The offseason has arrived for three-quarters of the NHL for teams that either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at New Jersey.
Virtually nothing went right in 2023-24 for the Devils. After smashing down the doors of the rebuild and breaking out for 112 points last season, most expected the squad to stay in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference and potentially even contend for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Instead, an early season-ending injury to top defenseman Dougie Hamilton and sieve-like goaltending meant they never got very far away from the .500 mark, missing the playoffs entirely with just 81 points. With an unknown head coach stepping in next season to replace the fired Lindy Ruff and a goaltending rotation that’s guaranteed to look different, playoffs will be the expectation again in the Garden State.
Fill The Coaching Vacancy
The Devils’ mediocre showing cost Ruff his job before they were completely out of the playoff picture, as he was fired the week of the trade deadline after a 30-27-4 showing through 61 games. General manager Tom Fitzgerald’s deadline moves and interim promotion of Travis Green to head coach backfired, as the team limped to an 8-12-1 finish for their fifth sub-.500 season in the last six years.
At the time of writing, assistant coaches Sergei Brylin, Ryan McGill and Chris Taylor look to be back with the club next season. That just leaves their head coaching add, something that will likely be confirmed in a matter of days.
Recent reporting indicates ex-Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe and former Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft are the two most likely candidates, especially after Craig Berube replaced Keefe in Toronto on Friday and the Hurricanes locked in pending free agent Rod Brind’Amour to a five-year extension. Todd McLellan, who was fired midseason by the Kings, has also interviewed with New Jersey.
In fact, most expected the Devils to have made their move by now. Keefe and Woodcroft don’t appear to be the favorites for any other open jobs, though, so their sense of urgency has likely dwindled a tad.
Make The Goalie Splash
Fitzgerald’s goaltending upgrades at the trade deadline were underwhelming, adding journeyman Jake Allen and the inconsistent Kaapo Kähkönen while parting ways with Vítek Vaněček, who was serviceable in a tandem role last year but struggled with a .890 SV% in 32 appearances this season.
That wasn’t necessarily his intention, though. There was quite a lot of smoke around a move for Flames star Jacob Markström, and talks got so advanced he reportedly waived his no-move clause to accept the deal. It didn’t get across the finish line, but talks are expected to resume closer to the draft next month.
Markström’s 23-23-2 record this season wasn’t particularly impressive, but he managed to churn out another above-average season despite missing significant chunks of the campaign with injuries. His 13.7 goals saved above expected were ninth league-wide, per MoneyPuck. He’s not a terribly long-term solution, though – he’s already 34 and has two seasons left at a $6MM cap hit before becoming a free agent again.
There will be other bonafide starters available for the right price. The Bruins may move on from 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark in order to re-sign the younger Jeremy Swayman, but he has a modified no-trade clause and has expressed his desire to stay in Beantown as he enters the final season of his contract. Predators starter Juuse Saros may also be on the block with one year left on his deal, with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov waiting in the wings.
Add/Replace Depth Scoring
New Jersey doesn’t have a lot of free-agent turnover. Among forwards who logged NHL time this year, only Tomas Nosek and Chris Tierney are slated to become UFAs on July 1. Kurtis MacDermid and Maxwell Willman were set to join them but have signed extensions in the past few days.
That leaves a clear picture of the Devils’ roster needs, which includes a hole in their top nine. Whether 2020 top-10 pick Alexander Holtz can take a step forward under a new head coach will be a hot topic, and energy winger Curtis Lazar is currently penciled in for a third-line role before taking injuries into account. 22-year-old Dawson Mercer is a sure bet to bounce back after being limited to 33 points in 82 games last year, but as it stands, there are just a few too many question marks across the board for a team with aspirations of a deep playoff run.
A big-ticket add isn’t a need – that money should and will be reserved for goaltending. But a consistent middle-six winger to bump Lazar to a fourth-line role and provide insurance if Holtz continues to struggle is a clear vacancy on their depth chart. Someone in the $3MM-$4MM range annually should do the trick. Anthony Duclair, Warren Foegele and Jack Roslovic are just a handful of names that could likely be had for that price on the open market.
Extend Hughes
2021 fourth-overall pick Luke Hughes earned a Calder Trophy nomination this year by stepping up in a big way to fill the offensive vacancy left by Hamilton’s pectoral injury, leading the Devils blue line with 47 points in 82 games. He’s also eligible to sign an extension beginning July 1 as he enters the final season of his entry-level pact.
The Devils didn’t opt to get his older brother Jack signed immediately after becoming eligible, but they did sign him just a few weeks into the 2021-22 campaign, the final season of his ELC. The eight-year, $64MM commitment seemed a tad rich at the time for a player who had struggled with injuries to begin his career and had yet to establish himself as a first-line caliber player, but he’s immediately made the deal look like a bargain with three straight seasons well over a point per game.
If Fitzgerald opts to take a similar path with Luke, expect a matching deal or something close to it. Evolving Hockey projects the defender’s extension to come in at eight years with a $7.979MM cap hit.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
(winces) I like Lazar, but him having to play on the third line is God’s way of telling a team that their depth sucks.