4 Conference Finals players who could be New Jersey Devils next season
Each of the four remaining playoff teams will have to make difficult roster decisions to return to where they are next season. Who could find their way into the New Jersey Devils lineup after a shorter offseason?
While the parity provided by the salary cap era of the NHL may be overstated slightly, the realities presented by the years of salary cap stagnation can no longer be ignored by contending teams. Every summer, the teams vying for an elusive Stanley Cup victory must restart the delicate balancing act of resigning core players while making difficult decisions to let key playoff contributors walk away in free agency or an offseason trade.
This year, each of the four remaining teams in the postseason (the Stars, Oilers, Rangers, and Panthers) have key pending restricted and unrestricted free agents who may not be returning to their teams next year.
With that in mind, let's take a look at one player from each of the Conference Championship contenders that could find their way onto the New Jersey Devils opening day lineup next season.
Chris Tanev - Dallas Stars (UFA)
A portion of his salary cap is already on the New Jersey Devils' books from this past season when the Calgary Flames laundered Chris Tanev's salary through the Devils on his way to joining the Stars in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
Now that the defenseman is a pending unrestricted free agent, though, the Devils should circle back and bring him back onto the roster for longer than the milliseconds he spent there this season. The 34-year-old is likely to see a substantial raise over his $4.45 million AAV on his next contract, but in a relatively short term (three or fewer years), he makes all the sense in the world for the Devils.
He brings a grit and toughness to the back end that none of last season's Devils defensemen (Brendan Smith aside) brought, and he is widely considered a beloved teammate and consummate professional. He'd instantly reshape the vibes of this Devils team and would be worth $6 million or so annually.
Kaapo Kakko - New York Rangers (RFA)
Kaapo Kakko has become something of a lightning rod for criticism among Rangers fans. He was a surprising healthy scratch for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Matt Rempe drawing into the lineup in his place. While some fans will say the Rangers will be able to find a trade partner for the still-just-23-years-old former 2nd overall pick, his contract situation makes that feel increasingly unlikely. While Kakko is a restricted free agent this summer, his qualifying offer is 100% of his previous base salary, which this past season was $2.4 million AAV.
While Kakko has some upside, it feels increasingly unlikely the Rangers or any other team would take the risk of that salary cap hit for a player coming off a 19-point regular season (13 G, 6 A) and just two points in 12 playoff games. What seems more likely is that Kakko is non-tendered by the Rangers, similar to how Anthony Duclair was surprisingly non-tendered by the Ottawa Senators after the 2020 season.
He will likely have some suitors in free agency, but I could see the Devils being interested in adding Kakko to their bottom six. Their forward depth would finally allow him not to be inundated with pressure to play up the lineup based on his draft pedigree, and he could be a perfectly serviceable third-line center at a $2 million AAV.
Spencer Knight - Florida Panthers (Trade)
There are very few goalies on the market this summer with the potential upside of Spencer Knight. Once widely regarded as the best goaltending prospect in the league, he was considered the heir apparent to the Florida Panthers net, to the point where the team gave him an expensive $4.5 million AAV extension, which has two years remaining on it.
That deal clearly has not worked out for the Florida Panthers. Knight left the Panthers midway through the 2022-23 season and joined the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program for what he has since revealed was a personal struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He has since rejoined the Panthers' AHL team, the Charlotte Checkers, and is working his way back to NHL readiness. While he is a risk, he's a risk worth taking for the Devils.
If the Panthers find it difficult to navigate their salary cap to bring back pending UFAs Brandon Montour and Sam Reinhart, they may offer a sweetener for a team to take on Knight's cap hit. The Devils should be prepared to add the upside of Knight and draft capital, which could help them extend their Stanley Cup window, and they shouldn't be scared off by the high cap hit.
Philip Broberg - Edmonton Oilers (RFA)
Broberg, the eighth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has been a substantial disappointment for the Edmonton Oilers. Shuffled between Edmonton and AHL Bakersfield this past season, Broberg put up a woeful two points in 12 games. He has found his way into the lineup for just two postseason games so far this year, with one assist to show for it.
It seems clear that Broberg is playing out his last games with the Oilers, and he is likely to be non-tendered or have his restricted free-agent rights traded for pennies on the dollar. Teams will inquire about the 22-year-old defensemen. GM Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils should be one of them.
In a way, Broberg is in a similar position to the one Mirco Mueller found himself in before he was traded from the Sharks to the Devils. Mueller was also a high-draft-pick defenseman (18th overall) who could not find a way to crack the lineup of a contender and was traded for substantially less than he was drafted for. The team that acquires Broberg will hope that it works out better for them than Mueller did for the Devils, but Broberg is also a much more talented player.
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