Although I have been a combination of too busy and lazy to put up blogs as the Devils were making move after move in the last few days, part of me also figured because the moves were coming fast and furious I’d wait until the dust settled (maybe) before commenting on it all. With the news that the Devils and Timo Meier have finally put pen to paper on an extension, now’s probably as good a time as any for an offseason overview and recap of what’s gone on so far. Yes, we’re still in late June without even a draft pick having been made yet – and the Devils won’t have a pick until late in the second round at that. However, it’s hard to imagine that Tom Fitzgerald hasn’t already done the brunt of the work this offseason already…and a lot of important work at that.

Let’s start with the breaking news of Timo’s new deal. Ever since Fitz’s public comments (in the wake of Jesper Bratt’s own eight-year extension) revealing Timo wanted to sign for the max term of eight years here, it seemed as if it was only a matter of when and how it got done at that point. Of course with tonight being the start of the NHL Draft, it provided an unofficial deadline for both sides to get it done since if things did go sideways, any potential trade would be harder to work out after the draft than before it. Fitz admitted that his offhand comment about possibly getting a first-round pick this offseason was essentially a fallback if an extension couldn’t be worked out with Bratt.

Fortunately, both major RFA extensions got done before we had to contemplate going to DEFCON 1. Like with Bratt’s deal, Timo’s is slightly front-loaded but the more important numbers for Fitz and the fans are the eight years and $8.8 million cap figure:

Suddenly, the Devils are at just over $10 million of cap space with a handful of RFA salaries still to be determined, and likely entry-level contracts filling out the rest of the roster. With the obvious benefit being that our entire core is now locked up for years to come. Bratt and Timo are now signed through the end of the 2031 season, while franchise center Jack Hughes is also signed into the next decade. Our two top defensemen in John Marino and Dougie Hamilton are signed for another four and five years, respectively. Captain Nico Hischier also has another four years to go on his contract, not to mention the youngers that are coming on defense (Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec) who both have years of control before they even get to UFA.

Of course, Fitz wasn’t going to just do the Bratt and Timo extensions then call it a day and sit on his hands the rest of the offeason. He’s had a pro-active last few weeks starting with getting a third-round pick for the rights to UFA Damon Severson from Columbus, then flipping that pick to Calgary (ironically, it was the Flames’ own 3rd rounder to begin with) along with RFA Yegor Sharangovich for proven top six winger Tyler Toffoli. This is just another example of how Fitz can max out value like few GM’s in this league.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Yegor and thought he got a bit shafted this year, but clearly with him being a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs and marginalized when he was in the lineup, a change of scenery would probably do him good as well. He got a nice two-year extension with the Flames today, so clearly he’s going to get more of a chance to stick there.

You can’t really argue against getting Toffoli though – even if he is 31 and currently on an expiring contract. He’s been a consistent 20-30 goal scorer throughout his career and hit personal bests in all categories this year with 34 goals and 73 points in 82 games. At times last year it seemed as if we were missing one top six scoring winger, Toffoli certainly provides that. Of course, Toffoli is also no stranger to deep playoff runs, having won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014 and he went back to the Finals in the post-bubble season of 2021 with the Habs. By all accounts Toffoli is another leader-type in the locker room, and you can’t have too many of those guys around with a younger core.

If Toffoli was the most surprising move of the offseason to date, re-signing Erik Haula to a three-year deal was the least surprising one. Especially after Haula was openly campaigning for an extension during his end-of-season presser. At least he got fair value with a 3 year, $9.4 million deal, and can now put down roots in the Garden State after previously playing for five teams in six years (including us last season). Haula was a rental trade who wound up staying longer-term in the end…food for thought when it comes to Toffoli.

Is there anything else…oh yeah, Mackenzie Blackwood’s time came to an end here when he was shipped off to the Sharks for a 6th round pick. Honestly I’m amazed Fitz got anything at all for him, especially since he was a likely non-tender candidate. It seemed like a divorce was long overdue for both sides in this case due to injuries, on-ice disappointments and off-ice differences. Hope for his sake he takes advantage of his second chance, but clearly with Akira Schmid stepping up in the playoffs and Vitek Vanecek being a key contributor in our regular season success, this team should be set in goal for a while – with or without Connor Hellebuyck (still rumored to be on the move).

Making a splash move for Hellebuyck seems even more unlikely now but who knows, it’s almost certain we’d have to include Vitek in any hypothetical trade to even entertain the notion with our now-disappearing cap space. Not that I’m complaining, in fact if the last few seasons have proven anything it’s that with skill increasing around the league, goaltending has become more marginalized like running back in the NFL. Sure there are still a few outliers, but even they don’t guarantee team success.

Ironic that the Devils had the busiest pre-free agency week imaginable right around when the schedule dropped a couple days ago. I haven’t even looked at it much other than seeing we have Detroit as our home and season opener on October 13, with Arizona coming in the next night as we begin with a back-to-back at the Rock. I can’t really remember a season that had more buzz though, and justifiably so. Maybe 1994-95 would have been that if it wasn’t for the first big NHL lockout. How much anticipation can you really have after seasons you already won the Cup? And post-2012’s playoff run we know what happened there between another lockout and Zach Parise’s defection to the great lakes of Minnesota.

I think that’s everything…whoosh. Take a bow Fitzy, you deserve it. Everything that we needed to do this offseason has already been finished and then some…and I know he’s certainly not going to rest on his laurels either. Who knows what else we’ll be commenting on in the next few weeks and months? I’ve never been happier to not care at all about the NHL draft this year with only one pick in the first three rounds and no lottery selections to debate – although to be fair, it’ll be nice to see a couple more top picks in the lineup next year in addition to everything else!