New Jersey Devils In Full Rebuild Mode

It’s been quite the off-season already for the New Jersey Devils: it began with long-time general manager and living legend Lou Lamoriello stepping down from his post and former Penguin general manager Ray Shero taking over the reigns for the organization. That was followed by Shero dipping back to his former organization and hiring John Hynes to take over as coach of the Devils. After its third straight season out of the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils needed a shake-up.

While a change in leadership and coaching was necessary, those moves pale in comparison to what really ails the New Jersey Devils: the roster just isn’t very good.

For all the wonderful things Lamoriello accomplished during his tenure with the Devils (most notably three Stanley Cup titles), the roster he left is largely bland, offensively-challenged, and faceless. There are some pieces to work with (goalie Cory Schneider, young defensemen Adam Larsson and Jon Merrill), but it’s largely an organization stuck in neutral as younger up-and-coming teams in the conference zoom by them.

A proud organization like the New Jersey Devils would never admit to a “rebuild,” and some of the moves they’ve made the last few seasons lend credence to this- signing Ryan Clowe to a long-term extension, signing past-their-prime players like Scott Gomez and Martin Havlat– in an effort to fight for a playoff spot. While noble, no organization wants to be stuck in mediocrity, and the Devils are dangerously close to this.

However, with the off-season not officially upon us, there is plenty of time to get this organization back in the hunt. According to spotrac.com, they have a little over $48 million committed to 16 players next season. This figure doesn’t include key restricted free agents Larsson or Merrill, but assuming they are both re-signed, the Devils will have around $20 million in cap space and be armed with the 6th, 36th, and 41st pick in the draft this month to re-tool an organization desperately in need of a face lift.

Before we go any further, it’s worth pointing out that Schneider played at an all-star level for the New Jersey Devils this past season. He finished fifth in the league in save percentage (.925) and tied for ninth in goals against (2.26) amongst qualifying goaltenders. His 26-31-9 record was not indicative of his play and was too often the victim of a shoddy offense (2.15 goals per game, 28th in the league).

And that’s where the off-season will start and end: the offense must be drastically improved. Adam Henrique led the club with only 43 points, tied for lowest among a team leader this season. They boasted only one 20-goal scorer, winger Mike Cammalleri, who scored 27 to lead the team. Veterans Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac were counted on to provide offense and were mostly disappointing. The duo carried the largest cap hits on the team but only combined for a pathetic 59 points in 143 games.

The New Jersey Devils are in desperate need of a true, number one center. Henrique is a solid number two or three option, but the team needs to get stronger down the middle. In a division that features John Tavares, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Claude Giroux, Eric Staal, and Nicklas Backstrom, the Devils need to improve the position. Free-agent Mike Riberio is coming off a solid campaign (62 points for the Predators), but at 35-years old, would only be a short-term solution. With his history of off-the-ice issues, it would be dangerous to commit a large contract to him…it’s a risk the Devils should let someone else make.

With no clear number-one center options available via unrestricted free agency, the Devils need to take some chances on the trade market. There are rumors swirling that the St. Louis Blues want to shake up the franchise after another quick playoff exit. They thought they had settled their center problems last season by signing Paul Stastny to a contract. After year one of that deal, the $7 million price tag looks like a disaster. The Devils can build a trade package around both of its second round draft picks and a mid-tier prospect. The Blues could use that savings and spread it out amongst restricted free agent Vladimir Tarasenko and David Backes who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next season. Stastny hasn’t come close to repeating the production he brought early in his career, but at 29-years old, should still have plenty left in the tank. It’d also allow the Devils to properly slot the rest of their centers into more comfortable positions.

Stastny would be the first piece of the offensive re-shuffling. The Devils still need help on the wings, and that’s where they need to use the organizational depth they’ve built with young defenseman and see if Edmonton has grown tired of Nail Yakupov. Now, it’s easy to say that they still believe in him considering they gave him a two-year extension back in April. However, that was before Edmonton won the draft lotto and the rights to take Connor McDavid first overall. McDavid is the right choice with that pick, but it

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doesn’t help the Oilers’ defensive issues. The Oilers will be stacked with promising forwards, the Devils stacked with promising defensemen. It almost makes too much sense not to happen. While the Devils would likely rather prefer to trade Merrill or

Eric Gelinas

for Yakupov, the Oilers may hold out for Larsson instead. It’d be a tough decision (as Devil fans dream of Larsson becoming the next

Victor Hedman

), but the ultra-talented Yakupov may be worth the risk. If he can hit his potential, watch out.

While the free agent pool isn’t great with forwards, one interesting name is winger Shawn Mathias. He’s never been a huge scorer, but he is 6’4” and 215 pounds. He can bring some youth to the bottom six forward group and add some fresh legs to the aging roster. When the Devils were effective in recent years, they did so by using size to forecheck. Mathias would help keep some of that identity in the bottom six.

With these two trades and signing supplementing the offense, the Devils should look to the free agent market for a defenseman. Captain Bryce Salvador is likely not returning, and with one of the young defenseman being shipped away for Yakupov, the Devils could use another steady blue-liner back there. There have been some rumblings they will look to re-unite with Paul Martin, the former New Jersey Devil they should be pursuing is Johnny Oduya. The current Blackhawk defenseman has been a steadying presence for Chicago, but with the Blackhawks up against the salary cap, may be squeezed out after the season. He’ll be 34 when the season starts, but a three-year contract in the neighborhood of $5.5 million per season would be a reasonable addition to a very young defense core.

The last piece of the rebuild puzzle is the draft. While our previous trade for Stastny cost two-second round picks, the Devils still have the number six pick overall to bolster the squad. While it is tempting to use the pick in a package for a veteran now (Phil Kessel, Joe Pavelski, Ryan O’Reilly), the Devils need to do a better job of drafting and developing cheap labor, and they should sit back comfortably and be happy adding a quality prospect like Mitch Marner, Dylan Strome, Matthew Barzal, or a host of other worthy players. It may not pay dividends this season, but a player like Barzal (likely to be around for the sixth pick) could be the number one pivot the team needs to match up with other teams in the future. But with Ray Shero’s trade history, if you told me he was moving the pick to help the team win now, I wouldn’t be shocked either…

It’s a pivotal summer for the New Jersey Devils. But, they have the organization assets and resources to turn it around quickly and ensure that the current rebuild will be the last one they endure for a long time.

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