The bottom six forwards UFAs Target: Replenish the roster

Today, we’ll wrap up with a look at unrestricted free agent targets that could help improve New Jersey Devils The bottom six forwards for the upcoming 2024-25 season. If you missed any of the previous installments in this series on our summer free agent/trade target previews, you can find them below.

Part 1 Written by Jared on May 29

I wrote the second part on May 30

Part 3 Written by Jared on 6/12

Today, I will introduce a few remaining individual names who may bring a different look to the Devils and hopefully improve the overall strength of the team. Therefore, the players introduced today are more like what I consider third-line players: they are more offensive-oriented, while bringing some other complementary skills that may be useful to the Devils, and may step up when other players are out or the team is in poor form and needs to adjust.

Adam Henrik – C/LW – Edmonton Oilers

I may get some criticism for mentioning the Devils flip in every article in this series, but I still think Henrik makes sense for the Devils. Given that both Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer have struggled at center to the point of using Eric Haula in the top six, the Devils could use another strong player in the middle. While just about everything has changed for the Devils since Adam was last here, I don’t think that means the 14-season NHL veteran won’t have a role to play with the current team.

Part of that role is his puck-scrambling skills; while his early career numbers showed some struggles, Henrik has improved his ability to the point where he’s been above 50% in each of the past five seasons, with four of those seasons well above 50%. He’s not a regular penalty killer, but Rico can still play some defense. My concern is the mileage; despite playing for an Anaheim Ducks team that never made the playoffs, Henrik just turned 34 in February and has played in over 900 NHL regular-season games. Also, as you can tell from the His advanced statistics on Natural Stat TrickAdam’s Corsi has slipped over the past few seasons. Those numbers haven’t really recovered since moving from the struggling Ducks to the playoff-bound Oilers, but a 20-game sample isn’t a fair way to evaluate a player when adjusting to a new team, either.

If the two-year contract AFPAnalytics predicts (just over $4.6 million) is close to what Henrique signed for, I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Devils were willing to offer it. This is roughly equivalent to what the Devils signed Tomas Tatar for, and while Tatar ended up being a good fit and did contribute (even more so in his second season), Henrique brings a variety of other skills and intangibles that Tatar didn’t have, as well as roughly the same offensive production. The addition of Henrique would improve the third line and push some other players to the fourth line, giving the Devils better depth in the top six.

Source: Hockey-Reference

Warren Fogel – LW/RW – Edmonton Oilers

Let’s switch gears, but still look at Warren Fogel from the same group. Unlike Henrik, who was acquired at the trade deadline, Fogel has been with the Oilers for three seasons. While he has now spent seven seasons in the league, this past season was his most productive, as he scored over 40 points for the first time in his career, scoring 20 goals and 21 assists.

As a winger, Fogler is not a player the Devils would bring in to improve their luck in the faceoffs. Instead, Fogler is a Excellent ice experience In terms of expected goals, Corsi, and keeping the puck moving for his team. In short, he has the skill set you want in a player who can play on the third or fourth line (or even the second line if needed), but is also starting to bring a good level of offense. My concern with Foegele is price vs. production: This is a career year for Foegele, and he knows he’ll need a new contract at the end of the season. Is the higher production real, or a product of a contract year… or a product of the McDrai effect?

Fogel is set to see a salary increase, from $2.75 million per season now to an AFP-projected $3.6 million per season. If the Devils want to become a tougher team to play against, Fogel could be a good option given his willingness to not only hit the puck when needed, but his ability to keep the puck moving in the right direction. It’s also not a bank-breaking raise, which was a possibility I was concerned about before, but again, there could be a team that becomes enamored with him and is willing to offer more than Fogel can offer. If you subscribe to the “the Devils need to be bigger” argument, Fogel isn’t the biggest player, but he fits the “bigger than the team already has” criteria, so you might be in the camp that wants Warren Fogel.

Source: Hockey-Reference

Sean Monahan – C/LW/RW – Winnipeg Jets

Montreal Canadiens/Winnipeg Jets centre Sean Monahan has been much better this season than initially predicted. After being traded from Calgary to Montreal for the 2022-23 season, Monahan re-signed to a one-year contract before being sent to the Jets in early February in exchange for a first-round pick that Andy and Rono (see below) thought he would not receive. Monahan missed 22-23 games due to injury but played well in the 2023-24 season. As a result of the trade, Monahan played in 83 games, scoring 35 points in 49 games with Montreal and then 24 points in 34 games with Winnipeg. For a guy making $2 million a season after bonuses, a total of 59 points for the entire season is certainly not a bad performance.

While Monaghan’s attacking and scrimmage skills are excellent, his defense is… well, how can I put it…Best to doubt? After a disappointing season last season, the Devils certainly need their midfield six to perform well, but they also need to focus on moving the ball away from the goal and bringing in players who can help stop the ball. Monahan would be a nice addition, and like Enrique, he could help solve some of the Devils’ issues down the middle. But unlike Enrique, Monahan won’t help ease the burden on the defense or a strong defensive forward like Nico Hischier. If the Devils plan to bolster their forwards with Monahan and one or two strong defensive forwards, then bringing him in makes sense; otherwise, other options should probably be explored first.

Of all the players profiled today, this contract is the one that AFP has me a little concerned about, as I think Monahan will be paid much more than the 3-year, $2.87 million contract they are projecting. I can see the length of the contract being correct, but some teams will pay Monahan more than the projections. Like I said before, Monahan seems to be averse to defense, and the Devils need to do a better job of keeping the ball out of their own net. While there are benefits to bringing in a player like Monahan, he might be better suited as a Plan C for New Jersey.

Source: Hockey-Reference

Anthony Duclair – LW/RW – Tampa Bay Lightning

Last but not least is Anthony Duclair, who has 10 seasons of experience and is a bit of a wanderer. Known as “Duke,” he is one of the better middle/lower-six scoring guys who can be had for a reasonable price and is worth adding if the Devils want to turn their attention to that this summer. In 73 games this season between San Jose and Tampa, Duclair has 24 goals and 42 points; not bad for a player who played for one of the toughest teams and then had to adjust to a new team.

Duclair Ice rates are hard to readas he was pretty bad in San Jose but improved greatly after being traded. To me, that shows that he’s not a great offensive player, but he performs well when he has stronger teammates and can play in a smaller role. In Tampa, he doesn’t have to carry as much of a load, and that seems to have led to better results. While the Devils haven’t had the success of Tampa, they’ve also been better than San Jose and may be more like the former than the latter.

Our final AFP prediction for today is for Duclair to get a three-year contract worth about $3.3 million in the future. Similar to my comparison with Monahan/Henrique, I think I prefer Foegele over Duclair because from my perspective, Foegele will do more outside of the puck than Duclair. I won’t be unhappy with either signing, but with two players of roughly the same production and price, I’ll go with the one who can help the team, even if the points are against them.

Source: Hockey-Reference

Final thoughts and your take

As we said before, the playoffs aren’t over yet, and every player we mentioned in our four articles could theoretically sign with another team once free agency opens. There are no guarantees in unrestricted free agency, and the Devils could be left with options we haven’t considered, like Tyler Motte or Pat Malone. However, the Devils need to be aggressive, and they need to make some moves to bring in some players to make their top-six team both more efficient and more difficult to play against. Free agency will open soon, and we’ll see which signings pan out.

What do you think of today’s player profiles? Do you want any of them to suit up in a Devils jersey next season? As asked before, which players are you specifically trying to avoid? Now that we’ve gone through four profiles, which players’ names are you most looking to include in either the first or this one? Please leave any comments below, and as always, thank you for reading!