The New Jersey Devils are going hunting for winger options, and they are big-game hunting at that. The prevailing thought is they are one of the front runners for Vladimir Tarasenko. The St. Louis Blues winger wants out of his only NHL home, and the Blues sound willing to make it happen. However, willing is a relative term. The Blues reportedly have a high price on Tarasenko. It might be in the Devils’ best interest to look elsewhere. Unless the Devils can get Tarasenko on a return that everyone can work with, it’s time to move on.
There are other options the Devils could target. Tarasenko at his peak might not even be the best option. There are some intriguing trade options around the league.
Two other players who won’t be on this list are the San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier and the Calgary Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau. Don’t get us wrong, both players would be perfect additions for what the Devils are looking for, but there have been specific reports that both are no longer available if they ever were. It’s unfortunate because those two players would make the most sense in a trade.
This shouldn’t be too upsetting. There are plenty of really good players available to pair with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. The Devils really need another winger. The situation isn’t exactly dire. However, if they don’t make a move, they will be a little too reliant on young players in the bottom six. Say the Devils keep last year’s top six which looked like this:
Janne Kuokkanen-Jack Hughes-Yegor Sharangovich
Pavel Zacha-Nico Hischier-Jesper Bratt.
That’s a fine top six, but unless HIschier and Hughes take a massive step forward, it’s still in the bottom ten in the league. That also forces them to rely on four of Jesper Boqvist, Tyce Thompson, Marian Studenic, Dawson Mercer, Alexander Holtz, Nolan Foote, Andreas Johnsson, and Graeme Clarke in the bottom six. That’s not exactly a desirable situation to be in. So, the Devils should shoot for one of these five names if a Tarasenko deal can’t work.