Devils Bullets: Pesce, Colton & Ullmark
Are the New Jersey Devils targeting Brett Pesce in free agency? Plus, is Ross Colton a trade fit, and was it almost Linus Ullmark instead of Markström?
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The Stanley Cup Final will conclude tomorrow, and the NHL Draft is next weekend. The offseason is about to get going, and it appears the New Jersey Devils will be busy. They've already acquired Jacob Markström, and more moves will surely come.
One rumor that's emerged in the last 24 hours is the Devils and Brett Pesce, as Elliotte Friedman suspects they're one of the teams interested in Pesce. Plus, we'll look at if Ross Colton is a fit for the Devils and how they almost acquired Linus Ullmark instead of Markström.
Devils Targeting Pesce?
I would not have guessed the Devils would be looking for another right-handed shot this offseason, but that might be the case. Pesce, a Tarrytown, New York native who played for the North Jersey Avalanche as a teenager, might be a target for Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
It's easy to see what the Devils like in Pesce. He's a mobile top-four defenseman who excels in transition. As you'll see in the graphic below, he enters the offensive zone cleanly and can exit the defensive zone with possession. He's also excellent at defending the rush, and he ranks in the 93rd percentile in retrieval success:
If Pesce reminds you a lot of John Marino, you'd be correct. So why would the Devils be interested in Pesce when they already have Marino on the roster?
Pesce's size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) might be one reason they could prefer him over Marino (6-foot-1, 180 pounds). But he's not a more physical defender, as he recorded 25 hits this season and 37 the year before. And though Pesce can move the puck, so can Marino. You could even argue that the latter is better than Pesce with the puck on his stick.
If the Devils covet Pesce in free agency, it's about adding something different to the lineup. And if so, it almost surely means Marino will have to get traded in the coming weeks. Pesce projects to land a six-year deal at a cap hit of $5.54 million, and that'd be one too many right-handed shots on the blue line.
Cap space wouldn't be much of an issue if the Devils sign Pesce at his Evolving Hockey projection and they move Marino. Marino has a $4.5 million cap hit, so they'd be adding $1 million to their books.
Plus, the Devils could probably get something valuable back for Marino. We know Fitzgerald wants a top-six winger, so could he use Marino to acquire one in a hockey trade if the plan is to sign Pesce? I could see it for sure. I think Pesce is a good fit for the Devils, and if they can add him and move Marino for a top-six winger, that might be the move.
Colton Is Not the Best Fit
Ross Colton surprisingly popped up on Frank Seravalli's most recent trade board for Daily Faceoff. I say surprisingly because the Colorado Avalanche acquired him from the Tampa Bay Lightning only a year ago. He was productive this season, too, totaling 17 goals and 40 points in 80 games.
I get why Devils fans want Colton on the team since he's from New Jersey and grew up a Devils fan, but I'm not sure there's a fit. It's not that the Devils couldn't use Colton. He plays a hard game and can score, something they can use in their bottom six, but his contract is less than ideal.
Colton is signed for the next three seasons at a cap hit of $4 million. That's a bit of a hefty price tag for a bottom-six forward, and I imagine that's why the Avalanche might be looking to move him. They could retain salary on that deal, but that seems unlikely for multiple reasons.
1) The Avalanche have cap problems of their own to worry about for next season if Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog are planning to return to the team. They won't want to retain Colton's contract because every penny will matter to them. 2) Retaining on a contract for three years rarely happens, so you can probably rule that out.
Plus, plenty of good bottom-six options available in free agency this year will cost much less than Colton's $4 million cap hit. While acquiring him would be a fun story, the Devils need to be smart about the money they add to their books, and it doesn't seem like Colton would be the best use of cap space right now.
Was It Almost Ullmark?
On TSN Overdrive earlier this week, Darren Dreger said that the Devils were having legit trade conversations with the Boston Bruins about Ullmark and that the Flames got wind of that and completed the deal with the Devils.
I don't know how close the Devils got with Ullmark, but Dreger saying they were having legit conversations with the Bruins means it was probably serious enough that the Flames got spooked the Devils could have acquired Ullmark instead of Markström. Dreger even said that was the case on Overdrive.
Friedman also said on the June 22 episode of 32 Thoughts that talks around an Ullmark extension may be a sticking point with some teams looking to acquire him, including the Devils. Ullmark is entering the final year of his deal at a cap hit of $5 million and will probably sign an extension that gets close to $7 million annually.
It's also worth noting that Friedman said it wouldn't surprise him if the Flames valued Kevin Bahl, who went to Calgary in the Markström trade, more than Alexander Holtz. Many of us thought Holtz was a goner and would be part of any trade for a goalie, but it makes sense now. The Flames valued the 6-foot-6, 230-pound defender who's pretty mobile. What does that mean for Holtz moving forward? We shall see.
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