New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: James van Riemsdyk
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils are going to be buyers at the trade deadline for the first time in a few years. They could really use another scoring winger to take the load of Taylor Hall. Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk could be that player.
The New Jersey Devils are a good team this season, but there still seems to be something missing on the ice. While they were getting secondary scoring in bunches in the beginning of the year, now it comes in spurts. It seems like when the team goes down, Taylor Hall is always to guy relied upon to get them out of the hole.
That’s why the Devils should target scoring at this year’s trade deadline. One player who already has some New Jersey roots could help this team now and in the future.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward James van Riemsdyk is having another very good season. In fact, he’s on pace for a career high in goals. He has 21 goals and 12 assists in 55 games.
One thing that makes a trade with the Leafs different than other profiles is they are a certified playoff team. That means that getting rid of van Riemsdyk isn’t a priority for them. That doesn’t mean he can’t be had, however.
He’s a pure rental player at this point. Van Riemsdyk is on the final year of a 6-year, $25.5 million contract. At under $5 million per season, he’s very affordable for the consistent production he gives. Outside of one injury-riddled season, he’s scored between 27 and 30 goals the past four seasons.
The Middletown, New Jersey native can come back closer to home. He started his career with the Philadelphia Flyers, which was a hop, skip and a jump from his family. Now, he can live just a hop away. The Prudential Center is about a 48 minute drive from his hometown. The Air Canada Centre is more than an eight hour drive away.
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Toronto’s GM Lou Lamoriello still has a soft spot for the Devils, but I’m sure he won’t want to come out on the losing end of a trade with them. That could be the only part that hurts a possible trade. Lou wants to win every single trade (obviously), and tries to make it as one sided as possible. That really helped when he was our GM, but becomes a problem on the other side.
Still, the Leafs are going to lose van Riemsdyk for nothing at the end of the season. Maybe they can make a move that can help both teams.
The Leafs could use some help on the back end. The Devils have their own player that their likely not re-signing at the end of the season. Could the Devils use John Moore to start the conversation with Toronto?
The trade could look something like this: Toronto sends James van Riemsdyk to the Devils for John Moore, Nick Lappin and one of the Devils sixth-round picks.
Next: New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: Mike Hoffman
Would that be enough? Well, maybe not because Lou would want to win the trade outright, but I can’t see Ray Shero giving up much more for a player that can bolt at season’s end. Rental trades between playoff teams happen all the time, but they never look like we think they will.