This has been a tremendous season for the New Jersey Devils. People were expecting them to be better than they’ve been in recent memory, but nobody expected them to win 50 for only the second time in franchise history. There is a chance that they could break the franchise record for wins in a regular season this week as the regular season comes to a close. That would certainly be really cool to see.
A lot of players have had career years with New Jersey. Most of these players having their best season ever are in their early 20s, so we should expect them to only get better from here.
What about the veterans who are on expiring contracts? There is a chance that some of them will be brought back, but they certainly won’t all be back. It could go any way but these three are the most likely to be heading into their final two games with the New Jersey Devils:
1. Tomas Tatar
Tomas Tatar has been a great player for the New Jersey Devils this year.
The New Jersey Devils didn’t get the best version of Tomas Tatar in 2021-22 as the rest of the team wasn’t very good around him. However, he was amazing with a great team around him in 2022-23. You can absolutely say that he has been important to this team.
However, it is hard to justify bringing back a guy heading into his mid-30s with even more youth on the way as an organization. There is a real chance that these are his last games with the Devils.
Tatar has found chemistry with Nico Hischier on the top line. For that reason, you’d think that they consider bringing him back, but it doesn’t feel likely at this time.
2. Damon Severson
Damon Severson’s days with the New Jersey Devils feel numbered.
Damon Severson has had some good moments with the New Jersey Devils in his career. When he was younger, he played a more prominent role on the team. He has always had good offensive numbers and defensemen who can do what Severson does don’t grow on trees.
However, it does always feel like there has been something missing from his game. He makes the occasional dud pass or odd play that leads to chances for the opposition. He has mostly been a good player for this team, but he takes a lot of heat for his mistakes. Some of it has been unwarranted.
Now, his contract is up. With Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec both knocking on the door in addition to the rise of a guy like Kevin Bahl, it is hard to see the Devils finding room for Severson. As a result, these could be the last two regular season games for him.
Some people will miss him because he has been a good player. Severson was an analytical darling. He also didn’t complain once in 2022-23 when his role was reduced for the betterment of the team. He deserves a lot of credit for how well his tenure with the Devils has gone.
3. Erik Haula
Erik Haula’s tenure with the Devils is going to be remembered in every way.
The New Jersey Devils felt that they needed to move on from Pavel Zacha over the last summer. They traded him to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Erik Haula. For how much of a bust Zacha was for the Devils, he was that good for the Bruins this year.
He finally had his breakout season in terms of his offensive numbers. He even scored the two Bruins goals in their most recent 2-1 win over the Devils. It has been maddening to watch every part of the Zacha saga for the last handful of years.
Erik Haula has been decent for the Devils in 2022-23, but the Bruins got the best version of Zacha and then locked him up long-term. Now, Haula very well could leave the Devils following the season. As mentioned before with Tatar, it feels more likely that they bring in younger players.
They could very well decide to bring him back but he is an unrestricted free agent following the season, so there is a very good chance that this is it.
Miles Wood, Ryan Graves, and Jonathan Bernier are the other UFAs on the roster right now. Bernier is gone, as he has barely played with the team at all. Graves and Wood feel, although anything is possible, they are more likely to re-sign than anyone else on the list. We’ll see how it goes.