New Jersey Devils: 5 Teams That Should Be In On Kyle Palmieri

Toronto Maple Leafs

Ignoring the fact that they are in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs make a ton of sense as a trade partner. GM Kyle Dubas already came out and said he’s willing to trade top prospects to make an upgrade on his team. They’ve gone through slumps, so despite their already high-powered offense, they would like an upgrade to their group. Also, they have one of the best top sixes in the sport, so Palmieri would fit right in with a line that could set him up to score at will.

The Maple Leafs make sense for the Devils because they have some extremely intriguing prospects. Tops on the list for the Devils should be Timothy Liljegren. Obviously, they won’t want to lose him or Rasmus Sandin, as they can be their defense of the next ten years, but if Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald could talk Dubas into putting one of them in the deal, it should be an open and shut case.

The Leafs will try to stop the conversation at a 1st-round pick, but their end game is winning the Stanley Cup. Getting a pick that’s guaranteed to be in the 20s, but could be as high as 31st in a weak NHL Draft year is not great asset management by the Devils.

Nick Robertson is another prospect that’s been mentioned in online trade talks, but that seems incredibly unlikely. Honestly, he seems more untouchable than the defensemen.

A weird move would be for the Devils to get back an old prospect in the deal. Would trading for Joey Anderson and a 1st-round pick be enough for the Devils? The team would like a defensive prospect with the team looking at a season with only Ty Smith, Damon Severson, and Will Butcher on the blue line, but Anderson already proved he could be a good player for this franchise. He would also get a legitimate NHL chance back in New Jersey.

This is all moot if the Palmieri NTC doesn’t allow him to go to Canada, but it’s still worth mentioning because the Maple Leafs are going to go hard this season.