Power Ranking New Jersey Devils' offseason moves impact on winning this season
The New Jersey Devils made a flurry of moves this offseason to change the depth and impact of this team around its foundation. Which moves were most important to winning next season?
The New Jersey Devils made moves this season to make sure what happened last season never happens again (at least in this era). After a fantastic 2022-23 season where the team broke multiple franchise records, it was the exact opposite last season. The Devils were basically never in the playoffs, they had to fire Lindy Ruff, and the roster was injured to a point of almost impossibility.
This offseason, Tom Fitzgerald was not going to sit and wait to see if this was just bad luck or an overcorrection by the universe. He shook up the roster and coaching staff. There was a clear focus on size and toughness this offseason.
We are going to rank Fitzgerald's moves by the most important towards winning in 2024-25 to the least important. We aren't evaluating the deals signed, the term, how they impact the roster moving forward or the deal that, say, Dawson Mercer might sign. We're also focusing on everything that's happened since the hiring of Sheldon Keefe, so no Kurtis MacDermid deal or any of the other re-signings in May. So, let's get started with the one move that will have the largest impact in the near future.
1. Devils trade Kevin Bahl, first-round pick for Jacob Markstrom
Anyone who saw the state of the New Jersey Devils goaltending last season knows how important it was to this team. They just weren't getting anything from Vitek Vanecek or Akira Schmid (or any of the other goalies they tried until the trade deadline). Fitz tried to do something at the deadline, trading for Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen (sending away Vanecek in the latter), but it was too little, way too late. They traded for Jacob Markstrom, sending a relative premium price compared to other deals. Markstrom has amazing stats and should be a major upgrade in net,
2. Hiring Sheldon Keefe as head coach
For a long time, we've been on record saying that hiring the right head coach was more important than trading or signing the right goalie. That is more of a long-term view, and it's especially true when comparing Keefe to Markstrom, and when equating all the other moves the Devils made this offseason. This was a fantastic hire that could change the culture of this team moving forward. It's the type of move that will lead to a championship if the team gets a little more help and a lot of luck.
3. Signing Brett Pesce
The New Jersey Devils could have blamed last year's defensive lapses on injuries. They could have just said it's likely Jonas Siegenthaler and John Marino will bounce back. They could have focused on depth and hope any addition they made to replace Brendan Smith would have sufficed. Instead, Tom Fitzgerald put his money where his defense is. This is the last season where both Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec will play under entry-level contracts, so it makes sense to spend on defenders in the short term. They started with a six-year deal for Brett Pesce. While he is a long-term risk, he's a pretty clear slam dunk for 2024-25. He gets in passing lanes and directly stops offense. The Devils also get him at the slightest of discounts ($5.5 million when it was widely rumored it would be $6+ million) because he didn't have as great a 23-24 as he did 22-23.
4. Signing Brendan Dillon
The Devils didn't stop the defensive upgrades at Pesce. He's a right-handed defenseman, but the Devils are weak on the left. While Pesce has played with Dougie Hamilton in the past, it would be smart to upgrade the left side, especially after losing Kevin Bahl in the Markstrom trade. They did that by signing Brendan Dillon, who was with the Winnipeg Jets last season. He's nothing crazy, but adding him really solidifies the defense from 1-6. There really aren't holes, and if anyone falters, they have depth both on the roster (more on that in a moment) and in the AHL with prospects Seamus Casey and Santeri Hatakka. Dillon is the player who really acts as the glue to this great defense.
5. Hiring Jeremy Colliton to be Associate Head Coach
The New Jersey Devils have a pretty good track record for the guy behind the guy. Two years ago, they hired Andrew Brunette, and he lasted a year before he was poached by the Nashville Predators. Last season, both Lindy Ruff and Travis Green got head coaching jobs elsewhere. They are clearly decent coaches. Now, the Devils take another chance on a former head coach who may have just been in the wrong situation. Jeremy Colliton was the former head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks who was dealt multiple impossible hands. It is smart for Keefe, Fitzgerald, and the Devils to give him a shot. We assume he will take over the power play. Ironically, Abbotsford had a middle-of-the-pack PP in the AHL (where Colliton was head coach), but they did lead the Western Conference in penalty kill, so maybe he will help with that, too.
6. Trading Alex Holtz/Akira Schmid for Paul Cotter
This one has a big chance for variance both to move higher or lower on this list. Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid both could dominate in Vegas after they were traded for Paul Cotter and a draft pick, but that’s not really the point here. This is about getting a player who fits in the lineup, and Holtz/Schmid no longer fit what the Devils were trying to do. The Devils would rather go after a guarantee in the bottom six than gamble on a possible top-six scorer. They decided that Cotter, who does have upside himself, was more valuable to this franchise than Holtz (and Schmid, who had fallen out of favor). Cotter could have a huge impact on this team as he did with Vegas at times (playing with the likes of Mark Stone and William Karlsson for much of his ice time).
7. Signing Stefan Noesen
This feels like it’s “same church, different pew” when it comes to the impact on today’s NHL roster. Stefan Noesen is clearly not the player he was when he was on the Devils half a decade ago. He has grown into a very crucial role on NHL rosters, one that made him a fan favorite and clutch player in Carolina. His impact will be very similar to Cotter’s. He’s here to provide offensive upside to a player who goes to dirty areas, wins in the corners, and isn’t afraid to step up for his star teammates. Noesen doesn’t spend a lot of time playing with his star teammates; instead, he spends most of his time with Jack Drury and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. That’s setting up to play next to Ondrej Palat and Erik Haula next season.
8. Trading for Johnathan Kovacevic
The Devils need depth on defense. Last year was proof of what could happen if you go into the season without depth on the back end. They allowed both Damon Severson and Ryan Graves to walk, forcing Bahl and Luke Hughes to take everyday spots in the lineup. Then, when Dougie Hamilton was lost for the season, Simon Nemec was forced to jump into the starting lineup immediately despite the Devils saying they didn’t want to burn his entry-level contract. In all, 11 defensemen played last season. That’s why a trade for former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic makes sense. While he was starting in Montreal, he will likely act as depth in New Jersey. That’s fine because depth often starts very often. Last season, the Devils played 11 defensemen across the season. Only Cal Foote played fewer than 10 games, and he would have played beyond that if he wasn’t arrested for an alleged sexual assault. Kovacevic is going to get plenty of time on the ice. He’ll even have a chance to prove he’s worthy of playoff ice time if the Devils make it.
9. Signing Tomas Tatar
There was much rejoicing when the Devils announced they were re-signing Tomas Tatar to a one-year deal. It is worth a little more than most would have hoped for after he came off a down year, but it doesn’t change the fact the Devils got a player who just over a year ago was stapled to Nico Hischier and played out of his mind. He might seem low on this list right now, and that’s because his role shouldn’t be what it was before. He should be a third-line offensive option who gets power play time.
10. Trading John Marino
It’s hard to evaluate a move that’s just “losing a player for picks” in terms of on-ice impact, but as was the case with Holtz, John Marino was a question mark the Devils had no interest in gambling on. There’s a good chance that Marino bounces back after dealing with multiple injuries he tried playing through, but the fact is he was on the ice for 71 goals against. Only 10 players were on the ice for more goals against at 5v5 (via Natural Stat Trick), and Marino ended up missing eight games to boot. The Devils might not consider this “addition by subtraction,” but they clearly felt they got an upgrade in Pesce. It also removes any possibility of a logjam.
11. Re-Signing Nick DeSimone
We discussed the importance of depth on defense when Jonathan Kovacevic’s trade came up. The same is true here, but Nick DeSimone is deep depth on the roster. Surprisingly, the Devils re-signed him before the free agency hit after claiming him off waivers last season. He was pretty decent with the Devils, but he was playing for a team that had nothing left in the tank after injuries and losses had taken their toll. In 11 games with the Devils, he was only on the ice for two 5v5 goals, yet he witnessed 10 goals for the good guys. There are a lot of factors that impact that, but it’s a positive, which is what the Devils want with their depth. Like Kovacevic, DeSimone will still get some time, as there will always be defensive injuries in this league.
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