New Jersey Devils Best Trade Deadline Fits

As we approach the February 26^th trade deadline, the New Jersey Devils are in need of some pieces if they want to make a push to the playoffs.  With Marcus Johansson out indefinitely, there’s a need for a top 6 forward.

The New Jersey Devils solidified their right defense by adding Sami Vatanen and extending Damon Severson, but an aging Andy Greene and upcoming UFA John Moore leave a lot to be desired in this teams top 4.

Ken Jones and Nick Villano have both written about Moore as a potential trade piece and I even wrote about it before the season started.  It makes sense to move Moore, who’s value is as high as it’ll likely ever be, rather than re-signing him.  There are solid options on the UFA market next year, and with Nick Holden bringing in a 3^rd round pick I’d imagine Moore could at least land a 2^nd rounder.

However, this piece isn’t about who we should deal, rather lets talk about the best moves for New Jersey.  This isn’t specifically about acquiring the best player, but instead about acquiring a player that fits New Jersey now and for the future that won’t have a massive salary cap impact.

Let’s start with the best possible move I think the Devils could make.

Oscar Klefbom

It seems unreal that the Edmonton Oilers are even discussing this, but the reality in this league is that for the right deal any player is available.  Klefbom will likely cost a good amount as he’s a legitimate top-pairing left defenseman who is signed until 2023 at an AAV of $4.167 million.

Acquiring Klefbom would allow Greene to drop into a more fitting second pairing role and would make moving pending UFA John Moore easier.

Alex Galchenyuk

This is a crazy one.  Alex Galchenyuk is a good player and the fact the Montreal is willing to part with a 24-year-old top 6 winger on a team friendly deal is still crazy to me. Nick Villano actually wrote up a profile of Galchenyuk recently as a trade deadline target. With the loss of Marcus Johansson as a result of the Brad Marchand cheap shot, the Devils have a clear need in their top 6.  Miles Wood could likely fill in, but the reality is that depth is a good thing.

Galchenyuk is versatile and can play all three forward positions, possibly sliding in on Pavel Zacha’s left or right wing.  Galchenyuk is shooting just over 5% at 5v5 this year and has the lowest 5v5 P/60 of his career at 1.35.  His possession numbers relative to team are all pretty low as well.

This seems like the perfect buy-low scenario for the Devils.  Galchenyuk has seemingly fallen out of favor in Montreal and could slide right into the Devils top 6.  He’ll likely cost significantly less than someone like Mike Hoffman and fits the trajectory of this Devils team well.

Bringing Home Another Jersey Kid

James Van Riemsdyk is having a phenomenal year in Toronto.  He’ll likely hit the free market as a UFA and sign a massive contract.  He’s another player Nick Villano profiled in his trade deadline series too.  It seems likely Toronto will hold onto JVR and is willing to lose him for nothing in free agency, but when it comes to rentals JVR is really the only one who makes sense for New Jersey.

At even strength, JVR could slot in on Zacha’s left wing and push Bratt back out to RW where he found early success this season.  His major impact would likely be as a net front presence on the recently dreadful Devils power play.

Maybe I’m dreaming, but with Hall and Kyle Palmieri working the boards, Sami Vatanen working the point, and JVR and Nico Hischier the power play could buzz again.

This seems unlikely, but lets move on to another Toronto winger that could slide right into the Devils middle 6.

Josh Leivo

Josh Leivo is a young, quality winger.  At 24 and signed for one more year at a cap hit under $700k, Leivo could be the perfect addition to supplement the loss of Johansson.  He won’t cost a fortune, and when given the opportunity, he’s shown he can produce.

For reference sake here’s a side by side using Bill Comeau’s SKATR tool of Galchenyuk and Leivo.

Next: New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: Max Domi

It’ll certainly be an interesting couple of days.  It seems Ray Shero always has a trick up his sleeve so let’s see how this one plays out.