Were New Jersey Devils Ever Actually In On Erik Karlsson?
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils did not end up winning the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes despite being a rumored part of it the entire time. Now that the San Jose Sharks won the prize, did the Devils really ever have a shot?
It’s finally over. The Erik Karlsson trade saga is over, and even the teams that didn’t acquire him are happy. It was one of the longest, most dragged out traded processes ended on Thursday when Karlsson was sent to the San Jose Sharks for a package of picks and prospects that it seemed like the New Jersey Devils could have matched. That bears the question, did the Devils ever actually have a chance to nab Karlsson, or was it all fake rumors with no bearing?
There has to be some truth to the rumors, but it could be as little as Ray Shero making a call to see what the cost for Karlsson was. I’d be surprised if every team in the NHL didn’t make that same phone call. Shero definitely made the same phone call, asking Pierre Dorian what he wanted for the star defenseman.
Now that we have that established, what evidence do we have showing how close the Devils got? Shero will never speak on a deal that never happened. In fact, the fact that some people were talking about the Devils as a possibility may show the Devils weren’t in it. Sure, the Devils make sense because they have intriguing prospects and a ton of cap space, but there are some issues.
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There’s one condition in the Sharks-Senators trade that shows the Devils may have not had a chance. If the Sharks trade Karlsson to any team in the Eastern Conference this season, then they have to give the Senators a first-round pick. If they feel that strongly about Karlsson not being in the East, then it’s very unlikely he would have been traded to the Devils.
Either that, or the asking price would be much higher. Even though the Senators didn’t get either a first-round pick this season, or a top prospect, they may have had a massive asking price for an East team. Whether it was Brayden Point with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Charlie McAvoy with the Boston Bruins or Will Butcher from the Devils, the Senators probably had a massive asking price for teams on this side of North America.
Remember, when the Devils got Cory Schneider, they only sent the Vancouver Canucks a first-round picks. Meanwhile, the Canucks asked the Edmonton Oilers to send a first, second and third-round pick to keep him in the division.
In conclusion, the Devils had a shot. Every team did. However, the asking price was likely insane to keep this top defenseman in the Eastern Conference. So, yes there was a chance, but likely not one any of us wanted to take.