New Jersey Devils: 3 Ways To Make A Jack Eichel Trade Happen
By Nick Villano
Empty The Cupboard Of Prospects And Picks
The Devils have cap space, they have top-level young NHL players, but they also have a monster prospect pool. The Sabres currently have Dylan Cozens playing in the NHL and showing some real flashes. He’s going to be very good. Jack Quinn was their top pick this season, but it would have probably been better for them if they took Marco Rossi. The Devils picked right before the Sabres, and they took Alexander Holtz. That is where this conversation starts.
The Sabres will tell the Devils that Holtz and this year’s 1st-round pick is necessary to make any deal work. That’s not the deal, it’s just the start. They will want a center as well, so Dawson Mercer makes sense. They could also ask for Michael McLeod and Yegor Sharangovich to go all in on young pieces.
The Sabres will also want the Devils’ best goalie prospect in Nico Daws. They have Jonas Johansson in the pipeline, and he’s just about ready to take the net. Still, they will want a backup plan, and Daws has a lot of skills.
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So, basically, the Devils will be able to veto three or four players (which would be Ty Smith, Hughes, Hischier, and Mackenzie Blackwood), then let the Sabres go on a shopping spree until the Devils say when. This is also a hard pill to swallow, but it’s the price of playing in the big leagues. Teams aren’t going to just give away star players. The Devils need to give away an insane amount of assets to get an Eichel on the team. Still, if it means putting Eichel, Hughes, and Hischier down the middle, then it’s an insane position that might be worth selling the farm for.