New Jersey Devils: Ray Shero Not Done After Michael Grabner Trade
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils pulled off a shocker, trading with their biggest rivals in the New York Rangers. Some of the aspects of the trade show the Devils probably aren’t done making moves.
The trade deadline was mostly quiet until this week, where the New York Rangers got the ball rolling. They made two trades, one sending Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins and the other sending Michael Grabner to the New Jersey Devils.
The latter of those trades is obviously the trade we want to talk about. Grabner comes to the Devils for a second-round pick and Yegor Rykov. This trade feels weird, because it’s against everything that GM Ray Shero has preached about trades for weeks. He’s said that he will only make deals with help the Devils now and in the future. But, this trade send a high pick and a young defenseman for a guy on an expiring contract.
That tells me that the Devils are not done making moves.
One move that almost seems obvious at this point is John Moore will get traded. Since Shero was confident to trade away his second-round pick, especially since the Devils don’t have a third-round pick either, shows that he’s also confident he can get a second for Moore’s services. After seeing Holden get a third-round pick and a prospect, I can see Moore getting a second easily.
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Will the Devils stop after a John Moore deal? Maybe, but I’m still not convinced. There are so many teams dangling so many very good players this season, that Shero will have a hard time not making more moves.
On top of that, the Grabner trade proves the Devils are focused on making the playoffs. After this trade, expect to see the Metropolitan Division shooting for the moon. Teams on the bubble like Columbus and Carolina could make a splash to try and supersede the Devils move, trying to outdo them and make the playoffs themselves. Also, I could see Philadelphia, Washington and Pittsburgh making their own moves to bolster their spots atop the division.
The march to the trade deadline has begun, and the Devils aren’t done. I expect a move even bigger than this to get fans excited for the home stretch.