Devils Need to Find the Next Tyler Toffoli

Trading Tyler Toffoli sure seems like a regrettable decision that the New Jersey Devils need to mend sooner rather than later

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One decision that may not have seemed so consequential at the time but has turned out to be such is when the New Jersey Devils traded Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets for just second and third-round picks at the 2024 trade deadline.

Back in the early days of this blog, I more or less wrote that it'd probably be a mistake to let Toffoli go:

"Thirty-plus goal scorers don't grow on trees, and even though he turns 32 soon, he still has plenty of good hockey left in him. Chances are anyone they find to replace him for next season will be worse, so an extension seems to be the way to go."

As such, that's how things have played out. Toffoli just had his third consecutive 30-goal season, totaling 30 goals and 54 points with the San Jose Sharks. It's been nearly 18 months since the Devils opted to trade him instead of re-signing him, and they've yet to find a proper replacement.

Toffoli Is What the Devils Need

The argument for trading Toffoli at the 2024 trade deadline was that he would age poorly because of his super slow skating. Perhaps that still ends up being the case, but it's not like he's ever been a plus skater.

Toffoli makes up for it with his hockey sense and his shot, and that should, in theory, lead to a long playing career that sees him productive into his 30s. As of now, that seems to be how he's trending.

Even on a lowly Sharks team, Toffoli was still the player that he's been throughout his career. He was one of their best shot and chance creators, and he was excellent off the rush, despite not being the best skater. He converted on the chances he created, and he was a decent playmaker:

Not only was Toffoli the Sharks' most efficient five-on-five goal scorer, but he was one of the most efficient in the NHL. His 1.19 goals per 60 minutes was a more efficient rate than David Pastrnak, Leon Draisaitl, and William Nylander, to name a few.

To put that in perspective, Toffoli would have been the Devils' most efficient five-on-five scorer, and it wouldn't have been particularly close. Nico Hischier averaged 1.06 goals per 60 this past season, so Toffoli would have cleared that comfortably.