New Jersey Devils: 5 Sabres Trades That Make More Sense Than Jack Eichel
The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres might not make sense as trade partners on paper. They are both fighting to stay out of last place in the East Division. The Devils literally just derailed the Sabres season after a COVID outbreak, and the Sabres made it clear they were not happy about it.
Still, these two teams might be well equipped to help each other. They both have plenty of in 2021-22. They both have a lot of interesting talent on the roster and in the prospect pools. Also, they both have rosters with players who could use a fresh start. The Devils and Sabres don’t have to like each other, but they can absolutely help each other.
The main piece most people are talking about is Jack Eichel, and rightfully so. He’s a true superstar who might not be long for Buffalo. The Sabres have been atrocious since he’s been drafted, and he’s not getting better by staying there. Many Devils fans have asked, “is Eichel worth trading Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes?” These kinds of conundrums are not necessary because Eichel does not make the Devils contenders, so talking about such a move is a moot point.
There are, however, some very interesting pieces on the Sabres the Devils could covet. Some might cost an arm and a leg, while others could basically be had for free. Some might be paired together in trades.
The Devils and Sabres aren’t in the same division in most years, so looking towards the future, the Sabres wouldn’t mind making a deal with the Devils. As long as the return works for both teams, there is a road to happiness for everyone.
Rasmus Dahlin
Alright, this is a hard ask. Rasmus Dahlin has just under the value that Eichel has, but he’s voiced his frustration with the organization. If he’s already frustrated and the team is about to trade away its best player, the next few years aren’t going to go well.
Dahlin’s entry-level contract ends this season. The Sabres have $35 million in cap space next season even with a flat cap, and if they trade Eichel that becomes $45 million. They have all the money possible to pay Dahlin, but if he doesn’t want to sign, what are they going to do? They could just move Heaven and Earth and offer him a $10 million contract to stay and be a rich, miserable person, but that’s not the best way to build a team.
The Devils wouldn’t be at the top of Dahlin’s list based on their past success, but they have the money to offer him a monster contract and the assets to make a deal work without ruining the present and the future. The deal starts with Ty Smith and multiple 1st-round picks. Actually, the Sabres probably hope it starts with Hischier, but the Devils can make a deal work without trading its new captain.
Dahlin would change the trajectory of the Devils forever. If they can go into the next era with Hughes, Hischier, Blackwood, and Dahlin, it will be a contender for a decade. Obviously, filling the rest of the team matters, and losing Smith and say Alexander Holtz would be hard to replace, but in this scenario, it might be worth it.
Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Ristolainen has been rumored to be looking for a trade for a long time (sensing a theme here?). He’s a 26-year-old defenseman that has taken a long time to develop. This is his eighth year in the NHL after he was taken eighth overall at the 2013 NHL Draft.
He already has 233 career points on the blue line, and he fits in with the Devils age timeline. Tom Fitzgerald has said he wants players who are 26 years old or less so they mesh with the emergence of Hischier and Hughes as superstars. Ristolainen took some time to truly hit his prime as a defenseman, but he should be here for the next few years.
The cost of Rasmus Ristolainen is hard to figure out. The Sabres spent a 1st-round pick on Brandon Montour, so that’s probably where they see this kind of defenseman valued. The Devils are obviously very fond of this year’s 1st-round pick that has a lot of defense available. However, getting a 26 year old that was once a top-10 pick in the draft costs something like that.
The difference is Ristolainen spoke publically about being ready to be traded last year. To NHL.com’s Heather Engel, he had this to say:
“When you put so much hard work [in] every summer, you work hard in every practice, it makes it even more frustrating because we weren’t even close again.”
That’s not going to help his value. He has one more year left at $5.4 million. He would make the Devils defense very expensive next season, and he could leave for nothing after that. Still, he’s an intriguing option.
Casey Mittelstadt
The Devils are always in the market for a good old-fashioned reclamation project. Casey Mittelstadt is the top person in the entire league that needs a change of scenery. His performance at World Juniors in 2018 had Sabres fans wondering if he was ready to be a star right away. Since then, he’s struggled.
He’s spent this season bouncing between the NHL lineup and the taxi squad. Last season, Mittelstadt was bounced between the AHL and the NHL. In his career, he has 17 NHL goals and 37 total points. This season, he only has three points total.
The Sabres aren’t even playing Mittelstadt. He’s still just 22 years old, but they are wasting his developmental years. He’s a restricted free agent after this season, and it will be very interesting how that negotiation goes.
Obviously, the Sabres aren’t going to give Mittelstadt away. However, they might be willing to make a prospect swap-type deal. The Devils would have to add multiple prospects since Holtz wouldn’t be moving in this deal, and Dawson Mercer is probably off limits, too. Still, it’s worth playing around with the deal and seeing if getting Mittelstadt away from Buffalo is just what he needs to thrive.
Jeff Skinner
No, we’re not saying we would rather have Jeff Skinner and that terrible contract on the Devils over Jack Eichel, but there is a deal that makes more sense for the future of the Devils. Spoiler alert: it has to do with the Sabres paying the Devils to take this deal off their hands. Buffalo is terribly mismanaging Skinner, and now everyone is unhappy with the situation.
At $9 million per season, Skinner is worthless. There are exactly zero teams that would take on that whole contract unless the Sabres were looking to pair it with a Dahlin or Eichel deal. The Sabres have to be desperate to get out of an eight-year deal that still has seven years left.
The Devils can ask the Sabres to eat up $4.5 million per season of the contract in the deal. That’s just the start. To get out of such a deal, it’s going to take multiple picks and/or prospects. Would the Sabres be willing to give up their 1st-round pick this season? Is that even worth it with a lot of question marks at the top of the draft? It’s hard to think the Sabres would be willing to give up that pick with so much uncertainty surrounding the franchise, but there aren’t many other ways out of the deal.
The buyout actually isn’t that bad, it’s just long. The only real big hits in a buyout are in 2022 and 2026. However, they would be paying more than $2.5 million through 2033. So, the Sabres might be willing to pay one big asset to get rid of it.
Mattias Samuelsson
There are also trades where the Devils might be giving up NHL assets, and in that case, they should be looking at the Sabres defensive prospects. They have multiple prospects even beyond Dahlin. The very top of their prospect pool is Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, and John-Jason Peterka. However, the Devils will be looking at the likes of Mattias Samuelsson, Ryan Johnson, and Oskari Laaksonen.
If the Devils were to target Samuelsson, then Buffalo would still be able to keep their top left-handed defensive prospect and their top right-handed prospect. Also, Samuelsson fits a lot better into the Devils’ needs. He is a big body who likes to stop goals more than score them.
He’s currently playing with the Rochester Americans of the AHL. He’s having a fine start to the season. There are seeds that show an NHL player in the near future.
Next. Devils Should Target J.T. Miller. dark
He’ll never be the Devils best defenseman, but he doesn’t need to be that. Basically, Samuelsson and Kevin Bahl would be a one-two punch to shut down opposing offenses. He wouldn’t get the Sabres a great player, but the Devils would be willing to listen when he’s involved in a trade. He’s the kind of prospect that the Devils could use to bolster the defensive ranks.