3 Reasons Why the Blues Drafting Dvorsky Was the Right Move

Fills a Need Down the Middle

The Blues went into the NHL Draft with two positions of need, defenseman, and center. When two of the top blue liners went off the board, GM Doug Armstrong turned to down the middle of the ice and selected Dvorsky. This was the clear and obvious choice for the franchise if you look at what the Blues have among their prospect pool and what the state of the position could be in the future at the NHL level.

Robert Thomas is clearly their top centerman and will anchor the first line but after that, it gets kind of sketchy. The Blues have guys like Nikita Alexandrov and Zack Dean who could really help down the middle but they aren’t looked at like a Dvorsky is. They are really high Zachary Bolduc but he is projected to slide over to wing. The Blues did, however, draft centerman Otto Stenberg with their 25th overall pick, who is talented, but not on the level of Dvorsky.

At the NHL level (aside from Alexandrov), the Blues have good talent like Brayden Schenn and Kevin Hayes anchoring the second and third line down the middle but they are getting up there in age (both 31) and the tea, will be looking for youth to set their long-term plans, like Dvorsky.

Dvorsky has some things to improve upon but he projects as a second-line center at the highest level and that’s exactly what the Blues are hoping the 10th overall pick turns into.

His Shooting Ability

Coming into the draft, Dvorsky’s shooting ability was looked at as one of the best in this year’s class. Whether it’s his wrist shot or slap shot, the 18-year-old centerman displays power and quickness but what might be even more impressive about his shot is his accuracy. When he has space to set up shop and find his target, he can be a problem. Dvorsky can get himself into a scoring position and isn’t afraid to shoot, which is where his accuracy shines. He can create offense just off of his shot alone and has the patients to wait for the shot he is looking for. 

Another layer to his game that makes his shot so accurate is his strong puck-handling and puck-possession ability. This past season, he had six goals and eight assists in the Allsvenskan League, which is known to be a low-scoring league. He also put up an impressive 10 goals and 11 assists in 10 games for Sweden’s junior team while scoring eight goals and having five assists in seven games for Team Slovakia in the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. Dvorsky has shown he can score, making him a great addition for the Blues looking to improve in that area.

He’s a Berube-type Player

The one thing the Blues have looked for over the past several years are Berube-type players and Dvorsky fits that description to a tee. As much as we talk about his shot and offense, he is an incredible two-way player, holding one of the best if not the best defensive games of a forward in the draft. He has incredible sense and anticipation on defense that allows him to read the play before it happens. Dvorsky’s backchecking and willingness to be physical are what sets him apart from others. 

This all makes Dvorsky a 200-foot player who works hard at both ends of the ice, emptying the tank no matter the situation. The toughness, grit, consistency, and workhorse mentality perfectly exemplify what head coach Craig Berube looks for in a player. His two-game shows that he can play extremely well both on the power-play and penalty kill, making him even more valuable.

Dvorsky is highly coachable that will do whatever is asked, which is why making this pick was the right choice. Assuming Berube is still with the Blues by the time Dvorsky makes it to the NHL, he will be one of the go-to guys for the team for a long time.

Final Thoughts

While Dvorsky obviously won’t be NHL-ready in 2023-24, there’s thought that he could be ready by 2024-25 at the earliest. While his strengths were very much highlighted, he does have a clear weakness and that’s his skating. While that part of his game is questionable, it’s something that can be worked on and improved before getting the call to the NHL. If he can elevate that part of his game, the sky is the limit. Dvorsky has a ton of upside to his game and can be an anchor down the middle as a projected second-line center.

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The trade was a fleece! Yes, I’m not afraid to say it, an absolute fleece! I’m so confident with what Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has done that I don’t even want to waste any more time. Let’s dive right in with three reasons this is a massive win for the Devils.  

Devils Fleece Flames for Tyler Toffoli

Who is Tyler Toffoli?

Toffoli is a 31-year-old top-six right-shot winger who can really rip the puck and play off the rush. He is a well-above-average goal scorer who also ranks in the 93rd percentile with in-zone exits. For the Devils, he is the perfect fit for what they’re looking for, it almost seems like a perfect marriage.  

Per data from CapFriendly, Toffoli has a projected WAR% (Wins Above Replacement Percentage) of 91%. He has an Evolving Offense of 85% and an Evolving Defense of 73% with his finishing coming in at 87%. The guy is a playmaker in many facets of the game who will really give the Devils the scoring boost they’re looking for. You can also get used to seeing Toffoli on the power play where he’s going to feast on goalies in the Devils system.  

Toffoli was so good for the Flames last season, his totals were higher than his previous season. He averaged 0.93 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five and finished with 34 goals and 73 points.  

The Devils can now trot out a top-six of Meier-Hughes-Mercer and Bratt-Hischier-Toffoli giving both lines very capable scoring options. There’s no question the Devils are a much better team with Toffoli now in the mix. 

The Trade Package 

When reports were originally swirling that the Flames may be shopping Toffoli, the assumed return on assets seemed to be much more than what the Devils seemed to have given up.  

For a player of Toffoli’s caliber, coming off a career season on a sub $4.5 million contract, I would’ve expected the Flames to fetch Yegor Sharangovich, the Devils 2025 first-round pick (their 2024 first-round pick was used in a conditional trade for Timo Meier), and an A or B level prospect. Let’s say, Seamus Casey.  

Instead, the Devils were able to land Toffoli for only RFA Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick. The free third-round pick was acquired in the Damon Severson sign-and-trade only a week or so ago. Sharangovich and the Flames haven’t even kicked tires on contact talks yet. This isn’t a scenario where we see a sign-and-trade to get more value in assets coming back the other way. 

This was strictly a fleece from Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. We’re talking about giving away a player who had a 16-point drop-off (Sharangovich) and a free third-round pick for a guy who the coach of the Montreal Canadians called “captain material”.  

Toffoli will bring leadership and added experience to the Devils. He has 733 games under his belt, 227 goals, and 239 assists, for 466 points.  

The Contract

A very interesting piece that makes Toffoli so attractive is his contract situation. He has a year left on his contract before he becomes a UFA (Unrestricted Free Agent), but he has a cap hit of $4.25 million with a base salary of only $3.5 million.   

In his 2021-2022 season, Toffoli totaled 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points. This past season, Toffoli’s stats spiked to 34 goals and 39 assists for 73 points. His increase in production makes his contract situation much more appealing.  

Now with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier as his center, there’s no doubt Toffoli will be ready to cook come next season. 

One could argue that Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils have won the offseason so far to this point. We aren’t even to the NHL Draft yet and Fitzy seems to have made plenty of positive moves to better the team. I have full confidence that Fitzgerald will keep making the right decisions to better the Devils’ chances of becoming cup contenders for many years to come. Get ready Devils fans, it seems next season is going to be a heck of a ride.  

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LeBrun on Insider Trading: “The New Jersey Devils are one of the teams we understand that Connor Hellebuyck would be interested in signing an extension with in a sign-and-trade. New Jersey has investigated it, and they’ve had a conversation with Winnipeg, but I think what probably would give NJ pause and some other teams is the kind of money that Hellebuyck would want in an extension, we believe that to be in the Vasilevskiy range, $9.95M per year.” 

As exciting as landing a goalie of Hellebuyck’s caliber would be, today we’re going to play devil’s advocate and list four reasons why the New Jersey Devils should not trade for Connor Hellebuyck. 

Three Negatives on the New Jersey Devils Possibly Trading for Hellebuyck 

Too Much Money

As LeBrun mentioned above, Hellebuyck is asking for Vasilevskiy-type money which would be around the $9.5M range. If a trade were to take place, do the Devils have the money to take on a long-term extension for Hellebuyck? The answer should be no, but they could make it work if Hellebuyck is who they really want. 

The Devils already have five players on contracts making north of $7 million dollars with Timo Meier looking for an extension between the $8-9 million range.  

Considering Dougie Hamilton is getting paid $9M, extending Hellebuyck to a $9.5 million dollar contract (what he’s asking for) would give the Devils two players on long-term extensions of $9 million or above. 

With Dawson Mercer, Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec looking for extensions after their ELC (Entry Level Contracts) burns up, taking on another long-term extension could be a recipe for disaster. 

Age  

Let’s face it, Hellebuyck is already on the wrong side of 30. He’s got one year left on the expiring contract he already has and will be looking for a long-term extension of say eight years.  

Does GM Tom Fitzgerald really think signing an eight-year contract to an elite goaltender north of 30 is a good idea? We would be looking at Hellebuyck’s extension expiring near the age of 38 to 39.  

Don’t get me wrong, Hellebuyck is the real deal and has shown no flashes of regression, but you’ve got to think as he grows older the wheels will start to fall off or the risk of injury is much greater. 

This also comes from an organization that knows a thing or two about signing goalies to long-term contracts and ends in disaster, a la Corey Schneider.   

Asset Management 

So, let’s say the Devils and Jets agree to terms on a sign-and-trade to bring Hellebuyck to New Jersey. Even after a massive cap hit, there’s still another obstacle to hurdle. What assets would a sign-and-trade for an elite goaltender in Hellebuyck cost the Devils? 

Well, for starters, the Devils would almost certainly have to give up their 2025 first-round pick. The Devils 2024 first-rounder can’t be moved due to conditions from the Timo Meier trade.  

The Jets would then need a goaltender to replace Hellebuyck so one would assume they would try to pry Akira Schmid from the Devils. Though it’s doubtful the New Jersey Devils will give up Schmid, they’d likely try to give up Vitek Vanecek to shed some cap.  

Losing Vanecek to add Hellebuyck sounds like a pretty good deal for the Devils, right? Well, if Winnipeg was forced to take on Vanecek then they would most likely demand the rights to the number seven overall pick in the 2020 draft, Alex Holtz.  

I’d imagine Yegor Sharangovich would be part of a deal to give the Jets some added scoring and help on special teams as well.  

Another direction the Devils could move with Hellebuyck is adding him on a shorter-term contract to avoid regression and cap implications far into the future. Still, as earlier reported, that is not what Hellebuyck is looking for.  

Whatever Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils decide to do with Hellebuyck, it will be a franchise-altering decision. Though nothing in the NHL is guaranteed, adding an elite goaltender in Hellebuyck could dramatically improve the Devils’ chances of winning a cup, but it could also damage the cap for the future.  

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The deal lands the Swedish winger the third highest-paid contract on the team sandwiched between center Jack Hughes ($8M AAV) and captain Nico Hischier ($7.25 AAV). 

Today, we’re going to go over four important takeaways from the lucrative contract the two sides agreed upon.  

Four Takeaways from Jesper Bratt’s New Contract 

Hidden Gem

One of the most fascinating takeaways is the fact that Bratt has come from being a #162 overall draft pick to a $63 million man at the young age of 24. Bratt was a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft who hit the ground running right out of camp.  

Finding a player that late in the draft with as much success in the NHL as Bratt has had is like finding a needle in a haystack. On average, only 15% of fifth and sixth-round picks play some games in the NHL, let alone becoming a star and bonafide play-driver.  

Bratt has turned into a dynamic two-way forward with an accurate shot and skilled rush play who has no issues with driving a line if needed. His 2022-2023 scorecard projects to have an Offensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement) value of 94% with a finishing WAR% coming in right below at 91%. There’s no question this guy knows how to generate offense and put the puck in the back of the net.  

I’ve seen a lot of Twitter GMs and Devil fans breaking down the value of Bratt’s contract and I think everyone needs to just stop what they’re doing and take a second to acknowledge the fact the New Jersey Devils hit a home run with Jesper Bratt and the progression he’s made since his eligible draft year. Not often do you find a star player of Bratt’s caliber in the sixth round of the NHL Draft. 

Term That Should Age Well

In the last few months, much of the debate has been around GM Tom Fitzgerald’s comments stating he wanted to keep his players’ AAV below the Jack Hughes contract signed for $8 million. Getting lost in this topic was the length of the contract. 

With the NHL salary cap projected to rise within the next couple of years, we’ve seen RFA (Restricted Free Agent) contracts getting shorter. Star players are wanting to sign deals at a higher AAV on a lesser term contract of maybe three-to-five years. The process behind a deal like this offers a star player the opportunity to cash in on another contract when the cap goes up. 

With that being said, I expected Bratt and his camp to settle on a three-to-five-year contract of around $8 million so they can yet again cash in when Bratt hits the healthy age of around 28-30. However, that was not the case. Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils did a spectacular job of getting Bratt locked up for eight years.  

The term on the Bratt contract is a win in many different ways for the Devils. Having Bratt locked up at $7.875M for the next eight years will allow the Devils more cap space to work with down the road. Since the Devils’ core is all but locked up aside from Timo Meier, the added money can be used to add extra depth pieces in the bottom six when needed for a playoff run.  

Reasonable AAV

I’m not going to waste too much time on this one because it’s a topic that has been beaten to the ground the last few weeks. 

I don’t think the $7.875 AAV was a slam dunk or an out-of-the-park home run, but I do think it’s a healthy number for the Devils. Recent rumors had Bratt projected anywhere between $7.7M and $8.5M so it’s nice to see Bratt get in at the lower end of these projections.  

As I stated in the previous takeaway, GM Fitzgerald wanted to keep Bratt’s contract below star centerman Jack Hughes’ $8 million cap hit and that’s exactly what he got.  

Front Loaded Contract

As previously stated by New Jersey Devils team reporter Amanda Stein, Bratt’s contract has been front-loaded. Below is a breakdown of the contract.  

• 23-24: $10M 
• 24-25: $9M 
• 25-26: $9M 
• 26-27: $8M 
• 27-28: $7.2M 
• 28-29: $7.2M 
• 29-30: $6.6M 
• 30-31: $6M 

Total $63M (Bratt’s jersey number)  

 As you can see, the contract is very top-heavy in the beginning and drops off year by year. I’m a big fan of this considering the Devils have a few players coming in on ELC (Entry Level Contracts) this coming season. The Devils have the money now to take on a little extra cap to set themselves up down the road. Once the young players ’ELCs burn up, they will need a heavy extension and the fall-off on Bratt’s contract is a nice place to find some extra needed cap space for the future.  

Considering it took two years for Fitzgerald and Bratt’s camp to come together on a deal, this is a win for both sides. Fitzgerald stands his ground getting Bratt locked up below $8 million and Bratt gets a lucrative contract paying him for the next eight years while staying in New Jersey. 

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Top 2023 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents

1. Patrick Kane (Right Wing)

It was announced that Patrick Kane would undergo a hip resurfacing procedure and is expected to miss 4-6 months. While teams will be in no rush to sign the 34-year-old after this news, he’s still the biggest name on the free agent market. After spending 15 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Kane was traded to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. Between the two teams, he tallied 21 goals with 36 assists in 73 games.

The three-time Stanley Cup Champion said he would like to stay with the Rangers, although he understands the cap situation. His agent voiced that Kane would like to play for a long time and that this procedure would certainly help that. His skill level, hockey smarts, and past success will get him plenty of interest when he’s healthy.

2. Vladimir Tarasenko (Right Wing)

Another big-name player that was traded to the Rangers at the trade deadline was Vladimir Tarasenko. He scored 18 goals and had 32 assists between St. Louis and New York, with eight of the goals and 13 of the assists coming after the big trade. Tarasenko had some key moments in New York both in the regular season and in the playoffs but the result wasn’t in his favor.

The tank is known for his lethal sniper, scoring 270 goals in his 11-year career. He’s been hampered by a series of shoulder injuries from 2019 to 2021 but he’s been feeling relatively healthy, with the exception of a hand injury that caused him to miss 10 games this past season. The blistering wrister Tarasenko still puts on display is an example of that. For that reason, he will get a healthy multi-year contract come July.

3. Ryan O’Reilly (Center)

Tarasenko wasn’t the only one traded from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline, as Ryan O’Reilly was sent north of the border to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He helped carry the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2019 while also winning the Conn Smythe. While O’Reilly didn’t bring the same luck to Toronto as they would’ve hoped, he had a huge hand in finally getting them over the hump and past the first round, something they haven’t done prior to this year in almost 20 years.

O’Reilly tallied twelve goals and seven assists for the Blues while scoring four goals and also tallying seven assists for the Maple Leafs. In 11 playoff games with Toronto, he scored three goals and added six assists while also having 19 takeaways, which was top five in the playoffs. O’Reilly immediately slotted in and built a connection with his teammates, something Toronto has been looking for. He will be a hot commodity as one of the most sought-after unrestricted free agents on the market.

4. Dmitry Orlov (Defenseman)

Dmitry Orlov was yet another big name moved at the deadline, going from the Washington Capitals, where he spent 11 seasons, to the Boston Bruins. In 66 total games last season, he scored 7 goals and had 29 assists. He also chipped in eight assists in 7 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old is a top-pairing defenseman, showcasing his defensive game and high hockey IQ at both ends of the rink. Orlov has also tallied more ice time per game than any free agent this year, making him even more desirable for any team. He is the best defenseman on the market and will look to get the biggest contract of any unrestricted free agent at his position.

5. Alex Killorn (Right Wing/Left Wing)

After finishing his 7-year, $4.5M AAV contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023, Alex Killorn comes into free agency with a lot of interest surrounding him. He buried 27 goals and tallied 37 assists this past season after having 25 goals and 34 assists the previous year, both in 82 games. He is reliable and consistent, playing a huge role in the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2020 and 2021.

Killorn can play both right and left-wing, also making him a versatile threat that many find value in. While he set a career-high in goals and assists, he also enters free agency with the most points of any player on the market in 2023 (64). He’s played all 11 of his seasons in Tampa Bay, where he’s racked up over 800 games and with 466 points. His career year is set to give him one more solid payday with a contender come next season.

Other Unrestricted Free Agents

Tyler Bertuzzi
Michael Bunting
Matt Dumba
Adin Hill
Ivan Barbashev
Jason Zucker
Frederick Anderson
Max Domi
J.T. Compher
Max Pacioretty
Jonathan Toews
Tristan Jarry
Joonas Korpisalo
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
*Patrice Bergeron

*Has said to either re-sign with Boston or retire

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The deal for Severson is 8 years at $6.25M AAV (Average Annual Value) with $10.8M in bonuses which bolsters the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top-4 on the blue line. Below is a breakdown of Severson’s contract.  

-2023-23: $6M salary, $2M Bonus
-2024-25: $6M salary, $2M Bonus
-2025-26: $5.5M salary, $2M Bonus
-2026-27: $4.1M salary, $2M Bonus
-2027-28: $3.3M salary, $1.8M Bonus
-2028-29: $5.1M salary, $1M Bonus
-2029-30: $5.1M salary, No Bonus
-2030-31: $5.1M salary, No Bonus 

Today we will quickly take a look at what the trade does for both sides.  

Damon Severson Traded from Devils to Blue Jackets 

New Jersey Devils

There’s no question that losing Severson is a bitter taste in the mouth of Devils fans. He was New Jersey’s longest-tenured Devil and had overcome a ton of adversity. Most of his lengthy career with the team was during a rebuild. The reality of the situation is the Devils were going to lose Severson regardless. 

If GM Tom Fitzgerald wants to re-sign star wingers Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt, then something had to give in other areas due to cap complications. The Devils have a young star in the making Luke Hughes, who is more than prepared to step in and fill Severson’s role next year on an ELC (Entry Level Contract).  

Decision 

With Hughes ready to step up and UFA (Unrestricted Free Agent) Severson looking for a huge bag of money with a lengthy term, losing Severson was only a matter of time. The Devils only had two choices in this situation. 

Choice 1: Let Severson walk to free agency as the #1 touted prospect where he would be able to choose his future destination and risk receiving nothing in return. 

Choice 2: Trade Severson’s rights to an interested team and receive somewhat of a return in the process. 

The Devils seemed to go the second route by not only trading his rights to Columbus but signing Severson beforehand to maximize the return. The deal fetched the Devils a 3rd round pick which holds decent quality value for this year’s NHL Draft. Some pretty good work by GM Fitzgerald and the Devils. 

Columbus Blue Jackets

As a Devils fan, I can sit here all day and rave about the person and player Columbus is getting in Severson but nobody has time for that so I will try and make this brief. 

The Saskatchewan native, right-side offensive defenseman is an analytical darling with incredible passing ability. He has a knack for making bold passes which would result in either the occasional silly mistake or an incredible stretch pass across the ice for a high-danger chance.  

Severson has a WAR% (Wins Above Replacement) of 94%, which is very impressive. He can quarterback the PP2 (2nd line power play) and has a heavy shot that can get through traffic from the blue line.  

The Trade 

In the last 72 hours, the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Severson and Ivan Provorov, setting themselves up for a lethal blue line and a run at the playoffs. The trade clearly speeds up any sign of a rebuild in Columbus.  

I’ve always believed that if you feel the perfect player to fit your system is available on the market, then you should go get him and that’s exactly what the Blue Jackets did.

Giving up a third-round pick to solidify getting your player is more than worth the risk. I applaud Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen for locking up Severson before hitting the market and becoming available to other teams.  

The only thing about this trade I’m skeptical about is an 8-year contract will bring Severson to age 36, which will be after his prime. The back end of this contract just screams a buy-out if Severson cannot sustain the above-projected analytics.   

For now, the trade seems to be a win for everyone. The Devils receive a 3rd round pick, the Blue Jackets get their guy locked up for 8 years, and Severson gets the big bag of money he’s worked so hard to earn.  

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There was speculation for some time that Ruff would move into a front office role and hand the reins over to assistant head coach Andrew Brunette. However, this never came to fruition considering Ruff coached the Devils to a 55-22-8 record.  

Once Fitzgerald made it clear in the Devils end of season media availability that Ruff would be back as head coach, Brunette decided to part ways and take on a head coaching role with the Nashville Predators.  

Today we’re going to explain why Fitzgerald is making the right move in bringing Ruff back into a head coaching role. 

Bringing Back Lindy Ruff: New Jersey Devils

Jack Adams Award Finalist  

For the fourth time in his career, after already winning the award in 2006 with the Buffalo Sabers, Ruff has been named a Jack Adams Award finalist after making the biggest turnaround in NHL history. Though he didn’t win the award, it’d be very hard to let go of a coach who was in the running considering you almost never see Jack Adams finalists available looking for a new job.  

After coaching the Devils to their 55-22-8 record and finishing second to only the Carolina Hurricanes in a tight race for the Metro, the Devils didn’t stop there.  

They went on to win a round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against their rival New York Rangers. Though Akira Schmid stole the show, the Devils certainly wouldn’t have won that series without Ruff’s adjustments to the Rangers. 

Players Coach 

There’s no question Ruff is highly respected in the locker room by players. Superstar Jack Hughes has made it very clear in post-game interviews that Ruff has been a big part of the identity and culture the Devils have developed in the 3 years he’s been behind the bench.  

Ruff has a knack for trusting young players with a lot of ice time and allowing them to develop in ways most coaches would never give an inexperienced player.  

For example, look at how he handled Luke Hughes towards the end of the Devils’ season. Ruff put his trust in Luke and he delivered, eventually getting rewarded with the second most ice-time in the last two games of the playoffs by a Devils defenseman.  

According to team reporter Amanda Stein, in Fitzgerald’s end-of-season media presser, he mentioned “I’ve always said that Lindy Ruff was the right coach for this team. So here we are today. He’s still the right coach for this group, he’s earned that right. He deserved that; we deserve him to be quite honest…those kids love him.” 

Experience

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first to admit Ruff makes some head-scratching lineup decisions from time to time. He catches plenty of criticism when, for example, he takes Kevin Bahl out of the lineup for Brendan Smith. 

Ruff, at 63 years of age, has coached in 1,713 games with an overall record of 834-652-78-149. He is currently the fifth-most-winning coach in NHL history, as he was previously the coach of the Buffalo Sabers and Dallas Stars before he took over the New Jersey Devils. 

Experience is certainly not an issue with Ruff behind the bench for this young team and more importantly, he has plenty of playoff history as he’s coached in 120 games with a record of 66-54. 

Bringing back Lindy Ruff as the go-to guy behind the bench may not seem like an absolute slam dunk but it certainly is the right move. The positives immensely outweigh the negatives and if the players are happy then it’s a good sign we will even see him past the 2023-2034 season. 

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In April, Corey Pronman of The Athletic released his infamous NHL Prospect Pipeline Rankings. He had the New Jersey Devils ranked third. That’s an extremely promising pipeline for a team whose window is just opening for a long Stanley Cup run. The Devils will certainly need some of these guys on ELCs (Entry Level Contracts) to balance the Salary Cap. 

Let’s dive right into which star-studded prospects should have a chance to make the team next year! 

 New Jersey Devils: Prospects Who Could Shine in 2023

Luke Hughes 

Luke Hughes is all but a lock to make the team next year. He finished his college career with the Michigan Wolverines totaling 10 goals and 38 assists in 39 games, but most importantly, he sharpened up his defense.   

Lindy Ruff decided in the final game of the regular season to put Hughes out there and he shined. Hughes had an assist and the overtime game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals. He blew through the zone, toe-dragged through three defenders, and turned on his speed for a beautiful wrap-around goal. 

Hughes was then thrown to the wolves in the playoffs after gaining Ruff’s trust and held his ground. He finished with two points in three games and 19:15 of time on ice. He will no question be on the team next year. 

Šimon Nemec 

Šimon Nemec, the rangy Slovak right-shot defenseman taken second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, has been more than solid in his first stint in American pro hockey. He played in 65 games and finished with 12 goals and 22 assists for a total of 34 points with a goal share of +5.2% at even-strength. Doing all this at only the age of 19. 

When the puck is on his stick, he shines with confidence and uses his deception and body control to his advantage. Nemec is an outstanding two-way defenseman with a high-end hockey sense. He excels with his passing and has a knack for finding the open man. Some compare his play to Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings. His control and patience are why he will find himself in the NHL next season.  

Akira Schmid  

Schmid is in an interesting position. He had an outstanding season and playoff performance. He stepped up and did everything right when called upon. I think everyone will agree, he saved the season against the New York Rangers with his incredible comeback.  

It’s really going to depend on what the organization decides to do at the goaltender position. Mackenzie Blackwood will be gone. Will GM Tom Fitzgerald want to pay up to bring in a proven goaltender like Connor Hellebuyck? I think that’s a terrible idea considering it would block Schmid’s development and crush the salary cap. 

Fitzgerald and the Devils should decide to run with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid as their tandem next year and it shouldn’t be a surprise.  

Alex Holtz

The Swedish winger has been a highly regarded pick in the New Jersey Devils system for some time now. Alex Holtz was drafted seventh overall and has high expectations. Many have expected him to be in the big league by now, but his skating and pace have really held him back.  

Holtz has an elite shot that has New Jersey Devils fans foaming at the mouth to get this guy on Jack Hughes’s wing already. The question is, can he keep pace with the speedy center? It’s been frustrating for both parties considering he hasn’t found his footing and he had a rocky season in the AHL as he only played in 14 games.  

In those 14 games though, he produced six goals and five assists. I think Holtz will finally take advantage of the opportunities in front of him and join the big-league next year. He’s just too talented.  

Graeme Clarke  

Graeme Clarke, the big brother of the highly touted defensive prospect for the Los Angelos Kings, Brandt Clarke. Graeme, however, hasn’t had the smoothest transition to the NHL like his little brother is expected to have. He was drafted in the third round at 80th overall in the 2019 draft class.  

In his D+1 season, he had a gruesome shoulder injury. In his D+2 season, the OHL canceled forcing him to develop in the Chechia league. 

However, Clarke has been improving year after year and lit it up this AHL season finishing with 25 goals and 33 assists in 68 games for the Utica Comets. He’s been one of Utica’s top players and has proven he can overcome adversity. Look for Clarke to possibly carve out a role as an NHL regular next year.  

Nolan Foote 

Nolan Foote was drafted 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2019 draft. He was eventually traded to the Devils as a piece of the Blake Coleman trade. Foote had a rough start to his development as he was injured for quite a while.  

By the time Foote was traded to the Devils, his injury was still nagging him, and he struggled in the AHL. Now he’s turned it up a notch scoring 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in 55 games.  

Foote’s most dangerous attribute is his shot. Like Holtz, Foote has had trouble keeping pace in the AHL but has certainly turned a corner this year and should have a shot at joining the Devils next season.  

Reilly Walsh

Reilly Walsh is an interesting prospect; I believe he could be playing in the NHL now if he was in a different organization. He’s probably hit the peak of his production as he’s 24 years of age.  

Walsh is an offensive defenseman who has above-average skating and a decent shot. His defense is what holds him back from really excelling in his development. Walsh has turned himself into one of Utica’s star players as he’s finished this season with nine goals and 32 assists in 71 games.  

I could see the Devils using Walsh next season as either the extra defenseman or sending him to another team in a trade to give Walsh a chance to better his career.  

 The New Jersey Devils have plenty of talented prospects in their system. It should be interesting to see how things unfold with some veterans leaving and younger prospects getting a shot at making the big club. Time will tell who is going to step up and make the best of their opportunities. 

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Who Stays and Who Goes: New Jersey Devils

Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier

Currently, the Devils have eight restricted and five unrestricted free agents on the roster with the two most important players being wingers Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier. Bratt should land somewhere around five years to give him another big contract for the future. Whereas Meier will probably be looking for a max contract. These two players will be GM Tom Fitzgerald’s top priorities as it’s a no-brainer to get them signed long-term. Guys like Bratt and Meier don’t grow on trees. 

Kevin Bahl and Nathan Bastian

Once Bratt and Meier are taken care of, we should then see the trickle effect of what’s to come afterward. I’d imagine Kevin Bahl and Nathan Bastian will be back. Each should expect a 2-3 year bridge deal to reevaluate their play at another time. 

Bahl’s size and physicality make him an attractive player to want to keep around. He has developed into a very capable defenceman who can play top-4 minutes if needed. It’s not every day you see a guy as big as Bahl be able to skate, hit, and get the puck where it needs to be with competence.

Bastain is a player who fits his 4th-line role perfectly. He’s not afraid to muck it up in front of the goaltender and he helped the Devils to 59% goal-sharing at 5v5 this year. He plays on the power play when needed and produced at a 30-point pace. However, the remaining FAs should be a question mark.  

Michael McLeod and Jesper Boqvist

Michael McLeod impressed in the playoffs and is relied upon heavily for the penalty kill and his elite faceoff percentage, but he is still dealing with the Canadian World Junior investigation which has raised some eyebrows. If the investigation works out in McLeod’s favor, I’d expect a healthy extension of 3-4 years.  

Then you have Jesper Boqvist with solid defensive metrics who could come back on a cheap one-year deal. Boqvist should not be fetching much money because he doesn’t offer much offensively. The question is, are the Devils content with his lack of offensive production in a top-9 role? 

Mackenzie Blackwood and Yegor Sharangovich

I would not expect Mackenzie Blackwood or Yegor Sharangovich to return. Blackwood has had a rough go with the Devils due to injury and issues inside the organization. I’d expect him to move on to a team that will give him opportunities for more ice time. Blackwood would fit nicely on a team like the Senators. 

Sharangovich should be expecting a decent raise and I don’t think the Devils have the money to fork over if they sign Bratt and Meier. However, I could see Sharangovich sticking around if the Devils value his finishing and PK (penalty kill) abilities. If the Devils decide to bring him back, expect somewhere between a one or two-year deal. 

Miles Wood

Then we have the five remaining unrestricted free agents of Miles Wood, Erik Haula, Tomas Tatar, Damon Severson, and Ryan Graves. Wood should have a relatively decent cap hit so I think he will definitely be out of the question as far as his future with the Devils. His lack of finishing ability and knack for stupid penalties makes a new contract look very unrealistic. 

Erik Haula and Tomas Tatar

Haula seems like he really wants to be back in New Jersey. He stressed at the end of the season how he really believes in the culture the Devils are building and Jack Hughes seems to love him. He had a rough start to the season due to not being able to catch a break finishing plays, but all of that regressed towards the end of the season and come playoff time. The Devils should absolutely offer him a team-friendly deal. He offers value in the top six and brings much-needed leadership to a young locker room.

Tomas Tatar is a tricky one, he’s currently getting $4.5M a year. That’s a lot of money for a guy who has a history of not showing up in the playoffs when it counts. Fitzgerald should part ways with Tatar and bring a bigger body into the top 9 that can put the puck in the back of the net.  

Damon Severson and Ryan Graves

Damon Severson is all but gone. Don’t get me wrong, he has been very good for the Devils, and it’ll be a hard pill to swallow but it only makes sense with the young talent in the prospect pipeline on defense. Fans are going to miss his beautiful cross-ice stretch passes, but he will be inquiring about a hefty price tag of around $6M a year. Money the Devils certainly will not have if they bring back Bratt and Meier.

Ryan Graves can go either way. I’m going to lean toward not bringing him back due to his putrid playoff performance. Graves’ roster spot should be filled with an upcoming superstar which we will discuss in the next article sometime shortly.

Regardless of what is to come, GM Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils have many decisions to make this offseason. Getting Bratt and Meier signed should be the first priority and I would still expect the Devils to add more top 9 scoring to their roster. 

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As someone who is not personally a Maple Leafs fan, I thought it would be respectful to give their fans so space before giving my own post-mortem as to why exactly the fifth time wasn’t the charm. Here are three reasons why Toronto is going back to the drawing board again this offseason.

3 Reasons Why the Leafs Failed Yet Again

1. They were “Goalied” by Bobrovsky

They say that goaltending wins championships, and there is no doubt that Sergei Bobrovsky was outstanding during Toronto’s second-round matchup against the Florida Panthers. The two-time Vezina winner put up a goals-against average of 1.89, a save percentage of 0.943, and a goals saved above expected of 7.75 in the five-game series. For a series where only 24 goals total were scored (and only 10 by the Maple Leafs), preventing almost eight expected goals from being scored made a significant difference in the series.

However, as Steve Dangle recently said (yelled), “Teams. Have. Goalies… They all have goalies.” In fact, the Maple Leafs have goalies too. Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll combined for a 1.11 GSAx in the series, which is above average. Joseph Woll was particularly good, posting a GAA of 2.36 and a SV% of 0.921, stats which normally would be good enough to win. It is true that Bobrovsky played very well in the series, but before this playoff season, the 34-year-old’s career playoff record was 17 wins and 29 losses. It is not like he is unbeatable.

2. The Defense Pairs Allowed too Many Chances

Let me state for the record that the Maple Leafs defensive pair of Morgan Rielly and Luke Schenn was quite good in this series. The pair combined for five points (one goal and four assists), 30 hits, 14 blocked shots, and had a GF% of 75.00. They played together for just under 76 minutes of ice time during the series. There were three other pairs who played over 30 minutes: T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe, T.J. Brodie, and Justin Holl, and Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren. All three were trainwrecks in their own ways.

As a pair, Brodie and McCabe looked great on the ice. They were a chance-creating machine, with a CF% of 53.66 and a xGF% of 56.70 (both numbers better than the Reilly-Schenn pairing). However, all of their chance creation seemed to backfire on the team. The Brodie-McCabe pair was on the ice for only one goal scored for Toronto, but it was on the ice for six goals scored for Florida, by far the most out of any defensive pair for the Leafs.

Giordano-Liljegren had below-average advanced statistics (44.26 CF% and 40.42 xGF%), meaning that they were mostly on their heels when they were on the ice, but they were able to hold their own for the most part. They were on the ice for one goal for and one goal against. The final pair of Brodie-Holl was absolutely abysmal. Not only did they have the worst advanced stats on the team (35.29 CF% and 22.68 xGF%), but they had an actual GF% of 0.00 (on for zero goals for and two goals against). As a team that entered the playoffs with what was described as the best defensive core the team had had in decades, they simply were not good enough.

3. Toronto’s Big Guns Could not Put the Puck in the Net

The Toronto Maple Leafs averaged 2.00 goals scored per game in the second round. In fact, they scored exactly two goals in each of the five games. Not surprisingly, this was the lowest number out of all of the teams who played in the second round (the New Jersey Devils were second lowest with 2.60 goals scored per game).

Of the ten total goals that Toronto scored, only three were scored by the “Core Four”: two by William Nylander, one by Mitch Marner, and none by Auston Matthews or John Tavares. In fact, none of these four led the team in points for the series either. That honour goes to Morgan Rielly with four (one goal and three assists).

Needless to say, the Maple Leafs counted on their big forward scorers all year. These four combined averaged 1.11 points per game each during the regular season and accounted for 52.5% of all the goals that Toronto scored. The power play was also unable to score at the same clip that it did during the regular season. Their lethal 26.0% power play dropped off to 18.2% in the second round. Though this number is not horrible per se, it is just another indicator of the team’s usually potent offense drastically losing that potency against Florida.

There really is no good excuse for why the Toronto Maple Leafs lost in the second round to the Florida Panthers. Toronto had the better team on paper, but they just did not play well enough to win. To quote an old hockey adage, “their best players weren’t their best players.” For now, the debate will continue as to whether or not players like Matthews, Marner, and Tavares will ever be able to get the job done in the playoffs and whether or not the team should “run it back” again. For us who are not Leaf fans, it’s all just entertainment.

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