The Devils were one of the least active teams in unrestricted free agency this offseason, signing just a handful of players to small deals when money was being tossed around the NHL on July 1.

As a result, the Devils currently have the most projected cap space in the NHL.

But general manager Ray Shero has always been conservative in free agency, and he's always attempted to build through the NHL Draft and trades. Based on some unrestricted free-agent deals from 2016, he may be on to something.

Richest UFA deals signed on July 1, 2016:

Milan Lucic, 7 yrs, $42M

Kyle Okposo, 7 yrs, $42M

Andrew Ladd, 7 yrs, $38.5M

Loui Eriksson, 6 yrs, $36M

Frans Nielsen, 6 yrs, $31.25M

David Backes, 5 yrs, $30M

Darren Helm, 5 yrs, $19.25M

Troy Brouwer, 4 yrs, $18M



What a day. — Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) August 3, 2018

The contracts themselves aren't groundbreaking. Plenty of players around the NHL make that type of money. But when you add in where all those players and their respective teams stood last season, it appears many of those deals were missteps.

Lucic = Edmonton

Okposo = Buffalo

Ladd = Islanders

Eriksson = Vancouver

Nielsen = Detroit

Backes = Boston

Helm = Detroit

Brouwer = Calgary



Only the Bruins were part of the playoffs last spring…Not a coincidence. — J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) August 3, 2018

The Bruins also made the postseason thanks to a loaded lineup around Backes. He contributed, putting up 33 points in 57 games, but even Boston didn't get the full value of his $6 million AAV.

The only other team in that group that seriously contended for a playoff spot last season was Calgary, and the Flames just bought out the final two years of Brouwer's contract, making him a free agent again.

So what does this mean? Should all teams stop spending in free agency? Of course not.

But as Shero has said, there's a time and a place to do so. Following the season, he said if a team is going to spend to the cap, they better be in strong contention to win a Stanley Cup, because once cap space is gone, it's incredibly hard and time consuming to get back.

The 2018 offseason has been conservative and quiet by even Shero's standards, with the biggest free agent signing on July 1 coming in the form of defenseman Eric Gryba -- a depth defenseman who signed for $50K over the league minimum.

Shero pursued winger James van Riemsdyk, who ultimately signed the second biggest deal of the day for five years and $35 million with the Flyers.

When the player and fit is right, Shero will make a push, but he won't stray far from his plan. Next summer, when the Devils need to start looking at contract extensions for Taylor Hall, Will Butcher, Sami Vatanen, Nico Hischier and others, that cap space is going to come in handy.

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.