Pucks and Pitchforks Official Trade Deadline Predictions
The NHL Trade Deadline is just over a week away and the New Jersey Devils are solidified as sellers. They’re three games below hockey .500 and nine points out of a playoff position. There are 21 games left as of this writing, and that just seems like too big a hill to climb when the Boston Bruins have six games left with the Buffalo Sabres. So, with so many pieces up for grabs, we talk to all the Pucks and Pitchforks writers about what they think might happen at the deadline. Here’s what they have to say about the major players, starting with the biggest piece that could come with the biggest prize.
Kyle Palmieri
Nick Villano: Kyle Palmieri’s limited no-trade clause is going to cause some issues for the Devils since the Canadian teams are going to be the most aggressive at the trade deadline, but there are teams that will pay for Palmieri. My prediction is he goes for a package that most people are okay with. A strange team is going to come out of nowhere similar to how the Arizona Coyotes did for Taylor Hall. Vegas maybe? The Devils could get their 2nd-round pick back that they lost in the Nikita Gusev trade.
Vinnie Parise: Kyle Palmieri is a guy who should get traded. It would net the Devils the most in return out of anyone on the roster. He could really help an organization with Stanley Cup aspirations with scoring depth. The Boston Bruins make the most sense for him.
David Lebovitz: A small chunk of hockey Twitter has taken to calling Palmieri “Future Bruin Kyle Palmieri.” I can’t picture what a return would look like, but they’ve certainly got the assets to do it. That said, there’s a compelling case for the Islanders – they need a proven scorer with Anders Lee out, and proximity to both Andy Greene and Cory Schneider could be a selling point. Also, Lou Lamoriello helped acquire Palmieri for the Devils, even if he bolted a month after the trade.
Charlie Borges Jr.: The Devils would benefit by keeping Palmieri long term. He has been one of the best additions the team has had in recent memory and deserves an extension. However, he will be in his mid-30s by the time his next deal is done, which won’t fit the Devils’ mold. Palmieri will be traded to the New York Islanders with the Devils retaining half of his salary for a 1st-round pick and a mid-level prospect.
Rob DeLuca: This trade should have happened last season when he was at peak value. However, his recent string of goal scoring is allowing his stock to rise once again. The Devils should be able to salvage a pretty good trade for him. He will definitely be missed.
Andy Studna: Unfortunately, the Jersey boy’s time is up in red and black. Pierre LeBrun reported last week on Insider Trading that the Devils and Kyle Palmieri were not close on an extension as of then. I truly believe Palmieri is having a down year and will be back to himself next season, so I would like the Devils to hang onto him. However, since it appears the six-year Devil is not close to terms on an extension, he will get dealt. He was linked to Boston around the deadline last year, so he’ll get dealt there this time around at a 50% retained salary along with a 2021 3rd-round pick for fellow winger (and also struggling) Jake DeBrusk.
Dmitry Kulikov
Nick Villano: It just seems to make the most sense to send Dmitry Kulikov north of the border. There are Canadian teams that could use depth defensemen as they all take each other out in the North Division. Pride is on the line more than ever as the Canadian teams will try and come out of the division, guaranteeing the land of hockey a spot in the final four. The Winnipeg Jets are going to overpay to bring back someone who was there just last season.
Vinnie Parise: Kulikov has been a pleasant surprise for the Devils this season. That is why they should move him while his trade value is this high. Selling high on him would be fantastic asset management.
David Lebovitz: The problem with Kulikov is that there are too many options. Nearly every team in the league can find the cap space for his $1.15m contract and the actual literal space on their bench for a third pair dman. As such, I’m not going to guess what he can or will land. I will, however, guess the return: either a solo 2nd-round pick or a third plus a fifth.
Charlie Borges Jr.: Kulikov has thrived in Lindy Ruff‘s system. He may not put up any offensive numbers, but he has certainly benefited defensively. A lot of teams will look for a player of Kulikov’s ability to replace an injured defenseman. He would be a great depth add for a lot of teams out there. Kulikov will be traded to the Florida Panthers for a 3rd round pick.
Rob DeLuca: My most recent article will tell you how I feel about moving Kulikov. The way he is playing right now has his value at an all-time high and New Jersey should be able to get a very good price for him. He will be traded and there is hope that he can be re-signed if not extended by his new team.
Andy Studna: This one is pretty easy for me. Kulikov has been fantastic for the Devils this year; RE-SIGN HIM. I get that Kulikov could always be replaced and could easily be brought back as a UFA over the summer, but I wouldn’t even risk it. I’m sure the Devils like having him around and I’m sure he’s aware of the success he’s had here. The Russian-born defender signs an extension for two years with an AAV of $1.5 million, a slight raise from his current deal.
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.
Sami Vatanen/Ryan Murray
Nick Villano: Sami Vatanen and Ryan Murray should be in the same breath because it’s extremely likely one goes, but with the Devils’ current defensive depth, losing both while also trading Kulikov seems unlikely. My prediction is Vatanen goes for an extremely low price (4th-round pick?) and the Devils try to re-sign Murray to a cheap contract for next year. He’s played better as of late after he finally figured out his role in the Lindy Ruff system and when he didn’t need to fix P.K. Subban.
Vinnie Parise: Out of Murray or Vatanen, it would make sense to trade both but if they had to keep one it would have to be Murray. Vatanen landed them a nice package last season so he should be sent away again this year.
David Lebovitz: I’d love to see the world where Ryan Murray doesn’t have bones made of paper-mâché and gets the career rich talent richly deserved. Alas, we live in this timeline, where he’s traded for a 5th-round pick – and my prediction is that if he leaves, the Devils get a fifth rounder in return, or at least a sixth and seventh. Vatanen just makes me too sad to write about, I don’t know if anyone wants him after the delayed signing and the lackluster year. Godspeed, Vatman, wherever you land. I can’t find a mite of trade chatter around Vatanen, and why would there be? He took way too long to sign and he hasn’t been all that good this year. Maybe he’ll fetch a low pick somewhere. I’m going to use my brainpower for other things now.
Charlie Borges Jr.: Ryan Murray did not really get a good start with the Devils and then Lindy Ruff decided to scratch him for a few games for no apparent reason. While Murray should be given an extension, he is for sure someone the Devils would benefit to trade. Murray will be traded to the Winnipeg Jets with half of his salary retained for a 3rd-round pick. When the Devils traded Vatanen last season, no one knew the type of player Janne Kuokkanen would be in a Devils uniform. However, his play really has dipped this season. His non-usage on the powerplay has been a drawback for him this season. His cap hit is much more manageable this season than it was last. Vatanen will be traded to the Boston Bruins for a 4th round pick and a prospect.
Rob DeLuca: These two have been playing together for a good chunk of the season, so it only makes sense to have them written about together. Neither of these guys has any real trade value right now. Sami Vatanen’s time in New Jersey is over, it is just a matter of whether or not the Devils trade him away for something cheap or if he just walks away next season. Ryan Murray on the other hand is a little trickier. He will not be traded but to say whether or not he is re-signed is the interesting part of it. If he takes a significant pay cut he can stay around. Otherwise, let him go.
Andy Studna: I hate to get on the case of Sami Vatanen because he was instrumental in the Devils’ march to the playoffs in 2018. However, he hasn’t been good this year, at all. I was sold on this being a great pickup for the Devils’ d-core just weeks before the season started, but maybe the fact that he was still available should have been a warning sign to Tom Fitzgerald. I don’t know what his value is to other teams this year, but it certainly isn’t Janne Kuokkanen + anymore. He’ll stay and walk as a UFA. It seems as if it’s been a tale of two seasons for Ryan Murray. Before the Devils’ COVID-pause, he was fantastic. It appeared he was the true stay-at-home d-man the Devils have longed for in prior seasons. He missed the first few games the Devils played after their pause with a mysterious illness that wasn’t COVID and he spent the next few games after that as a healthy scratch to boot. He’s been a bit better of late, but I don’t know where the wheels fell off and how he ended up in the doghouse. The Devils will deal him to their rivals down I-95 in Philadelphia for a 4th rounder.
Other Predictions
Nick Villano: Miles Wood is going to come up as a very intriguing trade option that a team is willing to wildly overpay for. He’s playing out of his mind this season, and he reportedly had the interest of other teams last offseason coming off his worst performance. The chatter will be loud around him, but the Devils will wait until the last second before making a decision on him. He could be traded at 2:59 on April 12th. Also, Travis Zajac goes nowhere.
Vinnie Parise: One crazy prediction is that a team will consider Scott Wedgewood to give themselves goaltending depth for the playoffs. He has been surprisingly good for them this year and we all know who the starter is going forward. Whatever the Devils do, we just have to hope that it helps them in the long term.
Charlie Borges Jr.: The Devils won’t be able to get the top tier/high draft picks as they would have in recent years. This year is a clear buyers market and teams cannot take on as much money as they would in the past. If the Devils get the 1st-round pick for Palmieri, they will be incredibly lucky. Also, bonus prediction: Will Butcher will be traded for Shayne Gostisbehere.
Rob DeLuca: This is going to be a busy time for Tom Fitzgerald. But let’s look at a possible trade scenario that doesn’t involve the above-mentioned players. Someone who has shockingly good value right now is Miles Wood. He is playing a lot similar to the player we saw a few years ago prior to his current contract being signed, his 19 goal season that earned him the payday. He is on pace to match such a total if not slightly past it. A contending team such as the Toronto Maple Leafs or Carolina Hurricanes could use him in their bottom six. The Devils could get some considerable assets from either of those clubs for his services especially if they are to potentially throw in one of the above-listed players as well. New Jersey would be able to enhance and be that much closer to ending their rebuild with this kind of trade.
Andy Studna: Andreas Johnsson has been right up there with Gusev in terms of disappointment this season for the Devils. Ruff clearly does not favor putting him higher in the lineup and I don’t blame him. It wasn’t crazy to think Johnsson could pot 15+ goals for Devils this year. I’m sure he’ll get going again before the season’s end, but it won’t be in the Garden State. He’ll go back to Toronto as a cheap alternative to their need for more forwards with half of his salary for a third-round pick.