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Free Agent Focus: New Jersey Devils

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Yegor Sharangovich – A fifth-round pick of New Jersey in 2018, the Belarusian-born Sharangovich burst onto the scene in his first NHL season in 2020-21. His 16-goal, 30-point season was rather unexpected and was good enough to put Sharangovich 10th in this year’s Calder Trophy race. While Sharangovich had shown some promise in his past few AHL seasons, he scored at a better pace in the NHL this year than he ever has in the minors. His play this season was a continuation of a strong start to 2020-21 on loan with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. Serving as an alternate captain for his hometown team, Sharangovich scored and 25 points (17 of which were goals) in 34 games. Sharangovich seems to have secured a spot in the Devils’ top-six forward group for next season, but the Devils will be hesitant to plop too much money down too soon on the breakout forward. Expect general manager Tom Fitzgerald to sign Sharangovich to a bridge deal in the neighborhood of two years, making him an RFA again at the end of his next contract.

F Janne Kuokkanen – Kuokkanen was another surprise this season. The former Carolina Hurricanes prospect, acquired at the 2020 Trade Deadline in a package for defenseman Sami Vatanen, scored at a 41-point pace with New Jersey this year. Playing nearly 15 minutes a night, the 23-year-old Finn posted impressive possession numbers too considering the weakness of the team. Kuokkanen figures to be an important depth piece moving forward if his early performance is any indication. A lengthier extension, maybe three years, is in line for Kuokkanen in order to take him up to the very end of his restricted free agent eligibility.

Other RFAs: F Nicholas Merkley, F Michael McLeod, F Brandon Gignac, F A.J. Greer, F Marian Studenic, D David Quenneville, D Colton White, D Colby Sissons, G Evan Cormier, G Gilles Senn

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Ryan Murray – Acquired by the Devils in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick prior to the season, the injury-prone defenseman didn’t quite live up to expectations this season. While Murray was fine by his standards offensively with 14 points in 48 games, Murray’s defensive play slacked considerably from his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets. That’s not to say the Devils won’t re-sign him, though. Their blueline is relatively barren and weak as is, and with Murray likely taking a pay cut on his next deal, his play could improve along with his surroundings. There’s always been the feeling of untapped potential surrounding the former second-overall pick, and the Devils may hope that they’re the ones to unlock it on his next deal.

G Aaron Dell – Once one of the more highly-regarded backup netminders in the league with the San Jose Sharks, Dell’s rough go of it this year may have cost him another NHL deal. Originally signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the season to serve as their taxi squad goalie, Dell was picked up on waivers by the Devils after Toronto attempted to return him post-callup. Getting into five starts and seven games with the Devils while they also dealt with goalie injuries, Dell won just one game and put up a .857 save percentage and 4.14 goals against average, both the worst marks of his career by far. Now 31 years old, Dell may have to head overseas or to the minor leagues to find his next team.

Other UFAs: F Ben Street, F Brett Seney, F Mason Jobst, D Connor Carrick, D Matt Tennyson, D Josh Jacobs

Projected Cap Space

Despite the flat $81.5MM salary cap continuing into next season, New Jersey is one of the few teams with very little to worry about. The team has $35.7MM in cap space and, when combined with the low quantity of free agents to re-sign, the Devils have serious amounts of free space to use to their advantage in free agency. Combine that with the intrigue of playing with a young core that includes Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Ty Smith, and GM Fitzgerald is in a position to acquire real talent to assist the Devils on their journey back to contention.

Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

New Jersey Devils Sign Jonas Siegenthaler

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The New Jersey Devils have signed Jonas Siegenthaler to a two-year contract extension that will carry an average annual value of $1.125MM. Siegenthaler will earn $1.05MM in 2021-22 and $1.2MM in 2022-23.

Siegenthaler, 24, not only gets a nice raise from the $800K he earned in 2020-21, but also gets some contract security in the form of a two-year deal. That’s important at this stage of his career when he is still just trying to establish himself as a full-time player at the NHL level.

Originally selected by the Washington Capitals in the second round of the 2015 draft, Siegenthaler came to New Jersey via trade earlier this year. He played just eight games for the Devils down the stretch but could be in line for a much bigger role next season.

New Jersey was always likely to protect Siegenthaler in the expansion draft, given the lack of real other candidates on defense, but with this two-year deal in hand, they will surely be using one of three defense spots on him. Moving forward, he’ll be expected to be more than just a part-time contributor, though the price is still reasonable enough for a bottom-pair option if that’s where he ends up. In 105 career games, Siegenthaler has recorded 13 points.

Scott Wedgewood Re-Signs With New Jersey Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have signed depth goaltender Scott Wedgewood to a one-year, two-way contract for 2021-22. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $825K, while paying the veteran netminder $375K in the minor leagues.

Not only does this give the Devils a capable third-string option for next season, but it also takes care of an expansion requirement. If the team wants to protect Mackenzie Blackwood from Seattle, they needed to have at least one more goaltender under contract for next season, or at least extend a qualifying offer to Evan Cormier. Now, with Wedgewood signed, they can leave him exposed to fulfill that goaltending requirement.

Of course, the 28-year-old Wedgewood is more than just expansion draft fodder. Selected 84th overall by the Devils in 2010, he has been a capable minor league netminder for many years. This season, he ended up being needed for 16 NHL games, where he posted a .900 save percentage despite a 3-8-3 record.

Those aren’t numbers you’d want to be penciling into the net every day, but they’re certainly not anything to complain about from your third or fourth-string option. Wedgewood will almost certainly not be the full-time backup for Blackwood next year, though that spot is not yet filled.

If the team does decide to try and stash him in Utica, he will need to clear waivers again. The extra bit of NHL money—league minimum is $750K next season—could actually be a tactic to try and avoid a claim, since the acquiring team would be required to keep him on the roster.

Devils Given Green Light To “Spill The Coffers”

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New Jersey has been a team that has been well below the Upper Limit of the salary cap but that may be changing this offseason.  Scott O’Neil, the outgoing CEO of the owning partnership of the team, made an appearance on the Speak of the Devils podcast (audio link) earlier this week and indicated that GM Tom Fitzgerald had been given the green light to spend and add to his roster:

Let’s spill the coffers. We’ve got plenty of cap space, let’s use it. We’ve got plenty of picks, let’s go get ’em. We’ve got the expansion draft, that’s going to create opportunity. ’Fitzy’ seems like he’s locked in, zeroed in. He’s got the green light to go. Let’s put some players on the ice.

It’s time. It’s time to start building up. We have this young core in place. Now let’s go build a hockey team and win some games.

It has been a tough stretch as of late for the Devils who missed the playoffs for the third time in a row and the eighth time in the last nine years.  Along the way, they’ve added a pair of number one picks in centers Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes but the supporting cast still needs some improvement.  Over the past three years, they’ve finished no higher than 25th in goals scored and no better than 26th in goals allowed.  Upgrades are needed pretty much everywhere as a result although Mackenzie Blackwood has some promise in goal.

New Jersey has an extra first-round pick at 29th overall from the Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac trade but they only have one pick in each of the remaining six rounds.  That could limit their trade chips from there although the late first-round selection is certain to intrigue teams on draft night, especially in a draft like this which has much more uncertainty than usual.  If someone starts to slide, that pick will generate some interest.

But what they do have plenty of is cap space as they sit more than $37MM under the cap, per CapFriendly.  More importantly, there aren’t many prominent unrestricted free agents (other than defenseman Ryan Murray) while there are no pending big-ticket contracts for a restricted free agent either.  Once they take care of those, there will still be plenty of money to go around.

In an offseason where teams will be looking to move money and free agency likely to resemble the fall where big offers aren’t as prominent as usual, this should set Fitzgerald and the Devils up for a productive summer, especially now that they have the green light to spend more.

Devils Willing To Consider Trading Fourth-Overall Pick

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  • The New Jersey Devils are in the market for a young defenseman and would consider trading the fourth-overall pick, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Devils have selected in the top ten three times in the last few years, taking Nico Hischier (first overall, 2017), Jack Hughes (first, 2019), and Alexander Holtz (seventh, 2020) in the early part of the first round. Perhaps that makes this year’s pick a little more expendable, especially with the uncertainty surrounding the 2021 class. Any trade that happens in the next few weeks has expansion draft implications, but as we examined recently, the Devils have a real opportunity to add defensemen with no risk of losing them to the Seattle Kraken.

Expansion Primer: New Jersey Devils

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time the New Jersey Devils went through an expansion draft, they were coming off a terrible season where they finished last in the Metropolitan Divison and didn’t have a ton of assets to worry about losing. The team decided to go with the eight-skater protection strategy in order to protect defenseman Mirco Mueller, and ended up losing Jon Merrill. It ended up being the wrong choice, but both were never really impact defensemen before or after the expansion draft. This year things are relatively similar, with the Devils being at risk of losing a player who may continue on in the NHL but isn’t likely to win any awards.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Nico Hischier, Andreas Johnsson, Jesper Bratt, Miles Wood, Pavel Zacha, Nathan Bastian, Nicholas Merkley, Brandon Gignac, A.J. Greer, Yegor Sharangovich, Michael McLeod, Marian Studenic, Janne Kuokkanen

Defense:

P.K. Subban, Damon Severson, Will Butcher, David Quenneville, Colby Sissons, Colton White, Jonas Siegenthaler

Goalies:

Mackenzie Blackwood, Evan Cormier

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

D Ryan Murray, D Connor Carrick, G Aaron Dell

Notable Exemptions

F Jack Hughes, F Jesper Boqvist, F Tyce Thompson, D Ty Smith, D Kevin Bahl

Key Decisions

The biggest difference between then and now for the Devils is the number of interesting young forwards that could require protection. The team used only four spots upfront in 2017 but are almost certainly going to use the seven forward-three defenseman protection strategy this time around. Hischier, Bratt, and Zacha, who have grown and developed together the last few seasons are no-brainers. Sharangovich and Kuokkanen may not have been protected a year ago, but both became regular NHL options this season. That already fills five of the seven spots, meaning only two more of the group that includes Wood, McLeod, Johnsson, Bastian, and Merkley can be kept away from Seattle.

It would have been easy to choose Johnsson before he became a ghost this season, disappearing completely after breaking out in Toronto. The 26-year-old winger had just 11 points in 50 games for New Jersey but carries a cap hit of $3.4MM through 2022-23. It very well could bite the Devils if he heads to Seattle and rediscovers his game, but at this point, he isn’t really deserving of a protection spot.

Wood, 25, has never shown he can create much offense for his linemates, but it’s hard to argue with 17 goals in 55 games. The speedy forward has continued to cash in on his opportunities and brings an incredible amount of energy to the rink every night. He is likely going to be one of the two extra spots, though there at least has to be some consideration of the others. McLeod, Bastian, Merkley, and even Studenic are all still just finding their way at the NHL level but any one of them could take a step forward next season. There is a reason why the first three were all taken with high draft picks and New Jersey could decide to try to block Seattle from snatching up an unpolished gem.

On defense, the team almost has an extra protection slot, given how poorly Subban performed this season. His $9MM cap hit will likely scare off the Kraken but even if it doesn’t, removing him from the Devils lineup shouldn’t be too much of a negative for a team that is obviously trying to go with a young group. There’s not really any reason to protect Subban, meaning the Devils could even pursue a trade to help out a team that is overloaded.

In fact, Butcher is in a similar situation, even if his contract isn’t nearly as expensive. The 26-year-old has basically played himself out of the lineup in New Jersey, serving as a healthy scratch many times this year. He recorded just 11 points in 23 games and though his minutes were back up by May, his place in the future of the Devils is extremely unclear. That means the Devils really only have Severson to protect on the back end, giving them some flexibility and leverage in trade talks over the next few weeks. If they end up failing to add anyone, Siegenthaler is perhaps a piece they would like to keep after acquiring him this season, but it seems unlikely he’d be picked over an available forward anyway.

Goaltending is the one place where there isn’t much debate. Blackwood is the choice, while Cormier meets the exposure requirements. Dell and Wedgewood are both pending free agents and depth options at best.

Projected Protection List

F Nico Hischier
F Jesper Bratt
F Miles Wood
F Pavel Zacha
F Yegor Sharangovich
F Michael McLeod
F Janne Kuokkanen

D Damon Severson
D Will Butcher
D Jonas Siegenthaler

G Mackenzie Blackwood

*Assuming no acquisitions

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (2): Andreas Johnsson, Nathan Bastian
Defensemen (1): P.K. Subban

One of the key decision-making factors in the protection list upfront could be these exposure requirements, as only Hischier, Johnsson, Bratt, Wood, Zacha and Bastian currently meet them. New contracts for Merkley, Sharangovich, McLeod, or Kuokkanen would get them there, but as restricted free agents they currently don’t fit. On defense, Subban and Butcher both meet the requirements, meaning the team has little to worry about on the back end.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

New Jersey Devils Showing Interest In Rasmus Ristolainen

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The Buffalo Sabres are a team to watch on the trade market this summer and not only because of Jack Eichel. At their end-of-year press availability, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen both expressed some frustration with the organization’s lack of success and knew their names would be brought up in the offseason. Ristolainen in particular has been involved in trade speculation for years, as his blunt way of speaking his mind has led to some choice quotes.

Now, Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have shown interest in the 26-year-old defenseman, noting that the team has a glaring hole on the right side because of the pending free agency of Connor Carrick. Of course, Carrick only played 11 games for the Devils this season and has been used sparingly since arriving, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Devils wouldn’t do well to upgrade their defense. Even the right side, which already has P.K. Subban and Damon Severson on the books, could be improved if the Devils want to compete in the Metropolitan Division next season.

Is Ristolainen the right way to go about that? The Sabres defenseman has just one year left on his six-year, $32.4MM contract, meaning he’ll carry a cap hit of $5.4MM next season. He has long been criticized for the analytical community given his brutal possession numbers, but at least some of that poor shot suppression comes from being asked to carry the load as the Sabres top dog. Since he debuted in 2013-14, the eighth-overall pick has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night over 542 games. He has been given defensive starts more often in all but one of his NHL campaigns, with this most recent season being the most lopsided. He is a -163 in that eight-year career and has failed to make the playoffs even a single time, but perhaps there is more to draw out of his game if he goes somewhere else.

When trading players that are a year away from free agency, teams will often look for a suitor that can offer an extension in order to maximize the return. While the Devils have enough cap space to do that with Ristolainen, the defenseman has been clear about his desire to end up with a winning program. He’s tired of missing the playoffs, and going to New Jersey–even with their exciting young core–certainly doesn’t guarantee he’d see the postseason anytime soon. Though he doesn’t have a no-trade clause, the idea of a possible extension with a winning team would give the Sabres the most assets in return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nathan Bastian Re-Signs With New Jersey Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have re-signed rookie forward Nathan Bastian to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $825K and keep Bastian from reaching restricted free agency this summer. He’ll earn $775K in 2021-22 and $875K in 2022-23.

Bastian, 23, was the 41st overall selection in 2016, but is coming off his first full NHL season. The 6’4″ winger scored three goals and ten points in 41 games with the Devils, racking up a team-leading 136 hits. Deployed almost exclusively in defensive situations (more than 69% of Bastian’s zone starts were in his own end), the young forward actually performed pretty admirably.

In fact, there could even be a little more offense to come. Bastian scored 16 goals and 38 points in 62 games for the Binghamton Devils in 2019-20, finding a way to produce while still providing a physical presence every night. If that same growth comes at the NHL level in the years to come, New Jersey could have a very valuable power forward on their hands.

Even if the offense doesn’t really improve though, Bastian looks like a rock-solid bottom-six option for the team, now on an inexpensive deal. He is the latest in a long list of restricted free agents the team will have to deal with this offseason, which includes Nicholas Merkley, Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jonas Siegenthaler, among others.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Eric Gelinas

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Two days after the Carolina Hurricanes lose a defenseman to Sweden, they import another. NHL.com’s Michael Smith reports that the Hurricanes have signed veteran defender Eric Gelinas to a one-year, two-way contract. Gelinas will make the minimum $750K at the NHL level and $100K at the AHL level, with $125K guaranteed. This move comes on the heels of Joakim Ryan officially signing with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks on Friday.

Gelinas should be a name familiar to NHL fans. Although the 30-year-old last played in the league in 2016-17, he has nearly 200 NHL games to his credit with the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche. A 2009 second-round pick of the Devils with great size and strong production in the QMJHL, Gelinas was long expected to become a dynamic top-four defenseman at the highest level. He continued to produce in the AHL and had one tremendous season with New Jersey, but largely failed to translate his offense to the NHL and settled into a stay-at-home role and eventually his exit from the league. Gelinas spent the 2017-18 season playing in the AHL with the Laval Rocket before spending the past three years in Europe, mostly in the SHL. While his production improved overseas, it was not until this season with Rogle BK that it truly took off. Gelinas recorded 34 points in 46 games, leading all league defensemen in per-game scoring, and added another seven points in the postseason en route to a finals appearance.

The Hurricanes clearly hope that Gelinas’ season is not just another example of strong production at a weaker level but rather that something has finally clicked with the big defenseman’s all-around game. With Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Jake Gardiner, and Joey Keane signed through at least next year, Jake Bean and Maxime Lajoie under team control as restricted free agents, and mutual interest in an extension with Dougie Hamilton, Carolina still has some of the best defensive depth in the NHL and by no means will have to rely on a breakout season from Gelinas. However, they rushed to sign him for a reason and may very well hand him a roster spot to begin the year in hopes that he can prove he belongs at the top level.

Minnesota Wild Hire Ray Shero

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The Minnesota Wild have named Ray Shero Senior Advisor to the General Manager, reuniting him with GM Bill Guerin. The two men have a long history together, with Shero acquiring Guerin at the end of his playing career to win a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and then hiring him as a development coach after his retirement.

In fact, it was Shero’s departure from the Penguins in 2014 that moved everyone up a rung in the Penguins organization, with Guerin taking over as an assistant GM alongside Jim Rutherford. The 58-year-old Shero went to the New Jersey Devils next and served parts of five seasons there before being relieved of his duties in January 2020. He’ll be back in a front office for the 2021-22 season, though obviously not running the show as he is used to.

Shero is replacing the outgoing Jack Ferreira according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, and brings several decades of front office experience. He first joined the Ottawa Senators in 1993 as an assistant GM and served in the same capacity with the Nashville Predators. He will have the same title as Randy Sexton, who was hired earlier this year.

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