3 Physical Players the New Jersey Devils Should Trade For
#3: LD Nick Seeler (Philadelphia Flyers)
Nick Seeler is the definition of what the New Jersey Devils want from a third-pair, left-handed defenseman. A true stay-at-home defenseman who takes few risks and minimizes opposing scoring chances by shutting down the rush and clogging up passing and shooting lanes.
Standing 6’2″ – 205 lbs., Seeler is as average as it gets in terms of size in the NHL, but it’s how he uses his size that makes him an imposing threat on the backend.
The immediate drawback is that in his 5 years of being in the NHL, he’s played on three different teams, and trading for him would make that four teams. Furthermore, because he’s a stay-at-home guardian, he offers the minimum in terms of offensive production.
In 225 career games played, Nick Seeler has just 7 goals and 22 assists to his name. Fortunately for both him and the Devils, he doesn’t need to worry about offense based on his abilities to limit offensive production from the other team.
Staying true to his role, he loves using his body to help his team stay in the fight, which was something missing from on Devils in their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in the spring. With the 2022-23 season spent on the Philadelphia Flyers roster, Nick Seeler was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise embarrassing excuse of a hockey team.
The three biggest points of emphasis for a third-pair defensive defenseman in hockey are to (1) get in passing and shooting lanes, (2) finish every hit (especially on the boards), and (3) limit turnovers. Last season in 77 games played in the black and orange, Seeler had 161 blocked shots, 126 hits, and was held to just 24 giveaways (9 takeaways).
In comparison to the rest of the New Jersey Devils blueline during the 2022-23 season, Nick Seeler would rank 5th in games played, 6th in time on ice, and 1st in shot blocks and hits, respectively. Only Brendan Smith (102) and Jonas Siegenthaler (101) eclipsed the 100-hit mark last season for the Devils’ blue line last season.
To tie this up with a bow, Nick Seeler’s contract is in its final year and has an annual average value of just $775,000, making the cost to acquire him in a trade package being negligible. Based on how big of a steal bringing in Jonas Siegenthaler has been, it makes bringing in another guy like him that much more favorable. The New Jersey Devils need players like Nick Seeler by the dozen.
#2: C Adam Lowry (Winnipeg Jets)
Adam Lowry is a personal favorite solely because have you ever seen him stand in skates? In hockey, especially today, it’s not uncommon for a defenseman to be 6’4″ or taller. However, how many centers do you know that are 6’5″ – 210 lbs?
On top of his colossal size, it should come as no surprise that he’s a stout challenger in the faceoff dot. Lowry is entering Year 10 in the NHL this October, looking to make it eight consecutive seasons with a faceoff win percentage of 50 or better.
We learned from the postseason run of the New Jersey Devils that winning faceoffs is critical and there’s no such thing as having too many guys who are good at faceoffs. This was one of the many reasons why the Devils beat the New York Rangers in the 1st Round of the playoffs.
Apart from his prowess between the hash marks, Lowry is an unmistakable specimen on the ice who just so happens to love playing the body. This may come as a surprise, but most big skaters tend to be more passive, relying on the intimidation of their size alone to deter players from wanting to take the puck away. Anthony Mantha is a classic example of a big forward who doesn’t use his size as he should.
Adam Lowry uses his size exactly the way he should. In the 2022-23 season, Lowry played a full 82 games for the second time in his career while putting together 46 blocked shots, 161 hits, 24 giveaways (28 takeaways), and won 50.4% of his faceoffs averaging 15:39 of ice time a night. Scoring-wise, it’s what you’d expect from a third-line center, 13 goals, 23 assists for 36 total points.
As was the case for Nick Seeler, the New Jersey Devils don’t need Adam Lowry to put up 50 points. They need size and physicality. Even with Miles Wood in the conversation, who has since signed with the Colorado Avalanche, Adam Lowry (161) would rank 1st in hits on the 2022-23 Devils by a mile, with McLeod ranking 2nd behind him (127).
The Devils’ offense had blocked a good amount of shots last season, as Adam Lowry would rank 5th on the team in that category. In terms of faceoffs, only three players for New Jersey had a positive net faceoff differential. By default, Lowry would rank in the top four in faceoffs for the Devils.
Now, with a contract that has an annual average value of $3.25 million, Lowry comes in as someone who would have to be plugged in as the third-line center, forcing McLeod to either take the wing next to him or duke it out with Nosek to be the 4th line center. This contract is considerably greater than Nick Seeler’s, but the size and performance that Adam Lowry would bring to the New Jersey Devils are enough to make it beyond worth it.
#1: C Sean Kuraly (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Let’s start this off by saying that if the New Jersey Devils were to acquire Kuraly, it’d be difficult to see them also picking up Adam Lowry. Each skater comes with their own upsides and downsides, and based on what we’re looking for, Sean Kuraly fits the bill more so.
During last year’s NHL regular season, Kuraly was a man on fire, hitting anything and everything in sight. When we look at the Devils, easily the biggest piece missing from their game is physicality. Kuraly, in 71 games played in the middle of the lineup, tallied 187 hits. McLeod had 127 last year. Kuraly finished with 60 more hits than him. Imagine bringing that into the fold in Newark!
In addition to racking up the hits, he had scored 11 goals, 9 assists, and just 17 giveaways while boasting 30 takeaways. He had also finished the campaign winning 49.6% of his draws in the dot. If Adam Lowry isn’t available to be acquired, the Devs can still add a quality center in the Dublin, Ohio native.
Standing 6’2″ – 215 lbs., Sean Kuraly is a strong, stocky skater who has a nose for the messy areas of the ice like the half boards, the corners, and in front of the net. Players of this level with this kind of energy are indispensable. To make him even more desirable for Fitzgerald in the front office, Kuraly comes in at $2.5 million against the salary cap.
When you have a guy who loves to throw the body around and isn’t afraid to get in the shooting lanes, blocking 46 shots on Columbus for the Blue Jackets, you’re going to start to see a lot more open ice than when you don’t.
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt know better than anyone what it’s like to be a player with a smaller frame having to go up against teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights without anyone on your line who can keep the pressure off of you. Adding a grinder like Kuraly shifts the focus of the physicality on him and allows Hughes and Bratt more open space to do what they need to do.
This is not to say that the New Jersey Devils need to trade for Sean Kuraly to protect Jack Hughes, but adding players of Kuraly’s stature is a measure that makes opposing teams reconsider whether or not they want to play a physical game that night.
‘Jersey can’t get by with having one line dedicated to the grind while the other three aren’t helping the team in the hitting department. They have speed, they have immense skill, but they don’t have physicality. The biggest takeaway from this is that the New Jersey Devils need muscle, and there’s no shortage of inexpensive help out there in the market.