The New Jersey Devils made more moves during the 2021 offseason than perhaps any other NHL team.
After missing the playoffs in eight of the last nine years, the Devils started to add pieces to build around their young core. While the likes of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and others provide a promising future, the Devils took steps to make sure they could start being more competitive this season.
The biggest free agent addition of not just the Devils' offseason, but possibly the NHL offseason overall, was New Jersey signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton. After three years with the Carolina Hurricanes, Hamilton tested free agency and cashed in big, signing a seven-year contract worth a $9 million cap hit.
With New Jersey, Hamilton has managed seven goals and 20 points in 30 games, though he has missed some time after suffering a broken jaw. While his offensive pace is down slightly, he has still been a huge boost for the Devils' blue line. Hamilton is taking on almost the exact same minutes at even strength for the Devils as he did with the Hurricanes, while being used heavily on the power play.
While the contract is somewhat of an overpayment, Hamilton has provided as expected so far, becoming the team's top offensive defenseman.
Other free agent additions included goaltender Jonathan Bernier and forward Tomas Tatar.
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Bernier previously spent three years with the Detroit Red Wings, with results that were decent, though far from excellent. He signed a two-year contract with the Devils this summer, which carries a $4.13 million cap hit. While Bernier was expected to help support Mackenzie Blackwood in New Jersey's crease, he started just 10 games this season and posted a .902 save percentage, before being ruled out for the season after undergoing hip surgery.
Tatar came over from the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason, also signing a two-year contract, with his cap hit at $4.5 million. So far this season, the 31-year-old has scored eight goals and 17 points in 36 games – a pace that's quite a step down from what he had posted with the Canadiens. Over his three seasons in Montreal, Tatar managed a pace of 24 goals and 62 points per 82 games, but this season, his pace is at just 18 goals and 39 points per 82. His 13:02 per game ranks just eighth amongst New Jersey's regular forwards, though Tatar does still get time on the power play.
While the contract is short and the cap hit isn't an issue, Tatar hasn't necessarily delivered as expected. Brought in to help be a consistent producer, Tatar hasn't distinguished himself as more than just another top-nine forward for the team.
The Devils also added Ryan Graves via trade, as the Colorado Avalanche were forced to move him to avoid losing him in the Expansion Draft. In exchange for Graves, the Devils sent back a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, as well as prospect Mikhail Maltsev, the Devils' fourth-round pick from the 2016 NHL Draft.
Graves had been a regular member of Colorado's defense group for two seasons and showed a lot of promise. Since joining the Devils, Graves hasn't disappointed, taking on a top-four role and becoming the team's most important penalty killer. He's now in an increased role with the Devils, averaging over two more minutes per game now than he did with the Avalanche. He has also upped his offensive production, with 16 points in 34 games, a pace of 39 points per 82 games, which is way up from the 25 points per 82 games he averaged over 149 games with Colorado. At just 26 years old, Graves looks set to become a long-term member of the Devils' top-four group.
In smaller moves, the Devils also got Will Butcher's contract off the books by sending a fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres. Butcher has taken on quite a small role with the Sabres. Given the move gave the Devils more cap flexibility, it's not one they're regretting.
They also let Ryan Murray walk as a free agent. As is the case with Butcher, the Devils aren't missing much.
Between their four major additions, the Devils committed nearly 21 million in cap space, more than a quarter of their total cap space for the season. Despite all these moves, though, the Devils sit outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture, holding a .449 points percentage. It's a slight improvement from last year, where they held a .402 points percentage. So with the minimal improvement, the question is if all these moves actually make a difference.
Well, the basis for success lies in what happens in the coming years, not necessarily right now. Despite all the moves, the Devils weren't really expected to emerge out of a tough Metropolitan Division. With a young group, they don't necessarily need to be a contender right now.
The reality is, the Bernier and Tatar contracts are both short. Considering nothing was given up to get them, there isn't an issue with the deals. The more important additions were Graves and Hamilton, who could both be long-term fixtures of the team's top-four group and, so far, those moves have worked out well.
So while the Devils aren't in an overly different place from where they were last season, the team took steps to improve and the moves could have a delayed effect in the next year or two as the young group continues to elevate their game.
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