The New Jersey Devils started their offseason yesterday evening when they announced the acquisition of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves. In return, the Avalanche are receiving forward Mikhail Maltsev and a 2021 2nd round draft pick (formerly the New York Islanders). Colorado would have had to expose Graves in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft. So, general manager Tom Fitzgerald pounced and took advantage.
What Are The Devils Getting?
Background
Ryan Graves is a left-handed defenseman that has spent his three-year professional career with the Colorado Avalanche. The 26-year old is listed at six-foot-five, and 195 pounds, so he has some size to him. As for the contract situation, Graves brings a cap hit of $3,166,667 the next two seasons. When his contract expires after the 2022-23 season, he will be an unrestricted free agent at the age of 28.
Traditional Statistics
Graves bursted onto the scene in 2019-20 when he played nearly 19 minutes a night in 69 games totaling 26 points. He followed that up with 15 points in 54 games this season while playing just north of 19-minutes a night. Also worth pointing out is Graves tendency to fire a ton of shots towards the net.
As you can see in the tweet above, Graves was near the top among NHL defenseman in shot attempts per 60 minutes played. This is good to see, just need to hope he gets more through and they actually hit the net. Additionally, the previous season Graves totaled 112 hits during the 2019-20 campaign and was well underway to hit that mark this season if it were an 82-game schedule. The Devils have lacked both defenseman that shot the puck from the point and also like to throw around their body around. So, the addition of Graves on the blue-line should be refreshing.
Underlying Statistics
The best way to evaluate a defensemanâs defensive impact, especially one you do not watch on a nightly basis, is through the skaterâs underlying statistics. As you can see via the above player card, Graves is very steady in his own end. He ranks in the leagueâs 74th percentile in even-strength defensive metrics over the past three seasons. Also noteworthy about the chart above, he has some solid offensive abilities as well.
Despite the point total not necessarily showing it, the goals per 60 and primary assists per 60 percentiles are very high for a defenseman. Now, do not be mistaken, Graves is not going to light the score sheet up on a nightly basis, but those numbers do demonstrate he has the abilities to chip in every once in a while.
The above Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus (RAPM) chart from the past three seasons also does a great job demonstrating Graves overall skills as a top-four defenseman. For comparison’s sake, the above puts Damon Severson and Graves side-by-side. It is safe to say, Graves will slide easily into a top-four role for New Jersey this season and he should comfortably be regarded as the teamâs second best defenseman.
| Left-Hand Defenseman | Right-Handed Defenseman |
| Ryan Graves | Damon Severson |
| Ty Smith | P.K. Subban |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | TBD (Free agent acquisition / Trade acquisition?) |
Whatâs This Mean Going Forward?
With the acquisition of a top-four, left-handed defenseman the Devilsâ left-side of its defensive depth chart should be all but set (see above). The move also makes it so the Devils are almost certain to expose Will Butcher and P.K. Subban — unless they chose to expose the recently acquired and re-signed Jonas Siegenthaler — in the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft. This all because Ryan Graves will rightfully require protection. More on who the Devils should expose/protect in an article later today.
Overall, the Devils gave up a prospect with a ceiling of a bottom-line penalty killer and a late second-round draft pick for a defenseman that instantly fills a top-four need. General manager Tom Fitzgerald was able to take advantage of a likely Expansion Draft âcasualtyâ and in doing so did a great job supplementing the Devilsâ current talent.