New Jersey Devils: 5 Teams Who Could Be Interested In Pavel Zacha
Rumors are swirling about the availability of Pavel Zacha. Which teams might want to take a shot at the New Jersey Devils winger/center.
The New Jersey Devils are back near the bottom of the standings, and that means they are going to be selling once again at the NHL Trade Deadline. One thing is different this year, there aren’t too many expiring veterans to move. So, the Devils are considering moving some of the younger players they committed to building. One name that’s already been in the rumor mill is Pavel Zacha.
He’s an interesting prospect for sure. He’s having a down season, but prior to this year, he had 35 points in 50 games last year and 32 points in 65 games the year before. This year, he has 23 points in 46 games. He’s back down to a half-point per game, but there are teams out there that are still willing to take a chance on him.
Which teams will really want to add Pavel Zacha before the NHL Trade Deadline?
Zacha was once a special teams dynamo. He’s always been able to score on the power play, and in years past he was used a lot of the penalty kill. While Zacha hasn’t spent a ton of time on the PK this year, only Travis Zajac has had more PK time in the past three years on the Devils.
At 6’3, Zacha’s size is something that will stand out for other teams. He has the qualities that teams want, and the fact that he’s 24 years old will be something other teams desire. Even if he’s not the finished product most people want, he brings a lot to the table for another team. But which teams make the most sense?
Vancouver Canucks
This is the one with the most juice. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Vancouver Canucks showed interest in Zacha, so the two sides have at least talked about a deal. It makes sense for both sides, the Canucks have some pieces they are looking to move, and their main priority is to get younger. Zacha would give them an NHL-level asset who they are buying low on.
The Canucks are a team that has to make a major decision right now. Do they want to make an attempt at a full rebuild, or will they make it a soft rebuild with the pieces they currently have in place? They just signed Quinn Hughes to a long-term deal, and Elias Pettersson signed this past offseason too. They are both soon entering their prime, and they have their goalie of the future in net in Thatcher Demko.
With all these pieces in place, they may want to find more “win now” pieces than traditional picks and prospects when they trade their pieces. The Devils have already been tied to Connor Garland. It makes sense for the two teams to swap players they are likely going to trade anyway. Maybe Garland helps Nico Hischier better than Zacha could, and maybe Zacha plays a better role for the Canucks than he did for the Devils.
This one is the obvious one because it’s already out there, but it’s definitely not the only option on the table.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to win the Stanley Cup this year. They’ve come close, and they’ve been dominant in the regular season for a few years now. They have everything a team could want. They have stars in Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. They have one of the best defensive cores in the league. And now, they finally got a goalie that works in Freddy Andersen. They are looking to find pieces that will help them win a championship this season.
Their biggest need is a middle-six two-way winger. That’s currently the role that Zacha is playing with the Devils. Honestly, without the pressure of scoring like a top-six winger or the need to play center, Zacha might be in the best possible position.
The Hurricanes don’t have a ton of cap space to make a move. The Devils can cover most of Zacha’s salary to make it fit in the $1.8 million of cap space the Hurricanes currently have thanks to LTIR moves. This could make Zacha the perfect move for the Hurricanes.
The Devils might have a few pieces they could target. The Canes are without their first-round pick after the move to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi from the Montreal Canadiens, but they still have picks in every other round, including two sixth-round picks. They also have some interesting prospects, including Ryan Suzuki who hasn’t lived up to his draft status after a few injury-plagued years. He could be a good risk proposition for the Devils.
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks were a surprise playoff contender this season. It’s always interesting to see how teams who make surprise runs act during the trade deadline. When the Devils made their run in 2018, they were pretty big buyers at the deadline. They made moves to bring in Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon. They came with varying levels of success (in the fact that one was successful and one was a disaster). The Devils ended up losing just draft picks in those deals, as Yegor Rykov is likely going to spend his career in Russia. What would the Ducks be willing to give up in a deal for what could be a long-term asset?
Zacha is unlike most deadline moves in that his contract might end at the end of the season, but teams will retain his rights. That makes this less of an internal struggle for the Ducks to trade a prospect or a pick for Zacha. Even if the season doesn’t end as they hope, Zacha is basically a guarantee to be a part of their future. And if it goes completely wrong, they can let him go back into free agency. The risk factor is low.
The Ducks are still trying to figure out if they are going to keep some of their rental assets in Rickard Rickel, Ryan Getzlaf, and Hampus Lindholm. The Ducks have a lot of questions to answer, but Zacha makes a lot of sense whether they are looking to buy or sell this trade deadline.
Arizona Coyotes
Okay, this one will take some explaining, but hear us out. The Arizona Coyotes are looking to purge the farm, but they can only do it so far. If they trade Jakob Chychrun, then they will have just over $25 million in contracts dedicated to the roster. That means they will be something like $35 million away from the cap floor. They need to fill out the entire roster, so they can probably find some desperate veterans looking to prove themselves before being traded to a contender again. However, it would be nice to have a 24-year-old forward with close to 400 games of experience.
Zacha could help some of the young players with the ins and outs of the NHL experience, and he might do well being a top guy on a team rather than a supporting player. It’s pretty clear Zacha needs a change of scenery, and he could be someone who becomes a star after he was drafted so high in 2015.
It makes more sense than it might seem at first. The Devils wouldn’t be looking at picks or prospects in this deal. It’s possible the Devils looking for a bigger deal with the Yotes. Or, it could be an exchange of young players like Lawson Crouse for Zacha. There are a few different deals that could make sense.
This might be something the Devils have to approach the Coyotes with. We don’t see Arizona calling about Zacha, but if Tom Fitzgerald floats his name, they should be interested.
Edmonton Oilers
Who knows what the Edmonton Oilers want out of this season. They’ve cleaned house recently and won two in a row after switching coaches. They still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their prime, and they’ve spent a lot of money to make things worthwhile in Western Canada. They are just two points out of a playoff spot, and if they can get in anything can happen.
The Oilers desperately need a goalie, and unless Jon Gillies intrigues them, the Devils can’t help them here. They can help them in their years-long journey to find the right winger for Draisaitl or McDavid. So, how could Zacha help those two more than he can help Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier? For one, they are two of the best players in the world. They need a winger that fits them over just someone who’s a pure scorer. Zacha might be the right fit there.
Zacha makes a lot of sense for a team like Edmonton that has a lot of talent within its prime but missing some complimentary talent.
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There are a lot of pieces that could interest the Devils in a trade here. Kailer Yamamoto is someone they should ask about. They really should ask about Philip Bromberg, but the Oilers would likely hang up on them. However, it seems like there could be a deal here. The Devils should definitely make the Oilers one of the first teams they call before making a Zacha trade.