Mailbag: Rangers' upgrades; Devils as dark horse Stanley Cup contender

Here is the Sept. 18 edition of the weekly NHL.com mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on X. Send your questions to @drosennhl and @NHLdotcom and tag it with #OvertheBoards.

Do you believe the Rangers improved themselves with the additions of Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick over Jack Roslovic and Barclay Goodrow? -- @AGrodin75

Smith's resume is better than Roslovic's, which is an easy way of saying he's an upgrade. How significant of an upgrade remains to be seen because we don't yet know if he will develop chemistry with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. If he does, it's a home run for the Rangers, who have been trying to find the right fit at right wing on that line. Roslovic was not the right fit. He had some moments after New York acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, but in the end it didn't work and he was bounced around the lineup, and even made a healthy scratch.

To acquire Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Rangers had to give up two draft picks, a conditional fifth in 2025 and a second in 2027. It's a small price to pay for a player who two seasons ago scored 26 goals and won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights. Smith has 39 goals and 96 points in 154 games the past two seasons, including 13 and 40 in 76 with the Penguins last season. It was a down season for him last year. He didn't click in Pittsburgh. Roslovic has 20 goals and 75 points in 136 games the past two seasons. Smith has one year left on his contract and with the Penguins retaining 25 percent, the Rangers are on the hook for a $3.75 million AAV. Roslovic signed a 1-year, $2.8 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Smith is worth the extra $995,000. The Rangers are banking on him being worth more.

However, losing Goodrow hurts. He's a heart-and-soul player who was a leader in the dressing room, which is why he wore an 'A'. He was well-liked by his teammates, who trusted him to get the job done when it mattered most, which he did in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring six goals in 16 games, after scoring four in 80 games in the regular season. He won key face-offs, killed penalties, and was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades forward as he could be moved around from wing to center and up and down the lineup as needed. He was best as a fourth-line center, but the Rangers trusted him in a lot of ways. In the long run, though, it didn't make sense for New York to be paying Goodrow, who is 31 years old, $3.6 million annually for the next three seasons. As valuable as he is in a coach's toolbox, it's too heavy a price to pay for a fourth-line center, especially for a team that spends to the cap. That is why they waived him, and everything mentioned above is why the San Jose Sharks claimed him. Carrick can do some of what Goodrow does and for $1 million for each of the next three seasons. He's not an upgrade, but the $2.6 million savings gives the Rangers the added cap flexibility they need, and they get at least a similar type of player.

Overall, they're better with Smith and at best even with Carrick, but the cap savings puts it over the top and that's why the Rangers improved with Smith and Carrick instead of Roslovic and Goodrow.

Which team is your dark horse contender to win the Stanley Cup? -- @MasterHockey_

The New Jersey Devils will not be my pick to win the Stanley Cup, but if most everything breaks right, they have the talent and depth for a Cup run after missing the playoffs with 81 points last season.

The Devils addressed the major issues that were at least addressable, namely goaltending and defense, by adding goalie Jacob Markstrom (after adding Jake Allen at the deadline last season) and defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon. Markstrom and Allen give the Devils a legitimate top-16 goaltending tandem. It has a chance to be among the best in the League if Markstrom plays like the No. 1 he's capable of being and Allen fills in as a serviceable 1B.

Pesce and Dillon give the Devils some size, snarl and shutdown defending on the back end. With Dougie Hamilton returning from a pectoral muscle injury (his absence was a killer last season), Jonas Siegenthaler and the expected continued emergence of Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes (once he's healthy, likely sometime in October), New Jersey has a top-six defense group that can stack up against the best in the NHL.

They won't struggle to score with Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer (once he's signed; still a restricted free agent), Timo Meier and likely Ondrej Palat making up the top-six forward group. That's a lot of skill, talent and chemistry. They've played together for enough games to be able to mix and match.

But the Devils need some fortunate health this season, and already there's a question with Luke Hughes sidelined until at least late October, if not into early November, because of a left shoulder injury he sustained during his offseason training. Hughes played all 82 games last season and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. If he misses all of October, he will miss 13 games; that's a significant chunk for a top-four defensemen. The good news is Hamilton is back to run the power play, but Hughes is an important piece of the defense with his ability to defend, rush the puck and join the offense.

That said, the Devils, not my pick to win the Cup, are at least in that dark horse category because of their offseason pickups and the talent they already had, which helped them get 112 points and reach the Eastern Conference Second Round in 2022-23.

So, Pierre-Luc Dubois will begin this season with his fourth team in five years. Will his time with the Capitals this season go a little better than his last three teams? If so, why? -- @BillMcGrath417

It's fair to question Dubois at this point being that he essentially asked out of both Columbus and Winnipeg, and his play forced his way out of Los Angeles. It's premature to say with any confidence that things will be different in Washington, but you get the feeling that this might be Dubois' last chance to play a big role on a team that has playoff aspirations. But expectations are important with Dubois. Let's not overdo it, not yet at least. The Capitals need him to at least get back to being the almost 30-goal scorer and 60-point player he was with the Winnipeg Jets in 2021-22 (28 goals, 60 points in 81 games) and 2022-23 (27 goals, 63 points in 73 games). Do that and season No. 1 in Washington will be a success. He can build from there.

It'll be on coach Spencer Carbery to help fuel Dubois' confidence early, putting him in positions to be successful, like on Washington's first power-play unit and playing on a line with Alex Ovechkin on his left wing and Tom Wilson on his right. Wherever he lands in the lineup, the Capitals should and likely will give Dubois a long leash to prove he can turn his obvious talent into being a consistent impact performer. He has seven seasons remaining on an eight-year contract that carries an $8.5 million cap charge. The Capitals took it all on, trading Darcy Kuemper straight up to get Dubois.

We'll see how it plays out, but a big key early in Washington's season will be getting the very best out of Dubois, because that will fuel his confidence and that will put him on a path to sustained success.

Does Tomas Tatar have a top six or bottom six role with the Devils this season? -- @stevenwoj

Tatar was a strong bargain signing for the Devils on July 2, when they got him on a one-year contract for $1.8 million. They're familiar with him and he's familiar with them, having played in New Jersey from 2021-23. The Devils could try to put Tatar in a familiar spot, on the wing with Hischier and Mercer, once he signs. That's where he primarily played in 2022-23 and Tatar contributed with 20 goals and 48 points in 82 games. But it also might be asking a lot for Hischier and Mercer to rekindle their chemistry with Tatar, especially when Palat is also an ideal fit in a top-six role, either on a line with Hischier or Jack Hughes. Meier is the other obvious top-six left wing.

Tatar scored only nine goals in 70 games last season split between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken. It was a clear step back for the 33-year-old who has played 853 regular-season NHL games. With that, the best bet is Tatar starting in a third-line role with Erik Haula and potentially Stefan Noesen, averaging around 13-14 minutes per game. He's the prototypical middle-six wing; give him some talent around him and offensive zone starts, and Tatar can get back to being a 20-goal scorer, or at least close to it. If he can do that in a third-line role, it'll only enhance the Devils' chances of being a playoff team and a potential Stanley Cup contender.