New Jersey Devils: Five Most Tradable Players
By Mike Luci
Pavel Zacha, Center
With the New Jersey Devils poised to select Jack Hughes with the first overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the team will have a logjam of quality center depth on their NHL roster. Along with Hughes, Nico Hischier and Travis Zajac will comprise the team’s 1-3 center slots next season. This leaves little room for former first-round pick Pavel Zacha to build on his subtly encouraging 2018-2019 campaign and perhaps makes him New Jersey’s most expendable asset.
Despite having all the developmental components of a quality power forward, Zacha has been a relatively slow boil since the Devils selected him sixth overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to this past season, Zacha never got more than eight goals or 25 points in a single season. Although he set a new career-high of 13 goals, he merely eclipsed the 25-point plateau, but rebounded strongly from a sluggish start to his 2018-2019 year.
One of my recent pieces highlighted Zacha’s 2018-2019 endeavors, which saw him score zero goals through his first 12 games, which was followed by a 12-day AHL demotion. In his final 49 contests, Zacha tallied 13 goals, which would have put him on pace to score 20+ over an 82-game season.
While Zacha took some commendable baby steps in his offensive development this past season, he especially thrives on the penalty kill, garnering the third-highest amount of playing time in shorthanded situations among Devils forwards. Zacha might not be coveted for his offensive skill, could make a good trade chip for teams looking to improve their penalty kill. Although Zacha is slated to become a restricted free agent, he’s likely to sign a modest bridge deal no higher than $2-2.5 million, which is very absorbable.