Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Player X is a free agent. Player X can sign with any team. Player X ultimately decides to sign with Team Y because the GM or head coach of the team is a former teammate. Or they’re from the same hometown and came up through juniors together. Or, to quote a classic film in Spaceballs, he’s their father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.
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I wouldn’t go as far as to say that nepotism is running rampant across the NHL, even though this is a league where we see players drafted all the time in part because of their bloodlines. Heck, the NHL themselves are all too happy to put a PDF out there showing direct ties between players, as they did this as recently as last year’s draft. But I do think connections and networking matter to some extent.
It’s something we see in the real world all the time. People might leave one job for another because of a personal connection with someone who is at the new place. People who are looking for work may leverage their network and talk to people they know until they land somewhere new. Why would the NHL be any different?
Sheldon Keefe had nearly a decade of experience in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, first with the Marlies and then the Maple Leafs, before coming to New Jersey. New general manager Sunny Mehta was in the Panthers organization from 2020-2026, with a brief consultation stop in Washington between his time in New Jersey and Florida.
Neither Keefe or Mehta are old, but they’ve been around long enough where they know people. They’ve built up those relationships over the years, whether its Keefe coaching someone or Mehta being a part of a front office that brought said player in.
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This week, I thought it would be noteworthy to at least take a look at players who either will be or might be available this offseason with some previous connection to Keefe or Mehta. Some of these players will be under contract, but they may or may not be available for a trade. Some of these players might be free agents. But are any of them potential fits for a Devils team that will need to undergo some changes this summer as Mehta reshapes the roster?
I’m well aware there are a lot of players around the league who played for Keefe or Mehta, but for purposes of this article, I’ll try to avoid fourth line types. I already mentioned AJ Greer a few weeks ago and I’m not going to dive deeply into the Ryan Lombergs and Kevin Stenlunds of the world, with all due respect to those players.
Matthew Knies
Contract: 5 years, $7.75M AAV, 10-team no trade list starting in 2030-31
Matthew Knies has been on the trading block for what seems like several months now, and despite the Maple Leafs landing the #1 pick in the NHL Draft and their recent sign-and-trade acquisition of Darren Raddysh, it appears that Knies is very much still in play. In fact, Knies came dangerously close to being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline for a package including a pair of first round picks and prospect Alexander Zharovsky.
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Knies isn’t a perfect player as he doesn’t really drive play and his defensive metrics are so-so, but he does a lot of things well. He’s a big body winger who can get to the dirty areas in front of the net and make things happen with rebounds and redirections. He’s shown that he’s more than capable of playing with elite level players, and one would presume he’ll be tethered to Jack Hughes’s wing if the Devils were to land him. And in a rising cap environment, having a player like Knies locked in at under $8M AAV for the next half decade is a tremendous value. That should not be understated.
Keefe was in Toronto as Knies was breaking into the NHL, and while Knies didn’t have his breakout seasons until after Keefe left Toronto, we’re talking about a player who has yet to turn 24 years old and is still scratching the surface of what he’s going to be as a player.
Contract: 4 years, $7.5M AAV, NMC, 10-team no trade list starting in 2028-29
Rielly, the current longest-tenured Maple Leaf, may or may not be on the trading block in Toronto.
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Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos wrote a few weeks ago that the belief is that Toronto is open to moving on from Rielly and that his NMC “wouldn’t be a major hurdle to overcome”. And Rielly did enjoy some of his finest seasons as a Maple Leaf with Keefe as the head coach, posting 68 points in 2021-22 and 58 points in 23-24. Rielly did struggle the last two seasons under Craig Berube, but it would stand to reason he could be a bounceback candidate if he were to play in a system better suited to his strengths as a player. And if anyone would know what those strengthts are, it’s Sheldon Keefe.
Rielly is not the greatest defensive defenseman, but he is still a good skater and he can move the puck….two things the Devils need more of from the backend.
Rielly could make sense for the Devils if they wind up sending a defenseman back Toronto’s way to help offset some of the salary, and with Raddysh in the fold in Toronto, Rielly might now be expendable to some extent. But with his NMC, Rielly has final say on his destination, so he’d have to want to be reunited with Keefe.
Contract: 2 years, $3.5M AAV, 16-team no-trade list
Keeping our eyes on Toronto, let’s take a look at another veteran defenseman on Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
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OEL didn’t play for Keefe in Toronto, but he did play for Sunny Mehta in Florida in the 2023-24 season, picking up a Stanley Cup ring as a depth defenseman for the Panthers. OEL parlayed his Florida run into a four-year deal with the Maple Leafs, and while he was nearly traded this past season at the deadline, he ultimately stuck around in Toronto through the end of the season.
Ekman-Larsson enjoyed some of his best seasons in Arizona when he was with now-Leafs GM John Chayka, so its certainly possible that Chayka decides to hold on to the veteran blueliner. Considering Toronto is a team that has already been active this summer, I don’t know if that future includes Ekman-Larsson. But he’d be, at least from a contractual perspective, a relatively inexpensive veteran option who should help provide a little more offense from the backend.
I don’t know what the trade market would even look like for Ekman-Larsson, but I don’t think he’d cost a first-round pick to acquire.
Contract: Unrestricted free agent
At 36 years old, I don’t know how much Gudas has left in the tank in terms of being an effective hockey player.
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Gudas, who spent three seasons in Florida with Mehta, is what he is at this stage of his career. He’s a defensive defenseman who blocks shots, hits people, and provides veteran leadership. He will not help a team offensively, and it’s debatable whether or not he’s helping the team enough defensively anymore. He’ll also throw the occasional and unnecessary dirty hit that will draw faux outrage from the Department of Player Safety.
The Devils would need to completely overhaul their backend to create enough openings where then I could justify considering Gudas for a 1-year deal. They may trade some defensemen, but I doubt its to create a spot for this type of player.
Contract: 2 years, $3.5M AAV, 16-team no-trade
Duclair is a speedy winger who has generally been a decent source of secondary offense, but fairly or unfairly, has always managed to wear our his welcome no matter where he’s been. For a player who turns 31 this summer, there’s a decent chance he’ll be on his TENTH NHL team next season, and he hasn’t managed to last with any one team more than three seasons. Duclair was also benched by now-former Islanders coach Patrick Roy this past season.
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I don’t write all of that to pick on Duclair or make fun of him. He’s a guy who can skate well and he has a good shot. He also had some of his best seasons in Florida with Sunny Mehta. Add in that the Islanders likely need to clear some cap space if they want to make additions to a group that nearly made the playoffs this past season and Duclair could be an odd man out in Elmont.
I’m not really interested in Duclair unless the Islanders were retaining salary, but he could be a name to keep an eye on if they choose to buy him out. In that scenario, I would have some mild interest in Duclair as a depth forward if he’d take a 1-year prove-it deal.
Contract: Unrestricted Free Agent
Admittedly, I had this article done and ready to publish. Then I saw the news that Vladimir Tarasenko is switching agents for what seems like the hundredth time and remembered that it was just over two years ago that the Panthers acquired Tarasenko for what would be a Stanley Cup winning run.
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Tarasenko has been a long-time goalscorer, topping the 30+ goal plateau six times in his career with the Blues before bouncing around the league for much of the last half-decade, with stops in Minnesota, Detroit, South Florida, Ottawa, and that team across the Hudson River. Injuries and aging have seen a bit of a dip in his production, but he is coming off of a season where he scored 23 goals in Minnesota. That would place him fourth on the 25-26 Devils behind Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Timo Meier. Tarasenko wound up finishing third on the Wild in even-strength goals, showing he doesn’t need to be a power play specialist to be productive.
I don’t really know what to make of Tarasenko switching agents. Players don’t typically do that and then simultaneously sign team-friendly deals. AFP Analytics might be underselling Tarasenko with a one-year projection at roughly $3.4M AAV considering the rising cap and he’s coming off of a deal that paid him $4.75M AAV the last two years. Tarasenko might be a bit of a one-trick pony at this stage of his career, but it just so happens that that one trick is something the Devils could use more of in their lineup in goal scoring.
That said, Mehta was part of a Panthers front office that thought enough of him to bring him in as a depth piece and to provide secondary offense for a championship run. Tarasenko fit in well on that Panthers team before departing as a free agent. I could see Mehta being interested, and if Tarasenko is interested in another short-term deal, this is one that could make a lot of sense for the Devils.
Contract: 6 years, $6.2M AAV, 10-team no trade
I’ll preface this next part of the article saying this is from David Pagnotta, so take it with a grain of salt. But he did mention Owen Tippett’s name as a potential trade option recently, and it does seem like there’s a least a little smoke there, so let’s talk about it.
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To be clear, the Flyers trading Tippett now makes little to no sense. They’re a team emerging from a multi-year rebuild, they made the playoffs this past season, and Tippett was arguably one of their best players during Philadelphia’s playoff run. Danny Briere signed Tippett to a contract extension not too long ago. They really shouldn’t be looking to move off of Tippett unless they’re convinced this is fool’s gold or someone makes them an offer they can’t refuse, and if I were the Devils, I’m not emptying the tank on an Owen Tippett trade as much as I respect the player.
That said, there’s a connection there as Mehta and Tippett overlapped in Florida. Florida did wind up moving Tippett, along with draft picks, in the Claude Giroux trade, and I can understand why Florida moved on when they did. To Tippett’s credit, he established himself as a regular with more consistent playing time in Philadelphia.
I don’t blame Mehta if he kicks the tires here. I just think its more likely he’ll have to try to find the next Owen Tippett rather than trading for the actual Owen Tippett. I think if the Devils and Flyers were to hook up on a trade, its unlikely to be involving a player of this magnitude.
Contract: 2 years, $4.571M AAV, 7-team no trade
Vatrano overlapped with Mehta in Florida from 2020-2022 and was ok there as a secondary source of offense. But he took his game to another level when he initially landed in Anaheim.
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Vatrano found a good landing spot on a team that had young players that had yet to establish themselves as NHL regulars. He saw the most ice time in his career, played in all situations, and posted career high marks in goals and points in 2023-24. He earned a nice three year contract extension with a modest pay raise as a result.
Unfortunately for Vatrano, he saw his role diminish this past season under the first one with new head coach Joel Quenneville in Anaheim. His ice time? One of the lowest of his career. His production? Career worst considering he appeared in 50 games. His playoff performance this season? Non-existent, as he was scratched for Anaheim’s run.
Vatrano needs a change of scenery, and to be clear, I have ZERO interest in Vatrano at his current number. But he might be worth keeping an eye on if Anaheim chooses to buy him out. And they might, as they’d save $4M against the cap the next two seasons by doing so and they have several key RFAs who need new contracts.
Contract: Unrestricted Free Agent
At this stage of his career, Bunting is a journeyman veteran winger who on his best day can chip in 15-20 goals over the course of a season.
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That said, it wasn’t too long ago that under Sheldon Keefe, Bunting enjoyed some of the finest seasons of his career, with 112 points over 161 games with Toronto before departing in free agency.
With the benefit of time and hindsight, it’s clear that Bunting was more than adequate playing the Robin to the Batman of the Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner’s of the world. It’s also clear that he’s not quite the same player away from elite NHL talent. That’s not a knock, just an acknowledgement of the situation and an analysis of the player.
There are a lot of things about Bunting’s game that are easy to like though, such as his ability to get under the skin of the opposition, his compete level when it comes to winning puck battles, and a willingness to drive to the net.
Bunting is another guy where if his contract demands are anywhere near close to his AFP analytics projection of 4-years and $5.8M AAV, he’s probably a non-starter as far as the Devils are concerned given their cap situation. But he’s also coming off of a not-so great season between Nashville and Dallas, and I suppose an argument could be made that he’d be the goal-scoring, agitator compliment that Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt could use to round out that line. I don’t think he’d have to take a one-year, prove it type of deal, but maybe New Jersey is a situation given Keefe’s history with him makes sense.
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Rodrigues’ Contract: 1 year, $3.075M AAV
Luostarinen’s Contract: 1 year, $3M AAV
Florida is a team that probably doesn’t need to make cap casualty moves as they currently have roughly $15M in available cap space.
That said, Florida is a win-now team that will surely be looking to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs next season. Florida will be a threat to win a championship next season if they get in. And perhaps most importantly, Florida is a destination NHL city. They literally just traded for Brady Tkachuk. Dylan Larkin wants to play in Florida. Connor Hellebuyck likely wants to as well. And why wouldn’t they? Florida provides warm weather, no taxes, and a legitimate chance to win.
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If I’ve learned anything in recent years, its never say never when it comes to teams like Vegas and Florida when it comes to big game hunting. If they want whoever the next star player is that wants to go there, they’ll probably find a way to make it happen. And while it might be possible the players I just mentioned could go the other way in a potential deal to offset costs, it’s also possible they’re spun off in a different direction entirely if Florida needs to free up cap space in a hurry. Most of Florida’s big money players have some sort of no move clause or trade protection. Rodrigues and Luostarinen do not.
Rodrigues has been a perfectly fine role player for the Panthers for the last three seasons. He can play anywhere in the lineup and not look out of place. He can shift to center if needed, which may be ideal for a Devils team that could use a few more options in that respect. He’s a versatile Swiss army knife type of piece that fits on good hockey teams. As for Luostarinen, he’s another big, left-handed center slash winger option who plays a good two-way game, is physical, and provides secondary offense.
Sunny Mehta is obviously familiar with both players, and while I’m not saying they’re definitely going to be available this summer, I could see him being interested if either one was dangled out there on the open market, particularly Luostarinen.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I’d call this exercise…..mostly uninspiring.
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The Devils aren’t really in a position to take on a big salary player unless they move more money out. They’re not in a position to pay top of the market prices in UFA, nor should they in a weak UFA class. And even if they were, history has shown time and again that’s not a winning formula in the long-term.
I do think a couple of the forward options could make sense if their respective teams ate salary and/or bought the players out entirely. I do think most of the defensemen could make sense if the Devils make drastic sweeping changes on their blueline. But we’re talking about some drastic changes moving on from several players with no-trade clauses of some sort and overhauling the operation at this point, which doesn’t seem likely given the contractual situations Sunny Mehta is inheriting.
Still, I think a few of these names are probably worth keeping in mind in the off-chance they do become available. In the former Panthers cases, Mehta was a key voice in a front office that ultimately signed off on bringing them in. There’s something there with these players that he likes. And in Keefe’s case with the former Leafs, we’re talking about players he has coached before and has that familiarity with, as opposed to exclusively bringing in external free agents with no previous ties.
These players probably won’t become Devils in the next month or so. But would it be all that surprising if a few of them passed through Newark in the next 12-24 months? Probably not.
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