Three depth forwards the New Jersey Devils could target in free agency

Tom Fitzgerald needs to freshen up the bottom-6 this summer. Let's take a look at a few players who could be of interest.

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The New Jersey Devils are going to revamp their bottom-6 this off-season. It’s a necessity after how problematic depth scoring was for much of the year.

It’s also inevitable. With so many players on expiring contracts (Tomas Tatar, Curtis Lazar, Nathan Bastian, Daniel Sprong, etc.), there will naturally be turnover.

While there will be some internal options filling slots – Arseniy Gritsyuk comes to mind! – Tom Fitzgerald will no doubt make some additions as well.

Let’s take a look at a few depth options in free agency that could or should be of interest.

Nick Bjugstad

Bjugstad is a rangy, 6’4’ center who would give the Devils a different look in the bottom-6.

The Devils don’t have a lot of meat down the middle of the ice and Bjugstad could provide that. He’s also a right-handed shot who’d add diversity in the dot, as the team’s star pivots are both lefties.

More importantly, though, he can provide a jolt offensively. Bjugstad is more of a complementary weapon than a driver but he generates a lot of chances around the net and has some scoring touch.

He’s scored 17+ goals in two of the last three years, is a career 9.5% shooter, and is only a season removed from a 22-goal campaign.

While he predictably saw a noticeable decline in production this year, he played a much lesser role on an improving Utah team and didn’t have much finishing luck, scoring on only 7% of his shots. That’s the second-lowest rate of his career.

The good news is Bjugstad ranked tied for 81st in 5v5 chances per 60 minutes and generated shots at his most efficient clip in five years. He created looks, which is encouraging. They just didn’t go for him.

Bjugstad is a reasonable bet to score double-digit goals, throw 100+ hits, and he’d give Sheldon Keefe another option on both special teams units.

Michael Eyssimont