New Jersey Devils Make Brilliant Move Adding Nikita Gusev
The New Jersey Devils had a fantastic offseason but they are apparently not done as they made one of the most anticipated trades in team history.
The New Jersey Devils have traded two draft picks to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for left-wing Nikita Gusev. This has been a move that Devils fans have been waiting for all summer. It was more of a dream for a while because of the fact that Vegas is cap-strapped and the Devils have lots of money to spend.
The deal started to materialize over the weekend as Gusev was given permission to speak to the Devils and the trade was finalized on Monday afternoon. It was a trade that made everyone happy and it fills out the Devils group of wingers quite nicely. They also have a bunch of depth at the center of the ice, so their forward core is looking real good.
Gusev is the top non-NHL player in the world right now. He spent 2018-19 with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League where he scored 17 goals and had 65 assists for 82 points. The 27-year-old led the league in both assists and points. The KHL is not the NHL but it is still a top league in the world and leading it in scoring is no small task. He was an all-star for the fourth time in his KHL career as well.
He is going to come to New Jersey and have some expectations on him right away to produce offense. There is a reason to believe that he will get a chance in the top-six right away and perhaps skate on the left-hand side of number one overall pick Jack Hughes. Gusev is a good skater with good hands and should make a difference right away.
Not long after making the deal the Devils announced they signed Gusev to a two-year contract worth 4.5 million dollars. That will make him an unrestricted free agent after the 2020-21 season so he has two seasons to prove himself. The Devils now have a nice group of wingers with Gusev being added to Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Jesper Bratt, Wayne Simmonds, Blake Coleman, and Wayne Simmonds. They will accommodate the centers of Hughes, Nico Hischier, Travis Zajac and Pavel Zacha quite nicely.
Related Story. Evaluating Nico Hischier. light
There is a lot of potential with this team not, and Gusev is hopefully going to be a part of it for a long time. This is a fun day to be a New Jersey Devils fan. The wait was worth it. The goose is loose!