Devils Free Agency Preview: Who Could Be in Their Plans?

NHL Free Agency begins tomorrow at noon. Let's set the table for what the New Jersey Devils could do to improve their roster.

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The New Jersey Devils didn't make any trades at the NHL Draft, but you could say that for about 99 percent of the NHL. The lack of activity should change with free agency beginning at noon tomorrow, though.

I'm not expecting the Devils to go for broke in free agency this summer, and that's perfectly fine. This is not the UFA class to be doing that. Still, I expect them to address some of their needs, specifically up front.

Devils Landing a Top-6 Forward in Free Agency Would Be a Surprise

I'm not expecting the Devils to go after a top-six forward in free agency, and nor should they. Just look at the market for top-six wingers. Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser, Brad Marchand, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Drouin are the best five wingers available.

Obviously, there's Mitch Marner, but he's likely heading to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Devils don't have the money for him anyway. Otherwise, it's slim pickings.

Marchand seems like the type of player the Devils would want, but I can't envision him being interested in the Devils. Nor would I be comfortable giving him $8-8.5 million annually for three or four years, which is what he's reportedly seeking.

The Devils are trying to get out of Ondřej Palát's contract and need to be more efficient with their use of cap space, and signing Marchand for more than two years would not be an efficient use of cap space.

Boeser and Ehlers are likely heading for big paydays and with plenty of term. Ehlers will probably fetch a seven-year deal worth $8 million annually or north of that, while Boeser could land anywhere from a five to a seven-year contract at a similar cap hit to Ehlers.

Drouin is an interesting case. He finished with 37 points in 43 games this past season, a 71-point pace over 82 games, and his underlying metrics over the last three seasons are solid. He's averaged 1.86 points per 60 minutes since the start of 2022-23, and his impacts have generally been quite good:

Evolving Hockey has Drouin projected for a three-year deal at a cap hit of $5.637 million. That's a fair price for what he offers, but injuries are a concern. The Devils have had enough injury problems over the last few years, so I'd understand if they don't want to take the risk.