Devils Have Decision To Make with Toffoli

If the New Jersey Devils don't have an extension in place with Tyler Toffoli soon, they will have to explore trade options for him.

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The New Jersey Devils acquired Tyler Toffoli this past offseason to help the team add some scoring punch in the top-six. He's done his part, with 25 goals in 58 games, putting him on pace to finish with 35 tallies, which would break his career high of 34 he set a season ago with the Calgary Flames. 

Unfortunately, the Devils' season hasn't gone according to plan. Toffoli will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and with the trade deadline a week away, general manager Tom Fitzgerald has a decision on his hands. Does he trade Toffoli? Or do they sign him to an extension before March 8?

Toffoli’s Value to the Devils

On the most recent segment of TSN's Insider Trading, Darren Dreger reported that the Devils could trade Toffoli, but that's not their intent or want. They would prefer to extend him, and they've already had talks about an extension, to some degree, with his agent, Pat Brisson. 

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece for The Hockey Writers looking at some pending UFAs and what their contracts could look like this summer. Toffoli was one of them, so I won't rehash everything I said there here. 

Toffoli has averaged 30 goals and 63 points per 82 games over the last three seasons. His current contract pays him $4.25 million annually, so he will get a bump from that, given his production over the previous few years. If the Devils do re-sign him, we're probably looking at something that pays him between $5.5 to $6 million per year for three to four years. 

There's a pretty good case for the Devils re-signing Toffoli, even though he turns 32 in April. He's been an incredibly valuable player for them and has some scoring punch they lack on the wing, especially with Dawson Mercer taking a step back this season.