Devils News & Rumors: Labanc, Henrique & More

It’s time for another edition of New Jersey Devils news and rumors. Direct rumors involving the team have been hard to come by over the last few weeks. But the rumor mill is beginning to churn, and there are a couple of names that have popped up that could be fits for the Devils on the trade market as the expansion draft approaches on July 21, with the entry draft soon after on July 23 and 24.

One of the names to surface this weekend was Adam Henrique, who the Anaheim Ducks appear to be shopping. Devils fans are quite familiar with him, and though he has a pricey contract, a reunion could make sense for both sides. 

The San Jose Sharks also appear to be open for business and are dangling players such as Kevin Labanc as trade bait, per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (From ‘Sources: Sharks ‘open for business’ when it comes to trade talks with teams’, The Athletic – 7/10/2021). While his production has fluctuated over the last few seasons, the Brooklyn, New York native could provide a scoring boost to the Devils up front.  

Finally, a look at the Devils re-signing defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler to a two-year deal ahead of the expansion draft on July 21. Let’s get to it. 

Henrique Could Use a Change of Scenery

It was a whirlwind 2020-21 season for Henrique. The Ducks placed him on waivers back in February, but he remained with the team after no one bit on the waiver wire. Still, he managed to have a pretty productive season, finishing with 12 goals and 21 points over 45 games. That comes out to a 22-goal, 38-point pace over 82 games, which is about where he produced in his previous two seasons. 

It’s a bit puzzling as to why the Ducks placed Henrique on waivers, because he can still contribute in the NHL. He averaged 1.79 points per 60 minutes (points/60) at five-on-five this season and has averaged 1.73 points/60 since the start of 2018-19. His two-way play has slipped some, but he still has value offensively, especially at even strength. His overall game is still well above replacement level as well:

The problem with Henrique isn’t his play; it’s his contract, which runs for three more seasons at a cap hit of $5.825 million. The Ducks seem to want to get that off their books, at least most of it. I say most of it because there aren’t many teams who can take on his whole deal without the Ducks retaining some salary. Otherwise, they’ll have to give up a sweetener in any trade. 

On the other hand, the Devils would have to bet on Labanc getting closer to the player he was in 2018-19. And I think there’s reason to believe he can. He has a consistent track record of scoring at five-on-five, which is not the case with Zacha. And his impact at that game state has been much more positive over the last three seasons than Zacha’s has. Add some better luck on the power play, and things point toward Labanc returning closer to a 50-55 point player in a different situation. So he seems like the type of player to gamble on.

Siegenthaler Re-Signed

Finally, the Devils took care of some housekeeping on Friday by signing Siegenthaler to a two-year deal with an average annual salary of $1.125 million. The Devils acquired him from the Washington Capitals just before this season’s trade deadline. But he only played in eight games with the Devils after coming down with COVID soon after the trade.

Still, Siegenthaler’s numbers were encouraging in his short stint with the team. He finished with an xG% just above 54 percent and was one of the team’s best shot suppressing defensemen when he played. He doesn’t have much offensive upside at all, but he has a steady defensive track record. With things hopefully returning to normal for the 2021-22 season, he should find regular playing time as a third-pair defenseman who gets minutes on the penalty kill. 

That wraps up this edition of Devils news & rumors. Expansion draft protection lists are due this Saturday, July 17. Things should begin to heat up as we approach that date, so make sure to stay tuned to The Hockey Writers for the latest Devils and NHL coverage. 

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