Connor Brown checks a lot of boxes for the New Jersey Devils

The veteran winger will provide speed, depth production, and defensive acumen in the middle-6.

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The New Jersey Devils were very active on the opening day of free agency.

They didn’t make any big splashes – smartly so – but addressed their glarring need for more quality forward depth, signing a pair of veteran wingers in Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov.

Brown landed a four-year contract worth $3 million per season while Dadonov signed a one-year, $1 million deal featuring some achievable bonuses.

I will be breaking down all of the moves Tom Fitzgerald has made thus far, and the ones to come, over the next few days.

First, though, I want to focus on their most prominent signing in Brown.

Brown breathes some life into middle-6

To say the Devils’ offense dried up in the second half of the season would be an understatement.

We saw a dip in efficiency from the stars and they had next to no support behind them to help compensate.

How bad was it? Let me refresh your memory!

Tomas Tatar, Ondrej Palat, and Paul Cotter each produced eight 5v5 points from January 1 onward, tying them for tops among Devils bottom-6 forwards (I excluded Dawson Mercer, who ranked 3rd among forwards in 5v5 ice in 2025). This over a 42-game span. 42 games!

Tatar is no longer in the NHL, the team is looking to move on from Palat, and Cotter was a healthy scratch at one point.

That those three were the cream of the crop offensively for New Jersey’s bottom-6 in 2025 tells you all you need to know.

Brown didn’t have an electric second half and he still produced double digit points while creating more high-danger chances at 5v5 than every single player on the Devils.

On the year, Brown produced 5v5 points (1.60 per 60) at a more efficient clip than all but Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier.

In terms of raw totals, he had 13 goals and 30 points. That marked the fourth time over the last five healthy seasons he hit the scoresheet at least 30 times.

Brown is not an offensive dynamo but he is consistently good for 10+ goals and 30+ points, which is production the Devils could absolutely use lower in their lineup.

Diversifying the attack