New Jersey Devils: 5 Players Likely On Trade Block Already

The New Jersey Devils season is quickly spiraling out of control. After coming back from a COVID-19 outbreak, they are 3-6-0. They’ve lost six of their last seven games, and head coach Lindy Ruff cannot find a winning lineup. Nico Hischier has another fluke injury after he was hit in the face with a puck off the stick of P.K. Subban. Everything has fallen off the rails.

The Devils have 10 players who are going to be unrestricted free agents on the NHL roster and the taxi squad. It’s clear that this team is going to look wildly different next season. With such a strange season with quarantines and COVID protocols, the Devils would probably be best served to decide now if they can right the ship or if they should start selling assets.

The NHL Trade Deadline is still more than a month away, but the Devils season is pretty close to in the tank. The best decision in the interest of value might be to start looking at trades now. Teams might be more willing to pay for veteran assets when there is two months left in the season. If the Devils traded major players at the deadline, teams wouldn’t only have four weeks with their new assets before the playoffs start.

Trading pieces now also increases the pool of teams thinking they could still contend. 23 teams are currently either in a playoff spot, or within five points of one. It’s a strange year where teams like the Arizona Coyotes aren’t desperate to keep their playoff spot. However, there are still teams that might believe they can make a run.

The Devils know that they have major decisions to make on their upcoming free agents. According to a report from The Fourth Period, the Devils have yet to have contract talks with any of their upcoming free agents. It seems hard to believe they haven’t reached out to at least some of them, but the Devils might just be looking to move on. If that’s the case, moving on now makes a lot more sense. These five players should be the first players being shopped.