New Jersey Devils Should Call Los Angeles Kings About Tyler Toffoli
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils still see themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference despite a big win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This team could use a trade, and apparently the Los Angeles Kings are willing to listen.
It’s safe to say that many New Jersey Devils fans wanted to see a trade just to take a step forward with this roster. After a disastrous 1-6-0 road trip, something needed to change for the Devils. Obviously, head coach John Hynes has been switching up his lines like it’s a board game. That hasn’t seemed to work out. He even sent down Pavel Zacha, who’s since returned to the lineup.
Last season, Ray Shero pulled off the surprise mid-season trade, when he acquired Sami Vatanen from the Anaheim Ducks. It was a deal that really worked out for both teams, as the Devils got a top-line defenseman they needed and the Ducks got center depth with everyone injured.
Now, the Devils need a shakeup, and fans are looking towards Shero to make it happen. Well, it looks like the team that plays in the Staples Center may be looking to shake things up as well.
LA listening on / talking about guys like Toffoli, Muzzin, etc. isn’t geared towards a firesale, but a retool. Today’s trade shows that - adds speed, change of scenery and if doesn’t fit, he’s a UFA and cap space next summer created.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) November 14, 2018
So obviously, Shero is always willing to talk to teams that are willing to listen. Usually, teams will put this out there in order to get calls, and that may not be Shero’s favorite position to be in. There, he’s not only negotiating with the other team, but also with the teams trying to get the same player.
Despite that fact, Shero should still look into bringing Tyler Toffoli to the east coast. He’s a player who the Kings had high hopes for Toffoli, especially on the score sheet. He proved that in the 2013 and 2014 postseasons when he was just 22 years old.
However, since then he hasn’t been exactly what the Kings hoped. He’s now six years into his career, and has one 30-goal season. It seems like that could be an outlier, because he shot a ridiculous 14.6% on the season. In the two seasons after that, he couldn’t break a 10% shooting percentage.
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He has immense skill, and has a great shot, but he could excel even greater if he was around a fast-skating team with skill out the you know what. The Devils could very well be that team.
The question remains, what would the Kings want?
Judging by the Tanner Pearson deal, and by David’s tweet above, the Kings aren’t looking to trade assets for future assets. They want a new look. They don’t want to play for next season. That means they’d want players who can make the roster now.
Well, there are two ways the Devils can look at this deal. They can look to send multiple NHL-ready prospects like John Quenneville, Nick Lappin and/or Brett Seney or send a player like Marcus Johansson and appreciate that Toffoli has an extra year on his contract.
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Other teams could offer more. Personally, I don’t think the Devils should lose their first-round pick in any of these deals. Toffoli is good, but as we saw with Ty Smith, Shero could change the face of this franchise with those picks. Try to make it for multiple prospects, or one roster player plus lesser picks.