3 Trades New Jersey Devils Can Still Make Before Season Starts
By Nick Villano
Prospect For Prospect Trade
The Devils have done trades of once highly-touted prospects in the past. It never actually works out that well, but it’s always nice to see the Devils take a chance. They already did this once this offseason when they traded Nick Merkley to the San Jose Sharks for Christian Jaros. Merkley was fine during his time in New Jersey, but they could have used an extra defenseman more than an extra forward.
The Devils still have a plethora of prospects who will be fighting for roster spots this season. Alexander Holtz, Nolan Foote, and Dawson Mercer are getting the headlines after their Prospect Challenge performances, but there are others like Jesper Boqvist, Marian Studenic, Chase De Leo, and AJ Greer who are young players with experience who hope time in the AHL will give them an edge.
If the Devils can’t find spots for everyone, they might look to give some of those “older” prospects a chance somewhere else. They can then give someone else’s prospect a second chance with another organization.
The most likely candidate is probably Boqvist. If Dawson Mercer beats him out for a roster spot, he might watch as other candidates pass him by too. Boqvist once had a ton of hope, but he hasn’t lived up to that hope. Now, he needs to prove something or it might be better to give him a change of scenery.