New Jersey Devils Should Trade For Evgeni Malkin

The New Jersey Devils are no stranger to making huge trades. There is a new name on the market that should intrigue them.

The New Jersey Devils are going to have a great team with lots of cap space soon enough. They do need to re-sign Taylor Hall who might get anywhere from $8-10 million per year as he has emerged as a true superstar in the National Hockey League. If he isn’t the best winger in the NHL he is certainly top five. Nico Hischier might also get a nice contract as well as he is emerging as a star two-way center. Even after all of that, there is a name out there that should intrigue every team in the NHL including the Devils.

Every year that the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t win the Stanley Cup, there is a rumor that they will explore the idea of trading superstar center Evgeni Malkin. This is the type of player that doesn’t get traded often. In fact, the last time a player of this magnitude was traded was probably Taylor Hall. The Devils have tons of cap space and could pull this off if they wanted to.

The New Jersey Devils might run into cap space troubles eventually, especially if they sign Hall and Hischier long term, and if Jack Hughes earns himself a serious payday in the future among others. These issues could be years away. Evgeni Malkin makes $9.5 million for the next three seasons. He will be an unrestricted free agent the summer going into 2022-23. That will be a time that the Devils can let him go at the age of 35. That means they would get him for the back half of his prime and by the time the Devils current roster gets lucrative, he will be off the books.

Who is Evgeni Malkin the player? That would be one of the greatest players to ever live. He has literally done it all. He is a three-time Stanley Cup Champion, a former Hart Trophy winner, a winner of the Calder Trophy, a two-time Art Ross trophy winner as the leagues leading scorer, and a Conn Smythe Trophy recipient as the MVP of the playoffs. He is simply one of the best players of this generation and all time.

Living in the shadow of Sidney Crosby, he might be one of the most underrated players ever. In a “down” year he had 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points in 68 games.

If you have a player disappointed while being over a point per game you still have a great player. To go along with that disappointing 1.05 points per game, he had yet another visit to the postseason with the Penguins. They were swept by the New York Islanders, but they just ran out of gas after winning nine straight playoff series before they lost to the Washington Capitals last year.

He is one year removed from a season that saw him have 42 goals and 56 assists for 98 points. If he were to come to the New Jersey Devils he would be given lots of young skill to play with at even strength and on the power play. The Devils are getting younger and the Penguins are getting older so this could really help the back half of his prime. Right, when his contract would become a problem for the Devils is when it expires so there isn’t much worry there.

They might also be able to get the Penguins to retain a certain percent of his contract as it only has three years left. The Devils have something that the Penguins lack and that is cap space, prospect capital, and a surplus of draft picks. If the Devils were to add Malkin right now this could make them a very dangerous team while he is here and leave them in a great spot when the three years is up.

The things he could teach Hischier and Hughes about being a great centerman are invaluable. He also cares so much about winning and it has shown in his illustrious career. He also has familiarity with Devils general manager Ray Shero as he was the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in Malkin’s career.

This is a player that if you add him, he could transform the outlook of your franchise and give Taylor Hall some help in teaching the young stars like Hischier and Hughes how to be superstars.

It feels like a match made in heaven because of the timing of his contract with the Devils potential financial issues and his on the ice play. Even in his early 30s, he will be one of the better players in the NHL. He is no longer the second best player in the NHL but he is still a complete game breaker.