5 Players In Stanley Cup Final to Watch for New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are not in the Stanley Cup Final, but they could use this time to scout their next big free agent signing. There are some great players who are playing their last games for their current franchise.
The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are playing in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 takes place on Saturday, June 8th. It is a long time to wait between games, as the anticipation is building. The anticipation builds much higher for a team like the New Jersey Devils, who missed the playoffs entirely. The last game was back on April 15th , a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. It was a merciful loss, as the Devils season just needed to end.
Sitting on the sidelines for the playoffs after last year’s great first round must have been hard for Tom Fitzgerald. He knows he has a better team than what they showed this past season. That’s why Lindy Ruff was fired and Sheldon Keefe is now the head coach of the Devils. Now that the coach is taken care of, the Devils focus on the roster.
The Stanley Cup Final is a great place to find great talent. These teams are the best of the best. While there is usually a Stanley Cup bump in contracts since every team on the sidelines is paying attention, they can end up being deals because players fall behind the greats in the game. Who might make sense for the Devils to target in the SCF?
Sam Reinhart
We’ll be quick with this one because we don’t think it’s even possible, but the Devils are looking for help in the top six, and we think teams are going to be very cautious with Sam Reinhart. He’s the type of tough player the Devils need. He doesn’t go on the ice looking for hits, but he lays them when necessary. Then, he’d go score a goal, like he did 57 times this past season. We don’t think he stays in the Devils price range, but if he comes in under priced (anything under $7.5 million per season), the Devils should make the move and figure out the cap later.
Vladimir Tarasenko
This is another situation with a gigantic “not too expensive” asterisk on it. Vladimir Tarasenko still has something left in the tank. Speaking of tank, he’s built like one. The 32-year-old winger is listed at close to 220 lbs. This coming from a man who can still score 20+ goals each season. He’s having a quiet playoff, with only three goals and three assists in 17 games.
This is why he deserves so much attention in the Final. This is where he can make his money. If he doesn’t play up to his name value, he might see himself lose the idea of a long-term deal.
Tarasenko hasn’t looked the same since shoulder injuries started to hamper him. That goes one of two ways: either it derails his career and he’ll quickly get worst, or he will finally recover and have some great bounce-back seasons.
The Devils need to see what this guy brings to the table when it matters most. The more we look into this possible signing, the more risk it seems to have. Tarasenko is going to get paid based on his name alone. Players who score 20 goals don’t often make $4-6 million per season. However, not many close-to 300 goal scorers become available, even at the tail end of their prime.
Brandon Montour
We talked about how Sam Bennett was too much of a pipe dream because of price, and most would put Brandon Montour in that category as well. Montour took a team-friendly deal which paid him just $3.5 million per season. Now, he’s going to cash in.
If he does get the $7+ million some are predicting, the Devils would be a hard out on him. However, if he comes slightly below that at $6 million, then the Devils just have to trade John Marino to make it work. Then, it’s just a $2ish million difference for a massive upgrade. Of course, the Devils already have Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec on the right side, but you can never have too much of a good thing.
Montour feels like a name that should get really good money, but he’s just off the top of the market. That could cause Tom Fitzgerald to see him as a deal he can’t pass up. Fitzgerald is known as a guy who has a lot of logs on the fire, and we expect him to at least call Montour’s people.
It’s probably a pipe dream, but that doesn’t mean the Devils won’t be watching and possibly falling in love with Montour’s possible fit. He is 30 years old, which means this entire deal is paying him while he’s on the decline, even if it’s slight. That’s going to be a consideration for Fitzgerald.
Anthony Stolarz
We’ll be honest. There are so many intriguing goalie options this offseason, we’re kind of sad that the Devils need a no-doubt starter. Players like Anthony Stolarz, Devils free agent Kaapo Kahkonen, Cam Talbot, Chris Driedger, and Laurent Brossoit all could be a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately, the Devils don’t have time to play in the rough.
However, Stolarz is an option for the Devils because he might be more than that. We’ve been advocating for a third goalie to be held on the Devils roster. They have 23 spots, and they almost never (as does all the teams) hold one of those three extra spots for a goaltender. With all the Devils problems in net, they need as much depth as possible.
He had a .925 save percentage this season. That’s actually insane, and it wasn’t in a small sample size. Stolarz played 27 games this year.
This just feels like bad timing for the Devils and Stolarz. He’s 30 years old, and he had a rough season with the Anaheim Ducks last year. However, the Devils should still broach this and see what his agent says.
Connor Brown
Connor Brown is a name that could provide really good depth for the Devils, along with bringing experience to a bottom six that is looking for a direction. The Devils are also looking for someone for the top six, but Brown could be a good contributor in the right role. As life without Michael McLeod is still hanging over the team, Brown could take a role on the fourth line.
Right now, Brown is on a line with former Devils star Adam Henrique. Henrique is also a free agent, and we touched on a possible return for the on-ice hero here. However, Henrique might make a decent penny in free agency. There is a lot of talk around him, making his second Stanley Cup Final after he scored the overtime goal for the Devils to send them there in his rookie season 12 years ago.
Brown is not a big scorer, but he can be at the right place at the right time. He was once a 40-point scorer, but injuries a couple of years ago slowed him down.
He could easily get back to that, and the Devils bottom six could be scary. They haven’t been able to find the right chemistry, but hitting the right combination of players could be great.
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