It's certainly not at the top of Ray Shero's to-do list, but one thing he'll have to do at some point is make a decision on the future of Jordin Tootoo.
Tootoo, a pending unrestricted free agent, came into camp last fall on a tryout basis, and made the team before eventually potting 10 goals during the 2014-15 campaign.
While only six Devils scored more goals, I think the Devils should let Tootoo go.
His 10 goals were respectable, but in the latter half of the season he was playing 13, 14, 15+ minutes some nights and taking a regular shift on the power play. That he was only able to put up 15 points in almost 70 games despite that is certainly not encouraging.
Neither is the fact the Devils were a worse team with him on the ice at even-strength regardless of who he was playing with.
Note: sorted from most minutes together (left) to least (right). Minimum 145 minutes at even-strength.
As you can see, every player Tootoo spent a good chunk of minutes with was better without him on the ice.
Despite spending a good portion of his time on a line with Travis Zajac and Mike Cammalleri, two of the Devils' top forwards, he still struggled mightily in possession, and really didn't produce that much, either.
He'd likely want a raise from the $550K he signed for last season, and quite frankly I think the Devils would be better off giving his minutes to Stefan Matteau or Reid Boucher.
Let's see if Shero feels the same way.
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