Devils' Free Agent Target Profile: Pius Suter
The New Jersey Devils would be wise to target Pius Suter on July 1.
As much as I’m still disappointed about the Devils’ postseason departure, I really am quite excited to dive into the off-season content I’ve been looking forward to for a while. I’ve already begun on my draft target series, in which I will be going into obscene depth about the players I think the Devils should have on their radar in *every* round of the draft, and now it’s time to rotate in some free-agency content. From now until early July, I’m going to be hard at work providing as much content as I can throw at you in every way imaginable.
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Yesterday, I wrote about how the Devils, who are in desperate need of center depth, should target Claude Giroux in free agency, even despite his current nature as just a winger who takes faceoffs — when needed, he slotted down the middle in Ottawa.
Today, though, I’d like to hone in on a pure 3C, though he is one who was playing top-six minutes when called upon to step in for injured players: Pius Suter.
Suter, who will be 29 years old next season, has quietly been one of the best third-line centers in the NHL since he entered the league five years ago. The former NL star had scored either 14 or 15 goals in each of his first four years before exploding for 25 in 2024-25. He also blasted through his career-high in points, which was previously 36 until he surpassed it with 46 this season.
Suter is certainly more known for his defensive play, but that isn’t a knock on his offensive ability — it’s more so flattery for a player whose underrated nature doesn’t capture how good he is on both sides of the puck.
Evolving Hockey’s contract projection model has Suter’s next deal coming in at four years for $4.65 million. That may sound a bit rich, but for a player with this much of a proven, consistent track record of solid two-way play, it certainly seems fair to me. Plus, he’s Swiss, and who wouldn’t want the Devils to add to the collection that already includes Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jonas Siegenthaler?
Perhaps the Devils can offer him a two or three-year deal, though I’m sure he wants to capitalize on the best single-season output of his career.
Offensive Play
Suter’s game, offensively, is built on his IQ and positioning. As a weak skater, he’s inherently more reliant on smarts than his technical abilities, and he leans into that with great success. He excels at four things in particular: 1) getting into open space through coverage, 2) jamming home rebounds and establishing himself as a netfront presence despite whatever coverage is nearby, 3) one-timing it from close proximity to the net, and 4) using that solid positioning to get the puck back to the point from the netfront, generating sustained pressure in a cycle-offense setting.
Points 1, 2, and 4 are testaments to his offensive hockey sense, which comes in handy in identifying gaps in coverage while simultaneously letting his teammates know that he is open for business.
Points 2, 3, and 4, meanwhile, are testaments to his physical strength. For a 5’11, 180-pound player, Suter possesses an obscene amount of strength, scarcely getting bullied off the puck. He’s a tank despite his stature.
One knock on his game is that he isn’t a particularly strong passer, though the netfront chaos he creates inherently leads to chances for his teammates as well, assuming they jump in to help out amidst the disarray. His smarts are obvious, and he can find open teammates relatively easily, but I scarcely see a pretty, tape-to-tape pass come off of Suter’s stick.
Suter isn’t the greatest at zone entries, which may be a bit of an issue while on the third line. I’m under the assumption, though, that Arseniy Gritsyuk will be a member of the Devils’ third line next season, and as I noted in my scouting report of him, he has enough juice to playdrive in a third-line role. Suter’s lack of aptitude through the neutral zone is largely due to his poor foot speed — he is, outright, one of the slowest skaters in the NHL. He only logged 10 speed bursts of 20+ mph, compared to the league average of 76.5, and his top speed of 21.07 mph is well below the average of 22.18.
Suter’s rush game is also relatively weak, naturally by virtue of that subpar skating ability. For what the Devils’ system brings to the table, though, I don’t think this is as much of an issue as it could be — he would certainly be less of a fit in Lindy Ruff’s rush-oriented system than Sheldon Keefe’s, which prioritizes cyclical play in the bottom six.
Even with the Devils’ need for speed, Suter would be a worthwhile addition. His smarts make up for his lack of transitional abilities, especially if Gritsyuk is able to handle the workload there.
Defensive Play
As I noted in the introduction, Suter is more well-known for his defensive impact than his offensive output, though there is some turmoil on that front after his 25-goal campaign.
Still, the point stands that from an underlying standpoint, he is more effective in his own zone (again, not a knock on his offensive game so much as flattery to his two-way play). This, too, boils down to his confidence, consistency, and aptitude in positioning.
Suter is, in the defensive zone, one of the smartest players in the league. He never gets caught out of position and always pushes play to the perimeter and away from the slot. Once he gets in close proximity to his man nearby to the boards, he presses them along the wall and oftentimes, forces a turnover. Suter touches the puck often in the D-zone, usually getting the puck back for his team.
The immediate time after puck retrieval is a bit of a knock on Suter’s game, as his lack of footspeed can, at times, lead him to promptly turn the puck back over by virtue of his inability to create immediate separation. It’s workable, though, especially in a Devils defensive scheme that prioritizes “fighting the panic” and sending the puck backwards to safety before breaking out. It’s something that Keefe has apparently been preaching since he became a hockey coach in the minor leagues, and certainly something he applies to the Devils at the NHL level. With Suter, it could be a great fit and largely neutralize that detractor from his game.
It’s also important to note that Suter is an extremely capable penalty killer. He uses his smarts to position himself well when a man down and is confident and poised in his clears. If the Devils are, as they should be, looking to offload Erik Haula from the team, acquiring another solid penalty killer should be on the list of things to address this off-season. Suter certainly checks that box.
While Giroux would still be my #1 target in terms of center options in free agency, especially considering the low-risk nature of his contract, Suter would certainly be a good consolation prize. He’s an excellent two-way forward who has proven to contribute consistent offensive production in a third-line role, and far outproduced what was expected of him when stepping into an increased role in 2024-25. Getting a guy like that, who is still on the right side of 30 years old, would be awesome, even if his low-tier skating ability doesn't fit what I believe to be a paramount need for the team.