The New Jersey Devils made the expected announcement that Arseniy Gristyuk was coming to North America. The Devils drafted him in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft, probably the last draft pick of the Ray Shero era to make it into the league. Gritsyuk is expected to make an immediate impact after playing well against top competition in the KHL.
He earned 152 career points in 216 regular-season contests in the KHL. Many are hoping that Gritsyuk will jump right into the NHL and contribute, but we should temper our expectations here. He's a really good player and can be a human highlight reel, but his numbers don't warrant an expectation of a 30-goal scorer.
He hit his career-high in goals two seasons ago in his first year with SKA St. Petersburg. That was just 19 goals in 50 games. Now, that does stretch out to 31 goals over 82 games, but there will be a learning curve for Gritsyuk in the NHL. The ice sheet is different. The travel schedule is different. There's so much he has to learn, and we don't even know how the Devils will use him.
Don't put 30-goal pressure on Arseniy Gritsyuk right away
Now, let's also not downplay the impact he could have. Gritsyuk is an incredibly skilled player with a high ceiling. His skating is phenomenal, and he should fit right in with either of the top six lines if we're talking about talent alone. We're not sure how he plays while frustrated, but just from a pure skill standpoint, he can keep up with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.
Gritsyuk will add scoring to the middle six no matter who he ends up with. How much scoring does he need to be valuable to the Devils? The floor should be 15 goals. As long as he contributes 15 goals in his rookie year, then anything beyond that should be considered progression. If he gets to 20 goals, then the first year of his career should be a massive success.
The Devils do have to think about the contract here. Luckily, he signed the entry-level deal when the Devils need the cap space the most. He will be a restricted free agent in 2026, so what he does this year could earn him an immediate long-term deal.