Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils: 5 Surprising Veteran Trade Targets

By Nick Villano

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 24: Reilly Smith #19 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens during the first period in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Semifinals of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre on June 24, 2021 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 24: Reilly Smith #19 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens during the first period in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Semifinals of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre on June 24, 2021 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
Gustav Nyquist #14 of the Columbus Blue Jackets. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Gustav Nyquist

Gustav Nyquist hasn’t been a great signing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it hasn’t really been his fault. He scored 42 points in 70 games in his first season with the team, then he missed the entire second season with a shoulder injury. He is coming back for his third of fourth season on his contract. The Devils could trade for the 31-year-old Swede and take on the final two years of his deal. The Jackets owe him $5.5 million per season.

The Jackets are looking to rebuild this season after moving on from head coach John Tortorella. They are also looking to trade Seth Jones, and they’ve already moved Pierre Luc-Dubois, David Savard, and Nick Foligno in the past year.

Devils fans will want Patrik Laine from the Jackets, but Nyquist is more their speed this offseason. The Jackets are probably going to lose him in the expansion draft for free. The Devils can keep a spot open if they decide not to protect Michael McLeod. Nyquist is a major risk like Tarasenko coming off a shoulder injury, but if he still has something left he brings a lot of what the Devils need.

The Devils need finishers. They need to put someone next to Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier that can put the puck in the net. Nyquist is a 20-goal scorer for most of his career. He’s no superstar, but he’s a massive upgrade to the Devils middle six.

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