What a day it was for the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. The free agent window opened and right away it was announced that the team signed veteran goaltender Jonathan Bernier to a two-year contract. The rest of the day was spent by many well known hockey insiders hinting that a deal between perennial Norris Trophy candidate Dougie Hamilton and the Devils was close. Finally, in the evening it was made official. The Devils also made a couple other moves. Do not fret, we have it all covered below.
Jonathan Bernier
The New Jersey Devils signed the 32-year old veteran to a two-year contract worth $4,125,000 per season. Bernier has spent the last three seasons in Detroit where he was playing behind a dreadful team. Across this time, he appeared in 105 games and registered a .908 save percentage. This number is right around, or slightly below, league average. Keep in mind, he posted this mark behind one of the worst teams in the NHL.
Before his time with Detroit, he spent three seasons in Toronto, one in Anaheim, and another in Colorado. The following are his save percentages over this stretch of five years: .922, .912, .908, .915, and .913. All figures are right at, or comfortably above the league average. Bottom-line, when he has just decent play in front of him Bernier is going to post a formidable save percentage figure. Specifically, one that is above league average. When was the last time the New Jersey Devils had a back-up goaltender that had the capabilities to do so? Here’s your answer: it has been a while.
The above player card just further demonstrates how effective Bernier was despite the team he was playing for. Those numbers reflect one of a decent starter on a normal team. In New Jersey, he will be playing a complimentary role behind a new and improved defensive core that is much stronger than Detroit’s was. The Mackenzie Blackwood and Bernier combination should be what the Devils envisioned last season when the team signed Corey Crawford.
Dougie Hamilton
The biggest free agent in this year’s class signed with the New Jersey Devils. Yes, you read that right. The Devils and Dougie Hamilton settled on a seven year, $9,000,000 per season contract. This deal is the largest in franchise history, which makes the 28-year old defenseman the fifth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL behind Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, Seth Jones (soon to be), and Roman Josi. As you can see by the tweet below, the contract itself is an extremely team-friendly deal. He is a perennial Norris Trophy candidate after all.
There are so many different ways to describe how good Hamilton is. Let’s start with the player card below. Hamilton is one of the best, if not the best offensive-defenseman in the NHL. This both at even strength and on the power play. He shoots the puck a ton – leading the league’s defenseman in shots on goal last season. Hamilton is usually good for 200-plus shots per season. He is also terrific at setting up teammates.
All of these claims can be backed up through his actual point production. Last season, if it was an 82-game year, he would’ve been on pace for 63 points. The prior year, if his production was pro-rated out to 82-games, he would have been on pace for 70. The guy can flat out produce.
Do not overlook his defensive game, he is very strong in this area as well. Traditional statistic-wise, Hamilton is good for about 90-plus hits and 80-plus blocked shots per season. As for his underlying metrics, he ranks in the league’s 73rd percentile defensively. He does solid work at even strength and on the penalty kill which is great news for New Jersey. His xDef goals above replacement (GAR) figure over the past three seasons is higher than any current Devils’ defenseman over that time. He is not completely perfect in his own end, but easily – along with Damon Severson – the best defenseman on the team in his own end.
| Defenseman | xGAR |
| Dougie Hamilton | 52.3 |
| Charlie McAvoy | 39.8 |
| Alex Pietrangelo | 39.1 |
| John Carlson | 37.5 |
| Victor Hedman | 34.6 |
| Roman Josi | 28.5 |
The most impressive part of all this? He has done it playing 20-plus minutes a night against top competition. The best way to really show how darn good of a player Dougie Hamilton is through the above chart organizing the NHL’s perceived top defenseman by xGAR over the past three seasons. Yeah, he is that good. A bonafide elite, top-five defenseman in the league is officially going to be repping the red and black for the next seven seasons. An absolutely franchise-changing acquisition.
Will Butcher Traded To Buffalo
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald’s day ended by dealing defenseman Will Butcher and a 2022 fifth round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for “future considerations.” This was strictly a cap deal by the Devils and cleared a total of $3,733,333 of cap space. Worth noting, the Devils still own a fifth round pick in 2022, courtesy of the Keith Kinkaid trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After a terrific rookie season and a decent 2018-19, Butcher struggled the past season or so. This past season, it was evident that Butcher’s style of play did not fit what Head Coach Lindy Ruff is trying to do. So, he found himself a healthy scratch for a majority of the season. Also, when he did play, it did not go well, as evident by the player card below.
The writing was on the wall for the 26-year old. Whether it be possibly getting taken by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL Expansion Draft or the subsequent trade, it just did not seem like he’d be back in the red and black next season. Hopefully he figures out his game in Buffalo and regains the form of a once solid two-way, borderline top-four defenseman.
Devils Make AHL Depth Moves
Sandwhiched in between the big moves, the Devils made a very nice signing to bolster the organization’s AHL club. The team signed 25-year old Chase De Leo to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000. He will be a restricted free agent after next season.
The former 2014 fourth-round selection played for the San Deigo Gulls (AHL) last season and totaled an impressive 35 points in 37 games. He also had a season of 55 points in 66 games back in 2018-19. In 365 career AHL games, he has 222 points. The five-foot-nine, 185 pound center/left wing only has five games of NHL experience and has yet to record a point.
The Devils also made another AHL move later in the evening by bringing in Brian Flynn. He was signed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000. Flynn, a 33-year old center/left wing, was most recently playing in the Swiss top professional league. He tallied 34 points in 50 games this past season, and 42 in 62 games the prior. He played in North America during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 season. He was in the AHL and tallied 56 points in 87 games. Flynn does have 275 NHL games under his belt with Buffalo and Montreal, totaling 61 points.
Each move is simply for AHL depth and to help the newly afflicted Utica Comets (AHL). Depth is something that Binghamton (AHL) certainly did not have last year. Good to see Fitzgerald address the minor league squad.
Current Projected Depth Chart
Offense:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| TBD | Jack Hughes | Jesper Bratt |
| TBD | Nico Hischier | Yegor Sharangovich |
| Janne Kuokkanen | Pavel Zacha | Andreas Johnsson |
| Miles Wood | Michael McLeod | TBD |
Defense:
| Left-Haned Defenseman | Right-Handed Defenseman |
| Ryan Graves | Dougie Hamilton |
| Ty Smith | Damon Severson |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | P.K. Subban |
Goaltenders:
| One-A (1A) | One-B (1B) |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | Jonathen Bernier |
What’s Next?
What a terrific day it was for the New Jersey Devils. However, the team still has some work to do before playoffs can be thought about. As seen in the top projected depth chart, the defense core and the goalie tandem is solidly put together and set. Now, it is time to turn the attention to a forward group that need’s some help.
The team needs to add at least two external pieces, three to fully address the group. A top-six level wing and a middle-six center/left wing or bottom-line right wing is a must. The free agent market dried up quickly. The only solid options remaining as of now are Brandon Saad, Tomas Tatar, and Nick Ritchie. There of course are also depth and short-term options such as Corey Perry and Derick Brassard, just to name a few. There is also the trade market that Fitzgerald can utilize. Names such as Timo Meier and Vladimir Tarasenko have been tied to New Jersey.
Worth noting, the Devils still have $22,153,334 in cap space and are still $853,334 shy of the instituted cap floor. The team does have four restricted free agents to tie up which will cut down those figures a bit. Botom-line, the Devils do still have the cap room necessary and the ample prospect pool as well as draft assets needed to make a move.
Either way, the Devils must add to the forward group. Get three forwards that match the needs above, the Devils may just be a playoff team this season. If not, most likely still on the outside looking in.