Three Defenseman Devils Could Target in Free Agency
James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now: As Nichols writes, with Damon Severson now traded to Columbus, the Devils have a hole on the right side of their defense. Kevin Bahl is a restricted free agent, while Ryan Graves is an unrestricted free agent.
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It appears Simon Nemec, their first-round draft pick from 2022 is ready to make the next leap. The Devils still have Brendan Smith on the roster, but he is a seventh defenseman at best.
Who can they use as a stopgap, let’s find out.
Erik Gustafsson – Gustafsson is an interesting case as he is a left-shot defenseman that can move the puck. Again he only plays the left side and the Devils are loaded with Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, and Bahl. If the Devils do bring him in, the idea might be to pair him with John Marino and move Hughes to the right side.
Carson Soucy – Soucy can play both the right and left sides on defense. Not to mention he is responsible in all three zones. That will be attractive to the Devils. If Graves does leave, Soucy is a solid replacement as he will bring size, physicality, and handle the puck, he’s an appealing short-term option.
Luke Schenn – Schenn is the most sensible option for the Devils. He wants term and while negotiations are ongoing with Toronto, the Devils could make a play for him. Especially at a low AAV with the cap expecting to go up. Not to mention, Schenn is another big, physical defenseman. As Vegas has shown, defense still wins and having big and mobile guys in the playoffs is where it counts the most.
A Rebuild in Winnipeg Should Not Be Taboo
Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun: Billeck writes the Winnipeg Jets need to call it what it is a rebuild and they can’t be afraid to say.
It has been documented that Connor Hellebuyck and Pierre-Luc Dubois are not re-signing with the club. And even if the Jets come out and give their intentions it will not change their minds. Billeck notes the team should move on from Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler as well as the team needs a serious attitude adjustment.
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General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has been tasked will cleaning the mess he made. As Billeck notes it is a bit surprise Nino Niederreiter does not have a new contract.
But the time is now to hand the keys over to the Jets who come out of this cloud-like Josh Morrissey, Adam Lowry, and Kyle Connor. Though Connor has stated he does not want to be part of a rebuild.
Winnipeg Just needs to find the guys that want to play there and gets those guys in the deals for the big names.