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In just a couple days the New Jersey Devils will lose a player to the Vegas Golden Knights. That much we know.
What we don't know is which player the Golden Knights will select.
With not much else happening -- we're in the midst of a trade freeze -- I thought it'd be fun to look at each of the notables the Devils exposed and group them based on how attractive they could be to Vegas and the likelihood of them being chosen.
No chance:
Seth Helgeson
He's 26-years-old and still hasn't been able to consistently crack a Devils lineup that has been weak on defense for several seasons.
Dalton Prout
Prout is a semi-capable 6th/7th defenseman who can suppress some shots, hit some people, and help out on the penalty kill. His skating ability, or lack thereof, gets him in a lot of trouble and he is not a good puck mover. In today's NHL, skating and puck-moving ability are probably the two most important attributes for defensemen and Prout lags behind in both areas.
Devante Smith-Pelly
Smith-Pelly is coming off what can only be described as a horrible year. He put up just nine points in 53 games, was in and out of the lineup, had dreadful possession numbers, and produced 5v5 points at a lesser rate than the likes of Kyle Clifford, Dwight King, Luke Glendening and Chris Vande Velde.
Extremely unlikely:
Jacob Josefson
Josefson is a capable defensive forward who can hold his own in possession and make the occasional skill play that leaves you wondering why he isn't really good. He hasn't shown the ability to make plays with any consistency, though, and misses plenty of time with injuries on a yearly basis. At 26, it's long past time to give up hope he'll ever put it all together. He is what he is: a decent bottom-6 player who struggles to stay healthy.
Keith Kinkaid
Kinkaid is coming off his best season as a pro. He posted a respectable .916 save percentage while appearing in 26 games and he did a nice job of keeping the Devils in some they didn't belong in. That said, he's without a contract and Vegas seemingly has 100 attractive goaltending options to choose from. They should, and almost certainly will look elsewhere.
Possible, but unlikely:
Mike Cammalleri
He is generally a lock to miss 15-20 games a year and makes a lot of money (he has two years left at $5 million per), which is generally enough reason to stay away from someone.
With that said, he is a pretty productive player. Even though he went through a massive goal/point slump last season, he has still averaged 53 points per 82 games since joining the Devils in the summer of 2014. That's good production.
Vegas will probably turn their attention elsewhere but they need offense, and to reach the cap floor, so they *could* be willing to give Cammalleri a chance.
Ben Lovejoy
Lovejoy had a rough season with the Devils but that was to be expected given he was asked to play way over his head on a nightly basis. In a lesser role, he's a capable option who can chew up some minutes and help on the penalty kill.
Most likely:
Beau Bennett
Bennett is coming off a very solid season in which he doubled as an elite possession driver and tweeter.
He also stayed healthy(!!) and produced at a 24-point pace despite being very unlucky; opposing goaltenders stopped 94.3% of the 5v5 shots while he was on the ice, which is unsustainably high.
Say what you want about Bennett, but he can skate, drive play, chip in offensively, and he won't be expensive. There's value in that and I wouldn't be surprised if he is the player Vegas covets.
Stefan Noesen
The sample size was very small, but Noesen showed some good offensive touch during his stint with the Devils.
At 5v5, he scored goals at the same rate as Brandon Saad and he was also one of the Devils' best players in possession.
It's not unreasonable for Vegas to take a chance on the 24-year-old hoping he can pot some goals for them.
Jon Merrill
Despite ending up on the wrong end of highlight goals more than anyone would like, Merrill is a pretty useful defensive player. The Devils allowed fewer shot attempts, shots and scoring chances at 5v5 with him on the ice than any other regular defender. Given his age (25) and cap hit ($1.13 million), he could be an attractive option for the Knights.
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