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.