Today is a new season, but will the Devils make enough moves to have a fresh start?
The Time: Free agency officially begins at noon ET. Most television coverage will begin around 11:00 AM, and news should be trickling in any moment, whether they be re-signings or indications that a player is going to market.
The Preview: I previewed free agency yesterday.
The Cap: Puckpedia currently lists the New Jersey Devils as having $14,394,167 in cap space with 10 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies under contract at the NHL level. Luke Hughes and Cody Glass will eat much of the rest, and there should be shuffling, like moving Seamus Casey down for Arseni Gritsyuk and Lenni Hameenaho. So, if you want to be predictive, call it $13,469,167 in cap space.
Notable Roster Notes: Dougie Hamilton and Ondrej Palat no longer have full no-trade clauses. They now submit a list of 10 teams they will accept a trade to.
Additionally, signing bonuses are being paid today. Dougie Hamilton receives $10.55 million, leaving just $1 million in base salary for the season. Also amongst the defense, Brett Pesce gets $4 million from his contract, Johnny Kovacevic banks $3 million, and Brenden Dillion earns $1 million. On the forward side, Timo Meier earns $4.4 million, Jesper Bratt gets $2 million, Ondrej Palat gets $1 million.
Notable New Jersey Moves Since that Preview: Thankfully, the Devils did not wait until right after I posted yesterday to do a bunch of things. RFA qualifications are listed in the preview, and the only thing I was too early to include was the Marc McLaughlin re-signing on a two-way deal, paying him a $350,000 minor league salary. Expect McLaughlin to be the emergency forward who starts the season in Utica. Otherwise, while not yet a roster move, Jake Allen has been talking more with the Devils about re-signing. We will see.
Additionally, James included the Development Camp roster in his latest prospect update. The Devils waited until the buzzer to release it, though, posting it just minutes before the camp started. We will see if the team releases any actual on-ice footage from the camp this year — I do not think we will get much.
The Song of the Day: John already used “Paid in Full” by Erik B. & Rakim last year, so I will have to go to another classic in “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits. Did you see the contracts defensemen were getting yesterday?
The Purpose of this Open Post: Please talk about free agency and trades, whether rumored or complete, in the comments today. Cite your sources. Comment what you want to see from the team, and if you think the Devils are doing a good job.
The Plan: We will be covering the signings today as quickly as we can when they happen, as well as any trades. If AHL players are signed to two-way deals today (they usually sign a bit later in July), they will be grouped in the same article.
The Rules: As always, please be respectful and clean in your comments.
Have fun!