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New Jersey Devils Acquire Carrick and a 3rd for Lovejoy

By Tyler Kelley |
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 23: Connor Carrick #5 of the Dallas Stars handles the puck against the Los Angeles Kings at the American Airlines Center on October 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 23: Connor Carrick #5 of the Dallas Stars handles the puck against the Los Angeles Kings at the American Airlines Center on October 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images)

The second domino fell for the New Jersey Devils today as they moved Ben Lovejoy to the Dallas Stars for Connor Carrick and a 3rd-round pick.

I thought all year the Devils would end up getting a 3rd/4th for Lovejoy at the deadline as teams traditionally overpay for veteran defensemen, and Lovejoy’s value as a strong penalty killing RD was higher than many thought.

Lovejoy was a seriously underrated defenseman throughout his time in New Jersey. After the 2016-17 season, fans used him as a punching bag, but he filled massive PK minutes and served as Will Butcher’s partner.  You can see his impact in that role here.

The return is certainly more than I expected.  Getting a 3rd-round pick is a win in itself, but adding in 24 year old RHD Connor Carrick makes this an absolute steal for the Devils.  Lovejoy was an expiring UFA who I’d argue the Devils got far more than his cap hit out of throughout his tenure.

Now more on the return.

While its far from a guarantee that a 3rd-round pick pans out let’s take a look at the 3rd rounders since Shero took over.

Fabian Zetterlund, Reilly Walsh, Joey Anderson, and Blake Speers.  Anderson has already cracked the Devils lineup and while Speers has been disappointing, there is a ton of potential in the Zetterlund-Walsh duo drafted in 2017.

That’s what you get with a 3rd.  The odds of it becoming an NHL player are slim but Shero has had success .

Carrick is a nice added bonus in this deal.  The 24 year old RHD has played 181 career games between Washington, Toronto, and Dallas.  He’s been haunted by Roman Polak since 2016 and it looks like he’s finally escaped.  He played 67 games in 2016-17 for Toronto and 47 in 17-18 but had only seen 14 games this year in Dallas.

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Using Bill Comeau’s SKATR tool we can take a broad look at Carrick’s overall ability at 5v5 in his limited minutes the past 3 years.  It’s favorable for sure and considering it seems like he was part of the deal simply as a bonus its big for the Devils.

He’s not going to the blow the doors off offensively but 24 year old RHD that can play meaningful minutes don’t grow on trees.

I think it’s likely he slots right into a 3rd pair role for the Devils where he’s an upgrade of Steven Santini.  The key here is the Devils RD depth is solidified moving forward.  With Severson, Vatanen, and Santini under contract after next year and Carrick an RFA the Devils can now fully focus on other needs moving forward.

Overall, this deal is a huge win for the Devils in my book.  An A+ for sure and all though its obviously dependent on the pick and Carrick’s development moving forward getting this type of return of Lovejoy is automatic win.

The Trade God is back folks.

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