New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Profile: Pittsburgh Penguins

The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins are always tied in trade rumors because of Ray Shero’s former status as GM and John Hynes being their AHL coach. Is this the year another deal actually happens?

The New Jersey Devils have never been afraid to trade within the division. Heck, last season they made their first trade with the New York Rangers to get Michael Grabner. They got Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals. In the past five years, the Devils made a trade with every Metropolitan Division team besides the New York Islanders.

This season, the Devils could look to make a move to help the Pittsburgh Penguins keep their dynasty going. It’s a different year for the Penguins since they’ve been closer to the Wild Card than they are to the top of the division, but it’s still anyone’s hockey game.

The Penguins have been one of the most active teams since the start of the new year. They sent Jamie Oleksiak to the Dallas Stars for a pick, they got former Devils player Joseph Blandisi from the Anaheim Ducks and they made a major trade with the Florida Panthers to get Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann. Those are roster-changing moves that changes the scope of their franchise.

Does that make it any less likely they’re going to make more deals? The Penguins are not a franchise that ever feels like their done making moves. If something hits their desk that helps them win another title, then they are going to do it.

There are two deals the Penguins and Devils can make, and they involve the two most obvious trade pieces on the team. The Penguins just lost Olli Maata for at least a month, but likely more with a shoulder separation. That leaves a huge hole in the defense, and with the limited assets on the market, the Penguins will look for a stop gap for cheap.

That’s where the Devils come in. They have multiple stop-gap-for-cheap options on the roster. The Penguins will likely look at two options; Mirco Mueller and Ben Lovejoy.

Will either go to a team and change everything? Of course not. However, for a middle-round pick, they get a guy to plug in and get through this time until Maata is back on the ice, when they will be good enough to go to the bottom pairing. Lovejoy is especially interesting since he won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins.

The issue here is the Penguins have very little in draft capital left. They have no second, third or sixth round pick.  Their fourth-round pick has conditions on it, although it’s in their favor. They don’t have their own seventh-round pick, but they do have Vegas’. If this deal is going to happen, whether it’s for Lovejoy or Mueller, we’re probably looking at 2020.

They’d basically give up a 2020 third-round pick, since it would cost more to wait a whole year. That’s something Shero would definitely consider when it comes to two upcoming free agents.

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The other trade seems a little bit harder. The Penguins would love to add a player like Marcus Johansson. He’s the perfect player in that season, similar to how Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal or more recently Patric Hornqvist excelled as a skilled winger alongside Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby.

Again, now we’re worried about compensation. The Penguins would have to look into their prospect pool to make up for their lack of draft picks here, unless they were willing to give up that first-round pick. If they offer that, the Devils take it.

With their lack of picks, and Crosby and Malkin getting older every day, they will want to keep those.

The Devils will ask first for defenseman prospect Filip Hallander. He was drafted last year, and looks really, really good so far. The Penguins won’t want to give him up, but is there anyone else worth making a move for? Let’s assume the Penguins call him untouchable, but he could get a deal for Johansson done as a centerpiece.

Anthony Angelo is a big forward who’s second on the Wilkes-Barre Penguins in goals. Teddy Blueger is another name, who’s actually leading the AHL team in goals, who might be of interest to the Devils. However, he’s now on the big-league club and could be a pivotal player if the Penguins want to make a run.

This would likely be for Angelo and a draft pick in 2020. The trade looks like this: the Penguins get Marcus Johansson and the Devils get Anthony Angelo and a 2020 third-round pick. It’s not the best return for the Devils during this trade deadline, but if Artemi Panarin and Mark Stone are actually available, that hurts the Devils market considerably.

This could be seen as a disappointment to Devils fans, as it’s a player without the highest ceiling and a draft pick over a year from now, but the market could change expectations sooner rather than later.