In today’s current NHL, most knowledgeable hockey fans regard the New Jersey Devils as a team that is good now and expected to get better. Why? Due to their impressive 2022-23 season and the near-future addition of top prospects. However, it was not an easy road for the Devils. Multiple years of finishing at the bottom of the league, saying goodbye to long-time players, and an overall perception of a sorry and unserious franchise were commonplace for the team and its fans.
As fans of the team, looking back and seeing situations such as trading a Hart Trophy winner, selling fan-favorite players for picks, and missing out on an elite player from New Jersey, discouragement was an understatement. Furthermore, three general manager (GM) changes, five coaching changes, and a disgruntled fanbase left New Jersey’s team in an unprecedented position.
Thankfully, a long-awaited turnaround has happened and the fanbase is as hopeful as ever. Through development, drafting, smart contracts, and of course, luck, the team is on the up. Now, as the tides finally turn, let’s take a look back at the path that helped form today’s current roster.
Kyle Palmieri
For six years and 397 games, Kyle Palmieri was the top right winger for the Devils. He scored 140 goals and 126 assists for a total of 266 points in the Garden State. In his contract year in New Jersey, he was traded to the New York Islanders along with Travis Zajac. Full trade details were that the Devils acquired AJ Greer, Mason Jobst, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 fourth-round pick for Palmieri and Zajac at 50 percent retained salaries. The 2021 first-round pick was Chase Stillman and the 2022 fourth-round pick was Daniil Orlov.
Despite not knowing how Stillman and Orlov will pan out, the Devils dodged a bullet by offering Palmieri a contract extension. The Islanders signed him to a four-year, $20 million contract that began in 2021-22 when he was 30 years old. Since then, the winger has struggled and only scored 31 goals and 35 assists in 124 games with the Islanders. His durability and goalscoring abilities have diminished with his age. In the 2022-23 season, the Devils had four wingers score more points than Palmieri.
The Devils and Palmieri were engaged in talks to work out an extension before the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline. However, talks stopped after a final push by GM Tom Fitzgerald. Instead, the Devils stacked assets, and today they are able to afford younger and better pieces due to not having his contract on the books.
Blake Coleman
Blake Coleman was a Devils draft pick that became a fan-favorite for his 115 percent effort every shift and unique pickle juice drinking habit. Fans and Coleman embraced each other through the fans dubbing his nickname ‘Pickles’ and the Texan native then creating his own clothing line. The trade that sent him to the Tampa Bay Lightning took place when he had another year left on his contract. Therefore, the return was larger and the Devils received Nolan Foote and a 2020 first-round pick that ended up being Shakir Mukhamadullin. He went on to win two Stanley Cups with the Lightning before signing a six-year, $29.4 million contract with the Calgary Flames. The annual average value (AAV) for Coleman is $4.9 million.
The 75th overall draft pick became a free agent in the 2021 offseason and the Devils were one of the teams that he was talking to. However, the price that the Flames paid was a hefty chunk.
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Despite Coleman’s hard-working play, he is an overpaid bottom-six forward. If the Devils gave him the contract that the Flames did, it would have prevented them from adding the talent that is now on the roster.
Taylor Hall
Winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP is an extreme honor and in most cases, teams want to lock up their MVPs. In 2018, Taylor Hall was the first-ever Devil to win the Hart Trophy. However, the league’s MVP was due for a new contract in 2020 and the Devils would not bite. He was open about the fact that he wanted to remain in New Jersey with a long-term contract. However, then-GM Ray Shero never offered him one. Three years later, every Devils fan should be writing a thank-you note to him.
After extension talks become stagnant, the Devils placed Hall on the trade market. Eventually, he finished his contract with the Arizona Coyotes. The Devils sent Hall and Blake Speers to Arizona and received Nick Berkley, Nathan Schnarr, Kevin Bahl, a 2020 first-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick. The 2020 first-round pick was used to select Dawson Mercer and the 2021 third-round pick was used in a trade for Jonas Siegenthaler.
The Devils have three roster players from the trade and Hall has played with the Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, and Boston Bruins, and will be on the Chicago Blackhawks roster in 2023-24. The Devils not only benefited massively from the trade but the cap space that they received from not signing the former MVP.
Johnny Gaudreau
By now, Devils fans have forgotten about the Johnny Gaudreau saga that took place last offseason. The highly coveted free agent gave some insight on his decision after signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, “I was trying to get a deal done with the Devils and then Columbus called… I told my agent, I was like ‘I want to go here, just try to get this done, this is the spot I wanna be right here.” At the time, it was another blow for the organization and its fans. However, it turned out to be another blessing in disguise.
Without Gaudreau’s contract on the books, New Jersey had the space to sign wingers Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier to eight-year deals that have a lower AAV than Gaudreau’s $9.75 million cap hit. Furthermore, Bratt and Meier are younger than the current Blue Jacket, and each potted more goals than him in the 2022-23 season.
The Devils organization has been terrific at signing players to team-friendly deals. This has allowed depth additions and a roster that will be granted the luxury of staying together for a long time. Of course, some luck and patience were involved in avoiding certain contracts. However, Devils fans are deserving of the exciting times that the current roster will bring!
