New Jersey Devils: Negotiating A Trade With Cardiac Canes For Marcus Johansson

Over at FanSided, we tried out a new idea where we talked to experts at other sites to work out trade ideas. Today, we see what the New Jersey Devils could want from the Carolina Hurricanes with Cardiac Canes Oliver Thompson.

Being an NHL GM is hard. Honestly, think about all the pieces you need to be know inside and out. Not only do you need to focus on the NHL team, it’s rosters, it’s coaches, the payroll, contract length, and the happiness of those players, the GM has to focus on the entire prospect pool. Then, these times of the year, that general manager needs to know the right pieces on other teams.

We made an attempt to do that ourselves to make a trade between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils. We learned pretty quickly that the Hurricanes were extremely interested in making a move that puts them over the top on a possible playoff run. That means they need the best available forward from the Devils, and that player is Marcus Johansson.

Johansson will be a hot commodity on the trade market, with many analysts saying the conversation surrounds a first-round pick. However, as the acting Devils general manager, I thought a move for a player with a little more clout would make more sense. We moved the focus from picks to prospects.

It’s also hard to get a first-round pick from a divisional rival. Especially one with the possibility of missing the playoffs and a chance at the lottery.

Immediately, we learned which prospects were off limits. We were told Martin Necas, Janne Kuokkanen, Jake Bean and Adam Fox were not getting traded. It’s unfortunate, because there are some really good players in there. Martin Necas is especially interesting, but obviously teams put a lot into their young players and might not want to lose them for a rental.

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It seemed obvious at that point who the Devils would want. Julien Gauthier is a 2016 first-round pick. The Canes took him with the 21st overall pick, and he’s now playing with their AHL team the Charlotte Checkers. He’s been good this year, scoring 15 goals and posting 12 assists while playing right wing, a position the Devils could still use really good, young players.

The Devils currently have Jesper Bratt and Kyle Palmieri at right wing, but beyond that things get bleak. Joey Anderson has been fine, but he’s still got a ways to go to hit his real potential. Drew Stafford is currently playing fourth-line right wing. The Devils really need another young right winger for next season.

Gauthier also brings something else to the table, he’s got great size. He sits 6’4 and 225 lbs. There’s nobody on the Devils current roster with size like that, especially someone who can play with that much skill.

Still, we felt with so many people coming after Johansson like they are, we needed something else to add some insurance to the deal. We asked for a middle round pick. The Hurricanes have two second-round picks this coming NHL Draft, so it felt like asking for a fourth-round pick wouldn’t hurt at all.

That deal ended up getting accepted. The final deal looks like this: the New Jersey Devils get Julien Gauthier and a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft for Marcus Johansson straight up. This deal could push the Hurricanes to the playoffs. They are one point out of the postseason, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are the only team in the way. If they get another piece, and the Blue Jackets send off Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, they will be celebrating their playoff berth in no time.