Devils Signing Gritsyuk Is One Piece of Offseason Puzzle
Signing Arseniy Gritsyuk to his ELC is likely already a good start to the New Jersey Devils improving their forward group this offseason
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Arseniy Gritsyuk season is upon us. Well, not quite. We'll have to wait until September to see him in a New Jersey Devils uniform. But it is happening, as the Devils announced yesterday that they had signed Gritsyuk to a one-year entry-level contract for the 2025-26 season.
The Devils likely have a busy offseason ahead of them. Their forward group needs a shakeup, especially in the middle of the lineup, and signing Gritsyuk is one piece of the puzzle. You should temper expectations for the Devils' top forward prospect, but chances are he'll probably provide a much-needed upgrade in the top nine.
What Gritsyuk Could Offer
It's been a long time coming. Half a decade, to be precise. But Gritsyuk has steadily progressed as a prospect since the late Ray Shero and the Devils drafted him in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
Gritsyuk has spent the last four seasons in the KHL, playing for Avangard Omsk in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and SKA St. Petersburg for the previous two seasons. He's been highly productive in that time and finished this past season with 17 goals and 44 points in 49 games for St. Petersburg.
NHLe is not a perfect tool, but Gritsyuk's 44 points in 49 games translate to 59 in 82 NHL games. Could he become a 60-point player in time? Perhaps, but NHLe more or less shows if a player has NHL potential, and he seems to be on the right path.
Gritsyuk had a slight frame when the Devils drafted him, but he's bulked up to 6-foot-0, 195 pounds. That's part of why his game has developed and made him one of the organization's top prospects over the last couple of years, but there's more to his game than just getting stronger.
Gritsyuk has an above-average shot that's powerful and accurate, something the Devils could use more of in their lineup. He's a good skater and will add pace to their forward group, which they could also use more of.
Here's what Scott Wheeler had to say about Gritsyuk in February 2024:
"[Gritsyuk's] comfortable in puck possession as a handler against top defenders, and his skill level distinguishes his game. His shot is dangerous, and he has added a hard one-timer to his toolbox. He has also grown an inch (now 5-foot-11) and added 20-plus pounds (now 192) since the draft, to remove some of the worries about his once small and skinny frame.
"He’s fast through a light, agile stride, hanging onto pucks out wide and cutting to the interior on his edges to create chances to the slot to create high-danger looks. The more I watch him, the more confident I am that his success over the last couple of years is not a fluke. He’s not going to be a star, but he looks like a complementary top-nine winger with some power-play and offensive-zone value. He looks ready to come over to me."
Keep in mind, this report came over a year ago, and Wheeler already thought Gritsyuk was ready to come over to the NHL. That bodes well for what he could provide the Devils next season.
Chances Are Gritsyuk Is Already a Significant Top-9 Upgrade
There's always a transition period for players coming over from Europe, so it may take time for Gritsyuk to find his footing. Still, there's potential for him to be an impact player.
The Devils' middle and bottom of the lineup is not good. There's no way around it. Players like Dawson Mercer, Ondřej Palát, and Erik Haula all underperformed, and don't get me started on the bottom six.
That's where Gritsyuk can help. He may only be one part of the puzzle, but it's a start toward improving the team's forward depth this offseason. Even if he's only a 15-20-goal, 35-40-point player as a rookie, that'd be a significant improvement on what the Devils got from their depth players this season.
However, if he's been ready for a year, as Wheeler thinks, perhaps he can already be a fit alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. He's a good skater, has a dangerous shot, and can create offense. That seems like the type of player Hughes and Bratt were missing this season. At the very least, he should improve a top nine that badly needs an upgrade.
Devils Were Smart to Sign Gritsyuk for 2025-26
I know this was widely debated on social media when SKA St. Petersburg's season ended, but the Devils were wise to wait and sign Gritsyuk for the 2025-26 season.
There were valid arguments for both sides, at least at the time. Sign Gritsyuk in early April and burn his ELC to get as much help as possible versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Bratt and Dawson Mercer probably wouldn't have minded Gritsyuk on their wing over Haula, but signing him would have likely backfired.
Gritsyuk probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference against the Hurricanes. Maybe the Devils lose in six games instead of five, and that would have wasted his ELC contract.
The Devils need that ELC value more next season than they would have this season. They have about $13 million in cap space entering the offseason, and that's without a Luke Hughes extension.
Gritsyuk, at a $925,000 cap hit for next season, will serve the Devils better and allow them to make more moves. If they signed him for the postseason and burned his ELC, they'd likely have to re-sign him to a seven-figure cap hit. Granted, it probably would have been a low seven-figure cap hit, but the Devils need to pinch pennies where they can this offseason, even with salary likely on the way out.
We'll see what the rest of the offseason brings, but Gritsyuk is one piece of the puzzle in improving the Devils' forward group. I wouldn't expect him to be a star, but he should be a reliable top-nine complementary winger, which is what the team needs to address this offseason.
Any thoughts on whether signing Gritsyuk makes Dawson Mercer available as trade bait, or is it WAY too soon to say? Yeah. I probably answered my own question.