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New Jersey Devils: 5 Predictions For Second Half Of Season

By Nick Villano

Mar 23, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Jersey Devils center Janne Kuokkanen (59), defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) celebrate win against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Jersey Devils center Janne Kuokkanen (59), defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (29) celebrate win against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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New Jersey Devils
Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Trade Deadline Is Insane

The New Jersey Devils have so many tradeable assets on the team, it is hard to keep track. There are the obvious ones. Kyle Palmieri is one of the most coveted expiring contracts in the league. Dmitry Kulikov could really help the bottom pair of a contender. Sami Vatanen still has value across the league. There are some exciting contracts that need help before going anywhere. Nikita Gusev desperately needs a change of scenery. Travis Zajac has a no-move clause, but he could wave it for the right situation. Aaron Dell is still on the roster just so the Devils won’t lose him through waivers.

This is all leading up to an absolutely insane few weeks leading up to the trade deadline. Teams are sitting on their hands right now, but teams will be making moves in the near future. There is positive movement towards vaccine distribution, which could lead to teams getting a playoff gate. This might lead to teams pushing harder for trade deadline acquisitions because if they get to the second round, that’s even more gate to make up for lost profits this season.

So, teams might be willing to pay more than we thought for the Devils expiring assets. Teams might even target assets with term like P.K. Subban, Miles Wood, and Andreas Johnsson. Some of these owners are desperate to get a few extra bucks, so talking to a team like the Devils that is willing to take on salary could lead to really good assets coming the other way.

3 Teams That Should Be In On Sami Vatanen. dark. Next

There’s the other fact that the NHL Draft is happening as scheduled. Teams don’t have the same confidence in scouting when they couldn’t go see games live. Those 1st-round picks in a weak draft might be easier to obtain than once thought. This is going to be an insane trade deadline with everything happening pretty last minute.

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