New Jersey Devils fans have enjoyed discussing possible trade scenarios involving the likes of Brock Boeser, Mikhail Sergachev and Patrik Laine. While those three players would be an ideal fits for the Devils, it is just mere speculation that those players will be moved, or if the Devils would have any interest being that the price tag for those players would be astronomical. Laine in particular has been the subject of fun trade fodder, which has picked up steam as of late. However, if I’m Tom Fitzgerald, I would pivot off him and look to acquire one of Laine’s teammates in Winnipeg for a far less price. Nikolaj Ehlers isn’t the sexy name that Laine is, but he would bring some electrifying offense to New Jersey.
Ehlers is a left wing for the Winnipeg Jets who has tremendous offensive upside moving forward. He is a finesse player with amazing vision, slick play-making abilities and could put the puck in the net. In four out of his five full NHL seasons, he has four seasons of 20 goals or more. He has compiled 115 goals and 257 points at this point in his career at the age of 24. Had the 2019-20 regular season not been cut short he could have had his first 30-goal season.
The prime of Ehlers’ career is looking bright. Much of the Devils’ future success comes from building through their young core, particularly with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes at their disposal. General manager Tom Fitzgerald would be wise to bring forwards with successful NHL experience to expedite the growth of these two young centers. The Devils have an abundance of salary cap space, so Ehlers’ $6 million will not be an issue for the team to absorb. It is even better that he is under contract for the next five seasons. Being that he hasn’t even reached his peak yet, the $6 million cap hit could be a potential steal.
Speaking of salary cap. Winnipeg has $43.8 million tied up to their offense for the 2020-21 season with $5.2 million potentially added onto the cap when Bryan Little comes off injured reserve. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck accounts for another $6.1 million and the team only has four defensemen under contract for the 2020-21 season. More concerning is that Patrik Laine, Neal Pionk and Andrew Copp are due raises as restricted free agents following the 2020-21 season.
If Tom Fitzgerald were to smell blood in the water, then he needs to pounce immediately. Winnipeg is one of many teams in a strange predicament moving forward where they may potentially give up some talented players. The Devils could even help facilitate a trade by agreeing to take on Mathieu Perreault‘s contract which has $4.125 million left with one year remaining. By trading for Ehlers and Perreault that would help Winnipeg clear 10 million off of their cap, and give them much needed space to acquire a defenseman or two.
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The only issue is that defense being such a big need for Winnipeg, would the Devils be willing to trade one of Damon Severson or Ty Smith? Would the Devils be willing to surrender Arizona or Vancouver’s 1st-round pick should the conditions on those picks be met? The Devils would still need to be creative to make a trade work, but ultimately have the assets to pull it off.
With the front office being settled and a head coach in place, the Devils could begin to focus on addressing needs for next season and beyond. With free agency not being the proper way to construct teams, the Devils would be wise to use their salary cap as arsenal to acquire young, successful NHL players. This long off-season will be filled with so many trade scenarios from Devils fans. Nikolaj Ehlers should be a name to keep an eye on this off-season.