Late on Monday, Devils beat reporter James Nichols reported that the Devils were closing in on a deal for restricted free agent Arseny Gritsyuk.
It would appear that those reports were indeed accurate.
Hours after the Devils announced they had traded Jacob Markstrom to Florida, the Devils announced that Gritsyuk would indeed be back in Jersey in the cutest way possible. The Devils would be retaining the services of Gritsyuk for another three seasons at a relatively modest cap hit of $3.25M AAV. This
deal will cover his final two years of restricted free agency, as well as buy out a year of unrestricted free agency, keeping him under team control through the 2028-29 season.
When I previewed Gritsyuk’s upcoming free agency, I predicted that he would sign for two years and $3.5M AAV. Needless to say, I’m pleased to see that not only did Mehta convince him to sign for a third year, they did so at a slightly lower AAV than even I projected. All in all, its a tidy piece of business for Mehta as he continues to reshape this roster.
I would expect this deal to age extremely well for the Devils. Gritsyuk has shown he is more than capable of playing in a Top Six role as he plays a responsible two-way game and possesses a heavy, lethal shot. I was certainly surprised by his high hockey IQ this past season watching him up close, and he gradually earned more ice time as he earned the trust of Sheldon Keefe and the coaching staff. While he only posted 13 goals and 18 assists over 66 games, there’s reason to believe as he becomes more comfortable and acclimated with the North American game, he can exceed those numbers. I don’t know what his ceiling will ultimately be as a scoring winger, but part of me wants to staple him next to Jack Hughes on a line and watch the two of them cook this season.
Perhaps more importantly, now that Gritsyuk’s deal is done, Sunny Mehta can now shift his focus to the trade market, unrestricted free agency, and the Nico Hischier extension that may or may not become officially official tomorrow. The Devils have $9.727M in available cap space to play with, but with 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and Jake Allen under contract, they don’t really need to look to UFA to fill any holes other than maybe bringing in another goaltender. They could potentially be players for another scoring winger on the open market, such as Victor Arvidsson, Mason Marchment, or Vladimir Tarasenko. Or they could take their newfound draft capital and cap space and try to go big game hunting with Jason Robertson, Dylan Larkin, and Zach Werenski on the trading block. Either way, getting Gritsyuk signed at a relatively team-friendly number gives the Devils more flexibility to pivot and go in any direction they so choose.
I’m pleased to see Gritsyuk back in New Jersey at this price. What do you think of this deal? Please feel free to leave a comment below and thanks for reading.
