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General manager Tom Fitzgerald did not finish his job today following the re-signing of Michael McLeod. Tonight, according to the team’s announcement on their official website, the New Jersey Devils traded forward Mikhail Maltsev and a second-round pick in 2021 (the one they got from the Isles for Andy Greene in 2020 ) to the Colorado Avalanche in return for defenseman Ryan Graves. .
Those who wanted Fitzgerald to be at least a little creative this offseason and be proactive in meeting the needs of teams should be happy. Graves was probably Colorado’s odd man on their expansion protection list due on Saturday. That’s what Mile High Hockey’s Hardev Lad thinks in this article about the deal, which I agree with. New Jersey stepped in to help Colorado resolve this issue. They acquired Graves for a last six winger to Maltsev and the 61st overall pick. At a minimum, the Devils have acquired an NHL defenseman for a blue line that may need more NHL defensemen.
Those who wanted the Devils to grow bigger in the back should be happy too. Graves is tall. He is officially listed at 6’5 ” and 220 pounds. He shoots to the left to be able to strengthen, both literally and figuratively, the left side of the defense. His number of penalty minutes suggests he might have grunt, grit, and other adjectives that would make Ken Daneyko shine. He’s not that old either. At 26, Graves completed his second full season with Colorado, his third in the NHL and the first of his current contract. In 2021, Graves made 54 seasons and 10 playoff appearances while scoring two goals and thirteen assists in the season and one goal and five assists in the playoffs. With the Avs last season, he’s averaged 15:49 per game evenly and 3:19 per game in shorthanded situations. While Graves finished fifth on the team in tied-game ice time, he was often fourth when Bowen Byram was not playing and he was ahead of the number of defensemen who have appeared for Colorado in defense this season. (15!).
When it comes to its 5v5 performance, it’s not nearly as surprising, but it’s not bad either. His rates on the ice look great on the surface, as many Avalanche players looked good in a 5v5 game last season. While his percentages on the ice were well above the breakeven point, Graves was often near or below the median of Colorado defensemen in several categories at Natural Stat Trick. When you look at the relative rate stats, or how the on-ice rate stats changed when the player took a shift, they were often negative for Graves. That’s not to say Graves was particularly awful or dragged the team down. It doesn’t appear from his teammates’ stats at NST that he had a joint partner in 2021 for Colorado and that he wasn’t playing behind Colorado’s top forwards. And as posted on Mile High Hockey’s Twitter account, his underlying stats have improved over the season. What I would take away from that is that I wouldn’t name Graves as the one that would make the Devils’ defense at least decent again. Hopefully he can help make the penalty kill at least decent due to his heavy use of what was the NHL’s eighth most successful KP last season.
However, the Devils’ defense was bad and at least they don’t stick with the same guys to turn things around one way or another. It is Fitzgerald who is proactive. The cost of acquiring Graves was inexpensive. As much as I can love Maltsev, as much as I don’t know what future he had in the NHL. Especially with other wingers who will arrive in the next few years. The second-round pick is 61st overall, which isn’t really far ahead of the Devils’ third-round pick this year. As for the addition to the cap, it’s not too bad either. Graves’ contract is capped at $ 3.1667 million with a salary of $ 3 million this season and a salary of $ 4 million next season. If Graves is suffering in New Jersey, it wouldn’t be very difficult to move him in the future. Or let him walk because he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when his current contract ends. Acquiring Graves shouldn’t hurt any other future signing or contract extensions that you want (or should) do this season and next.
This transaction could lead to other changes in the defenders of the Devils. Since this deal was made in part because Colorado probably couldn’t stop him from going to Seattle for free, I would expect Fitzgerald to protect Graves. When we broke up our expansion draft roundtable, we all largely agreed that the Devils had two defenders who would be protected: Damon Severson and Jonas Siegenthaler, who recently resigned. Until yesterday, it was questionable whether the Devils would protect PK Subban, or Will Butcher or Ryan Murray as the third defenseman to protect. Now, it’s likely that all three could be left unprotected and available for the Kraken next week. Unless Fitzgerald makes a deal with Seattle not to take on a defenseman, the Devils could lose one. That would mean someone will have to be acquired to fill that spot, another change to the blue line.
The exchange can also mean that the young defenders of the system will have to continue to develop and work even harder to prove they deserve minutes. Although Kevin Bahl had some time in the NHL last season, that was the time of the season when it didn’t matter much. Depending on the other moves made, Bahl, Nikita Okhotiuk, Reilly Walsh and Michael Vukojevic will need to prepare to do their best in camp, continue to improve at Utica and make the most of their luck if / when they get a call. . This is how they would break in; the acquisition of Graves will make it more difficult to hire a young defender. Of course, if Seattle takes a defender and Fitzgerald doesn’t get any more, that will change. But this is a September problem and not a July problem.
In the end, I think the move was good to go. While I wouldn’t expect Graves to be one of the Devils’ best defensemen or even a tough minute eater, I do agree that a change is needed among defensemen. Although I would prefer another assistant coach to help me, the staff were not talented enough to be replaced. I wanted to see Fitzgerald take advantage of certain situations that other teams might struggle with. He just did it with Colorado when it comes to the expansion draft. I hope Graves is an improvement over some of the defenders from last season (and the PK) and makes the most of his time as the Devil. I wish Maltsev the best in Denver and welcome Graves in Newark.
This is my take on this matter. Now I want to know your point of view. What was your first reaction to the case? Are you happier that Fitzgerald did something or that he did that thing? Do you think the acquisition of Graves will help the defense of the Devils? What do you expect from him for next season? Will we see any other changes on defense? Please leave your responses and further thoughts on this agreement in the comments. Thanks for the reading.
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