NHL Free Agency is upon us, but it doesn’t have the excitement of years past. The great free agency class we thought it would be never came to fruition. At one point, this class boasted Igor Shesterkin, Mitch Marner, Leon Draisaitl, and Mikko Rantanen. Eventually, we accepted Sam Bennett, Patrick Kane, and Brad Marchand. Now, as the clock is about to strike noon, the top free agents are Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser, and Mikael Granlund.
That’s definitely a change. The Devils made some salary cap space with the Erik Haula trade, and they are expected to move others to open some space. There are still some players worth the money. Who works for the Devils?
Anthony Beauvillier
Anthony Beauvillier has been around since he started his career with the New York Islanders. He spent some time in Vancouver, Chicago, and Nashville before splitting this season between Pittsburgh and Washington. Beauvillier revitalized his career this season, scoring 15 goals in the regular season and adding six points in 10 playoff games. He likely won’t command a crazy salary, and he would add to the depth scoring in the middle six. If the Devils can get away with a two or three-year deal for Beauvillier, it might be the right move to add the offense they so desperately needed last season.
Joel Armia
The Devils were tied to the Montreal Canadiens winger Joel Armia during the season before they decided to go for a run towards the playoffs. He was a decent player who had a lot of value, but the Canadiens felt he was important to making a playoff run, and since the Canadiens made the playoffs, it’s hard to deny their thinking. He finished the season with 11 goals and 29 points. He isn’t exactly a superstar, but he is a contributing two-way player on the bottom six. Two seasons ago, he had 17 goals in 66 games. Even if Armia can have 12-15 goals per season, he would be worth the contract he gets.
Christian Dvorak
This might be taking advantage of the Canadiens at this point, but they are already above the salary cap ceiling. Christian Dvorak is one of the few center options who has some upside. He came to the Canadiens with incredible expectations after the trade from the Arizona Coyotes, but he never came even close to it. In fact, he was worse with the Canadiens for his entire tenure there than he ever was in the desert. Now, he can sign with a team with few expectations to play a bottom-six center. The Devils need a bottom-six center, and if they can get Dvorak for around $2 million, it would make sense.De
Arthur Kaliyev
Many Devils fans, including yours truly, felt the New York Rangers got themselves a huge win when they were able to claim Arthur Kaliyev off of waivers. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out in Los Angeles, and they felt it was better to get him off the roster, whether that was throwing him to another team or sending him to the AHL. He wasn’t great with the Rangers, scoring three goals in 15 games and only recording one assist. However, this is a 24-year-old who already has a 14-goal and 13-goal season under his belt. He has room to grow, and this past season should be a wake-up call. With the Rangers failing to give Kaliyev a qualifying offer, the Devils could get him for the league minimum or not much off of that.
Philipp Kurashev
The Chicago Blackhawks should be in no position to refuse a qualifying offer to anyone who was even remotely decent at one point, but they felt they no longer needed the services of Philipp Kurashev. In the 2023-24 season, Kurashev put up 18 goals and 54 points. He should be getting a nice raise, but instead, a dreadful 24-25 season has him wondering how to keep his NHL job. This is a great high-upside play for the Devils. He’s still in his mid-20s, and he could add some offense to the bottom six. If he isn’t good, the Devils will hopefully add enough depth this offseason to keep him on the bench.