Devils Roster Reset 1.0: Brown & Dadonov Join the Team

Connor Brown & Evgeny Dadonov are the newest New Jersey Devils, but there's still more work to do.

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Relatively speaking, you could say the New Jersey Devils were "quiet" on Day 1 of free agency. That's generally a good thing, but general manager Tom Fitzgerald still made a couple of additions to help the team's forward depth.

About an hour after free agency began, reports surfaced that the Devils had signed right winger Connor Brown to a four-year deal worth $3 million annually. Later in the afternoon, the Devils announced they had signed Evgeny Dadonov to a one-year, $1 million contract that includes performance bonuses.

The Devils' bottom six sorely needed help, and they'll get that with Dadonov and Brown. However, there's still work to do. Let's see where the team's roster sits after Day 1 of free agency.

Devils Still Have Holes to Fill Up Front

We'll get into more detail about Brown and Dadonov in the coming days, but let's review their games at a surface level today.

Brown had a solid bounce-back season with the Edmonton Oilers, finishing with 13 goals and 30 points in 82 games. Any concerns from the torn ACL he suffered in 2022 seem to be in the past.

Brown is a good skater and can play with some pace. His two-way impacts are solid, and he's one of the better penalty killers in the NHL. Maybe the $3 million AAV is a tad pricey, but he's a good player and should be an upgrade over Erik Haula.

Dadonov had a quietly productive season for the Dallas Stars, finishing with 20 goals and 40 points in 80 games. Like Brown, he skates well and should add some pace and offensive ability to a Devils bottom six that didn't have much of it.

We'll see where they slot in once the Devils have a complete team, but an educated guess is they'll be on the third and fourth lines. As it stands, here's what the Devils' roster looks like up front:

• Meier - Hischier - Dadonov

• Palát - Hughes - Bratt

• Gritsyuk - Mercer - Noesen

• Cotter - Glass - Brown

Don't worry about the combos. That's not the point of this exercise. Though the Devils have a full roster, there are some glaring holes that Fitzgerald still needs to address.