Shero gave Zacha a three-year deal that’s ending this offseason. It came with an increased salary, leaving him with a $3 million salary this past season. That means his qualifying offer would pay him $3 million for one more year. The Devils have to offer him $3 million on an offer sheet just to hold Zacha’s rights.
It seems like a formality that the Devils would offer Zacha an offer sheet. Even if they don’t see him as a part of the foundation of the team, they would offer him the contract just to hold his rights for another year. The Devils have been rumored to shop Zacha around, and he’s even been tied to some teams.
What if the Devils just decide to cut their losses? $3 million is not a huge salary, but it might be something that really hurts his trade value. Just to deal him, the Devils might have to hold onto some of that salary, or they might have to accept barely anything in a trade. The Devils would just decide to keep him over losing him for nothing, and then he’s holding another spot on the roster.
The Devils have a little bit longer to make the decision this year. They have until the day after the NHL Draft, and that falls about a week later on July 7th and 8th. Is it likely the Devils pull a QO from Zacha and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent? No, but it’s not likely the Devils want to pay him $3 million either.
2. P.K. Subban Re-signs
This one might not be as surprising as others on the list. Many fans are hoping for P.K. Subban to return after he finally found a role that fit him. It took three years, but we were seeing the best out of Subban. Did he still make frustrating mistakes on the ice? Sure, but what third-line right-handed defender doesn’t?
As Tom Fitzgerald said during his end-of-the-year press conference, right-handed defenders don’t grow on trees. Right now, the Devils’ options on the right side are Damon Severson and Dougie Hamilton, which is a phenomenal one-two punch on the right side. Most teams are desperately looking for right-handed defenders, and the Devils had three this past season.
Of course, Subban’s $9 million cap hit made it impossible to trade him this past season. Moving him to a much smaller salary could make it palatable to bring him back. Outside of Hamilton, Subban, and Severson, the Devils’ options on the right side are dwindling at best. Reilly Walsh is the team’s best right-handed prospect, and he has one more year on his entry-level contract. He’s probably looking for an opportunity. Ty Smith has played on his off-hand before, but he needs to focus on just being a competent NHL player without worrying about a whole new side.
Outside of that, just about everyone else is left handed. Luke Hughes is left handed. Shakir Mukhamadullin is on his way to the United States, but the former first-round pick is also left handed. The Devils could get a draft pick that is high enough to take Simon Nemec, and he could be the future of right-handed defensemen, but that wouldn’t help the Devils next season. Adding Subban makes a lot of sense, and it sounds like he’d be open to returning.
3. Going All In For Goalie
Fitzgerald made it pretty clear he didn’t think Jonathan Bernier was going to be ready at the start of the season. Bernier said that was his goal, but after a major hip surgery in the middle of the season, it’s unlikely the Devils want to ramp him up to that point just to get him there for opening night. In fact, Bernier might not even be on the opening night roster if the Devils find a way to get out of the contract (via a buyout or trade with a team looking to add cap).
The Devils seem like they’d be fine going into next season with Mackenzie Blackwood on the roster, but there were also hints that the Devils would shop around. We’ve talked about the price it would cost to get Carey Price and Connor Hellebuyck, but the former seems like he might retire and it would be hard for the Devils to get the Jets to part with the latter.
That won’t stop the Devils from spending the farm to get a goalie. Fitzgerald mentioned he’s willing to trade away this year’s first-round pick, which is likely going to be in the top five. That would get them a high-quality goalie.
Would he trade even more? Is Dawson Mercer or Alexander Holtz on the table if it’s for a guarantee in net? Jonathan Quick is probably available, but he’s far from a guarantee at this point and isn’t nearly worth those assets. Many bring up Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson, but he seems like he might be on the downside at this point. The Devils could always shell out serious bucks for Darcy Kuemper, Jack Campbell, or Ville Husso. Either way, don’t be surprised if the Devils make the big move for a netminder, and if it costs an uncomfortable amount to get it.
4. Signing Zero NHL Free Agents
On the other side of things, we’ve seen the Devils really disappoint us in the free agency department. There have been years in the past when it seems like a really good fit is available, but the Devils decide to look elsewhere. The team is in a strange position this offseason. The team is pretty set in stone when looking at the projected lineup. They’ve had to move pieces out just to make room for a free agent.
That’s why a trade or three makes much more sense than signing players in free agency. The Devils need to shuffle assets instead of just adding them. Teams like the Devils tend to do better with the trade route anyway. That’s the only way to get younger assets, and the Devils have a lot of prospects who could add to the viability of a trade.
The Devils are starting to get a logjam when it comes to forward prospects. The Devils have Holtz, Fabian Zetterlund, Tyce Thompson, and Nolan Foote who all should be ready to make the NHL next season. They also have Graeme Clarke, Arseni Gritsyuk, Chase Stillman, and Samu Salminen who could find themselves pushing for a roster spot if literally everything went right. It seems way too early for them, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.
Our point is that the Devils don’t need to sign free agents. They need to make upgrades to the roster. They need to make room for some players, and they still need legit NHL players. Trades is a much better route for the Devils this season, and they might end up signing zero free agents.
5. A Fan Favorite Leaves In A Trade
If the Devils want to be a big player on the trade market, then they need to make some of their desirable NHL players available. Everyone knows that Zacha and Andreas Johnsson can be had. Tomas Tatar could probably be had with little pushback from the Devils. He had a better season than it seemed, but the Devils still think they can upgrade. However, in order to get a serious upgrade in the top six or on the defense, the Devils have to send NHL players the other way.
That could include certain players who are playing in the top six right now, or others who have made themselves an important part of the energy for the team. Teams are going to ask about Yegor Sharangovich in just about any superstar trade. The Devils might try to move people’s attention to Michael McLeod. Either way, the Devils are going to have to make an uncomfortable move in order to get a star.
The Devils will likely address the top six with players they’ve already inquired about. This includes Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues or Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks. Teams who are trading superstars that also want to compete like the Blues and Canucks will want to do next season only want to shuffle the deck instead of losing an asset entirely. That will force the Devils to trade something they may not want to.
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It should be an interesting offseason, but the trade market is where the Devils are likely going to test the waters. It should get uncomfortable, but it will likely lead to a better team overall.