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New Jersey Devils: Shero Should Acquire Additional First Round Pick

By Steve Ginter

Oct 25, 2016; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils center Pavel Zacha (37) skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Prudential Center. The Devils defeated the Coyotes 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2016; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils center Pavel Zacha (37) skates with the puck against the Arizona Coyotes during the third period at Prudential Center. The Devils defeated the Coyotes 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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Although this draft doesn’t contain any bonafide franchise-changing players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, or Patrik Laine, it is still pretty potent with future NHL’ers. While the New Jersey Devils are all but guaranteed a top 5 pick, the Shero should jump at the opportunity to acquire an additional first round pick.

Why?

Although the Devils are in a rebuild, they must do so with haste. Superstar Taylor Hall has yet to sniff the playoffs in his career and will be turning 26 at the start of next season. Only under contract for the 2019-2020 season, Hall could bolt in free agency and join a playoff team rather than take more money and a longer contract in New Jersey.

Adding a Patrick/Hischier/Liljergren/Villardi/Tippett will surely move the Devils a giant step in the right direction, but some players projected to be drafted later in the round have tremendous upside as well and could potentially be a regular NHL’er who can make an impact before Hall decides his future.

How?

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The ball is in the Devils court this season. They have 3 very important assets this upcoming offseason. Cap space, draft picks and prospects. Look forward to a new look Devils the next season. With the upcoming expansion draft, teams will be scrambling to protect certain players and get rid of others.

Enter the New Jersey Devils. They have the draft picks and mid-level prospects as trade chips to land players who don’t fit in the future for their current team. Let’s be honest. Players like Pietila, Coleman, Lappin among others simply won’t have roster spots next season.

The Devils could use guys like these to send back in trades to upgrade. With Mikey McLeod, Nate Bastian and Blake Speers playing their ways towards rosters spots in Juniors this year, the competition for the few spots will be tighter than ever. Why not package some of these guys to upgrade current weaknesses or even gain another 1st in the upcoming draft.

Another way the Devils can acquire an additional draft pick is dealing with cap strapped teams looking to clear salary to stay under the cap or go after a free agent. A deal like this would be reminiscent of a trade made at last years draft where the Red Wings dumped Pavel Datsyuk’s cap hit, essentially in exchange for swapping draft picks. With the Devils having a high second round draft pick, they could potentially send that back in exchange for a cap dump and a late first round pick.

Next: New Jersey Devils Upset Rangers On Strength Of Young Core

Who? (should they target with the additional pick)

Adding a mid to late 1st round pick to the Devils’ asset pool could net them an overlooked player or even a player who plummeted in the draft rankings, but still could be a steal.  If the Devils miss out on Liljergren with their high pick, they could seek to pick up Nicolas Hauge or Callan Foote with a mid 1st round pick. If they acquire a bottom 10 pick they could look to draft Erik Brännström or Henri Jokiharju.

Inversely, if the Devils draft Liljergren, they could steal a Kailer Yamamoto (ranked anywhere from 23rd to 31st)  who has 99 points in 65 games for Spokane, but is overlooked for his size, or players having a down season but still have Top 6 potential like Maxime Comtois or Kristain Vesalainen.

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