Breaking news: One of the most talented young players of the New Jersey Devils officially decided to terminate his contract due to…
The deal involving Damon Severson is official. His time as a member of the New Jersey Devils is ended. He left the team after nine seasons and joined another team in the division. This was the second sign-and-trade in the league’s history. With their new-look blueline, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had a busy offseason. It began with obtaining Ivan Provorov, and now it includes Severson as well. This made perfect sense for different reasons on both sides.
Good things don’t always last. For Severson, that is the situation. He has a new contract with the club after nine years of service. He was a member of the team for the most of the bad years, so it is really unfortunate. The Devils are now unquestionably the best team in the Eastern Conference and have a bright future ahead of them. But, Severson has become misfitting in the context of the Devils’ roster construction.
The Little Child on the Block
Luke Hughes is well-known in the hockey community. Although he was brought in near the end of the season, he had an impact on the Stanley Cup playoffs. But there is another young talent in the works who has contributed to Seversons’ demise. For the most part of the season, the Devils’ blue line looked like this:
It doesn’t matter that Luke Hughes is a left-shot defenseman. If Ryan Graves signs a new contract somewhere, you might find him with John Marino. However, what is the significance of this newly built blueline and the upcoming projects for Severson? Simon Nemec was chosen by Tom Fitzgerald as the second overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Nemec, who played for the Utica Comets, had a fantastic season. In 65 games, Nemec recorded 12 goals, 22 assists, and 34 points. It’s safe to say that North America adopted his style of play. Nemec also contributed points per game to the Slovakia U-20 squad.
The Reason Jersey Gave a Short Term
Allowing their young players to take the lead is one of the NHL’s newest teams. Even though Severson was fantastic for the Devils, the hockey team is still affected by the youth movement. Severson is someone that New Jersey would love to have around, but not for eight seasons. Long-term, playing the same side as Severson doesn’t make sense given that Nemec is rapidly approaching. It’s a major victory for Tom Fitzgerald to receive a third in exchange for an upcoming unrestricted free agent.
Significant Win in Columbus
For Columbus, the Damon Severson contract makes sense. Whatever you think of Severson, he is a competent defenseman in this league, ranking among the top four. Yes, he was mostly playing minutes as a third pair with New Jersey, but take a look at their depth. He will now play with Zach Werenski as a top-pair defenseman in Columbus. A redesigned blue line was necessary after players like Vladislav Gavrikov and Seth Jones left for better opportunities. Players like David Jiricek, Adam Boqvist, Andrew Peeke, and Erik Gudbranson were rotated in this season. Furthermore, a long list of combinations were used. But this is how it is expected to appear in the upcoming season:
