The New Jersey Devils took the right approach to Day 1 free agency: they did nothing. That’s right. They did the smart thing and didn’t make any significant signings. Their only move in free agency (so far) has been signing goaltender Erik Kallgren to a one-year, two-way contract for a little goaltending depth behind Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid.
Free agency can be a way to improve depth, but teams have to be smart about it. The good organizations usually are, but as we saw on Day 1 of free agency, plenty of bad contracts got handed out to middle-of-the-lineup players. Let’s talk about a few and how the Devils were right to avoid the frenzy.
Term Is the Killer in NHL Free Agency
Given the weak free-agent class this year, it wasn’t a surprise that teams overpaid players to find upgrades. Maybe it’ll work out in the short term, but they’ll likely regret it in the long run. Most notable was long-time Devil Miles Wood signing a six-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps the Avalanche don’t care since the salary cap should rise significantly in a year or two, but the term could prove problematic in a couple of years, even at a $2.5 million cap hit.
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Another former Devil that signed a long-term deal yesterday was Ryan Graves, who agreed to a six-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like Wood, his $4.5 million cap hit is manageable, but the six-year term could be an issue for the Penguins in the long run. If the Devils had signed either of those players to six-year deals, they would’ve effectively shut their Cup window or at least limited it by creating salary cap problems.
Just look at what the New York Islanders did on the opening day of free agency. Signing Ilya Sorokin to an eight-year deal isn’t much of an issue. He’s a top-three goalie in the NHL, but it’s everything else general manager Lou Lamoriello did over the course of the day.
Lamoriello handed out lengthy contracts to Pierre Engvall (seven years, $3 million cap hit) and Scott Mayfield (seven years, $3.5 million cap hit). He also re-signed 35-year-old Semyon Varlamov to a four-year deal to remain as Sorokin’s backup. Varlamov is one of the better 1Bs in the NHL, but a four-year deal carries a fair bit of risk at his age. And don’t get me started on the term for Engvall and Mayfield.
Looking at the rest of the market, the Devils could’ve created problems for themselves if they targeted some UFAs that signed with new teams. David Pagnotta reported the Devils had interest in Alex Killorn, which doesn’t surprise me given his production and Cup pedigree. But his next contract was always going to prove problematic. The Anaheim Ducks ended up signing him to a four-year deal at a cap hit of $6.25 million. That was never going to work for the Devils.
And when looking at the goalies that signed, it wasn’t much better. The Ottawa Senators brought in Joonas Korpisalo on a five-year deal at a cap hit of $4 million. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins re-upped Tristan Jarry for five years at a cap hit of $5.375 million. The Devils were never going to pursue Jarry, but Korpisalo could’ve been an option if they were seeking a 1B to Vanecek. Two years? Sure, but five years was out of the question, making for an easy decision to stay away.
Devils Could Still Sign a Free Agent
Even though the Devils have stayed away from the big contracts in free agency, that doesn’t mean they won’t sign someone in the next few days. They won’t give out significant term, but if there’s an opportunity to upgrade on the wing with a short-term deal, they’d likely pounce on the opportunity.
While players like Killorn, Daniel Sprong and Max Pacioretty — who made sense for the Devils — have already signed, some viable free-agent options still remain. I’ve always wondered about Vladimir Tarasenko since the Devils have had interest in him before. But after acquiring Tyler Toffoli in a trade with the Calgary Flames, signing Tarasenko doesn’t seem all that likely.
Though Tyler Bertuzzi is probably looking for term on his next deal, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Devils had interest in him if he’s open to a two-year contract. With the salary cap expected to rise significantly in the next year or two, he could take the short option and look to cash in when the cap ceiling climbs above $90 million. It’s likely why we’ve seen some players like Sprong, Dmitry Orlov, and Jason Zucker take one- or two-year deals in free agency.
When he’s in the lineup, Bertuzzi can chip in 25-30 goals and close to 60 points, and his style of play would give the team a different look up front. He plays with an edge and would give the Devils one of the best top-nines in the NHL. It’s just a matter of him staying healthy, as he’s only played in 127 games over the last three seasons.
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Another option for the Devils is Evan Rodrigues, who always seems to get undervalued in free agency. He had a solid season in Colorado with the Avalanche, totaling 16 goals and 39 points in 69 games — a 47-point pace over 82 games. With Tomáš Tatar likely signing elsewhere in the coming days, Rodrigues would replace the play-driving that Tatar brought to the lineup. Rodrigues excels on the rush and is highly efficient in transition, making him a good fit for the Devils’ style of play. With $5.6 million remaining in cap space, they should be able to fit him in if they so choose.
(Update: Rodrigues has signed a four-year deal with the Florida Panthers since the publication of this article)
Fitzgerald Shouldn’t Change Free Agency Approach
It’s hard to have any gripes with the Devils’ approach to free agency. General manager Tom Fitzgerald hasn’t addressed the media yet, so he and his front office could still be working on something in free agency. But even then, a signing isn’t likely to come with back-breaking term that’ll put the organization in a salary cap bind over the next few years.
That’s important to note since the Devils will be Cup contenders sometime over the next three to five years, perhaps as soon as next season if everything falls in place the right way. That’s because Fitzgerald takes the smart approach to free agency, and expect that to remain the case moving forward, not just for the 2023 offseason.
