The New Jersey Devils have been relatively quiet since the July 1 free agency period opened. Despite that, they’ve still been very effective, and, after all, the Devils took care of most of their business before the July 1 opening day. Examples being the Tyler Toffoli trade as well as the long-term extensions with star forwards Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier.

It was not complete silence from the Devils as they did make a few moves. The first was bringing back solid fourth liners in Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian. Each of which were not qualified originally, making them unrestricted free agents, but were both brought back on team-friendly deals. After that, general manager Tom Fitzgerald made a very nice trade to bring in veteran defenseman Colin Miller in exchange for a fifth-round pick. The last move of the day, on Saturday, was signing a trio of AHL depth.

The Buddies Are Back

The Devils’ first move on Saturday was bringing back a fourth line duo of two players who each were not qualified originally due to arbitration concerns. The Devils gave a one-year deal worth $1.4 million to Michael McLeod and a two-year deal worth $1.35 million annually to Nathan Bastian. With that, two of the team’s three slots on the fourth line are fulfilled.

McLeod has fallen short of draft day expectations, but has carved out a very nice fourth line role. He is very strong on the penalty kill and one of the best faceoff men in the league (third in the NHL at 60.6 percent last season). His overall on-ice impacts have been so-so (35th percentile overall over the last three seasons), but given his penalty kill and faceoff strengths, they are more than serviceable enough to be a fine fourth liner.

As for Bastian, he has quietly been one of the best defensive fourth liners in the NHL for a couple seasons now. This is evident by his 96th percentile defensive on-ice metrics over the past three seasons. His penalty kill skills, much like McLeod, are very strong. Not to mention, each like to throw their body around, something the Devils do not exactly have a lot of.

As for the dollar figures, each come below projections. Bastian comes in at almost $1 million less than projected and McLeod about $0.1 million less according to the Athletic. Each are projected to provide value to the Devils at their signed upon dollar amount. More good work by general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Adding An Underrated Bottom Pair Defenseman

Veteran defenseman Colin Miller was acquired by the Devils from the Dallas Stars for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick Saturday afternoon. Miller, now 30 years old, plays the right side. It is not an over-exaggeration to say wherever he has gone, the team he plays for has been better for it.

Over the past three seasons, Miller has played for the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars. Over this time, his on-ice impacts rank in the 61st percentile offensively and 69th percentile defensively. His total goals above replacement of plus-11.2 last year ranked 31st among all NHL defensemen. Simply put, when he is on the ice, his team is better for it, whether it is at five on five or on the penalty kill.

Miller also brings playoff experience. He has 40 playoff games under his belt, 20 of which came in the 2017-18 season when the Vegas Golden Knights finished runner ups to the Washington Capitals.

Miller is under contract for one more season carrying a cap hit of only $1.85 million. According to the Athletic, his on-ice value is a staggering $8.3 million. He provides one of the highest “surplus values” in the NHL.

As you can see, Miller is a legit defenseman who could easily play top-four minutes. Expect him to slot on either the second and third pairing and provide a ton of quality minutes.

With that being said, he is a right-handed defenseman which likely means, pending injury or a superstar training camp and preseason, Simon Nemec will likely get another season to develop in the AHL. Which is a totally acceptable plan.

Depth Additions

The Devils did a little bit of everything on the opening day of free agency as they addressed the Utica Comets (AHL) as well. The team signed forwards Kyle Criscuolo and Justin Dowling as well as goaltender Erik Källgren. Criscuolo and Källgren each received one-year deals while Dowling got two. All three of the contracts are two-ways deals.

Criscuolo, a Southampton Township, New Jersey native, is a five-foot-nine center. He has 367 AHL games and 16 NHL games under his belt. The Harvard University alum played in 60 AHL games last season totaling 17 goals and 12 assists. His best AHL season came in 2021-22 when he totaled 39 points in 57 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Dowling is a 32-year-old veteran who has played in a staggering 509 AHL games. He also has 98 NHL games under his belt. The Canadian is listed at five-foot-10 and 181 pounds and plays on either center or on the wing. Last year, he spent the whole season in the AHL totaling 11 goals, 35 assists, and 46 points in 56 games played. He played 22 games in the NHL with the Canucks just two seasons ago.

Lastly, goaltender Källgren projects to make up the AHL duo alongside Tyler Brennan as Nico Daws makes him way back from surgery. Källgren is 26 years old and was a seventh-round pick back during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He has played 52 games in the AHL over his career posting a .896 save percentage as well as a .892 save percentage in 24 career NHL games.

Last season, he played 24 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL posting a .883 save percentage and 10 NHL games posted a goals saved above expected (GSAx) of negative-0.51. His career GSAx sits at negative-8.

No flashy moves, but you need to fill out the organizational roster somehow. Two veteran forwards and a goaltender with 52 games in the AHL under his belt and a strong track record as a junior will do just that.

What’s Next?

With all the above, the Devils project to have $5,607,500 in cap space left, per CapFriendly. This does not include the new deal that will be worked out with qualified restricted free agent Kevin Bahl. Which, won’t be much, but is something.

Here is how the lineup currently projects:

Forwards:

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Jesper Bratt	Nico Hischier	Tyler Toffoli
Timo Meier	Jack Hughes	Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat	Erik Haula	Alexander Holtz
Nolan Foot	Michael McLeod	Nathan Bastian

Defense:

Left Defense	Right Defense
Jonas Siegenthaler	Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes	John Marino
Kevin Bahl (RFA)	Colin Miller

Goalies:

Starter	Backup
Vitek Vanecek	Akira Schmid

There is always room for improvement and the Devils still have cap room for it. Of course, you do not want to spend every penny as that can then lead to some issues during the season with potential injuries and subsequent call-ups. However, the Devils still have room and can always use more depth. Whether that be a legit NHL-level goaltender to compete with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid or another forward option to further boost the team’s top nine.

For those curious, two former Devils have found new homes. Ryan Graves signed a six-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $4.5 million per season while Miles Wood signed a six-year deal worth $2.5 million per season. Tomáš Tatar and Jesper Boqvist remain unrestricted free agents.

Statistics courtesy of Elite Prospects and Evolving Hockey. Contract data via CapFriendly.