Where to start after yet another head-spinning day by Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils? Might as well start with the obvious, the big signing of the day that was rumored for the last couple of weeks seemingly, with the team agreeing to terms with ex-Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce on a 6 year, $33 million deal. Clearly they weren’t going to mess around filling the hole in the top four created after the draft-day trade of John Marino to Utah two days ago. With the Devils having moved on from three of their four defensemen who played on the penalty kill last year (Marino, Brendan Smith and Kevin Bahl), Pesce should also be an upgrade defensively there as well as at even strength.

I’m not even going to waste time analyzing his or the other contracts today, especially since quite honestly there are at least six or seven holy **** contracts that teams have thrown around silly money on already. Even more so than the usual ‘whatever you think a guy’s worth, add about a year and a million per season to it and that’s what he’ll actually get’ free agency tax that we clearly paid on all of our deals. You see teams with cap issues wiggle out of them one way or another, at this point I’m like Lou Lamoriello when then-beat writer Tom Gulutti asked him a salary cap question, when he responded, ‘Don’t worry about my cap, Tom’. Today is just about how much we appear to be fortifying our push back to relevancy next season.

While Pesce was the worst-kept secret in the world, there was a little more ambiguity over Brendan Dillon signing here, even though that was also heavily rumored in the days before ‘official’ free agency began. A word about that, I’m totally fine with there being no real tampering period this year, I would just prefer it was a written rule rather than an unwritten one, it does seem like there was a bit of a gentlemen’s agreement to let a guy talk to other clubs if you weren’t planning to bring him back this year. Of course, the one time I’m literally home for UFA day turns out to be the most boring one from the standpoint of most of these deals having been done beforehand and announced pretty early on in the day.

Anyway, if the Devils needed to replace Marino they also needed to replace Bahl in their top six with a clear upgrade and Dillon provides that, as well as size and snarl – a clear theme of this offseason.

Like Pesce, the 6’4 225 pound Dillon has a ton of postseason experience and will supplement the PK as well as even-strength defensively. Three years and $4 million per might have been a little higher than I wanted, but again free agent tax. And certainly Fitz has remade the blue line in one busy weekend, not only with these two signings and trading Marino + Bahl, but also with an under-the radar deal last night for Johnathan Kovacevic from the Canadiens for a 2026 4th rounder. Yet another big boy at 6’5 and 225, he’s more of a depth guy but one who got good reviews in Montreal and should fit into the #7 swing role (formerly occupied by Smith, who signed a one-year deal in Dallas earlier) quite nicely.

Earlier in the day there were even rumors the Devils were making a play for Jonathan Marchessault, who while not big would have certainly fit our need for a top six scoring winger. However, they were beaten to the dotted line by Nashville in a bit of a Johnny Gaudreau-esque twist, and the Predators certainly made a big splash of their own today bringing in Marchessault and Steven Stamkos to jump-start a comatose offense that was shut down in the first round of the playoffs by the Canucks’ third-string goalie. So among the reported shopping list of top six forward, bottom six forward, top four defenseman, bottom four defenseman and goalie it seems as if Fitz has ‘only’ been able to procure four out of five…to this point.

Fitzy did manage to improve the forward group to an extent today though, with the surprise return of Stefan Noesen, who initially broke out with a 13-goal, 27 point season on the Devils in our 2017-18 playoff season but then bounced around the league and seemed destined to finish out his days in AHL obscurity. Pretty much out of nowhere, he had a huge AHL season in 2021-22 that re-ignited his career and won him a roster spot on Carolina the past two seasons, where he settled in as a mid-30 point, back six grinder.

If it was just about anyone else I might be complaining about his contract being slightly rich for a back six player ($2.75 million per for the next three seasons) but you can’t help but feel good for Noesen and about his return. Especially after he was a part of getting us out of the dark ages – albeit for a brief, shining moment before we fell back into them the next few seasons. Especially since he did score what turned out to be the winning goal in our lone playoff win for a decade, and blew the roof off the Prudential Center.

Of course the fact he’s over 6′ and 200′ helped facilitate the Lou-like coming home contract for Noesen. And clearly Fitz doesn’t want to have another four or five-year break between playoff appearances, the way we have been the last decade. We’ll still probably need to find a top six forward somewhere – and at this point I do have to use the c word, with limited cap space to do it – if he wants to really but a ribbon and a bow on this offseason but you can’t deny that the Devils overhauled their coaching, defense, goaltending and put a little more snarl into their back six up front.

In short, the team should be improved and ready to get back to relevancy when they start their season with some homecoming showdowns. As if facing Lindy Ruff and the Sabres in Prague wasn’t enough, it seems as if the home opener will be the reverse homecoming with us facing the Leafs in Sheldon Keefe’s darby. It should be hectic, like this last week was but unless Fitz pulls another big move or three out of his rear end, it’s probably time for me to go back into hibernation until camp begins at least.