The New Jersey Devils have a very solid-looking top-four defensive group heading into the 2023-24 season. Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, John Marino, and Luke Hughes round out the core. However, the Devils signed and traded their longest-tenured player. Damon Severson is now on the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also look likely to be losing defenseman Ryan Graves to unrestricted free agency. And after a breakout season, 22-year-old Kevin Bahl is the favourite to be the third defence on the left side.
New Jersey Devils Defence Options
General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is tasked with filling the hole Severson leaves behind on the right side. The New Jersey Devils defence options are in plenty. Let’s take a look at some of his options, two of which are in-house, and three from free agency.
Simon Nemec
Here is the New Jersey Devils first defence option. The 2nd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Nemec spent this past year in Utica. In his first pro season in North America, Nemec scored 34 points in 65 games. He was named to the inaugural AHL Top Prospects Team. The scouting report from Nemec’s season was one of an upward trajectory. He continually improved as the season wore o.
It’s not just Nemec’s draft positioning that has him in the position to make the NHL roster. He has a solid six-foot 190-pound frame. In addition, he can skate and move the puck. He is creative with the puck on his stick and can move it in transition. His offensive ceiling is not as high as fellow young Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, but Nemec shows his ability to create offence from the backend.
The big question with Nemec that Fitzgerald and the coaching staff will need to answer is whether or not they feel comfortable having two rookies (him and Hughes), and a second-year defenseman (Bahl), eating big minutes for them. Nemec will be given every opportunity to earn that spot, and early on has the inside track to win it.
Reilly Walsh
The next New Jersey Devils defence option is also within. Since turning pro after three years at Harvard, Walsh has cemented himself as an undersized puck-moving offensive-defenseman. Over the past two seasons in Utica, Walsh has put up 43 and 41 points and got his first taste of NHL action against the Ottawa Senators towards the end of the 2022 season.
Walsh has an outside shot of making the team out of training camp, but if Nemec struggles and Brendan Smith continues to look uninspiring, there is an avenue to be a part of the big club on opening night. A more realistic goal for Walsh is to fight his way to being the 7th defenseman or the first call-up should there be an injury.
Other than Simon Nemec and the prospect of outside additions, what works against Walsh is his average-at-best defensive skills. He is known much more for his skating and shooting than his shutdown defensive prowess. It’s a long shot, but a strong training camp and preseason could see him being a surprise to make the team.
Carson Soucy
While not a right-shot defenseman, Soucy has played both on the right and left giving him great versatility. He was claimed by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft and has been a steady presence for them the past two seasons. In his first year with Seattle, he put up a career-high 10 goals and 21 points. This past season he scored 16 points and was a +18, the second-highest +/- rating of his career.
On the Devils, Soucy would bring a strong defensive acumen to any partnership. He could play a more stay-at-home style if paired with Dougie Hamilton or Luke Hughes. That would allow the team to play their strengths, using their defenseman in transition, with Soucy staying back behind the play. If paired with John Marino, the two of them could be the Devil’s shut-down unit similar to what Ryan Graves did in that partnership last season. While Soucy may not be as good as Graves, he would be a very suitable replacement should Graves walk in Free Agency.
The very first @SeattleKraken shorty courtesy of Carson Soucy (@DrSouce71). pic.twitter.com/xvTNmaL5Ug
— NHL (@NHL) November 30, 2021
A sticking point for many of these free-agent options is the price. The Devils are going to be paying big money to RFA’s Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier, so finding cheaper alternatives for depth roles is imperative. Soucy is coming off of a contract that saw him earn $2.75 million AAV, a number that shouldn’t change much even in the open market. According to Frank Seravalli’s Free Agency contract projector, Soucy is projected to sign for 3 x $2.5 million.
Justin Holl
Holl is another free-agent defenseman that fits what the Devils are looking for. Someone that can play with Luke Hughes and allow him to be free and use creativity while staying back and defending. Bringing in Holl would give the Devils another big-bodied defensive-first option who can play the PK. Outside of the 2019-20 season, when he only played in 11 games, Holl has been a + player during his tenure with Toronto.
What Holl isn’t is an offensive threat from the blue line. Last season he scored 18 points in 80 games after coming off a career-high 23 points in the 2021-22 season. Holl would come in and play a solid defensive role whether that be as Hughes’s running mate, or forming a lockdown pairing with either Siegenthaler or Bahl. What Holl also does is fit the profile for players Fitzgerald likes to add; size and playoff experience.
Toronto most likely won’t have the money to resign him, giving the Devils a free run at him in free agency. Seravelli is projecting him to sign a 3 x $3 million contract. It’s a little rich of a deal to be giving a defenseman who Nemec might replace in a year, but it’s not something that will kill them or be unmovable if needed.
Connor Clifton
The final New Jersey Devils defence option is intriguing. Clifton has been rumoured to be on the way out of Boston for some time now. With their cap crunch coming he is as close to a sure the thing to hit the open market. Boston has seven defensemen under contract for next season and still has key free agents to sign, leaving Clifton one of the odd men out. He is a popular candidate for teams looking for cheaper right-handed options on the backend.
The Long Branch, New Jersey native has spent his entire five-year career with the Bruins and is coming off of a career-high 23 points and +20 in 78 games. However, he only played three playoff games, showing signs that he was already on his way out in Boston. Clifton would come in and be a solid third-pair replacement for Severson or Graves and offers the team a solid and responsible defensive game. He showed this season that he has a slight offensive touch, and the hope would be that he can, at minimum, maintain that scoring.
Connor Clifton lowers the boom on Nick Cousins: pic.twitter.com/qsGa1D33Lv
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) April 18, 2023
Clifton is projecting to sign a 2 x $1.75 million deal in free agency. This would be a savvy and cheap addition to New Jersey. It would also allow Clifton to play on the right side this year, giving Nemec another season to develop. His low cap hit allows him to slide into a 7th defenseman role the following season.
Main Photo: Daniel DeLoach / The Observer-Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
