The New Jersey Devils announced today that they have acquired forward Nikita Gusev from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for their 2020 third round pick and 2021 second round pick. They immediately announced that they had also signed Gusev to a two-year contract worth $9 million ($4.5 million AAV). Gusev has never played an NHL game, but led the KHL in scoring last season, with 17 goals and 65 assists in 62 games for SKA St. Petersburg. He then played in 18 playoff games for the team, in which he put up nine goals and ten assists. He also played in 26 international games for Team Russia last season, including ten at the IIHF World Championships, and he recorded eight goals and 30 assists over all of them. Over his KHL career, Gusev has appeared in 391 games, through which he has produced 119 goals and 213 assists. The 27-year-old left wing was drafted in the seventh round (202nd overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and played for four different teams over his nine season KHL career.
Lydia’s Reaction: I like the Knights, so I was disappointed to see news, and I also didn’t expect it. But, my feelings aside, New Jersey got a great deal in the trade. The Knights also did fairly well considering they had little to no leverage because they couldn’t afford to resign him and didn’t want to lose him for nothing. As for the contract though, it’s a lot to give a player who has never played on North America ice. But, it is a low-risk and potentially high reward deal as it’s only for two years and the Devils still have over $12 million in cap space with no really expensive free agents to sign with the exception of Taylor Hall (if he wants to stay) before the end of this contract. So, I like this deal overall for New Jersey. Gusev was a superstar in the KHL, and will be a top-six winger in the NHL should his production translate well. He may have a rough start to the season as he gets used to the smaller North American ice, but after that, he should be okay. Of course, he may also not be and this could end up looking terrible for New Jersey, but I think it’s more likely he turns out well. Overall, Gusev was an unfortunate cap casualty for the Knights, and likely a strong addition for the Devils.
Stephen’s Reaction: I think Lydia covered it pretty well, and I don’t want to just repeat what she said, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. To me, the contract seems like an overpayment, but they got a steal in the trade as they only gave up a second and a third. The contract is a good term but at a steep price. The past four seasons with SKA St. Petersburg, he produced at well over a point per game pace, but the question is can he and his production make the transition over to North American ice? We’ll see come October.
Hockey Addict 