Grading the New Jersey Devils' off-season moves (so far)

Tom Fitzgerald has been a busy man this summer. Let's take a closer look at his work.

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By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

The New Jersey Devils have been one of the more active teams in the NHL thus far, signing a multitude of depth options and making a couple of trades along the way.

Without wasting any time with a prolonged preamble, I’d like to grade each and every move they’ve made since the calendar flipped to June:

Trading away Erik Haula: A

The first move of the Devils’ off-season was a pure cap-dump to the Nashville Predators, unloading veteran forward Erik Haula and his full $3.15 million cap hit in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and nothingburger prospect Jeremy Hanzel.

The pick, 99th overall, was used to select Trenten Bennett, a 6’8, largely unskilled goaltender.

In retrospect, the only thing not to like about this trade was the player they drafted with the pick.

Getting Haula off the books freed up some much-needed cap space, and was a clear indication that the Devils would be looking to do so again in the near future.

While that hasn’t come to fruition yet, there’s plenty of smoke around shedding Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, or even Dougie Hamilton, so I’m sure this move won’t be the only cap dump the Devils execute before the 2025-26 season starts.

I was under the assumption that getting off Haula would cost assets. Gaining an asset – which, mind you, was used poorly – was a miracle, and I’m not entirely sure how Tom Fitzgerald sold that to Barry Trotz. 

Regardless, huge win for the Devils. 

Jake Allen: 5 Years, $1.8M AAV – A+

Right before free agency started up, it was announced that the Devils would be extending their backup goaltender – and the top goalie available on the market – to a five-year deal worth $1.8 million annually. 

Slam. Dunk. Win.

The Devils are now running back the same tandem that carried them when their offense dried up last season for a grand total of $5.925 million, which is also a slam-dunk win.

On a per-60 basis, Allen was ranked as the third-best goalie in the NHL last season in terms of goals saved above expected (GSAx). He ranked ninth in the league in total GSAx. 

Getting that back for a shade under $2 million is a godsend, especially when looking at the contracts that other goalies were handed later on. 

Dan Vladar, who signed with the Flyers, is now getting paid $3.35 million a year until 2027. Alex Lyon is getting paid $1.5 million. Hell, even Vitek Vanecek managed to get $1.5 million on the open market. 

Allen is lightyears better than all three of those goaltenders, and is getting paid just more than Vanecek and Lyon, and just over half as much as Vladar. 

The term would be the prospective issue with this contract, but 1) that was the only way to keep the AAV as low as it is, and 2) it’s quite easy to buy out if/when he loses his game – it’s only a $600,000 per year penalty. 

Their first move on July 1, in my opinion, was their best. 

Connor Brown: 4 Years, $3M AAV – B