Should New Jersey Devils Buy At The Trade Deadline?
The trade deadline is fast approaching this NHL season. That date is a little over a month away, February 26th, 2019 to be exact. So that begs the question, what does it mean for the New Jersey Devils?
In all likelihood, the New Jersey Devils will not make it to the dance. They are eleven points out of a playoff position as we stand right now, and there are four non-playoff teams still ahead of them. At this point, is quite the long shot. Even though the team has played better in recent weeks even without their star Taylor Hall because of injury, it is likely they will be sellers.
Who are the big names that might be available at the trade deadline? Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin is an unrestricted free agent come July 1st. This is a complicated one because the Blue Jackets are a playoff threat and may want to attempt a run in which they would need Panarin, and their star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky who is also in the exact same predicament. It will ultimately be up to Columbus and their management how they handle this.
The other two big trade targets this season, both belong to the Ottawa Senators, who like the Devils are far out of the playoffs. The only difference, is they are much farther behind the Devils in terms of rebuilding, they are just beginning. For this reason, it is almost certain that they will move their two best players in Mark Stone, and Matt Duchene. They already traded the face of their franchise, Erik Karlsson, to the San Jose Sharks right before the season began.
As far as Panarin, Stone and Duchene go, all three of them are guys the Devils should go after in the summer in free agency, but not as trade targets. The Devils aren’t going anywhere this season, so stay put and put the focus into next year. These are guys who could and probably even will likely be traded. The Devils are not really in the market for rental type trade though due to how the season has gone so far.
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The number one priority should be the young guys getting better, improving the team and figuring out what Taylor Hall wants to do. Hall will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st 2020, so the Devils could be in the same predicament next season at this time of year if they don’t agree to a deal in time.
The Devils will actually likely be sellers this season. Any player that is on an expiring contract that is not likely to resign this summer, will likely be traded for assets. This could include Brian Boyle, Marcus Johansson, Ben Lovejoy, and Keith Kinkaid. If a Stanley Cup Contender sees any of those guys as a piece they could use on their playoff run, they could give the Devils some nice assets for them.
Next. Devils Looking Ahead To 2019. dark
There is still time for the Devils to get themselves back into the playoff positions, but they would need to go on decent run here and get some help, leading most to believe the Devils will be open for business as the trade deadline approaches.