New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: Jack Johnson

The New Jersey Devils still need help on the defensive end, despite trading for Sami Vatanen earlier in the season. Could they make a trade with their division rivals and get Jack Johnson?

The New Jersey Devils need help on defense. Also, the sky is blue, Morgan Freeman’s voice is nice to listen to and eating McDonald’s everyday is bad for your health. It’s obvious the Devils can’t be happy with how the defense has played.

It seems like things change as to which defenseman is the scapegoat every single night. One night, Damon Severson is a monster who shows why the Devils gave him a six-year deal. Other nights he gives up three breakaways that turn into goals. Ben Lovejoy looks like he turned the corner after a terrible first season in New Jersey, but then I see five times this week that he pinched when he shouldn’t. Every time turned into a 2-on-1 against his pairing defenseman. Sami Vatanen has been the best player on the ice at times, then makes a bonehead mistake that turns into a goal. Andy Greene is, well, not very good this season.

I can continue, but you all get the point. The Devils defense still needs help.

General Manager Ray Shero knows this, but also doesn’t want to sell the farm for a defender. I’m sure he has his eye on the free agent class, especially John Carlson. Obviously, that would change the outlook of the defense overnight. However, that doesn’t help the Devils right now.

So can the Devils make a move that wouldn’t ruin their chances of getting Carlson in the offseason? I wrote earlier about getting Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and that would obviously take the Devils out of the Carlson sweepstakes, but maybe there’s a lesser trade to be made.

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ Jack Johnson could be the best of both worlds. Sure, he’s a pure rental. His seven-year, $30.5 million contract ends this season. That means it can work two ways, as a tryout with a new team that doesn’t come with a commitment.

I understand this doesn’t fit Shero’s previous comments that he will only make trades that help the team now and in the future, but this one could honestly do both. At 31 years old, Johnson is now on the second phase of his career. He’s no longer the future of a defense, but he’s a very good second pairing player.

What’s hard to figure out is the cost for Johnson. The Athletic reports that Johnson requested a trade. That obviously hurts his overall value, because there’s no upside in the Blue Jackets keeping him.

The Jackets need help on the power play desperately, which is an issue. Mostly because the Devils are having power play issues of their own. That means it would be hard to give up a power play contributor when the team needs one itself.

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So, what kind of trade could happen? This one is really hard to peg, but lets try it out anyway.

I think Drew Stafford has been decent on the power play outside when he forgot how to score in the middle of the season. He could immediately go to Columbus and help them on their playoff push. That’s obviously not enough, but it’s something that other teams may not have to give up.

So here’s the trade: Blue Jackets send Jack Johnson to the Devils for Drew Stafford, Blake Speers and a fourth or fifth round pick. The Devils can even add a conditional pick if they decide to re-sign Johnson.

I do think if the Toronto Maples Leafs get into the conversation, the Devils can’t beat the package they could offer. James van Riemsdyk would already be an upgrade to anything the Devils would be willing to give up. However, there’s no guarantee that team is looking to bring Johnson in. Remember, these are all hypothetical.

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