New Jersey Devils notes: On Pietrangelo, Askarov, and a potential trade target

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Some New Jersey Devils notes as we head into what should be an exciting, and active, couple of weeks.

1) I know many people were taken aback by the NHL.com article, which has since been deleted, where GM Tom Fitzgerald didn’t rule out signing Alex Pietrangelo in free agency. It’s exciting to be linked to big names – especially at a position of weakness – but I see absolutely no scenario where Pietrangelo ends up in New Jersey.

For one, Pietrangelo doesn’t fit into the team’s timeline. At all. Fitzgerald has stressed 100 times – maybe more! – that he wants to spend his assets on players who fit in with Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Mackenzie Blackwood. Pietrangelo, who could be 31 by the time he plays another game, doesn’t exactly fit the bill.

Fitzgerald said something to the effect of ‘you have to have the conversation’ if a player like Pietrangelo becomes available. He also suggested it was more of a ‘if his agent calls’ they’ll talk, kind of thing. I think it would take a surprisingly soft market in terms of a) contract offers and; b) high-end teams expressing interest for that to ever happen.

There’s also the fact bonus structures are apparently a big cause of concern for Pietrangelo in negotiations with St. Louis. He presumably wants a lot of money up front and to be protected from COVID-19 or potential CBA issues.

I’ve already reported the Devils have an internal budget for the upcoming season. That’s not to say they won’t spend some money, but I doubt they want to chase $9-10 million players where you’d have to pay a massive bonus *before* plans for an upcoming season are even set. You think ownership is going to pay Pietrangelo $9M in bonuses in less than two weeks before knowing if the season will be cut, say, 20 games or if any fans will be allowed in buildings? I doubt it.

Pietrangelo makes sense in that he’s a good defenseman and the Devils need good defensemen. That’s it.

I would be stunned if they’re even serious contenders for Pietrangelo in free agency, let alone the team that signs him.

2) Elliotte Friedman mentioned in 31 Thoughts that Washington is looking to clear money in hopes of re-signing Brenden Dillon.

Bad news in that Dillon, a player who fits the bill of what the Devils are looking for on defense, may not be available. Good news in that somebody else of interest might.

Five of Washington’s top-6 forwards have no trade-clauses or no-movement clauses. So, too, do their top two defenders (John Carlson and Dmitri Orlov). They’re not moving any of the big guns, anyway, and I doubt people have much interest in Richard Panik ($2.75M x 3) or Carl Hagelin ($2.75M x 3) given the current state of affairs.

The Capitals may have to move somebody of note. If that somebody is Jakub Vrana, who the Capitals have never really let loose, I’d be *all* over it.

The 24-year-old winger has scored 44 goals at 5v5 over the last two seasons. That’s the same total as Nikita Kucherov; only eight players have more.

He has developed into one of the game’s best, and most efficient, 5v5 goal scorers and that’s something the Devils need. Even more so if they end up moving Kyle Palmieri.

Vrana only has one year left on his deal but he will become a restricted free agent after that. He’s under team control until 2023, per PuckPedia, so he would not be a rental-type that Fitzgerald wants to avoid.

If the Capitals were open to moving Vrana, I’d happily send a 1st round pick and another asset to close a deal.

3) Sticking with rumblings from 31 Thoughts, Friedman shed light on a few teams looking at Yaroslav Askarov. He once again mentioned the Devils.

Excerpt below:

15. Mackenzie Blackwood took a huge step for the Devils this year, but opponents suspect their lack of overall organizational depth at the position has Russian goalie Yaroslav Askarov on their radar. Askarov is the true wild card of next week’s draft. Among the teams suspected of eyeing him in the top 15: Ottawa, New Jersey, Minnesota, Carolina and Edmonton.

Let’s go team-by-team here (I’ll save New Jersey for last).

Ottawa - I could see it. Their NHL goaltending is poor. They have plenty of goaltending prospects in the system but none appear to have particularly high ceilings (or are likely to hit them). They also have seven picks in the first two rounds and nine in the first three. If there’s a team that could justify a gamble, it’s the Senators.

Minnesota - Their current tandem, which isn’t good, is made up of a 33-year-old and a 34-year-old. Kaapo Kahkonen looks like he might be NHL caliber but I’m not sure he’s starter material. Again, I could see it.

Carolina - They’re seemingly always unhappy with their goaltending and they’re cheap. If they think Askarov can play in, say, 2021-22, I could see them being enticed by a starter on an ELC.

Edmonton - Mike Smith is not the answer. Mikko Koskinen is not the answer. Neither are prospects Stuart Skinner or Dylan Wells. Top to bottom, they might well have the worst goaltending system in the league. Makes sense.

New Jersey - They have a 23-year-old goaltender with a .916 career save percentage through 70 games. Said goaltender posted those numbers, which are way above the league average of .905, despite playing behind a horrendous defense. The Devils also invested a 2nd round pick in said goaltender and, very clearly, the ceiling was always projected to be high with him.

So, in short, you have four teams who have no long-term solutions at the NHL level *or* high-end pieces coming through the system. Then you have the Devils who look to have a 23-year-old above average starter. Yet, for some reason, they’re rumored to have interest in investing a higher pick than any other team (besides Ottawa, but they’ll have already added a high impact prospect by the time they’d consider Askarov at 5).

The Devils taking Askarov clearly makes the least amount of sense of the bunch. This is either a really good smokescreen or a sign Fitzgerald is going to mis-use the best asset he has to play with this off-season. Let’s hope it’s the former.