The biggest move of the New Jersey Devils offseason so far has been trading for former Flames and Canadiens winger Tyler Toffoli. Rumors swirled that Calgary was looking to get rid of some pieces, and the Devils pounced at the chance to add a 34-goal winger to a team that could use another scorer. The Devils have done a lot of adding over the past 12 months.
Over a 12-month period, the Devils added Ondrej Palat, John Marino, Brendan Smith, Erik Haula, Curtis Lazar, Tomas Nosek, Colin Miller, Vitek Vanecek, Timo Meier, and now Toffoli. That is an incredible turnover in a year’s time.
A lot of that turnover helped the Devils become the third-best team in the NHL. While Palat doesn’t look like a huge signing right now, his leadership on and off the ice is imperative to moving a young team forward. Marino was obviously amazing the second he joined the Devils. He’s one of the best defensive defensemen in the league. Meier was the gem at the trade deadline, and the Devils made it a point to secure him.
Now, the Devils added a player who fits in very well with the team. Toffoli made the most out of his season last year with a Flames team in flux. This Devils team is solid, has a great young core, and Toffoli can play with either Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes. What a difference for Toffoli.
Tom Fitzgerald has been known to avoid rentals. He traded for Meier because he had control beyond this season. Meanwhile, the Devils biggest rival (and eventual playoff opponent), the New York Rangers, traded for Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, who are both still unrestricted free agents. Fitzgerald just gave Meier a max-term extension, securing the talented forward for eight years. He also re-signed Haula, who made it clear he wanted to return to the Garden State.
Toffoli is in the last year of his deal that pays him $4.25 million per season. It’s an underpay to be clear, but the Devils are happy to fit him into their cap. Could the Devils talk Toffoli into a small raise to sign for a few more years? Should the Devils want that?
Toffoli is 31 years old. He may only have a few years of success under his belt. We’ve seen with Alexander Holtz what can happen when a player can’t keep up. It doesn’t matter how much a player can score, if they can’t keep up with this offensive system, then they will be a healthy scratch.
However, Toffoli shows no signs of slowing down. He may be 31, but the Devils should expect another three years of production at a high level. Could the Devils talk Toffoli into adding a two-year extension to his current contract? That would be ideal. If the Devils could sign Toffoli to a safe contract now, there is value there for the franchise. Of course, it could put the Devils in a deeper hole with the salary cap, but they should have plenty of money to make it work.
Maybe the Devils aren’t looking to take this kind of a risk. Toffoli might not fit with this franchise. Weirder things have happened. Still, it’s worth the discussion to see if Toffoli can be a part of this window.