Finding the Perfect Partner

Heading into GM Ryan Knedel’s first full offseason the Devils were looking to build on a promising 2019-2020 season. Devils improved points wise from last season and Springfield made an impressive run for the Calder Cup but ended up falling short of the mark. Many young players stood out in Springfield like Troy Terry, Isac Lundestrom, Dylan Sikura and Jake Oettinger.

The most important aspect of the offseason is to make our team better and we believe we did that with our acquisition of LW Alex DeBrincat from Vancouver. 

The opportunity came for us to acquire DeBrincat and we saw that as something we couldn’t pass up on. We see Alex as the perfect partner for Mat and are excited to see them play on the same line. Adding top level talent to the team and finding a winger to pair with Barzal was at the top of our list going into the offseason and Alex checks both of those boxes, said GM Knedel. Parting with high end talent in Conor and the #9 pick isn’t easy but in order to be competitive within the next few years this move accelerates that timeline. We were targeting guys at #9 but ultimately it would’ve been another 2-4 years before those guys reached our organization, especially on the NHL level.

Going into the offseason Knedel knew that changes needed to be made. It started with needing to move contracts in order to fit in the 9 to 10 prospects who will be joining the organization before the start of the 2020-2021 season. In addition to having the flexibility to sign any UFAs if need be.

The following moves were made in order to free up the needed space and provide the organization with more draft capital to replenish the prospect pool.

• Axel Jonsson Fjallby to Dallas for $300k

• Kenny Agostino, Tim Schaller, and Alex Biega to Anaheim for $1.5m

• Eric Comrie to Ottawa for 2020 5th (CAR) and $1m

• Tyler Pitlick to Nashville for 2020 4th (NSH) and 2020 5th (CHI)

GM Knedel “We are sad to see these guys go but this is a business and our objective is to create a winning team to lift the Stanley Cup. The way the team is moving and shaping out to be, these guys didn't fit that criteria.”

GM Knedel doesn’t plan on making any more big moves this offseason and is focused on adding talent to the team through the upcoming draft and free agency period. With no 1st round pick the Devils could look to trade up into the early 2nd round but don’t rule out them trading back to acquire more assets.