Devils Add Evangelista, Still Waiting on the Answer That Matters

New Jersey acquired winger Luke Evangelista from Nashville on Tuesday for two draft picks, the latest in a string of forward additions this offseason. It is a reasonable piece of business — another young body on the wing, more competition for lineup spots as training camp approaches.

The Devils have been busy up front. Anthony Mantha came in on a two-year deal to add proven goal-scoring on the wing. Arseny Gritsyuk, who put up 10 goals and 13 assists in 47 games as a rookie, is locked in for three more years. Now Evangelista joins the mix. The forward group, at least on paper, looks deeper than it did when the season ended at 42–40 with a goal differential that told a less flattering story than the win total.

That gap is the thing. New Jersey won more games last season than their underlying numbers suggested they should have — a team that finished minus-24 in goal differential has no business posting 42 wins without some fortune along the way. Adding forwards addresses part of the equation. The part that remains unaddressed is goaltending, where Jacob Markstrom is gone to Florida and the market has thinned considerably since June. Evangelista does not solve that. Neither does Mantha, for that matter.

So the forward depth is real, and it is growing. Whether it is the right priority for a team that won close games at an unsustainable rate is a fair question to carry into camp.