SEVEN OPTIONS AT NO.7 FOR THE DEVILS

TORONTO, ON -- Last month’s Draft Lottery caused quite the stir when NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed the winner of the first-overall selection will not be determined for another six weeks. Placeholder Team E had a 2.5 percent chance of winning the lottery and did.

People freaked out. It is worth noting that people are also reactionary and often exhibit short memory spans.

This isn’t unprecedented. In 2017 the Philadelphia Flyers won the lottery and drafted second-overall. Their odds were 2.4 percent. It just so happened that this year, the first-overall pick was scooped up by a to-be-determined team and people hate waiting for things.

For those saying the lottery was a disaster, let’s cut the bullshit. The only difference between what happened on June 26 versus say the Vancouver Canucks winning the lottery is time. Don’t think for one second a team is going to lose on purpose in the qualifying round for a 12.5 percent shot at Alexis Lafreniere. We will find out who drafts first on August 10, and I’m sure the NHL will create serious buzz around it – and this sets up for solid television ratings.

For the New Jersey Devils, who had an 11.5 percent chance after picking first-overall in 2019 and an 8.5 percent shot at first in 2017, they will pick seventh in October. This marks the 14th time in franchise history that they’ll draft in the top-10 – it’s the first time they’ve had a top-10 pick in back-to-back years since 1986 and 1987. And for those counting at home, it’s the first time they’ve had the seventh-overall pick.

There are multiple directions the Devils can go in with the pick. They can draft a centre, a right wing, a left wing, a right-shot defenceman, a left-shot defenceman, a goaltender, or trade the pick. But I will simplify things for you.

With Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes and Pavel Zacha up the middle, the team doesn’t need any more centres. Hughes spent some time on the left wing this year, but that experience failed – his performance dropped considerably away from his natural position. Unless the hands-down best available player at No.7 is a centre, the position is filled.

As for Travis Zajac, he has one-year left on his deal and his time with the Devils may wrap before his contract does. The 35-year-old rejected a trade earlier this year and preferred to wait until the off-season to re-evaluate his options. He owns a full no-trade clause and will continue to have a say if the Devils try again to move him.

Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev are the team’s only top-six wingers. Palmieri has one-year left on his contract and owns an eight-team no-trade list. He’d like to stay in Jersey, and it might be in the team’s best interest to lock him into a multi-year extension. Jesper Bratt performed well this season, all things considered, and Jesper Boqvist still needs to adjust to the North American game, but one area this team needs try to improve this off-season is its top-six scoring.

With just over $26.2 million in salary cap space and minimal RFAs to re-sign, the team can explore signing an unrestricted free agent like Mike Hoffman, Tyler Toffoli or Vladislav Namestnikov, acquire one via trade from a team in need of cap relief (hello, Tampa Bay), or take a flyer on UFA-to-be left wing Alex Galchenyuk and hope he re-emerges as a top-six threat, which is the route I would take.

Galchenyuk is only 26 and could mesh well with Hischier, whom I’d play him with over Hughes to start, and either Palmieri or Gusev on the right side. After failing to fit in Pittsburgh, he regained confidence in Minnesota and saw his ice time increase. I’m curious to see how he performs in the qualifying round against the Canucks, but for a team in need of help, especially on the left side, giving Galchenyuk the opportunity could pay dividends.

On the backend, P.K. Subban is the man, and everyone knows he must put the 2019-20 season behind him. The front office loves him, and he better have a huge chip on his shoulder after this year’s performance. A rebound-year is in the cards and while he may never again approach Norris-like status, he needs to be the team’s best defenceman next season. He could use someone new on his left side, though.

Damon Severson and Will Butcher make up the team’s second pair, and Connor Carrick and Mirco Mueller should round up the third pair. For now.

If the mandate is to compete next season, I look to sign one of the better left-shot UFA defencemen, like Erik Gustafsson or Joel Edmundson (the LD pickings are slim and while I’d make initial contact, I don’t see Torey Krug exploring the Devils), to put on my second unit and move Butcher down to play with Carrick.

Ty Smith, the Devils’ 17th overall pick in 2018, and Kevin Bahl, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade, should compete for a roster spot in training camp. The 20-year-olds are going to be a big part of the future of New Jersey’s defensive corps – providing they pan out, of course, but that’s the mindset – and the team will have the opportunity to select another stud blueliner with a higher ceiling this October.

Between the pipes, Mackenzie Blackwood is the team’s starting goaltender for the 2020-21 campaign. The 23-year-old has earned the position and the Devils aren’t veering away from that plan. Whether the team keeps veteran Cory Schneider as its backup or buys him out and finds a replacement remains to be seen – management hasn’t made a decision yet, either way. But with Blackwood in net, drafting netminder Yaroslav Askarov doesn’t make much sense.

Aside from exploring the possibility of trading the seventh-overall pick for an NHL-proven talent on the wing or the blueline, the question facing this team going into the 2020 NHL Draft is which position is more important, defence or the wing?

In my top-eight mock draft, I have the Devils selecting Jake Sanderson with the seventh pick. The son of 16-year NHL veteran Geoff Sanderson has blazing speed, much like his old man, and is excellent in his own zone. His defensive game combines physicality with strong instincts, and his speed allows him to join the rush and contribute offensively. He has No.2 potential and could easily be on the left side of New Jersey’s top pair in two or three seasons, depending how long he stays in school – he committed to the University of North Dakota for next season.

Even if Lucas Raymond, Marco Rossi, Alexander Holtz and Jack Quinn available at No.7, you can likely scoop one of those four, or Anton Lundell even, at the 11th overall position – which the Devils are likely to receive from Arizona unless the Coyotes beat Nashville in the qualifying round.

In fact, New Jersey may end up with three first-round picks in this year’s draft. The one from Arizona is from the Hall trade if the Coyotes miss the playoffs and fail to win the draft lottery (their pick is top-three protected). New Jersey’s third potential first-rounder is from the Canucks via the Lightning in the Blake Coleman trade, and transfers over if Vancouver beat Minnesota in the qualifying round and make the playoffs.

Arizona’s pick could be 11th if they miss the playoffs along with Montreal and Chicago and none of those clubs win the lottery. The pick could drop to ninth if the Blackhawks and Canadiens both make the playoffs, or one makes it in and the other wins the lottery. The pick could end up being 10th if both teams miss the playoffs and one wins the lottery.

Get all that?

Vancouver’s pick will end up anywhere from 16th and on, depending how they do in the playoffs, if they make it.

If the Coyotes win the lottery and the Canucks miss the playoffs, New Jersey gets their first-round pick in 2021.

Dizzy yet?

Devils interim GM Tom Fitzgerald has an interesting decision to make once all the cards are laid out. If things line up as they do in my mock draft and they get Arizona’s pick, selecting Sanderson at No.7 and a scoring forward at No.11 maximizes the haul New Jersey will get out of this draft. Walking off the virtual draft floor after Day 1 with Sanderson and one of Rossi/Holtz/Quinn/Lundell is a solid victory – as I have Raymond going fourth to Detroit. Plus, whoever they draft with Vancouver’s pick should turn that victory into a victory lap.

If Sanderson and Jamie Drysdale are off the board by the seventh pick, the Devils can land a top forward threat and either double up and go after another or pick a defenceman like Kaiden Guhle or Braden Schneider.

“We’re going to get a really good player at No.7,” Fitzgerald said in a video conference interview on NewJerseyDevils.com, while also emphasizing the importance on selecting top-ceiling talent.

“Especially in the first round, this is a deep first round. Wherever those other picks land will be gravy right now, and we’re excited about that. But we’ll be ready for definitely No.7 and then start from there.”

Fitzgerald and the Devils scouts plan on attending USA Hockey’s 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan, while Canada’s World Junior Showcase will take place virtually. Both events are scheduled for late-July, and while unique from a schedule perspective as the draft is usually in late-June, they give all NHL teams the opportunity to get a better look at who they could draft in October.

The Devils have made the playoffs once in the last eight seasons since losing to the Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. With some roster moves expected this summer/fall and the potential to vastly improve the team’s prospects pool, the 2020 off-season is paramount in defining the future long-term success of this franchise. No pressure, Tom.