New Jersey Devils: 5 Players To Target At Trade Deadline
The New Jersey Devils didn’t seem like they would be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, but that seems possible at this point.
This New Jersey Devils team is incredibly fun. They never give up, nothing seems to phase them, they are extremely young, yet they find ways to win like a veteran-laden team. Everything has gone wrong this season. Mackenzie Blackwood got the coronavirus just weeks after Corey Crawford abruptly retired. Nico Hischier got hurt before the season started. Then, the season went on pause again after the COVID-19 virus spread through the team like wildfire.
The Devils are back, and after beating their rival New York Rangers on Tuesday night, they find themselves 5-3-2. They are technically in sixth place, but they have at least three games at hand of everyone above them and four games at hand to the Washington Capitals, who currently hold the fourth spot in the division. The Devils would need to make up five points in four games, which is very easily attainable.
The Devils have the fourth-best goal differential in the division. They’ve been competitive in every single game. They haven’t played the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals yet, but they took three out of four points from the division-leading Boston Bruins to start the season.
With Blackwood back in net, he looks like he could carry the Devils to contention all by himself. Obviously, that’s not how the NHL works, but he proved that when he’s healthy, the Devils have a chance to win every night. He’s lost one game this season and it was in the shootout to the Bruins.
If the Devils are contenders, Tom Fitzgerald might look into adding to this roster. Everything is fitting really well right now, but putting a veteran on a team with a lot of rookies might really help. It’s a long way until April 12th (this year’s trade deadline), but it’s never too early to talk about the players who might be available to the Devils.
Rickard Rakell
The Anaheim Ducks have a really, really good core of high-quality talent that’s going to be very competitive one day. Trevor Zegras looks like the real deal. Max Comtois has been a nice little breakout star this season, scoring seven goals to lead the team as a 22 year old. Jamie Drysdale has looked better and better and might be a legit top defenseman after just a few years in the league. John Gibson still has a star goalie somewhere in his bones despite a rough year.
Despite the talent, the Ducks have struggled this season. They are actually fifth in the West Division, but they needed 16 games to get there when everyone else played less than that. It seems like eventually, being under hockey .500 will lead to them falling out of the playoff standings.
We’ve already addressed the elephant in the room when it comes to all Ducks trades. Adam Henrique is likely very available, but that contract is never going to be worth trading for.
That’s why Rickard Rakell makes a lot of sense as a trade piece. He’s 27 years old, so he’s much closer to the Devils’ desired age range. He also has another year left on his contract paying him just $3.79 million per season. California is likely not going to open arenas for fans for a while, so the Ducks might want to get salary off the books.
He’s struggled to score this season, with only one goal in 16 games. Yet, he still finds himself as the second leading point scorer on the Ducks. It’s been a struggle to find the back of the net in Anaheim this season. His years as a 30-goal scorer might be over. Still, he’s much more talented than he showed this season. With the Devils dealing with a lot of pending UFAs this offseason, it will be nice to acquire someone who has another year left on his contract.
Ryan Donato
The fall of the San Jose Sharks is confusing, but it’s clearly not stopping anytime soon. After trading for Erik Karlsson, just about everything has gone wrong. They are once again falling out of contention early this season, and it’s going to be another hard pill to swallow. They traded multiple draft picks in the offseason, and now they only have six of their own picks in this year’s draft. They are also missing their own 2nd-round pick.
They traded a 3rd-round pick that was originally Pittsburgh’s to get Ryan Donato. They had plenty of draft capital at one point, but most of it is gone. They’ll need to get more of it to really jump-start this rebuild. Donato is a nice piece to get those pieces going.
He’s been pretty good this season playing in the Sharks’ top six. However, his advanced numbers seem to show more struggles. He’s been on the ice for 26 high-dangers chances for and 40 high-danger chances against. That’s not a great ratio. It gets even worse when looking at high-danger goals (3 to 8).
This is by far the worst Donato has looked on the ice. Just last season, when he was on the ice at 5v5, his team got 63% of the high-danger chances. While the counting stats have been fine, Donato has found himself pinned in his zone far too often to really thrive.
Donato is only 24 years old, so he falls into the age range that Tom Fitzgerald is looking to acquire. His contract ends after this season, but he’s a restricted free agent. The Devils would have negotiating rights, and he would be eligible for the Seattle expansion draft. If it doesn’t work out, that would be a very intriguing piece for them. It shouldn’t cost more than the 3rd-round pick the Sharks paid in the offseason, right?
Eric Staal
This one has the feel of a more traditional trade deadline deal. The Buffalo Sabres might not be so willing to help out the Devils after a COVID outbreak spread between the two teams, but hopefully they see this was more the NHL’s fault than anyone. If that becomes water under the bridge, this makes a lot of sense.
Some might want to have a reunion with former star Taylor Hall, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal in the offseason. He went there to win with the Sabres, but they haven’t. He’s also been less than stellar on the scoresheet. That’s why the Devils shouldn’t even consider him based on what his cost is going to be.
Eric Staal makes a lot more sense for the Devils. Despite his advanced age, Staal just fits better into what the Devils will be looking for at the deadline. His price won’t be so high, since it only cost the Sabres Marcus Johanssen in the offseason to get him, and he can contribute on any line.
Staal has three goals and five points this season. That isn’t anything to go home about, but it’s not like he isn’t producing at all. This Sabres team seems like they just can’t get anything going in any aspect of the game. Staal has shown in the past that he can contribute, and he may not be happy in Buffalo after a surprise trade in the offseason. Maybe a change of scenery is exactly what he needs. What could it possibly cost? It cannot be much because the Sabres don’t really have a leg to stand on when it comes to value.
Alex Iafallo
The Los Angeles Kings are another team that’s incredibly young and is probably very close to being a playoff contender based on talent alone. Arthur Kaliyev, Alex Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, Gabe Vilardi, and Tobias Bjornfort are going to be the future of this team. However, they could really use one more haul at the trade deadline to really solidify their lineup for years to come.
There are a lot of interesting pieces the Devils could target. Jeff Carter would actually fit quite well on this team if he’s able to start scoring again. He’s coming off surgery, so one would hope he gets better. However, he has another year left on his deal, so if he doesn’t work out the Devils are stuck with him for another season.
That’s why Alex Iafallo makes a lot more sense. He’s 27 years old, so he is closer to the desired age range for this Devils team. He’s from the town of Eden, NY, which while not incredibly close to New Jersey, it’s much closer to Newark than Los Angeles. It could lead to a more desirable living situation for Iafallo.
Iafallo is having the best start to a season in his career. He has nine points in 14 games. He’s been incredibly consistent and hasn’t seen a cold streak to start the year. He’s someone they could move around the lineup since the Devils have talented centers on every line (when everyone is healthy). Iafallo might be the most logical piece, and he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Devils could make a decision for his long-term future later while still getting the fruits of his productivity now.
Erik Haula
The Nashville Predators are a mess. They have been on a terrible run that has them just one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for last in the division. It’s way early, but they already find themselves nine points out of the last spot in the Central. Old friend John Hynes is not having a good start with his new franchise. It seems sooner rather than later, the Predators are going to look at tearing it down.
The Predators have a lot of interesting pieces if they are committed to tearing it down completely. Obviously, Roman Josi would be lovely, but the Devils can’t really commit to that kind of money long term with Jack Hughes likely looking for a major raise next offseason. Filip Forsberg has an extra year paying him $6 million. That’s an interesting player the Devils could target. However, a more interesting piece for right now might be Erik Haula.
Haula is going to cost the Devils a whole lot less in assets, so they don’t have to hurt their future to get him. He likely costs a middle-round pick and that’s it. Haula was an offseason acquisition for the Preds. Now, there are rumors he’s already been made available. The Devils should like the flexibility that Haula could bring to the Devils lineup.
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The Predators are actually making Haula a healthy scratch. As most Devils fans know, Hynes likes to sit players to get them going. We shouldn’t hold this against him. Haula definitely needs to get away from Nashville, and the Devils could benefit from injecting him into the lineup.