2. 2020 NHL Trade Deadline
If this deal included the Taylor Hall deal, it’s probably number one, but rules are rules. The Devils still dominated the deadline despite firing GM Ray Shero in the middle of the season. They had other really good assets after going in to try and compete in the offseason. They ended up making five trades in November.
It all started with a double whammy on a Sunday. First, Blake Coleman was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nolan Foote and a 1st-round pick. That 1st-round pick was that of the Vancouver Canucks instead of the Lightning’s own pick. It was a great deal despite how much it hurt. The Lightning are willing to overpay for the players they think fit their mold. A team can do that when they draft Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Victor Hedman. The Devils now have two young assets in Foote and Shakir Mukhamadullin.
Then, they sent Andy Greene to old friend Lou for a 2nd-round pick. He provided a really good presence on the third line while they make a run for the Cup. The pick was for the 2021 NHL Draft, which the Devils didn’t have after the Nikita Gusev trade. It was great value for the Devils captain.
On trade deadline day, everything was very quiet up until the very last moment. After the 3 p.m. deadline, it was reported that the Devils traded Sami Vatanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Janne Kuokkanen and (what turned out to be) a 3rd-round pick. The Devils took goalie Nico Daws with that pick, and he immediately becomes the best goalie in the system outside of Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Devils also got a 2021 5th-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres for Wayne Simmonds. He never really found his game in New Jersey, and he went to Buffalo for a very small price. Although, it’s probably going to be the first pick in the 5th round. They also traded Louis Domingue to the Canucks for AHL goalie Zane McIntyre. It was a nothing move to protect the Devils’ 1st-round pick.