Winger watch: Three top-6 options the New Jersey Devils could pursue
Breaking down a few potential targets who could provide the Devils with more punch offensively.
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The New Jersey Devils need another top-6 winger.
Their offense has lacked punch at 5v5 over the last couple of years, sitting tied for 29th in goals per 60 while ranking dead last in high-danger shooting percentage.
I expect GM Sunny Mehta will be proactive in adding another top-6er to the mix, most likely via the trade market.
Here are a few names worth monitoring as we head into the heart of the off-season:
William Eklund
The Sharks have a surplus in wingers and very much lack defensemen.
While they have already added Michael Kesselring to the mix on the right side, the Sharks need to do plenty more.
Despite all the smoke surrounding Chase Reid at No. 2, I believe Ivar Stenberg should be and will be the pick.
Drafting Stenberg would make a winger that much more expendable, and Eklund is someone who could help fetch a notable defenseman – like Simon Nemec.
Eklund isn’t the finishing talent the Devils could use, but he would be a strong piece to plug into the lineup.
He has put together back-to-back 50+ point campaigns and produced 1.73 points per 60 at 5v5 during that span, an identical rate to Pavel Dorofeyev and Dylan Cozens.
He is a strong play-driver who can provide a boost in transition, and he also draws penalties at an efficient clip.
Generating more opportunities for the power play to go to work is another way Eklund could boost the team’s scoring output.
He is under contract for three more seasons at an affordable $5.6 million cap hit, at which point he’d become a restricted free agent and remain under team control.
He is not the perfect target, but he’d be a good one nonetheless.
