In reviewing the scope of teams with whom the Buffalo Sabres could strike a deal this summer, the New Jersey Devils stand out as an exciting option. Tom Fitzgerald has a boatload of cap space to work with for the 2022-23 campaign. He is also under pressure to push the organization into the playoff conversation next season (as evidenced by his willingness to move the second-overall pick in exchange for an NHL-ready asset, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet).

With these factors in mind, I can see Fitzgerald attempting to purge what I’ll refer to as the “secondary core” in New Jersey. Cornerstones like Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier are firmly established as the faces of the franchise. The secondary group of players (not quite core pieces, but more than just depth) however, could undergo something of an overhaul heading into next season.

This theory becomes particularly plausible when you consider that many of the team’s middle-six forward assets are set to become restricted free agents with arbitration rights. With all of this in mind, let’s examine who New Jersey is most likely to place on the trade block, and which of those assets could be of interest to Kevyn Adams.

Devils Offseason Outlook

2022-23 Projected Cap Space (via Cap Friendly): $25,334,167

Key Restricted Free Agents: Miles Wood (arbitration-eligible), Jesper Bratt (arbitration-eligible), Pavel Zacha (arbitration-eligible), and Jesper Boqvist

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Jimmy Vesey, Mason Geertsen, John Gillies, Andrew Hammond, and PK Subban

Miles Wood | LW | Age 26 | RFA

Given the current organizational zeitgeist of pursuing players who “want to be here” Wood seems like a plausible target (considering that he was born in Western New York). Known as an aggressive player who excels at offensive zone-entry, his skillset does seem like a match for Don Granato’s system (at least on a cursory level).

On top of some historically volatile impacts, there is a greater issue when it comes to the idea of acquiring Wood. After sustaining a hip injury (which required surgery) during training camp last season, the 26-year-old only appeared in three games for the Devils in 2021-22.

As a player with several identifiable flaws in his game (particularly on defense), his natural skating ability has helped him make up for some of his other shortcomings. A long-term hip injury could have lasting effects. It remains to be seen whether or not he can make a full recovery and regain his elite speed.

I would avoid the risk unless the acquisition cost is insignificant (i.e. a late-round pick). Though I do think Wood is more useful than his RAPM charts indicate, his performance inconsistency paired with last season’s injury would push me in a different direction. Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge him as an option.

According to Evolving Hockey’s contract projections, they anticipate Wood to command a one-year extension valued in the neighborhood of $1.3 million.

Pavel Zacha | C/LW | Age 25 | RFA

Here we have another Devils forward who boasts outstanding skating ability, yet has struggled to develop a “complete” game. That being said, we must acknowledge the strides he took last season as it pertains to his impacts at both ends of the ice.

For a player who has historically struggled in his own end, Zacha did a much better job in 2021-22. He did spend most of his time with excellent linemates (primarily Hischier, Bratt, and Tomas Tatar), and the coaching staff’s decision to play him in a more offensively-tilted deployment proved to be a smart one.

Unlike Wood, Zacha hasn’t leveraged his speed to become a strong transition entity. Across the board, his impacts are pretty pedestrian in that area. He’s also not much of a forechecker, as every one of his cohorts within the Devils’ forward group did a better job at offensive-zone puck recovery last season.

In terms of strengths, Zacha does a great job of positioning himself to receive high-danger passes. No Devils forward had a greater propensity to produce shots off high-danger passes last season. It’s part of the reason why the Devils experienced an 8% increase in their team xGF rate while he was on the ice (as illustrated in the heatmap above).

Leading up to last season, I was rather low on Zacha as a player. He had all of the natural talents in the world, but I wasn’t keen on his positional ability, or his “200-foot” game. If the underlying impacts he produced last season can be sustained, he too could be a systematic fit for Granato’s Sabres.

In terms of an extension, Zacha is going to be more expensive than Wood. Evolving Hockey has him pegged for a four-year deal valued at around $4.65 million AAV. That’s a lot to commit to a player coming off his only NHL season where he produced impacts above replacement level.

Damon Severson | RHD | Age 27 | One-year, $4,166,666 AAV

As I noted in our assessment of the Sabres’ defensive core last month, I was, at one point, adamant about pursuing Severson to shore up the right side of the blue line. Once Granato decided to flip Rasmus Dahlin to the right side, the organizational need for a legitimate top-pairing RHD was no longer dire.

As far as defensively-capable defensemen go, you would be hard-pressed to find a more consistent and competent player. While Severson did experience something of a “down year” in 2021-22, he has a history of posting top-end defensive impacts.

After struggling badly during his first few seasons as a full-time NHL asset, his growth (particularly in his end) has been something to behold. What we have here is a fully-developed player in the middle of his prime years. The only issue is his contract status.

With Hamilton in the fold, the Devils will almost certainly look to trade Severson before his contract expires at the end of next season. It lends to reason that he’ll look for top-pairing money as a UFA in 2023.

With Dahlin penciled in on the right side of the Sabres top-pair next season (and conceivably, beyond that), it might be ill-advised to commit that type of money and term on the blue line right now. A long-term deal for Severson could also hamstring the Sabres when players like Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson reach the end of their ELCs.

Closing Thoughts

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the only way the Sabres could justify pursuing one of the aforementioned forward options is if they send an existing forward asset back to New Jersey as part of the transaction. I’m not sure that either Wood or Zacha would represent a significant enough upgrade to the forward group to justify it.

As far as Severson goes, the only way to make that deal work would be to have an extension agreement in place ahead of time. Even at that, the contract would have to be palatable, and if I’m Severson, I’m not sure why I would sign a modest extension instead of playing out the season and subsequently cashing in on the open market.

Beyond the options I listed, there aren’t too many viable trade targets out of New Jersey. Bratt is almost certainly going to be extended following a career season, and the rest of the team’s forwards are on very reasonable deals.

Defensively, the Devils have a solid existing group, and Severson is the only one who stands out as a tradeable asset. Ryan Graves could also be an option (he too is set to hit the UFA market next summer), but there has been very little chatter on that front. If he ends up being available, he could be an interesting option, even though he plays primarily on the left side.

With PK Subban’s $9 million cap hit coming off the books, Fitzgerald has some room to upgrade upon what is already a strong unit on the back end. As far as purging existing pieces, I just see very little incentive for him to make significant changes on defense.

Advanced Metrics courtesy of Evolving Hockey and Natural Stat Trick

Charts Courtesy of Evolving Hockey, Hockeyviz, and All Three Zones

Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images