Pucks and Pitchforks
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Pucks and Pitchforks Official Trade Deadline Predictions

By Nick Villano

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 26: Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils yells at Kevin Hayes #13 of the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of the second period at the Prudential Center on January 26, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 26: Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils yells at Kevin Hayes #13 of the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of the second period at the Prudential Center on January 26, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils left wing Nikita Gusev (97): (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports) /

Nikita Gusev

Nick Villano: Pittsburgh makes the most sense in my head for Nikita Gusev. He could play alongside Evgeni Malkin, or Pittsburgh can do that thing where they use Sidney Crosby to make a mediocre player a superstar. That said, there are too many roadblocks with the salary cap and the Devils end up going the easy route and take a mid-round pick from the Florida Panthers.

Vinnie Parise: Nikita Gusev was placed on waivers and cleared. It doesn’t seem likely that anybody trades for him at this point either. He will probably stick this season out with New Jersey and be gone after the year.

David Lebovitz: It’s sad thinking about getting rid of Gusev, especially after Devils fans collectively bullied the team into trading for him. That said, this season has been enough of a disappointment to warrant waivers. I can see teams might look at him as a cheap reclamation project since we don’t have long-term data on him. I can’t think of any suitor, so I’m going to take a wild guess and say either Columbus or he sticks around another season.

Charlie Borges Jr.: 30 other NHL teams could have had Gusev for free with his recent waiver placement. But with the current standing the world is in, that wasn’t the case. The Devils are only allowed to retain two different salaries, Gusev will not be one of them. Gusev will stay in New Jersey for the remainder of the season and sign somewhere else in the offseason or return home to Russia.

Rob DeLuca: This has been nothing short of a disaster season for Nikita Gusev. He has absolutely no trade value right now, he barely plays anymore and when he does he cannot score whatsoever. I do not see any interest trade wise or extension wise for that matter. He will more than likely be playing for another team next season via free agency.

Andy Studna: This one is pretty easy for me as well, unfortunately. Gusev was basically passed up by 30 teams a few days ago while he was on waivers. I get we’re in the middle of a pandemic, nobody wants to pick up extra cash, etc, etc… The first-year winger was one of the most efficient 5-on-5 players in the NHL last year and it doesn’t seem the majority of the league thinks he’s capable of recapturing his old form. The Devils will hang onto Gusev and he’ll walk in free agency. It stinks he’s not a fit under Lindy Ruff’s new system, but I would still like to see him get some games to show his worth to other teams before the end of the season.

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