3 New Jersey Devils Trade Options With Second-Overall Pick
Before the NHL Draft Lottery, it was beginning to look clear that the New Jersey Devils were going to move their first-round pick. Then, they moved up to the second-overall pick. So, have things changed? The short answer is yes because the players available are better the higher you go, but this is a team that wants to start to win now and the way general manager Tom Fitzgerald talks on top of reports from various hockey insiders, this pick is available.
Just looking at the players drafted second overall in the past should up the value right away. It really depends on who you talk to, especially with Juraj Slafkovsky. Whoever trades for the pick will have some options though and whether it is a big scoring winger, a highly-skilled center, or perhaps a defender the pick should have a lot of pull.
Trade One
Montreal Canadiens fans have been interesting as of late in picking Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky. We believe they will take Wright number one, but the fanbase and even some analysts are leaning toward Slafkovsky now. The team is definitely very high on him even if they do not pick him first, and with the draft being in Montreal making a big splash seems more likely, even if it is only a little bit.
The Habs are in cap hell and they are one of the worst teams if not the worst in the league. That’s how they got the number-one overall pick. They could be again next season regardless of moves despite spending so much. They will not be good for a few years. While they will be able to move out some contracts over the next few seasons this is not a one-season fix and some players are stuck where they are. No one is taking Carey Price at over $10 million. Jeff Petry has three years left at $6.25 million. Other than Suzuki, this team’s entire forward group is overpaid and locked up for multiple years. The aim should be to be competitive in 4 years though this will be hard to stomach for the franchise.
So why move one of the good young players?
If you want the second-overall pick, you are not putting together a package based on a bunch of overpaid middle-of-the-road forwards fixing all of your problems. Nick Suzuki is the franchise center next to Wright giving them a 1-2 punch kind of like the Devils. It is pretty clear that the Devils need scoring.
Cole Caufield had a great second half of his season. Most now forget about his awful start, but if things stay the way they are the Habs only have two ways this can go. Either he slips and they have another middle-of-the-road guy or he keeps it up and they need to pay him $7 million. For that to happen, the Canadiens would need to sell off some of the dead weight, and they might not be in a position to spend just to get some cap space. Slafkovsky would be ready to go when they are ready to compete. He could give them the scorer that Caufield is with a physicality that he could never match.
As for the Devils, it is a risky play obviously. They are ready to go now unlike the Habs and we all know the chemistry that Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield had in junior. They could have a legit top 6 and with Bratt next to Nico and Sharangovich next to Hughes giving the coach the addition of Caufield and Holtz next season for the open wings is a big jump and could be frightening in the future.
Trade Two
The Devils were looking hard at Fiala after his great season. He scored 33 goals with 85 total points and it did indeed look like the Devils might grab him for their pick when it was going to be in the 6-7 range. The speedy Swiss player would fit at the top of this roster and would compliment the line of Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, leaving the Devils with a dangerous trio for a long time.
He is currently an RFA, so the Devils would have to get permission to speak to him about a contract before making such a valuable pick available for trade. The Wild are also in a cap crunch. Their situation could impact Fiala’s value, not to mention that as an RFA Fiala does have some say in this process. He could completely shoot down a trade if he told a team that he was not going to sign long term with them.
Should this deal go off, the Devils need to lock him up for 7-8 years and should be aiming for the same deal as his potential linemates with a $7 million cap hit. At 25 years old, he is firmly in his prime. The Devils don’t need to worry about him aging on them and slowing down as he hits 30 right at the tail end of the deal and should still be a very productive player at the time.
From the Wild point of view, getting to move up in the draft for a guy they can’t sign should be a smart move. Unless the Senators trade their first-round pick straight up for Fiala, this might be the best deal they could get.
Trade Three
This one has been bouncing around western Canada a fair bit as of late. The Devils and Canucks were two teams that were constantly Miller is coming off a massive season in which he scored 32 times and had 99 points. That would have been a record-breaking total for the Devils. It would beat out every Devils superstar of years past including Taylor Hall’s MVP season, Ilya Kovalchuk’s best season in red, and Patrik Elias‘ legendary 2001 season.
He is also a guy who plays with heart and is great on both sides of the rink. While this is a trade being proposed, this would be a bad deal for the Devils and they shouldn’t do it.
So why is that?
The first reason is age. At 29 years old, he is not going to be a long-term guy for this team despite being good now. He will be a strong player for a few years for sure, but other strong players have fallen off in the early 30s and the Devils don’t need to look far to see examples. Kyle Palmieri was a stud but the second he was moved he could barely stay in the lineup for the Islanders, every goalie this team adds has injury issues, and P.K. Subban is not an old man but he is a shadow of the All-Star we were used to seeing.
Currently, Miller is making $5.25 million and the contract is up after next season. He will be a UFA and can either walk away or will probably be asking for a massive raise, one this team shouldn’t be giving. It will be his big payday and probably his last shot at it, so whoever signs him will be looking at 6-8 years and probably $8 million which will be absurd when he is 32 and just a nightmare once he surpasses 35 years old.
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The trade would help the team immediately but is a very short-sighted move and most fans can see it clearly so we just need to hope management doesn’t bite on this.