New Jersey Devils: 5 Prospects Who Shouldn’t Be Touched At NHL Trade Deadline
The New Jersey Devils are where they have been in years past. They are looking to make moves for the future at the NHL Trade Deadline. It’s an unfortunate situation that came from a series of terrible circumstances that led to the Devils fighting to stay out of the basement in the Metropolitan Division.
It has happened more times than not over the past few seasons. The Devils have been one of the worst teams in the league every year over the past three, which means between selling at the trade deadline and picking high in the NHL draft, the Devils prospect pool is stacked. Now, that is mostly a good thing, but they could be facing a negative soon. It could lead to a logjam when it comes to prospects trying to make the NHL. It’s definitely not a problem right now, but it could become a problem eventually.
The New Jersey Devils shouldn’t consider moving any of these prospects.
This is probably why the Devils have been tied to some “hockey trades” looking more to helping the team now and in the future over just making trades to get younger pieces. The Devils are already the youngest team in the NHL, and they have 14 players on the roster under the age of 25. That includes the current top center (Jack Hughes, 20), second-line center and captain (Nico Hischier, 23) starting goalie (Nico Daws, 21), top winger (Jesper Bratt, 23), and so many other major contributors who are still incredibly young.
Because of the youth of the roster, the Devils might be more willing to part with a talented prospect than in years past. In most situations, a team near the basement wouldn’t even consider moving a prospect at the deadline, but the Devils aren’t a normal seller. They want to make moves that help them in the future. They did something similar last season when they traded for Jonas Siegenthaler, giving the Washington Capitals a 3rd-round pick.
Meanwhile, the Devils have prospects other teams will covet in moves if they want a piece like a Brock Boeser from Vancouver. However, there are certain prospects they should take off the table. Which prospects should the Devils consider untouchable?
Luke Hughes
Duh. Don’t trade Luke Hughes. He looks like the best player in the 2021 NHL Draft so far. Yeah, we went there. Owen Power is having a really good season, Mason MacTavish is making Anaheim look good for taking him third, and Matty Beniers is doing well at Michigan, but the fact that Hughes had question marks that he’s answered, is one of the youngest players in that draft class, and he showed he has the ability to lead Michigan when Power was in Beijing, the Devils got themselves a gem.
He’s the brother of Jack Hughes who just signed an eight-year extension with the Devils. There’s no way the Devils are going to even listen to a phone call about his brother Luke. There is nothing that can pry him away from the Devils. If the Oilers called and offered Connor McDavid, it would still give Tom Fitzgerald pause (but he would probably still do it).
Hughes is too important to the Devils on too many aspects of the future to even consider making a move on. He has a number-one defenseman upside on top of being the brother of the team’s star. It’s not like brothers in the past who couldn’t live up to the other. This is the new version of the Sedin Twins. The Hughes brothers are going to be great for a long time. There is nothing in this world that could separate the New Jersey Devils from the marketing legacy that is the Hughes brothers.
Alexander Holtz
Most teams aren’t going to even ask about Luke Hughes in any trade. It is just a waste of time. However, the Devils don’t have the same hold on Alexander Holtz. That doesn’t mean the answer should be any different. Who is actually worth Alexander Holtz at this point that would make everyone happy? Outside of a very young player who’s currently in the NHL, there’s really nobody that works. It would take other untouchable players to even remotely win a deal moving Alexander Holtz.
Holtz was expected to spend some time in the NHL this season, but he clearly needed polishing in the AHL, and it’s worked perfectly. He’s scoring at one of the best rates in the minor leagues. He now has 21 goals and 41 points in 36 games with the Utica Comets. This is a Utica Comets team that is holding on to the top spot in their division and the second-best record overall.
Holtz is going to be good in the NHL. Maybe this is counting our chickens before they hatch, but it just becomes clear that Holtz is at least at the NHL level when it comes to scoring, and the Devils desperately need that. There is Jesper Bratt on the team as a winger who can score and nobody else. The Devils can’t afford to lose the one prospect who looks like he can fill that role.
Arseni Gritsyuk
There is just so much to deal with when it comes to Arseni Gritsyuk. Let’s start with strictly on the ice. Gritsyuk has grown from a prospect with upside to realizing that upside in record time. He is someone who looks like he could jump into the NHL today. He showed his skill against men all year, first in the KHL and then in the Olympics back in January. This is a player that could really burn the Devils if they give up on him too early.
He has 28 points in 38 games for Avangard Omsk. He’s shown skill that almost nobody else has in the Devils prospect pipeline has. He can make a play for himself, and once he gets close to the net, he always seems to make the right move. His numbers aren’t insane, but his numbers are great when it comes to a 20 year old in that league.
Those are reasons enough to hold onto Gritsyuk. If the Devils want to go after a big fish, they can’t take every top prospect off the table, but the issue is that Gritsyuk plays in Russia right now. That’s a major issue for all hockey players. What comes next for Russia, the KHL, Russian prospects, and more is just up in the air right now. Obviously, there is an issue over there right now. It would look really bad on the Devils to trade a prospect over there at this point.
They are dealing with more than their fair share of distractions right now. The Devils should be focusing more on getting the players that are there out of there if they want to leave. There are too many reasons to keep a player like Gritsyuk, and how it would look to trade a player in his position at a time like this might not look great.
Chase Stillman
Chase Stillman’s value is very weird right now. He wasn’t that high on most teams’ draft boards last season when the Devils took him 29th overall in the NHL Draft. A lot of teams likely still have him ranked where they originally had him ranked, while the Devils are still very high on him. He’s having a good season, and he is likely proving his worth as a top-30 prospect in his draft class. That’s about it, though. He’s not completely blowing people out of the water or proving anyone wrong.
Stillman was just suspended indefinitely for a hit last week, and we don’t know how long he will be out of the lineup. Obviously, that isn’t going to help his growth, but the Devils still shouldn’t move a player when their value of him doesn’t fit with the value that other teams have of him. When the value doesn’t match, the Devils should move on.
The Devils have a ton of prospects that they can actually move, so moving Stillman might not be the smartest decision. Tom Fitzgerald had a vision for what Stillman could be. He’s not there yet, but we think Fitzgerald knew it would take a lot more than a year to get there. With the status of the Devils prospect pool, he could take a chance on a player that would take a lot longer to develop.
Stillman isn’t as untouchable as the previous three players on the list, but he still shouldn’t be on the table.
Jakub Málek
The Devils draft a goaltending prospect every single year. That’s how they ended up in a position where they have Akira Schmid and Nico Daws holding down the fort this season one year after they had Evan Cormier and Gilles Senn in Binghamton. They haven’t stopped the process and continue to draft a goalie every year.
The current goalie situation seems to stand on the legs of 21-year-old Daws. Mackenzie Blackwood has been out for months with a heel injury that probably ruined his entire season. Jonathan Bernier has never been the same since he hurt his hip, and he had to have season-ending surgery. We’ve seen how the Devils deal with hip issues in goalies.
The Devils shouldn’t trade Daws, but let’s consider him a roster player for now. They shouldn’t trade any of their prospect depth at the position, either. Malek just missed out on our Top 25 prospects list, so it might not seem like a smart idea to make him untouchable. However, Malek is an interesting case. He’s playing better than most expected after the Devils surprised everyone when they drafted him 100th overall in the most recent draft.
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He’s playing well in the secondary Czechia league, posting a .932 save percentage in 31 games. He had a rough game at the World Junior Championship, but that could be something to overcome.