3 Players New Jersey Devils Should Target From Vegas Golden Knights
The NHL offseason is in full swing for the New Jersey Devils and other teams across the league. The Devils are one of the fortunate teams where they could weaponize their abundance of salary cap space to acquire assets that could help them in the immediate future. The Devils did just that when they acquired Andreas Johnsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs and only gave up young winger Joey Anderson. Under normal circumstances, the Devils would need to sweeten the pot and throw in a draft pick in the trade, but with a flat salary cap and teams looking to shed salary Anderson was enough to get the deal done.
That leads us to the Vegas Golden Knights. Alex Pietrangelo just inked a long-term deal with the franchise, so Vegas will need to shed some salary in order to facilitate that kind of big signing. They just shipped out defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks, which clears some salary, but they still need to shed more since they are still technically over the cap.
The names Vegas will look to deal may include forwards Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Max Pacioretty and defenseman Alec Martinez. Vegas has a few intriguing assets which should appeal to general manager Tom Fitzgerald. Let’s dive into who the Devils should acquire from Vegas.
Brayden McNabb
Brayden McNabb is an ideal player that the Devils should look to acquire as a bridge defenseman until some of the younger players in their prospect pool are ready to take over. This type of signing allows the team to properly develop their defenseman while also maintaining a formidable defensive core at the NHL level.
McNabb is an analytics darling who is a very good shot suppressor at even strength is a very good penalty killer, two glaring issues for the 2019-2020 New Jersey Devils. Acquiring McNabb gives the Devils a viable 1-2 punch on the left side of defense along with Ryan Murray and allows Will Butcher to play more manageable minutes on the 3rd pairing. It also enables rookie Ty Smith to shift over to the right side of defense which he has stated is his more comfortable side. This will help the Devils sure up their defense while giving Vegas some much needed cap relief.
If Tom Fitzerald wants to swing for the fences, he must be adamant about acquiring right winger Alex Tuch. However unlikely it is Vegas will look to move Tuch, it is not outside of the realm of possibilities that he ultimately is the odd man out. It may be quite difficult to trade guys with big contracts such as Reilly Smith, Jonathan Marchessault, Max Pacioretty or Marc-Andre Fleury. It may force Vegas’s hand into trading someone that they do not want to trade.
Tuch fits exactly what the Devils are looking to do at 24 years of age with six years of term left on his contract. He is defensively responsible and could put the puck into the net which would be an ideal fit on Jack Hughes‘s line.
Much like a young Kyle Palmieri, he would benefit from playing top 6 minutes with the Devils as opposed to playing less minutes on a stacked Vegas team. He is a perfect long-term replacement for the *gasp* aforementioned Palmieri or Nikita Gusev if the Devils elect to eventually trade or let them walk in free agency. Tuch is an analytical dream for any team that acquires him.
Nicolas Roy
Thinking outside the box here, but for Vegas to unload another large contract, they may have to sweeten the pot. Nicolas Roy has a palatable contract and is under team control after it expires, so a guy like that may not necessarily be on the trading block.
However, if Vegas is desperate to unload a large contract, it’s hands may be tied into giving up a player that they do not want to trade in Roy to entice teams like the Devils. Roy is a middle six forward who is very good at both ends of the ice. He would be an ideal 3rd line fixture for the Devils and future replacement for 35 year old Travis Zajac. He is versatile where he could play the wing also, and fits into the core of the team at age 23.
Vegas has a plethora of centers at the NHL level and rookie Cody Glass should see significant playing time next season, allowing this kind of trade to happen. This is the kind of shrewd move that Fitzgerald could make to help the Devils for the foreseeable future.
dark. Next. The Things We Liked, Loved, and Hated About Devils Draft
Guys like Brayden McNabb, Alex Tuch and Nicolas Roy may not be the sexiest names available through trade, but they all fill needs that would make the Devils a better team for it. If I’m Tom Fitzgerald, I’m discussing trade talks with Vegas general manager George McPhee ASAP. Sometimes the best things don’t always stay in Vegas.