Meet the New Jersey Devils: Evan Rodrigues – Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils

On Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils traded goaltender Jacob Markstrom and forward Angus Crookshank to the Florida Panthers. In exchange, the Devils received forwards Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves. The Devils have beefed up their front line with these additions, but here we’ll focus on Rodriguez.

Rodriguez Was Not Drafted

Rodriguez began his professional hockey career in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), playing for Boston University. He played four seasons there and was named co-captain his senior year in 2014-15. After his final college season, he signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Sabres.

He spent most of his first season in 2015-16 with the Sabers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans, playing 72 games with 30 points. Rodrigues was called up to play his first NHL game on April 8, 2016 and sat out the next game on April 9, where he scored his first NHL goal and recorded his first assist.

Rodriguez spent the next two seasons splitting his time between the Sabers and the Americans. It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that he reached the NHL full time, playing in 74 games and recording 29 points. However, the Sabers traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Conor Sheary for Dominik Kahun on February 24, 2020. He finished the season with the Penguins, playing in seven games and scoring one goal.

In August 2020, Rodrigues was traded again, this time to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Filip Hallander, David Warsofsky, and Pittsburgh’s 1st-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft for Kasperi Kapanen, Pontus Aberg, and Jesper Lindgren. He never played for the Maple Leafs, as the Penguins re-signed him as a free agent two months later.

After suffering an injury midway through 2020-21, he was limited to 35 games. He finally played his first full season in 2021-22, didn’t miss a game, and recorded a career-high 43 points.

Rodriguez Continued to Hit the Free Center

Although the 2021-22 season was successful, Rodriguez hit the free agent market at that time, signing a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. He played in 69 games with the Avalanche, scoring 16 goals, 23 assists and a career-high 17:51 in average ice time.

He became a free agent again after another strong performance and was on the market one day before the Florida Panthers signed him to a four-year deal worth nearly $12 million. He joins the Devils with one year remaining on his $3 million contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent after next season.

Rodriguez played 80 games in his first season in Florida and recorded 39 points. He also played in 24 postseason games and recorded 15 points, helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup. He repeated his success the following season, scoring 32 points in 82 games and 15 points in 21 playoff games en route to the team’s second straight Stanley Cup win. This season, he played in 69 games with 31 points.

What Rodriguez brings to New Jersey

Rodriguez played in the Panthers’ top six, but the Devils’ top six is ​​slated for next season. He will have a huge impact on the bottom six as a seasoned veteran who can help develop the younger players in the team, such as Lenni Hameenaho and Arseny Gritsyuk. As a two-time champion, adding him to the Devils’ roster should be a big boost in their pursuit of the trophy.