The New Jersey Devils’ to-do list this offseason is about as long as any team’s in the league. They have a clear direction they want to be going in, but they don’t have the right pieces in place to get there. This is a team that wants to be a contender, but they haven’t even been able to make the playoffs to get that important postseason experience.
That’s why the Devils hired Sunny Mehta. The former poker player and Wall Street guy came back to hockey to master the analytics side of the sport. He’s done very well with the Florida Panthers, helping Bill Zito build a roster that won back-to-back championships and made three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.
At the top of his personal to-do list is figuring out the future for Sheldon Keefe. Once they have a head coach and his staff in place, they can focus on the roster.
There’s plenty to do with this roster. The Jacob Markstrom conundrum hovers over everything. Goalie is the main reason this team with Jack Hughes has struggled to make the playoffs. The two seasons they had decent goaltending, they made the postseason.
Right after Markstrom’s future is probably the future of the defense. There are so many questions surrounding this defense, but the main question has to involve what Mehta is going to do with seven NHL defensemen, with the last of those seven coming out of his entry-level contract.
The Devils already have one of the most expensive defensive units in the NHL. Adding in a huge contract for Simon Nemec puts them even higher in the cap constraints.
It’s pretty obvious the Devils have to trade at least one defense. It seems like it’s more likely they trade multiple players. They need to reset the position and the cap sheet. The easiest way to do that is on defense.
The New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks should talk defense again
Reports say the Devils had a trade for Dougie Hamilton to go to the San Jose Sharks last offseason, but the Devils top defenseman vetoed the trade. We’d imagine that is the same situation, with Hamilton having no interest to wave his no-trade clause to go to San Jose, so the Devils have to look in other directions.
We do think the Devils and Sharks should try to make something work. San Jose has a great roster at forward, but their defense leaves a ton to be desired. They only have one guaranteed NHL defenseman on the roster next season. Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni are on ELCs, and Shakir Mukhamadullin is an RFA, but they need more on this roster to help the defense.
We think this is an underrated target for Simon Nemec. He is reportedly asking for a very large contract. The Sharks have the young forwards the Devils will desire, and the Sharks have the cap space to take a risk on a highly-touted player in Nemec.
Johnny Kovacevic is another target here, but he would need to waive his no-trade clause. He might if he’s told he will be the odd-man out, and he can go to a team that really needs him. Maybe even Brenden Dillon could be on the block, but we think the Devils like him in his role at his price.
The Sharks and Devils still have a lot more to talk about, so let’s get back to the negotiating table.
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