3 supposedly unreasonable offseason moves that actually make sense for the New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils offseason should be based on correcting all of what went wrong this past season so they can enjoy a bounce back year.
The New Jersey Devils fan base may have grown impatient with them this past season, and they had every right to. This team went from 112 points to just 81, but the season should be well in the rearview now with a bright future ahead, thanks to the hiring of Sheldon Keefe. Now, the fun begins: What kind of tough decisions must general manager Tom Fitzgerald make to keep his team afloat for the 2024-25 season?
There are a few transactions you may expect from him, but if they don’t come into fruition, it may not be such a bad thing. They may just need a solid depth forward, but bringing in another one with star-caliber potential isn’t a bad idea when you think of it.
They may roll with another pair of stopgaps at goaltender, but once again, is that really a bad thing, considering how much better the tandem of Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen made them? What if they go mainly with what they had last season, just with a healthy team?
Let’s answer those questions by discussing three potential offseason moves that look unreasonable on the surface, but they may actually make sense for the Devils.
Paying extra to bring in another high-scoring forward
In my updated checklist post, I noted a ‘depth scorer,’ which would make the most sense. But so would pulling off a shocker and bringing in another high-scoring forward. There could be a few players, forwards, on the move around the NHL Draft, and per Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report, the Devils may be one of those teams willing to trade a draft pick to improve their lineup.
But even if the Devils use their selections to further stock up on prospects, we still shouldn’t rule out a trade in July for them to bring in a high-scoring forward as opposed to a depth piece. Adding scoring depth would be smart, and nobody will complain if Tom Fitzgerald overpaid another team, one that doesn’t look like a contender in 2024-25, to land a borderline star.
I’m talking about something like a potential trade for Trevor Zegras or an equivalent talent. Players like Zegras may cost more in compensation, but if it means adding another layer to a unit that already has Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt, everyone in the NHL universe will be looking at New Jersey as more than just a potential team to beat in the Metropolitan Division.
Yeah, it may come at the expense of at least one first-round pick and a high-end prospect or two, but with Sheldon Keefe in town plus a plethora of outstanding forwards, why not go for it all right now? The Devils won’t be the only franchise potentially looking to put themselves in position to go all in, and while 2023-24 didn’t go as planned, it doesn’t mean the team lacks talent to be among the best in the NHL.
Re-signing Kaapo Kahkonen to an extension
While making a big trade would be the ideal situation, it also shouldn’t be the only avenue. Okay, so while re-signing Kaapo Kahkonen to an extension wouldn’t be an option for a contingent of fans, doing so also shouldn’t give us a ticket to criticize Tom Fitzgerald.
No, the trade wasn’t much more than a goaltender swap, but Kahkonen was an upgrade over the ailing Vitek Vanecek. And although his sample size was smaller, Kahkonen also rarely looked overwhelmed in the crease, and he ended the season with a shutout, plus a 0.500 quality starts percentage.
The latter was also true for Jake Allen and Nico Daws, but Kahkonen ended with a better save percentage (0.923) and GAA (2.51), rounding out a solid and intriguing portion of the season in Newark. Say what you will about statistics, but Kahkonen had a demoralized team playing in front of him in New Jersey. Even if the Devils were better than the Sharks, he still played better than expected.
Best yet, Kahkonen is heading into his age-28 season, meaning he has more to give than Jake Allen, who will begin his age-34 season. Common sense states that, with another year on Jake Allen’s deal, they will keep the latter around, but it shouldn’t be too much of a deal-breaker to keep them both in Newark.
This doesn’t mean an endorsement to keep both goaltenders around, as landing a star via trade and signing them to a long-term deal is the best and preferred scenario. But if it doesn’t happen and Kahkonen sticks around alongside Allen for another year, it’s not a bad consolation.
Refusing to sign or acquire a top-four talent on the blue line
Most of us can agree that this looks like a bad idea on paper, but it’s really not a deal-breaker when you think about it. We know goaltenders like Kaapo Kahknonen and Jake Allen can do an adequate job manning the net. And even if they both aren’t there next season, someone of worth will be in the crease.
Further, the Devils have a lot of intriguing young talent on the blue line, including Luke Hughes, John Marino, Jonas Siegenthaler, Simon Nemec and an older player they just brought back in Kurtis MacDermid. This group can make an adequate jump in one offseason, and in a worst-case scenario, they will at least somewhat improve heading into 2024-25.
The Devils could use one more talent at the blue line, that much is certain, but it doesn’t need to be a top-four talent. Hughes, Marino, Sigenthaler, and Nemec can hold down the top-four, and we also can’t forget about Dougie Hamilton, whose absence was a major reason behind the group’s decline.
That said, Tom Fitzgerald may not even need to bring in a full-time blueliner. Instead, someone who can rotate into the lineup when needed, either as a seventh defenseman if the Devils went 11-7 for a game, or even as insurance.
Win-now mode or not, this isn’t a bad group, and one with the potential to be great. Landing another blueliner would be a solid option, even if it meant moving one of the players mentioned above - most likely either Marino or Siegenthaler in an effort to concoct a trade package to land an even better defenseman - but if he did nothing, there’s hardly any reason for concern. If Hamilton makes it back and plays at 100 percent, that fact alone will improve this group by a landslide.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)