New Jersey Devils: Latest Rumors With Every Trade Deadline Piece
The New Jersey Devils are selling everything not tied down to the Prudential Center for the right price. What’s the status on every player still wearing red and black as of Sunday?
This is a time of year the New Jersey Devils know all too well over the past few years. Our favorite team is a seller at the NHL Trade Deadline. However, this year is much different than years past. The Devils have some really good assets that are going to be near the top of team’s want list.
There’s already been some of the biggest trades of the season going through New Jersey. Just one week ago, we sat with baited breath as we waited to see where winger Blake Coleman was going. He was held out of the lineup as the Devils faced the Columbus Blue Jackets. Then, we learned that Coleman was headed to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nolan Foote and a 1st-round pick this season.
Most people were very happy with the return for Coleman, and they were happy with what the Devils got back for Andy Greene. The New York Islanders gave up a 2nd-round pick in 2021 and David Quenneville, who’s at best an AHL defenseman moving forward, for the Devils former captain.
Of course, it seems like a distance memory, but not too long ago Taylor Hall was a member of the New Jersey Devils. Most analysts didn’t like the return for Hall, which includes no guaranteed assets. Nick Merkley looks like a typical change of scenery candidate, and has played very well next to Joey Anderson. Kevin Bahl has been alright while playing with the Ottawa 67’s, but his performance at the World Junior Championship left much to be desired. Nate Schnarr is a fine player, but our expectations are muted at best. The 1st-round pick is by far the best asset there.
The Devils are not done. They have a lot of assets that could come and go in the next 24 hours. Here are the latest rumors on all of them.
Sami Vatanen
Sami Vatanen is currently on injured reserve after a deep bruise left him laying after blocking a shot. It doesn’t seem to be that serious, but it is curious the Devils never let him get a game in before the trade deadline to ease some teams’ worries. However, it isn’t worth it to push him to the limit just to showcase a less-than-100-percent defenseman.
However, it sounds like it’s more likely than not that Vatanen is going to get traded. Just a few weeks ago, it sounded like Vatanen was the player that may have pushed Ray Shero out as GM. Just a few weeks later, he’s one of the most likely trade candidates still in the Devils locker room.
So, which teams are being tied to Vatanen? There are a lot of injuries that tell us which teams might be looking for defensive help.
The Carolina Hurricanes are the obvious one here. Brett Pesce is going to be out a while after the team’s last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They could use someone to replace him and Dougie Hamilton, who got hurt earlier this season. They have two 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-round picks in 2020 (as long as the Leafs don’t somehow fall in the top 10).
The aforementioned Toronto Maple Leafs could be another, but other defensemen seem like a better fit. With their season in flux and already missing their 1st-round pick in the Patrick Marleau deal, it seems like they’ll spend their assets on someone who isn’t a rental.
The Vegas Golden Knights have been tied to Sami Vatanen for a long time. With an injury on the blue line themselves, the Winnipeg Jets have been floated as well. They could hit the Tampa Bay Lightning well again. There are a lot of teams looking for defensive help, but Vatanen can’t be thrown into a number-one role.
As far as return, it’s going to be muted to what we thought they might get even a week ago. If a team was offering a 1st-round pick, this deal would be done already. This feels more like the Marcus Johansson deal that came in just before the buzzer and got the Devils a 2019 2nd-round pick and a 2020 4th-round pick. The Devils will likely take the best possible offer as late as they can. Maybe someone will up the offer if another defenseman comes off the board on Monday.
Wayne Simmonds
Wayne Simmonds was always going to be trade bait if the New Jersey Devils weren’t going to be fighting for a playoff spot. He signed a one-year deal with the Devils for $5 million. He wanted to prove last year’s issues were a one-time thing, but this season he just hasn’t been that good. Still, he provides something that’s desired among that top contending teams. He is a huge body that can park himself in front of the net and put the puck behind a goalie.
He only has 24 points this season, but he’s been alright in the month of February. In fact, if you take out a disastrous December, his numbers aren’t god awful. Taking out those 14 games, he’s actually been a half-point per game. Obviously, those games exist, but the point is he can get on a little bit of a hot streak and be a much more productive player.
The Vancouver Canucks seem to be the most logical team here. They’ve lost Michael Ferlund and Josh Leivo. They traded for Tyler Toffoli to replace the injured Brock Boesser. Now, they have to replace that toughness factor as they want to advance into the Western Conference playoffs. They’re already missing their 1st-round pick in the J.T. Miller trade.
The other teams in the mix aren’t really clear. It seemed like a done deal with Vancouver, but the latest rumors talk about the Devils lack of wanting to to retain salary. That might knock the Canucks out of the running, but we think if it comes down to it the Devils will fold on that front.
Other teams are going to call on Wayne Simmonds. When other pieces come off the board, Simmonds will be a cheaper fall-back plan. What’s the cost? There was a time that some experts floated the idea the Canucks would give up a really good defensive prospect like
Olli Juolevi or Jett Woo. We don’t see that actually happening. It’s much more likely they get something like they got for Ben Lovejoy last year. They will replace the 3rd-round pick they lost in the Nikita Gusev trade and add a roster player for the rest of the season like Oscar Fantenberg. They will retain salary if it means getting the deal done.
Kyle Palmieri
It’s starting to feel more and more like a Kyle Palmieri deal is less likely than 50/50. There was no chance the Devils were trading him before his military ball this past Saturday, but if a deal was done, we figured it would be announced Sunday morning. Here we are, Sunday night, and it’s not there yet.
The price for Palmieri? A freaking ton. It sounds like to get Palmieri, it’s going to take this year’s 1st-round pick and a top prospect.
There are a lot of teams that have been tied to Palmieri is different rumors. The Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche have all been directly linked to Palmieri. They all have very different assets to propose in trades.
The Devils could try to get a young defenseman with major flaws, but ready to go right now (Noah Hanifin from Calgary). They could go after a package of prospects, without a draft pick to build around (Dustin Heinen or Urho Vaakanainen from Boston). There could be a major deal for a top defensive prospect AND a 1st-round pick (Philip Broberg from Edmonton). Then, there’s the team with the top prospects that make every other team salivate (Connor Timmins, Alex Newhook, Martin Kaut from Colorado).
Colorado seems like a perfect destination, with Joe Sakic coming out talking about doing a “hockey deal”. He doesn’t want a rental, and that’s going to cost big during the trade deadline.
Our gut says nobody is willing to match the price the Devils got for Coleman, and that leads to Palmieri staying. Reading the market, it seems the desperation of last week has gone by the wayside. Seeing what other players are commanding on the market seems to have scared away certain teams. Other teams are still in it, but if the Devils price doesn’t go down, it sounds like number 21 is going to spend next season in the Garden State.
Miles Wood
This one still feels like a long shot, but we’ve seen some smoke, so we have to imagine there’s fire somewhere. Miles Wood is one of the most divisive forwards on the team. Some absolutely love him for the grit he brings, the speed he possesses and the kind of old school player that we don’t see very often. Some can’t stand him because he messes up most breakaways he’s on, takes a lot of penalties and inflates his advanced stats with bad shots.
Either way, it seems like other teams are willing to give something up to bring him on board. Wood has two more years after this one, paying him $2.75 million each year. That’s a decent price depending on what the other team expects to get.
Vancouver is once again being named in the running for Wood. No real word what they might give up, but the Devils would likely have to take salary back.
It’s hard to find what other teams might be interested in Miles Wood. It’s even harder to find a return for Wood that makes sense. Is it a 2nd-round pick? Is it a different roster player that needs a change of scenery? You try to figure out what Miles Wood is worth. It’s not an easy proposition.
Other Pieces
Here, there seems to be some pipe dreams for Devils fans, and pipe dreams from other teams. The Toronto Maple Leafs and its fans desperately want Damon Severson. With how he’s been playing, and that wonderful contract he’s playing on, we don’t see any team covering that price the Devils would ask for. A 25-year-old defenseman with major term who’s been really good in years past? This would be a major return.
John Hayden‘s name has been thrown around for teams looking for “toughness”. We don’t actually see a team giving up an asset, but if the Devils are able to recover a 5th-round pick for him, we think they take it. It’s probably more likely the Devils pick up a different roster player to try out.
Kevin Rooney could get moved to a team like the Nashville Predators. It seems like John Hynes is looking for someone to solidify that bottom six, and admittedly Rooney has been playing decent as of late. He’s earned his roster spot, and could use this opportunity to make a playoff run.
P.K. Subban isn’t going anywhere. Every rumor we’re seeing involves the Devils covering the maximum 50% of the salary cap hit, and there’s zero chance the Devils take on $4.5 million next year and the year after. Subban is going to be with the Devils next season, and honestly that’s not a bad thing.
We’d been floored if Nikita Gusev or Pavel Zacha are traded. The same goes for Will Butcher or Jesper Bratt. They seem like they have nowhere to go but up, even Zacha. There’s something there with each player, and getting the right coach in the room could be key to them exposing an insanely productive side.
Next. Devils Don't Have To Trade Kyle Palmieri. dark
Travis Zajac said earlier that he didn’t see himself waiving his no-trade clause, and that he would revisit this in the offseason. That seems like a done deal for now.
Louis Domingue might be a throw in for a deal with another team. It would make sense for a team like Carolina, who just lost James Reimer and Peter Mrazek in the same game. It would at least give them a somewhat competent backup goalie until one of them came back.