3 Boston Bruins Players New Jersey Devils Must Consider This Offseason
This offseason is a big one for the New Jersey Devils. They should take a look at the Boston Bruins for additions to their 2024-25 roster.
The New Jersey Devils have some holes to fill in the off-season. If they are smart, they can return to being one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division again in 2024-25.
One team that has a few free agents for the Devils to consider for those holes is the Boston Bruins. Boston was just eliminated in the second round by the Florida Panthers, so some changes are coming soon. They have at least one player at every position that can help the Devils get back into contention as soon as next season.
These are the three players that they should consider when the time comes to add free agents this summer:
The New Jersey Devils could use a goaltender like Linus Ullmark
The Boston Bruins are the only team in the NHL with two elite goaltenders. They have Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman who are both Vezina caliber guys. Swayman is a bit younger but is an RFA. There is a great chance that he will get a long-term contract over the summer. Ullmark has the 2024-25 season remaining on his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The two goalies switched off in the regular season but Jeremy Swayman started all but one in the playoffs. He was brilliant and earned all of those starts but Ullmark is elite too.
With the Bruins in 2022-23, Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy so he has a lot of pride in his game. Now, he might feel it is time to move to another team to be their full-time goalie.
The Devils goaltending situation was terrible in 2023-24. Jake Allen made it a little bit better after the trade deadline but they need more help.
Ullmark and Allen would form a great duo with Ullmark as the clear-cut number one. Making a trade for him and then extending him would be a great idea for the Devils at this stage. Upgrading this position should be their top priority and Ullmark fits the bill.
Jake DeBrusk would fill a big-hole that the Devils have in the top-six
We know the top two centers on this team are Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. With them, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, and Dawson Mercer are great players to have on the wing. They need one more guy to fill out that group. Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Alexander Holtz are options, but they would be smart to upgrade.
They had Tyler Toffoli for most of the 2023-24 season but he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets at the deadline when they were clearly out of it.
One Bruins player who might fit this role is Jake DeBrusk. He is a free agent looking to get the largest contract he'll ever get in the NHL. He is 27 years old at this point and would probably work out a long-term deal worth around six million dollars. For his production, that is fair.
During this past season, DeBrusk had 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points in 80 games played. If he came to the Devils, he'd have a more defined role which could lead to more regular season points. DeBrusk also gets significantly better in the postseason. In 13 playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, DeBrusk had five goals and six assists for 11 points.
He is hard to play against in the postseason and brings the intensity needed to compete in a hard series. The Devils need to make the playoffs to get playoff production but adding DeBrusk would help them in that area too.
The New Jersey Devils could use a great defenseman this off-season
The New Jersey Devils relied heavily on rookie defensemen this season. Kevin Bahl is a tad bit more experienced but he is still young and he played a lot. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec were true rookies and were the top two guys on the team by the end of the season.
Dougie Hamilton got hurt in November and didn't return. He will be back for next season but the Devils surely need insurance around those guys, John Marino, and Jonas Siegenthaler. One player that they can consider is Boston Bruins free-agent Matt Grzelcyk. He is a very good defensive defenseman that any team in the league would want.
If you want offense, Grzelcyk is not your guy. He had two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 2023-24. H,owever, the Devils have Hughes, Nemec, and Hamilton for offense from the back end. Defending was their problem and a guy like Matt Grzelcyk would be a big-time help.
The Devils won't add all three but they are all worthy of consideration and fill a hole. The Bruins have been a great team for a long time and these guys have played a role in that.
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