3 Cap-Strapped Teams the Devils Can Take Advantage Of
The Devils could think outside the box in terms of acquisitions this off-season.
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The New Jersey Devils are going to be shaking things up from a roster perspective this off-season; that much is certain.
One way they could approach it — and perhaps should approach it — is to aggressively target cap-strapped teams in the offer-sheet, trade, and free-agent markets. There are several teams with impending cap crunches ahead of the 2025-26 season, and the Devils would be wise to pounce on those opportunities.
Of course, the Devils are in the same boat themselves, with not enough cap space to get done what they want to, but there is a clear path forward there, as I wrote about yesterday.
Without further ado, let’s get into a few teams the Devils can take advantage of:
1. Buffalo Sabres
It might not seem as though the Buffalo Sabres are in trouble this off-season from a cap perspective, but the truth is that they really are. They have a projected $21.4 million in cap space with 18 contracts already signed through next season, so the grass may seem pretty green, but the contracts they do need to sign are going to be pricey and will likely result in some not-so-great outcomes for the Sabres.
They have six pending RFAs, four of which I would consider must-signs. The two players they can likely go without offering a deal to are Jason Bernard-Docker and Tyson Kozak, two players playing down in the lineup, though Bernard-Docker was a part of the deal that sent Dylan Cozens to Ottawa, so I do wonder if they try to keep him as a part of the team. The other four players? Ryan McLeod, JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Bowen Byram.
Whoo boy.
For their contract projections, I’m going to use two different projection models: Evolving Hockey and AFP Analytics.
Byram, as per EH, is looking at an eight-year, $7.99 million deal. AFP has him getting a five-year contract worth $7.17 million.
For McLeod, EH has him at four years with a cap hit of $5.53 million. AFP projects that he will get three years at a $4.84 million AAV.
EH believes that Peterka will be handed a contract with a length of two years and an AAV of $5.05 million, whereas AFP has him at seven years and $7.80 million.
Finally, there is Quinn, who EH has getting a two-year deal worth $3.31 million and AFP has getting a one-year deal worth $1.59 million.
There is certainly a good amount of disparity between the models, but in summary, EH believes that between just those four players, the Sabres will be spending $21.88 million, and AFP believes that they will cost $21.4 million altogether.
Pair in the potential for Bernard-Docker and/or Kozak getting deals, too, and it’s not looking so great for Buffalo.
JJ Peterka
My #1 offer sheet target for this off-season is Buffalo’s JJ Peterka, a 23-year-old dual-threat scorer who really broke out with 27 goals and 68 total points in 77 games this past campaign. It’s his second-straight, 25+ goal season.
The German-born winger would be an excellent candidate to play alongside the Devils’ two most talented players in Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, something New Jersey needs to address if they want to truly make an impact in the playoffs next season. Peterka is an excellent skater, shoots often and with intent, is an excellent playmaker, and generally plays better when alongside transition gods. What a perfect match for the Devils.
New Jersey would, of course, need to clear some cap space themselves to make this work, but I wouldn’t hesitate to offer Peterka a contract with an AAV of around $7.5-8 million. In that range, the Devils would be required to send Buffalo each of their 2026 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-round selections as offer sheet compensation, but the contract and compensation going back are more than fair for someone on the cusp of being a point-per-game star. Rumor has it that the Sabres were trying to move off of him last season at a couple of points, so it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest for him to get offer-sheeted. The Devils should be that team.
Jack Quinn
The easier offer sheet target would be Jack Quinn, a promising 23-year-old with high upside who has dealt with a couple of injury setbacks. The 8th overall selection from the 2020 NHL Draft was injured for most of the 2023-24 season, which probably stymied his development a bit, but he did log a career-high of 15 goals and 39 points this past slate while playing in a middle-six role.
Quinn isn’t a superb skater, being about league average in top speed and acceleration, but is an excellent facilitator of play and obviously has a ton of room to grow. There’s a reason why he was so highly regarded for so long. At one point, he was regarded as the best forward prospect in the league after he logged 61 AHL points in 45 games as a 20-year-old.
If the Devils were to offer Quinn a contract worth $4,680,076, the compensation would be just a second-round pick. The Sabres would likely be priced out at that point, and the player is well worth the compensation. It’s the off-season of offer sheets, after all!
Jason Zucker
Perhaps the Sabres try to re-sign all of their young guys, which is probably the smartest move they can make. In that case, they’re going to need to move off some players who are already signed. Jason Zucker would be a pretty solid get for the Devils if that were the outcome.
The 5’11, 195-pound power winger scored 21 goals and 53 total points for the Sabres last season, and has scored as many as 33 and 64, respectively, in a season. He’s dealt with some injury woes in recent history, but he largely doesn’t miss much time. Zucker is a shooter, having mostly outproduced his individual expected goals (ixG) throughout his long career, and is an underrated playmaker as well.
The Devils can use Zucker as a cap casualty and add him to the team’s middle six. With a $4.75 million AAV cap hit for the next two seasons, I would certainly have interest.
Alex Tuch
Another cap dump candidate who has legitimate value and could be had for cheap if the Sabres decide to extend all their RFAs is Alex Tuch.
The 6’4 power winger is still on the right side of 30 years old and has been one of the Sabres’ most productive players since he was acquired in the trade that sent Jack Eichel to Vegas. He’s scored at least 22 goals and 59 points in each of the last three seasons, including two 36-goal campaigns and a season in which he played at an above-point-per-game pace (79 points in 74 games in 2022-23). At $4.75 million, I’m not sure there’s a better bang-for-your-buck player who could be had.
Tuch is an all-situations player for the Sabres and one of the fastest and most explosive skaters in the league despite his size. He has no true weaknesses in his offensive game and is a solid enough two-way player to warrant putting him in defensive situations. He would unequivocally be the best player to try and pry from the cap-strapped Sabres if they choose to extend all of their young expiring RFAs.
Depth Pieces
Perhaps the Sabres are keen on moving off of a couple of depth guys to get everyone on their RFA list signed. In that case, there are still a couple of players the Devils could nab who would be interesting additions.
Take Beck Malenstyn, for example. The 27-year-old dual-winger is masterful defensively, always putting himself in great position and keeping opposing puck carriers to the perimeter parts of the ice. The offensive upside is limited, in truth, with him having garnered a total of 10 points (4G, 6A) in 76 games with the Sabres this past season, but he did score 21 points with the Capitals in 2023-24. On top of that, Malenstyn is one of the better skaters in the league, ranking in the 76th percentile for both top speed and speed bursts of 20+ mph. The latter half of that is particularly impressive, considering he played just over 10 minutes a night. Think of him as a sort of incredibly fast Nate Bastian. Perhaps, if the Sabres are looking to clear some space, Malenstyn can be had as a pure cap dump. Sign me up for that.
Peyton Krebs presents as another intriguing potential cap casualty from the Sabres, though I think he’s probably harder to pry away from his team. The 24-year-old career bottom-sixer had a bit of a breakout 2024-25 campaign, with 10 goals and 28 total points while playing center on the Sabres’ bottom two lines. Despite his young nature, he may be the odd man out if Buffalo can’t find anyone else to dump. For the Devils, a speedy, young bottom-six center with some (limited) offensive upside would be a slam-dunk get.
2. Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are the only obvious entry on this list, with the least projected cap space in the league next season (just south of $6 million) by virtue of Mikko Rantanen’s $12 million AAV contract and Wyatt Johnston’s $8.4 million AAV extension. They have just 15 contracts on the books with that cap space, so there are certainly going to be some casualties.
Matt Duchene
I wrote on Matt Duchene recently, and the expiring UFA might have some trouble returning to the Stars, considering his projected contract — EH has him getting a two-year deal worth $5.9 million while AFP projects him as getting a three-year deal worth $7.17 million. Dallas, barring a cap dump (which we’ll get into shortly), probably isn’t able to bring him back next season and beyond. The 34-year-old, positionally versatile forward has no weaknesses in his game from an offensive standpoint and still most certainly has his legs — he ranked in the 87th percentile in 20+ mph bursts.
If the Devils can get him at a price point closer to the EH projection, there’s a match made in heaven there (should Duchene have mutual interest), unless he magically takes a near-league-minimum deal to stay with the Stars. For a player who has scored 289 points in 311 games in the last four seasons, though, that’s far-fetched to say the least.
Mason Marchment
If the Stars really want to bring Duchene back, which they probably should, the odd man out then becomes Mason Marchment. The hulking (6’5, 212-pound) 29-year-old power-winger has logged back-to-back 22-goal campaigns in Dallas, generating a total of 100 points in his last two years there. At $4.5 million, I would be on board.
We all know that GM Tom Fitzgerald is in love with height and size, and I’m sure there’s the idea that he wants to add some more of that to a Devils’ lineup where the star players are considered by many as “soft.” Marchment, though not overly physical, uses his frame to his advantage and is unshy of the dirty areas of the ice. Pairing that with his obvious offensive skill, and there’s a recipe for success. If he’s the casualty that the Stars have to send away in order to fit Duchene into their plans, the Devils should pounce.
3. Seattle Kraken
Similarly to the Sabres, the Seattle Kraken appear to be in alright standing from a cap compliance perspective, with $21.75 million to play with for next season. The thing is, they have just 14 roster spots filled out and some glaring needs. For one, they have no true impact forward. If they were to pursue, say, Mitch Marner or Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency, which would be smart, they’re going to need to clear some cap.
Even without the pursuit of an upper-echelon player, the finances are tight. Most teams look to fill out their complete 23-man roster with players, so $21.75 million with nine roster spots to fill means that they’re likely shopping at the bottom of the barrel, which I’m sure they’re not keen on doing. Because of that, they may be forced to move a couple of guys for cheap.
Jared McCann
The prime target, to me, is Jared McCann. McCann, 28, has been one of the biggest talking points in terms of trade acquisitions that make sense for the Devils, and that narrative should continue into the off-season.
The one-time 40-goal scorer has potted at least 22 goals in each of the last four seasons and no fewer than 50 points in that time. He’s settled into more of a playmaking role with the Kraken in the last couple of seasons, but that, to me, is likely a product of them not really having an elite facilitator in their lineup. Pair him with, say, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, and I think he’s unquestionably more of the 40-30-70 player from 2022-23 instead of the 22-39-61 player we saw this past season.
Of course, then, my opinion is that his shot is his best asset, though he is obviously still a threat in playmaking. His skating is strong, his defensive game is strong, and he’s underrated on the forecheck. The only “below-average” part of McCann’s game is his transitional work, but that wouldn’t matter at all if he were a part of the Devils’ top-six. There’s perhaps no better fit for what the team needs.
McCann owns three of the Kraken’s top four seasons in terms of expected goals above replacement (xGAR), an all-encompassing statistic that measures the quality of play on both ends of the ice, including his ridiculously impressive 2022-23 season in which he was fifth in the NHL in the metric, behind only Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, and Brayden Point. Pretty good company to be in, I’d say.
McCann is signed at $5 million for each of the next two seasons, a small price to pay for the quality of player there. I’m sure the Kraken would prefer to keep him, but he was allegedly on the block in 2024-25, and he could be a prime trade candidate this off-season as a result. For the Kraken, a cap-strapped team, they may have no choice.
Eeli Tolvanen
One of the more underrated players on the Kraken is 26-year-old Eeli Tolvanen. Since he was perplexingly put on waivers by the Nashville Predators, who thought highly enough of him to draft him 30th overall, he has put together seasons of 16, 16, and now 23 goals, and has floated near the half-point-per-game mark with Seattle while operating in a mostly third-line role.
The Devils, meanwhile, need players like him. Tolvanen is one of the more efficient goal scorers in the NHL, can drive play on his own in that third-line role, and has always been defensively sound.
I’ll be the first to admit that he isn’t a great skater — far below average in acceleration and top speed — but the combination of his deadly shot and defensive IQ makes up for that in my opinion. To acquire a player of his skillset with a cap hit of just $3.475 million would be a boon, and I think he could be on his way out of the Kraken because of their cap crunch.
Kaapo Kakko
How much fun would this one be?
Kaapo Kakko, the second-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft behind Devils’ franchise superstar Jack Hughes, is an expiring RFA on July 1. With Seattle having its own cap struggles, perhaps Kakko could be had with an offer sheet.
There’s no denying New York wasn’t the right spot for the 24-year-old power winger, and he stepped up his game big time when he was traded to Seattle, putting up 10 goals and 30 points in 49 games while averaging four more minutes per game than he did with the Rangers. Shocker — playing your young players is good for their development.
The stockily-built (6’1, 215) youngster has always been strong defensively, but took the leap offensively in the back-half of the 2024-25 season, giving way to a hope of legitimate upside with more opportunity and time. Of course, I don’t think he’s going to turn into a point-per-game kind of guy, but 25-35-60 isn’t out of the realm of possibility, especially when taking into account that his 82-game pace with Seattle was 16-33-49 and he clearly has more room to grow with confidence.
If I were the Devils, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer-sheet him with a contract worth around $5-5.5 million. The compensation, draft pick-wise, is a 2026 1st and 2026 3rd, which I think would be worthwhile. If the offer sheet were worth up to $4,680,076, the compensation would be just a second-rounder, but I feel as though Seattle matches that without question. In my opinion, it’s a worthwhile gamble for the Devils. Plus, wouldn’t that be a fun narrative?
Mikey Eyssimont
I recently wrote about Mikey Eyssimont as a potential free-agent target for the Devils, and Seattle’s impending cap crunch only lends more merit to that thought process, in my opinion.
The 28-year-old bottom-sixer is outright one of the hardest-working players in the entire NHL, outgrinding his opponents along the boards in order to recover pucks that were dumped into the offensive zone. On top of that, his defensive profile is pristine, with excellent positioning and a use for that hardworking nature in his own zone, hounding puck carriers until they submit to a turnover. Eyssimont’s skating is strong, with explosion that would certainly come in handy, and I have reason to believe there is more in the offensive tank than the career-high of 25 points would lead you to believe. Seattle might be priced out of guys like him, even if he only gets $1.5 million.
There you have it — three cap-strapped teams that the Devils can exploit. There are plenty of other examples of teams like this: the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Colorado Avalanche, and so on can all be picked apart by virtue of their salary cap outlooks. The Devils, meanwhile, have work to do on their own salary cap front. In order to make any of these smart moves, they’d need to shed some space of their own. I’m sure there will be a ton of turmoil throughout the Devils’ lineup in the name of getting rid of some cap space, and I hope it’s met with an equally tenacious pursuit of cap-leveraged teams’ assets.
KAAPO KAKKO NEW JERSEY DEVIL MAKE IT HAPPEN
Wow. You put a ton of work into this one, so thank you. I hope Fitz reads your stack, because a few of these guys sound exciting.