New Jersey Devils: Three Trade Packages For Brock Boeser
Adding Brock Boeser would be the right move for the New Jersey Devils.
The New Jersey Devils are trying to build themselves a core that can have sustained success for a long time. They have some really good young players in the mix, but they need some more help. They are going to look to draft some high-end talent here in 2020. They might try to be active on the free-agent and trade market once again. If Brock Boeser is one of the players that becomes available this offseason, he’s a player the Devils must go after.
Rumors were flying around Canucks/hockey Twitter that Vancouver might be looking to trade him. If that were the case, the Devils should be one of the first calls Jim Benning takes. He is a great goal scorer that would be the perfect compliment to guys like Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes. Those guys can provide lots of offense and have a lot of high-end skills so having a sniper in Boeser next to them would be so good.
Boeser is only 23 years old and already has made a tremendous impact in the National Hockey League. He has been awesome already, but he still has room to grow. 2019-20 was a bit of a down year for him as he had 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points in 59 games. Those aren’t awful numbers, so you know that he is a great player when we call that a “down year”.
In 197 career games for Vancouver, he has 75 career goals and 86 assists for 161 points. Those are some pretty good numbers for such a young player that has the potential to get even better. if the Devils were able to add someone like this, it would be special. These are three packages that might get it done:
Trade One
If the New Jersey Devils offered Damon Severson and a 1st-round pick for Brock Boeser, it might be something worth considering for Vancouver. They need to shed cap while improving other areas of their team. They could use a puck-moving defenseman to join the likes of Quinn Hughes on the blue line. Severson could be that guy.
The first-round pick would probably have to be the Arizona pick because it will be right there in the middle of the first round where they can get a high-quality player in a deep draft. The Canucks are going to run into some cap issues when the cap goes down so trading Boeser for a pick where they can select a younger (and cheaper) player might be something they consider.
Adding Severson would also replace Boeser’s salary with a player that can help them in another area. He would be pretty good as a guy who can quarterback their second power-play unit. He and Hughes could be a great 1-2 duo on the power play back end, so you never know if they go for something like this. If you are the Devils, this is a trade you make all day. Severson has been good at times, but Boeser would be able to provide something special with these two young centers. They also have other 1st-round picks in 2020 where they can draft young players.
Trade Two
If the New Jersey Devils were to trade Ty Smith, it would have to be for a very good player. Smith is a highly-regarded prospect as he was the Devils’ 17th-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He has dominated the WHL as a member of the Spokane Cheifs for a long time now, and his pro-hockey arrival is right around the corner. He is in the Devils plans, but if they could move him for Boeser it would be worth it.
Smith would be a cheap (for now) option on the Canucks blue line in a relatively short amount of time. Pavel Zacha joining their lineup would probably be both good for him and them. Zacha hasn’t lived up to being the 6th overall pick but he has had moments where he was a great player. He is a phenomenal penalty killer and can be good defensively at times.
Zacha just hasn’t been able to provide enough offense to make you feel like you weren’t wanting more. A change of scenery for Zacha might be able to unlock something for him. There would also be a lot of pressure lifted off his shoulders if they moved him to another team. He doesn’t make as much money as Boeser and he would be in a much more limited role that might be able to help them in other areas.
That 2nd-round pick in 2021 that the Devils would send to Vancouver is the one that they received from the New York Islanders in the Andy Greene deal. It would be interesting to see if a big deal like this could get done where each team is getting different things that they need.
Trade Three
The Vancouver Canucks are going to be tight against the Cap here soon if they don’t make some moves. They might be wise to use Brock Boeser to get Loui Eriksson‘s awful contract off their books. Eriksson is their highest-paid forward and tied for the highest-paid player on the team with Tyler Myers and Alexander Edler. Eriksson used to be a great player, but since going to Vancouver he has been awful. He had 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in 49 games this year.
The Devils have plenty of cap room and even a spot in the lineup if Eriksson had to come over in a deal to get Boeser. After having a 30 goal season with Boston in 2015-16, he hasn’t eclipsed 30 total points since with Vancouver. Vancouver would be delighted to get this albatross contract out of their way.
Kevin Bahl has yet to make his New Jersey Devils debut yet. He was acquired in the Taylor Hall trade back in December, but if the Canucks wanted him in a Boeser deal, it is worth it. Bahl might turn into a pretty good defensive defenseman one day, but that is okay as long as Boeser would continue to score lots of goals.
Although the Devils would be eating Eriksson’s cap hit, they would still be getting Boeser so some picks going to Vancouver is still probably necessary. The Devils have Vancouver’s 2020 first because the Lightning gave it to them in the Blake Coleman deal. The Lightning had it from the J.T. Miller trade so it would be making its way back to Vancouver. The fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2020 would be thrown in too to make this deal fairer.
Hot. The New Jersey Devils should go after Reilly Walsh. light
All of these are a long shot right now but the rumor is out there. Whenever a rumor like that floats around you have to wonder what the Devils’ management thinks about it. There is a reason now that Brock Boeser and Loui Eriksson are the two most searched active players right now on CapFriendly dot com. Although just rumors, adding a player like Boeser would be awesome and a lot of fun to watch.