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New Jersey Devils: Trade With Colorado Avalanche Is Brilliant

By Vincent Parise

STATELINE, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 20: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights attempts to block a shot by Ryan Graves #27 of the Colorado Avalanche during the third period during the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort on February 20, 2021 in Stateline, Nevada. The Avalanche defeated the Golden Knights 3-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
STATELINE, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 20: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights attempts to block a shot by Ryan Graves #27 of the Colorado Avalanche during the third period during the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort on February 20, 2021 in Stateline, Nevada. The Avalanche defeated the Golden Knights 3-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche were an interesting team to discuss when it came to the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft that is about to take place next week. Are they going to do seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie? Are they going to do eight skaters and a goalie? Well, the New Jersey Devils might have just helped them end that debate. The Avalanche traded Ryan Graves to the Devils in exchange for Mikhail Maltsev and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

The New Jersey Devils are hoping that Ryan Graves can help them on the blue line.

This is a brilliant trade for the New Jersey Devils. It helps them in many ways. The most important way is that they are now adding a defensive defenseman that would make a perfect number four on this team. He is 26 years old so you know he is about to enter the prime of his career which is nice. In his career so far, he has 14 goals and 32 assists for 46 points in 149 games played.

Those aren’t bad offensive statistics for a player that is considered a defensive defenseman. He is 6’5″ and 210 pounds so you know he is a big boy out there. He was originally drafted by the New York Rangers before being traded to Colorado in 2018. It is going to be fun seeing him join the current New Jersey Devils defense.

This also has Expansion Draft implications for the Devils as well. As mentioned before, it is going to help the decision-making for Colorado but the Devils have some things taken care of as well. After this trade, you would have to think that they protect Graves along with Jonas Seigenthaler and Damon Severson. That would allow them to expose P.K. Subban and Will Butcher to Seattle. The Devils are probably hoping that one of those two gets taken with guys like Nathan Bastian or Andreas Johnsson as forward options.

This was a great trade for Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils. They are getting a big defenseman on the back end that can be a defensive-minded guy that may chip in a goal or assist now and again. If he performs to the best of his ability, New Jersey’s back end is all of the sudden looking much better.

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Where does he fit into the lineup right away? Being on a pair with Ty Smith seems like a match made in heaven. If those two can feed off each other’s best skills, they will be the best pair on the team. With the rest of the defense filling itself out from there, they may be okay. If they continue surrounding players like Nico Hiscier and Jack Hughes with talent like this, they should be able to be much more formidable going forward.

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