Ranking Every New Jersey Devils Trade Deadline Since Ilya Kovalchuk Trade

The New Jersey Devils have been traditionally very busy on and ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. That was no different in 2021. Whether it’s as a buyer or a seller, the Devils are usually right in all the chatter, and a big deal comes often. Some years it’s quiet, but most years the Devils are making a splash.

The biggest deal the team ever did was acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk about three weeks before the 2010 trade deadline. It ended up working out just fine for the Devils even though Kovalchuk retired three years later. They sent Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier, Niclas Bergfors, a 1st-round pick, and a 2nd-round pick. The picks ended up being some decent players (Kevin Hayes and Justin Holl), but there’s no saying Lou Lamoriello makes those same picks.

Since then, the Devils have been in 11 different trade deadlines. Which ones did the general manager do best? First, some rules:

-All the deals had to have happened after January 1st to count. So, the Adam Henrique for Sami Vatanen trade won’t be considered, and the Taylor Hall trade is not included.
-This ranks the deals as they were considered at the time. Who was taken with the draft pick gets some consideration, but it’s more looking at value. There is one trade where the draft pick turned into a star, so that has to go into the thinking.
-The ranking does not take into account the GM involved. Obviously, Lou Lamoriello had more clout than Ray Shero who has more clout than Tom Fitzgerald only because of how long they have been NHL GMs.

Last: 2014 NHL Trade Deadline

The 2014 NHL Trade Deadline brought the Devils a deal that felt bad at the time and only got worse with time. The Devils traded Andrei Loktionov and a conditional 3rd-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuomo Ruutu. Ruutu’s time with the Devils was not successful. He spent three seasons with the Devils, and it went so terribly that he could never find another NHL job despite being only 32 years old. He still had three years on his deal, so there was logic to the deal, but it wasn’t the right move. The Devils missed the playoffs every year he was there, including the year they traded for him. The Devils missed the playoffs by five points in 2014, so the deal for Ruutu wasn’t nearly enough to push them into the postseason.

10. 2017 NHL Trade Deadline

Most fans would probably have the 2018 trade deadline as last, but 2017 was definitely a major, major disappointment. The Devils had some interesting assets that teams were looking to acquire. Teams were circling the Devils for a while because it was clear that Ray Shero was looking to reset some things, but he did not get the value many hoped.

Shero signed P.A. Parenteau to a PTO in the offseason, and he eventually earned himself a full-time contract. He ended up scoring 13 goals before the deadline, which made him an attractive asset ahead of the deadline. The Devils ended up sending him to Nashville for a 6th-round pick. The Predators didn’t even really use him, so it was a strange trade all around, but it was very bad on the Devils’ side.

The Devils also traded Kyle Quincey for Dalton Prout. Prout was a young defenseman who had some upside, but he had been terrible for two years straight at the time of the deal. The hope was at 26 years old, he could turn around whatever was ailing him. Prout ended up only playing 40 more NHL games, including 18 over two seasons with the Devils.

The Devils best move was getting a 4th-round pick for Vernon Fiddler, also a deal with the Nashville Predators. However, they used the pick as part of a package to get Mirco Mueller. So, there’s that. They also traded Sergey Kalinin for Victor Loov, which never made an impact for the Devils.

It was a bad deadline week when the Devils made so many moves that came with little or no value. This really didn’t help the rebuild at all.

8. 2018 NHL Trade Deadline

Most probably think this one should be lower, even though it’s already near the bottom of the list, but the Devils got Pat Maroon for a 3rd-round pick, and he absolutely helped them make the playoffs. The Devils liked what he did so much, they made major moves trying to get him to sign a long-term contract. He ended up winning back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships with the Blues and the Lightning. He provides a lot, and getting him for a 3rd-round pick was a huge move.

The issues with this deadline are obvious. It’s Michael Grabner. The Devils made their first trade ever with hated rival the New York Rangers. It sent defensive prospect Yegor Rykov and a 2nd-round pick to the Rangers. Grabner was having a good season, but he was going to be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Grabner was awful in New Jersey. After scoring 25 goals in 59 games in New York, he was only able to score two in 21 games going into the playoffs. He was a healthy scratch in three of the Devils five games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs. His speed wasn’t unleashed in John Hynes system, and he never really worked with this unit.

Shero was smart to hold on to his 1st-round pick. That ended up being defenseman Ty Smith, who is now the core piece on the defense alongside Damon Severson. Smith has the highest upside, and he could be a top-line player for the next decade. So, when looking at the return Tomas Tatar got and the return the Rangers got for J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh, it shows that 1st-round picks were desired and the Devils didn’t budge. That in of itself saves the deadline along with the Maroon deal. It’s still overall not a great situation.

7. 2021 NHL Trade Deadline

This wasn’t necessarily a bad trade deadline. The Devils got some value out of Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac. Honestly, the Devils went on a really good run of deadline moves, whether it being as a buyer or a seller.

The obvious deal is trading Zajac and Palmieri for a 1st-round pick, a conditional 4th-round pick, and two prospects who won’t do much (AJ Greer has an outside chance of growth). It was sending two fan favorites to the New York Islanders for a run towards the Stanley Cup. It was hard to hold back emotions of the day, but the Devils needed to make a move, and they needed to add both players to get a 1st-round pick in the deal. The Sabres ended up taking Anders Bjork and a 2nd-round pick for Taylor Hall, so there was a possibility of taking a bad deal for Palmieri if they didn’t add Zajac.

The Devils also traded Dmitry Kulikov for a conditional 2022 4th-round pick. He was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, and he has been much better than advertised. Getting a decent asset for a player you signed for free is a nice move.

Strangely, the Devils actually spent a draft pick to get an asset at this deadline. They gave the Washington Capitals a 3rd-round pick for defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. It might look like a bad move on paper since he hasn’t been able to get into the lineup this season, but he has a lot of good underlying numbers as a defensive defenseman. It was worth a 3rd-round pick, especially since it’s not their own.

The Devils decided to keep Ryan Murray, and they lost Sami Vatanen through waivers. Those are surprising moves, but the Murray decision could lead to an extension. That might change the way some think of this deadline day in the future. They also cut Nikita Gusev for nothing. That probably has more to do with the market post pandemic than anything, so we won’t take anything from the Devils for not being able to trade him.

6. 2015 NHL Trade Deadline

The New Jersey Devils had two major assets at the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline, but their value was hard to pinpoint. Jaromir Jagr was in his second year with the Devils, and while he was an obvious fan favorite, there wasn’t really space for a 42 year old who was on an expiring contract. Some expected the Devils to get a disappointing return for Jagr, but they didn’t do too bad.

The Florida Panthers traded a 2nd and 4th-round pick for Jagr, a move that really helped the next era of his career. The Devils ended up using that 2nd-round pick in the Kyle Palmieri trade, so it was a major win for Lamoriello (and eventually Shero). This was a deal that really helped the next era of the Devils.

The Devils also had an aging Marek Zidlicky. It was a long time since he was a trade deadline acquisition, but a team would absolutely want him. The Detroit Red Wings traded a conditional 3rd-round pick for Zidlicky. It was in 2016, and they ended up using that pick to trade for Beau Bennett. That was not a good deal for the Devils, as they ended up letting him get to free agency and sign with someone else.

Still, the Devils were able to weaponize their draft picks because they acquired three for two players with no future in the organization. They were both way closer to the end (although Jagr was further away from the end than we thought) than they were to the beginning, and Lamoriello found a way to get better assets than we expected.

5. 2019 NHL Trade Deadline

Again, this wasn’t a bad deadline. The Devils got good value from the pieces they had available. Brian Boyle surprisingly got them a 2nd-round pick. The Nashville Predators were once again making trades with the Devils, as Shero and David Poile made a deal. Boyle was traded on February 6th, about two weeks before the actual deadline. It would kick off a flurry of moves that added some draft capital to the Devils system.

The Devils then traded Ben Lovejoy for Connor Carrick and a 3rd-round pick. Lovejoy was actually playing really well, and the Devils still miss his presence. However, he retired at the end of the season, so they let him make one last run with the Dallas Stars. It was great value for Lovejoy, especially since Carrick played really well. He earned a two-year contract in the offseason, and he’s still on the team today (although he’s in Binghamton right now).

Then, the Devils got a 2nd and 4th-round pick from the Boston Bruins for Marcus Johansson. The outside hope was he’d go for a 1st rounder, but that was always a long shot. Getting a 2nd+ for him was a minor win.

Also, Shero was able to get a 5th-round pick for Keith Kinkaid, who had absolutely no value. Sure, it was a 5th rounder in 2022, but that’s still something for a player who nobody really wanted. Kinkaid has surprisingly stuck around the NHL over the past two years, finding a spot on the Rangers this season. He never made an appearance for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

4. 2016 NHL Trade Deadline

This was another situation where the Devils had some pretty menial assets but got some really good returns. They ended up making three deals, and all three ended up being wins. Let’s take them from “most important” to “least important”.

The Devils traded Eric Gelinas to the Colorado Avalanche for a 3rd-round pick. Gelinas was once considered the future on the blue line, but it became clear he needed a change of scenery (and honestly, it was just clear he wasn’t an NHL player). The pick was in 2017, and it ended up turning into Fabian Zetterlund, who’s in Binghamton and is an interesting player moving forward.

The Devils sent failed 1st-round pick Stefan Matteau to the Montreal Canadiens for Devante Smith-Pelley. At first, it looked like one of the great moves in the history of this franchise. He ended up scoring eight goals in the final 18 games of the season as a 23 year old. The Devils signed him to a two-year deal in the offseason, but he flamed out terribly the next season and the team ended up buying him out. Matteau has bounced around the league, and he never really stuck with one franchise.

The biggest move was getting a 2nd and 4th-round pick for Lee Stepniak. Stepniak started his Devils career as a PTO, but he wildly outplayed his expectations. He scored 16 goals in 63 games before Boston put together a package to bring him in. Basically, Shero turned a free asset into two decent picks.

Yeah, the Devils did lose that 2nd-round pick in the Mirco Mueller deal and that pick did turn into Mario Ferraro, but at the end of the day, Shero turned Stempniak into a really good package at the deadline.

3. 2011 NHL Trade Deadline

Some might not remember, but 2011 was the first year the Devils were actually sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline in what felt like decades. Lou Lamoriello really relished in the moment, taking advantage of teams that tried to take advantage of him for years prior.

It all started with the trade for Jamie Langenbrunner, who was the captain at the time. Lamoriello didn’t waste any time, sending him to the Dallas Stars in January. They got back a pick that eventually turned into Blake Coleman. Obviously, the Devils won that trade big.

The Devils traded for Jason Arnott in the offseason. They thought he’d bring in a veteran presence, so they sent a 2nd-round pick and Matt Halischuk to the Predators. When the season was clearly in the toilet, they turned Arnott into a little later 2nd-round pick in the same year and Dave Steckel. The Devils still got an NHL body in Steckel, who was a former 1st-round pick. Magnus Hellberg was used in the original Arnott deal. The Devils used that pick to make a move that’s ahead of this one.

There was a smaller move where Jay Leach and Steven Zalewski joined the Devils for Michael Swift and Patrick Davis. The Sharks and Devils basically swapped AHL players with some upside, but nobody really turned into anything. It was a depth move on both sides.

For being out of the seller game since the 90s, Lamoriello showed he could still take advantage of teams looking to make moves. He knew what he valued his players at, and he got that value.

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.

1. 2012 NHL Trade Deadline

It was one trade, but it was one of the most underrated trades in the history of the New Jersey Devils. They sent Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux, and two draft picks to the Minnesota Wild for Marek Zidlicky. He fit perfectly with this team and added a necessary offensive element to the blue line the Devils needed.

The Devils defense was led by a young Andy Greene, Bryce Salvador, and Henrik Tallinder. The highest point scorer was Adam Larsson, followed right behind him by Mark Fayne. They had 18 and 17 points at the end of the season, respectively. The power play needed an offensive presence who could play defense.

Zidlicky made it clear he wanted out of Minnesota. He was disgruntled with his role, and the Devils felt like a natural fit. He was willing to waive his no-move clause for a trade (obviously). So, Lou went and got his guy.

On paper, it looks like a haul for Minnesota when Zidlicky wanted out anyway, but look harder. Foster and Veilleux were both in the last year of their deal. Palmieri was supposed to play in the Devils top six, but he was downright terrible. He never made an impact in the NHL. The two picks turned into Raphael Bussieres and Eamon McAdam.

Meanwhile, the Devils rode Zidlicky all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. He averaged a ridiculous 23:47 of ice time in the playoffs that season. He took 43 shots and put up nine points in 24 games. He was a steady presence on an interesting collection of defenders. This was the first time the Devils made the Stanley Cup Final without Scott Stevens or Scott Niedermayer. It doesn’t happen without Zidlicky on the back end.