New Jersey Devils Get Great Value From Nashville Predators For Brian Boyle

The New Jersey Devils made their first major move at the NHL Trade Deadline, where they traded Brian Boyle to the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick.

As much as I hate to say this, it makes sense that New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero traded Brian Boyle. The New Jersey Devils are riddled with injuries, the lineup looks pretty bad, and he was stuck playing with Kurtis Gabriel and Kevin Rooney the past two games. Boyle’s still very good on the power play and penalty kill, but there’s no chance he could make any contributions with who he was playing with 5v5.

Still, the Nashville Predators came in and offered a second-round pick for Boyle’s services, which is a trade Shero has to make. This gives the Devils a crucial asset this offseason for a guy who theoretically could leave as soon as his contract ends on July 1st.

What’s crazy is there is actually a chance that Boyle is a pure rental, and he could return to the Devils once free agency begins. He seemed to really like his time in New Jersey, he’s used to this area after years with the New York Rangers, and he seemed to believe in the vision of Shero, John Hynes and the New Jersey Devils organization. It’s probably less likely he returns after he was traded, but it remains a possibility.

Boyle is a fourth-line center/wing that Shero just got a second-round pick for. That’s a great return, even at the trade deadline. Shero has been inconsistent with his deadline deals, both as a buyer and a seller, but this one he hit out of the park. Especially with the Devils missing their third-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft, this essentially replaces that pick.

It’s sad to see Boyle go. He was one of the biggest fan favorites on this team. He played every night with passion, even when the Devils were getting wrecked throughout the season. We will miss him in a Devils uniform, but at least now we can root for him to go win a cup with Nashville.