Introduction

The New Jersey Devils had just under $27,000,000 in cap space entering the opening day in free agency. In the days since, that number has been brought down to just a smidge under $13,000,000. As of now, the Devils still have six restricted free agents (RFAs) to sign. What will it cost to get this done? And what will that leave New Jersey with?

Remaining RFAs

Jesper Bratt – $7,000,000

Jesper Bratt put up a career high in goals, assists, and points last season. One in which he led the team in all three categories. However, this is the first year that he put up numbers in this range. Bratt getting much more than this figure would be surprising.

Vitek Vanecek – $2,800,000

For Vanecek, a good comparable is what Mackenzie Blackwood got after his first two seasons in the league. Blackwood put up slightly better five-on-five numbers in his first two seasons, but Vanecek played more games which is what gets him to the same number. Though, it would not be surprising to see him get somewhere in the low $3,000,000 range either.

Miles Wood – $3,000,000

Miles Wood is in an interesting situation. The Devils elected arbitration for him. When the team elects salary arbitration, the rule is that the player can get up to 15% less than what his qualifying offer was. In Wood’s case, 85% of $3,500,000 is just under 3,000,000. So, let’s just stay there to keep the numbers round.

Tyce Thompson, Fabian Zetterlund, Jesper Boqvist – $2,500,000

These three are being grouped together because they’re the three that aren’t going to get that much. Figure that combined they get between $2,500,000 and $2,750,000. Pretty easy with this one.

How to Create More Cap Space

After the math, if the Devils RFAs agree to these contracts, they’ll be more than $2,000,000 over the salary cap. There are a couple New Jersey can take to get that number back down. And as low to even make another acquisition.

The first, and easiest solution, is to put Jonathan Bernier on long-term injured reserve. When a player is put on LTIR, the cap relief given is their cap hit minus the team’s cap space is to the team. In this case, since the Devils would be over the cap, they get the full $4,200,000 in relief. This puts them safely above the salary cap limit. 

A second way for the Devils to clear cap space without affecting the roster is to trade Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson isn’t a bad player, but with the moves being made by the Devils, and the young players ready to make the jump, his time with the organization seems to be all but over. He carries a $3,400,000 cap hit and certainly can still be a quality player. It just makes too much sense to flip him to a team in need of either reaching the cap floor like Anaheim or Arizona. Or a team looking for a productive middle-six winger on a team-friendly deal for a mid-round pick.

Conclusion

If the Devils make the two discussed moves, they will be a smooth $4,200,000 under the salary cap ceiling. With this in mind, the Devils definitely have the room to make another addition if general manager Tom Fitzgerald so wishes. Would a couple forwards in Vancouver entice Fitzgerald? Could Damon Severson be on his way out with the addition of John Marino to the right side and only a year left on his contract? Only time will tell, but there is still room for the Devils to make additional moves.