As we sit right now, the New Jersey Devils have just over $19 million in cap space. With that money, they want to upgrade the offense, defense, and they want a major upgrade in net. The pieces they absolutely need include a starting goaltender, a top-six winger, a bottom-six center, a depth defenseman, and an extra player to fill in at multiple forward positions. On top of that, Dawson Mercer needs a new contract.
While that is a lot, much of what they have to do doesn’t cost that much. The starting goalie and Mercer’s deal could cost quite a bit, depending on who they get and how long Mercer’s deal is. Still, there should be enough money to sign one big deal. With the salary cap constantly going up and with Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, and others already signed long-term, a decent deal won’t kill their cap moving forward.
Who might make sense for the Devils? There are a few options that might surprise you.
Chris Tanev
Current Team: Dallas Stars
This one just makes too much sense, and the Devils have a pretty easy way to make this deal work. Chris Tanev is older, but he’s the type of defensive defenseman that provides value to a fast team like the Devils. The Devils thought they had this in John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler, but they both put up career-worst seasons.
The Devils could give a decent contract to Tanev and then sell on one of Marino or Siegenthaler. Neither had such a bad season that they now hold negative value, especially since they are young and on affordable contracts. So, the Devils could move Marino (since Tanev is right handed) and sign the big name.
Tanev will turn 35 years old this season, so there is a risk here. However, that likely means the Devils only have to sign him for three years max. That severely drops the risk, and with Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec in the fold, his actual role will mostly focus on penalty kill and shutdown situations.