Metro free agency: Devils add proven scorer by acquiring Tyler Toffoli via trade
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In his introductory press conference after being named Penguins director of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas explained how he evaluates his team against its opposition.
“I think that the major focus, No. 1, is inside our division. That’s the way I always looked at things,” Dubas said. “Rather than try to stack ourselves up against all 31 other teams, let’s focus on our division. Let’s focus on trying to win our division. We play the most games there. That’s what’s going to set our playoff seeding. We’ve got to be inside the top three to lock ourselves in, and our goal is going to be to win the division.”
Last season, the Penguins finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the fourth-place New York Islanders but 16 points behind the New York Rangers, who held down the third guaranteed playoff spot behind Carolina and New Jersey.
How much has the division changed in the offseason? The Trib is offering a team-by-team look this week:
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils weren’t overly active in terms of signing unrestricted free agents. In fact, their only major addition this offseason came via trades as they acquired forward Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames on June 26 and defenseman Colin Miller from the Dallas Stars on July 1. Their most notable free agent additions, goaltender Erik Kallgren and forward Chris Tierney, were signed to one-year, two-way contracts.
2023 finish: 52-22-8, 112 points, eliminated in the second round
Key additions: Forward Shane Bowers (one game, zero goals, zero assists, zero points), forward Kyle Criscuolo (one game, one goal, zero assists, one point), defenseman Colin Miller (79 games, six goals, 15 assists, 21 points), goaltender Erik Kallgren (10 games, 3-2-4 record, 2.67 goals against average, .898 save percentage), forward Tyler Toffoli (82 games, 34 goals, 39 assists, 73 points), forward Chris Tierney (36 games, three goals, seven assists, 10 points)
Key departures: Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (22 games, 10-6-2 record, 3.20 goals against average, .893 save percentage), defenseman Ryan Graves (78 games, eight goals, 18 assists, 26 points), forward Yegor Sharangovich (75 games, 13 goals, 17 assists, 30 points), forward Miles Wood (76 games, 13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points)
What it means: Toffoli is a legit top-six winger who can consistently be a 20-goal threat and will likely be slotted next to one of the Devils’ top two centers, Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier. … Miller is a veteran defender who can eat some minutes as a bottom-pair blue liner but won’t make or break any roster. … All the Devils’ other additions are simply spare parts.