New Jersey Devils: 5 Under the Radar Free Agent Options
The New Jersey Devils have an intriguing offseason ahead of them. Tom Fitzgerald already put ink to paper on a Jesper Bratt contract, taking a major initiative in his offseason plan and securing it in place for eight years. Then, he reportedly hired former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green to join Lindy Ruff’s staff. The move came with mixed reaction, but Green chose the Devils over the Flames and Maple Leafs, which definitely proves this team is making major headway in national relevance.
With free agency beginning in less than two weeks, it’s time to focus on players the Devils can add. Some will be expensive, and there’s a chance the Devils could go after a few stars, but unlike previous years when the Devils targeted Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Gaudreau (to very different results), this year will be about depth.
The Devils have a lot of holes to fill, and they have to decide whether the internal options are best. Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Boqvist, and Kevin Bahl are just some of the depth pieces that are looking at restricted free agency. Erik Haula, Miles Wood, and Tomas Tatar are all looking at unrestricted free agency. The Devils could look to replace some of these pieces with a flier in the market.
Evan Rodrigues
What a strange offseason it was for Evan Rodrigues. He was once a very promising prospect with the Buffalo Sabres. He’s since played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, two teams with constant Stanley Cup aspirations. Rodrigues is now going to a new team to bring his experience with him.
Rodrigues is still just 29 years old, and he’s coming off a 39-point season. Some might think that’s less than stellar on the Avs, but this was a team that was as ravished as any when it came to injuries. There were times where he had to carry the load.
The Devils could use Rodrigues on the bottom six, with some power-play upside. He could give the Devils 15 goals, more than all but five Devils forwards from last season. His six PP goals would make him the top scorer on the second unit. There’s value here, and we know how much Fitzgerald loves to prioritize value.
James van Riemsdyk
Yeah, yeah, another New Jersey native getting tied to the New Jersey Devils despite never rooting for the team a day in their life. It’s a tale as old as time. New Jersey seems like this little world with a ton of hockey talent, and every time that talent makes the jump to the NHL, they eventually have ties to the Devils. It happened to John Carlson, Kevin Shattenkirk, Johnny Gaudreau, Bobby Ryan, Connor Clifton, and the latest is Ross Colton. It happens. However, James van Riemsdyk actually makes sense from a price point and roster construction.
The 34-year-old Middletown native has seen his numbers diminish every year he was with the Philadelphia Flyers, the team he actually rooted for as a kid. He got to live out his dream of playing for the orange and black, but it ended about as terribly as possible. He was part of a reported trade at the deadline, but that was not true. The organization came out and said there was no market for him.
Now, van Riemsdyk likely wants things as simple as possible. To the Devils credit, they’ve treated players mostly well. There have been some contentious contract situations, but they tend to always end on a positive note. JVR can play for a Stanley Cup contender without moving his stuff. He and his family could still live in Philly and play for the Devils. There’s a good chance he’s better than his numbers show, and a 20-goal player is in there somewhere. At this point of his career, he provides secondary scoring and power-play opportunities (he’s one year removed from a nine PP goal campaign).
On top of all that, JVR won’t cost a ton. Does anyone expect him to command more than $2.5 million per season? If the Devils offer him a two-year deal, they might get that number down to $2 million. His lack of market value at the deadline shows the league cooled on his value. Now, the Devils could swoop in and steal him.
Jonathan Drouin
Sometimes the NHL surprises you. Almost always, a player who was once a top-five pick would get a ton of support going into free agency no matter what his previous seasons showed. We’re talking about a top-three pick who’s shown he can score 20+ in the NHL. Agents are salivating at the possibilities. Then, there’s Jonathan Drouin, who might have the most bizarre collapse of talent we’ve seen in a long time.
After Nathan MacKinnon and Aleksander Barkov went 1 and 2, Drouin is the worst bronze medal in hockey drafting in a long time (although we suppose Dylan Strome is making a heavy case for it). He was playing well with the Tampa Bay Lightning before he was traded for Mikhail Sergachev. He was coming off a 21-goal season.
The Devils might have a lot of interest in giving this player a shot. Not because of what he did this past season, because that season was dreadful. This is a player that had two goals last season. He did have 27 assists, but what a weird stat line. This was a player who had no idea what he should be in the lineup.
With the Devils, Drouin can reset. He can find his scoring touch again. This is a coaching staff that finds a strength and uses it to build on the rest of what makes a great hockey player. Jack Hughes is a phenomenal playmaker, but he became a scorer this season. Something similar, but on a much smaller scale, can happen with Drouin with the Devils.
Gustav Nyquist
This one might be interesting, but Gustav Nyquist seems like the right risk to take for Tom Fitzgerald. Gustav Nyquist was hurt for most of last season. He signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets a few years ago, and he was traded to the Minnesota Wild for the stretch run specifically. He ended up playing nine total games for the Wild, and he was pretty good.
Nyquist had five assists in six playoff games with the Wild. It’s not bad for a player who was a week or two from returning from injury. Now, he’s getting fully healthy in the offseason, and he is ready to impact his next team positively.
Just last season, he had 53 points. He had 18 goals for a decent Columbus Blue Jackets team that was a contender. They ended up missing the playoffs, but he had 13 points in the Jackets final 14 games. As the team was looking to make a run, he tried his darndest to get them the most wins possible.
Nyquist can sign a salary that looks like a bottom-six player, but he could eventually play himself with the top six. He played his final games with Sam Steel and Marcus Foligno. This is a similar situation he could face on the Devils third line. It would be a seamless transition for him to join the Devils.
Pius Suter
Pius Suter is a player many Devils fans thought would be a good fit two seasons ago when he signed with the Detroit Red Wings. He’s coming off a two-year deal with the Red Wings. His last season, he had 14 goals and 10 assists over 79 games. This is a player that has been decent at times, but he’s failed to be consistent.
Suter is looking for his next adventure this offseason, and he’s one of the younger players available. He’s supposedly in the prime of his career, but he looks to have capped out at around 13-17 goals per season. That’s not bad for a bottom-six player, and that’s what he is good for at this point.
This is a player who found a situation for the Red Wings that fit in what his strengths are. He can find a scoring lane, with every single goal coming at 5v5. He had no power-play goals, so one could assume that Suter would do better with a shot on the second power play.
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Suter isn’t going to have a huge following in free agency this season. There will be teams wondering what he wants, but he shouldn’t expect a big payday. The Devils can offer a short-term deal where he can prove himself with some of the best centers in the league. He also has a clear chance to make it in the top six. That opportunity might push him towards the Devils.