The Hockey News’ summer splash series – our exclusive rankings of the off-seasons of each NHL team – continues with the 12th spot going to the New Jersey Devils. We’ve been moving in reverse from the 32nd-place Buffalo Sabres to the No. 1 spot, and we’re looking at every team’s roster additions, departures, and hirings and firings where applicable.
After considerable debate and discussion, THN.com has ranked teams that fall into one of three categories this summer. The first category is teams that have improved. The second category is teams that have more or less remained the same. And the final category is teams that have regressed.
The Devils have been a playoff team for two of the past three seasons, but there’s a prevailing sense about this team that they’re not living up to expectations. In two playoff appearances in the past three seasons, New Jersey has been eliminated by the superior Carolina Hurricanes with relative ease, so Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald was frank and true when he said he wouldn’t be bringing back the same group next season.
With that in mind, let’s look at New Jersey’s changes and why they’re nearly a top-10 team in terms of their off-season development.
Additions
Connor Brown (RW), Evgenii Dadonov (LW), Juho Lammikko (LW), Thomas Bordeleau (LW), Arseniy Gritsyuk (LW)
The Breakdown: The Devils didn’t make widespread changes this summer, really only dealing with their bottom-six group of forwards and players who may be in the press box to start the year. Brown is coming off a terrific post-season with the Edmonton Oilers, while Dadonov very quietly had a 20-goal, 40-point season with the Dallas Stars. Fitzgerald got Brown and Dadonov for a combined salary cap hit of $4-million. That’s some nifty work by the Devils GM.
Meanwhile, while he’s not an addition per se, goaltender Jake Allen chose to return to New Jersey this summer at a team-friendly salary of $1.8-million. Allen worked well with starter Jacob Markstrom last season, and he almost certainly could’ve received more money to go elsewhere.
So Allen’s decision to stay in New Jersey is an endorsement of what this team is capable of. And a deeper, more skilled Devils group in front of the goalies will make life easier for Markstrom and Allen.
Departures
Erik Haula (LW), Tomas Tatar (LW), Curtis Lazar (C), Daniel Sprong (LW), Nathan Bastian (RW), Justin Dowling (C), Brian Dumoulin (D), Nolan Foote (D)
The Breakdown: There’s been a fairly big exodus from New Jersey’s roster this summer, but it’s basically been a stream of fringe players (Erik Haula, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong) and veterans who left for Europe (Tatar).
The most high-profile departure is probably Dumoulin, a trade-deadline acquisition who never really fit in as part of the Devils’ defense corps. But New Jersey has one of the deepest, strongest groups of blueliners in the league, so they’ll be able to absorb the slight blow from Dumoulin’s departure with relative ease.
Something to keep an eye on: Fittzgerald still has $6.1 million in cap space to use between now and the next NHL trade deadline. So nobody should be shocked to see the Devils as movers-and-shakers at the deadline and during the year.
The Bottom Line
Essentially, Fitzgerald has changed up New Jersey’s wingers this summer, bringing in new blood in Brown and Dadonov in particular and bidding farewell to veterans including Haula and Tatar. That’s a trade-off that almost certainly will make the Devils at least a little bit better. And that’s why they’re ranked as highly as they are in the summer splash list.
Don’t get it twisted – we’re still not sure New Jersey has what it takes to finish higher in the Metropolitan Division standings and/or go on a deeper playoff run next season. But the Devils’ core – brothers Jack and Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier – is coming back with considerably more pressure to improve on their past few years.
The Devils are indeed improved, if only slightly so. But Fitzgerald has effected change in the team’s secondary players, and time will tell whether that was the right choice. And if things go sideways for New Jersey, there will be a larger reckoning at this time next year.
Summer Splash Rankings
12. New Jersey Devils
13. St. Louis Blues
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Colorado Avalanche
16. Ottawa Senators
17. Boston Bruins
18. Edmonton Oilers
19. Minnesota Wild
20. Seattle Kraken
21. Columbus Blue Jackets
22. Washington Capitals
23. Nashville Predators
24. New York Islanders
25. Tampa Bay Lightning
26. Toronto Maple Leafs
27. Dallas Stars
28. Calgary Flames
29. Los Angeles Kings
30. Winnipeg Jets
31. Chicago Blackhawks
32. Buffalo Sabres
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