The New Jersey Devils desperately want to add secondary offense to their lineup. With Jack Hughes out, it exposed the Devils as a top-line team with little to show after Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier. We have been seeing sporadic offense from the likes of Cody Glass, Paul Cotter, and Erik Haula, but there's just a missing element from the bottom six.
This is why many Devils fans are celebrating the fact that Arseni Grisyuk is reportedly on his way to New Jersey. Russian hockey news insider Hockey News Hub shared that the Devils' top forward prospect was getting ready to sign his deal.
Hearing #NJDevils prospect Arseni Gritsyuk will sign his ELC soon.
— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) April 7, 2025
On paper, signing Gritsyuk is a slam dunk. The Devils get a chance to see this player who was in a professional league for years. Sheldon Keefe can determine how he best fits into a lineup today, in the playoffs, and also at the beginning of next year. It's a win-win for everyone.
This is an unexpected move by the Devils. It seemed like a change in KHL rules and the timing of the KHL season would make it impossible to bring Gritsyuk over. However, a disappointing playoff performance had him available sooner than we thought.
Signing Arseni Gritsyuk could come with long-term risks for New Jersey Devils
However, there is a huge risk involved here. The Devils can only sign Gritsyuk to a one-year entry-level contract. For those who are unaware, all new NHL players are subject to signing an ELC, which is a two-way contract that pays under $1 million per season. Most are used to seeing players sign a three-year contract, because that is what the top prospects usually get.
The length of entry-level contracts are actually determined by the player's age. So, when Jack Hughes or Luke Hughes signed their ELC, the fact that they were teenagers allowed the Devils to get them inked for three years. We just saw with Ethan Edwards, the former Michigan standout defenseman, that he signed for two years. Because Gritsyuk is over 24 years old, he's only eligible for a one-year contract.
That means the Devils have to negotiate a completely new contract this offseason with no monetary limits. Gritsyuk won't become an unrestricted free agent, so the Devils will still own his rights, but he does get to negotiate a deal when the Devils are working with very limited cap space.
According to Puck Pedia, the Devils will have just under $14 million to spend this offseason. With most of their key guys signed, that's not bad, but they have one big fish to fry. Luke Hughes needs a new contract, and they will likely back up the Brinks truck to sign him to an eight-year deal. They also have the Cody Glass contract to worry about, although that's going to need a much smaller truck to get done.
That $14 million is going to go very quickly. The Devils might make some moves to shed salary in an effort to give themselves more room, but that was to add more talent to this roster. Doing it just so they can give money to a prospect they were able to get signed for near the minimum is looking way too shortsighted at this.
NHL GMs make shortsighted moves all the time, and they often work out. Teams like the Florida Panthers trade away their first-round picks like it's going out of style. They are a Stanley Cup contender, and it's hard to say the Devils are in the same conversation.
Gritsyuk would be a wonderful addition to this roster, but the risk-reward analysis is hard to ignore. The Devils are putting a lot on the line to make this work, and it will impact who they add in the offseason. Hopefully, it all works out. We also need to see if he is signing for this year specifically. The report could just be for him signing a 2025-26 contract, although the timing would be suspect.