Offer sheet parameters have been set: Who are the Devils eligible to sign?

In the history of the New Jersey Devils, there has never been an offered and accepted offer sheet. We’re not even talking about offer sheets that were matched by the other team. The Devils have never been in the restricted free agency market to a serious degree.

They have been on the other side. On multiple occasions, the Devils saw players sign offer sheets to leave the franchise, including some of the biggest names in the history of the sport. The St. Louis Blues signed Brendan Shanahan to an offer sheet, but the Blues didn’t have the corresponding first-round picks because they used them to sign Scott Stevens. Of course, that led to the Devils winning the arbitration case over Scott Stevens, changing the franchise's trajectory. 

Then, in 1994, Stevens signed another offer sheet with the Blues, but the Devils matched. They also griped with the league, and it turns out, the Blues were given a serious penalty ($1.4 million fine and lost first-round pick) for tampering. 

A little-known offer sheet was when the Detroit Red Wings signed Troy Chowder in 1991. This was about a month after Shanahan signed with the Blues, which is probably why it fell under the radar, but they got another franchise-defining player in the process. The Devils asked for enforcer Bob Probert, but they were awarded Randy McKay and Dave Barr. McKay played 760 games with New Jersey, establishing the Crash Line that helped them win a championship. 

That’s the history of the offer sheet, but what about the present? The Devils hired Sunny Mehta to be their next GM, and his analytical mind might not care about hurting some feelings. He’s a poker player by trade, so he doesn’t mind using all the cards in his deck. 

When looking at the premium restricted free agents, at the top of the list is Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson. While the Devils would love to have him, he’s more likely to be traded than given an offer sheet due to the compensation. We’ll get into that in a moment. Other interesting RFAs that could be on the Devils’ radar include Trevor Zegras, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Adam Fantilli. Connor Bedard and Cutter Gauthier would be great, but neither is going anywhere. 

To make these moves happen, the Devils would have to pony up draft compensation. On Tuesday, we learned what the compensation levels for offer sheets are this offseason. Remember, the draft pick compensation is for the 2027 NHL Draft class. 

The Devils also have their own very important restricted free agents in Simon Nemec and Arseny Gritsyuk. The two young skaters might be open to an offer sheet, and if the price includes at least a first-round pick ($4.775 million at least), Mehta might consider it.

As far as who the Devils could sign, they traded their 2027 third-round pick, which is actually impactful here. The Devils will be held out of four different tiers because of the Cody Glass trade in 2025.

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