Happy July 1st and the opening of NHL Free Agency! It didn’t take long for the New Jersey Devils to pounce as they brought in three new key pieces to the lineup. First, it started with the signing of former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce to a six year thirty-three million dollar deal with an annual average value of 5.5 million. Then, New Jersey signed big bodied and physical defenseman Brenden Dillon formerly of the Winnipeg Jets to a three year twelve million dollar deal with an annual average value of four million. Finally, the Devils reunited with a familiar face in Stefan Noesen (once a Devil and now former Carolina Hurricane) to a three year deal worth $8,250,000 and with an annual average value of $2,750,000 per season. Below are the announcements of the deals from the New Jersey Devils and my reaction to them:
New Jersey Devils signing announcements
Brett Pesce
Stefan Noesen
Brenden Dillon
Scott’s Take
I’m loving the moves GM Tom Fitzgerald is making so far this offseason. He’s actually taking steps to correct areas the Devils were having issues with last year which were goaltending and on defense. Obviously I loved getting Jacob Markstrom in net but, Pesce & Dillon will definitely make his job much much easier. Brett Pesce is a defensively and positional sound defenseman who is an upgrade over John Marino who was dealt away to the Utah hockey club at the draft. Braden Dillon is a tough, rugged, & physical defender that the Devils have been lacking since former Devil Ryan Graves left for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Getting Stefan Noesen back is the cherry on top of an already delicious sundae today. He will provide depth and can chip in here and there on the goal scoring sheet with a timely goal. I do think GM Fitzgerald has one more card left up his sleeve to play as he looks to add another forward to the top six group. Does that mean recent Stanley Cup champion and free agent Vladimir Tarasenko could be an option? He certainly could be. We’ll have to wait and see what’s next. For now, the New Jersey Devils are an already well improved squad that should get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Till the next cards get played, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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