3 New Jersey Devils Trade Options With Second-Overall Pick

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.