New Jersey Devils: 3 Trade Proposals To Move Needle For David Pastrnak

Trade 2

This trade is incredibly interesting, but as you can see it doesn’t involve the second-overall pick. We’re assuming this is what a trade would look like if the Devils made it happen after the NHL Draft. The Devils already took Juraj Slafkovsky, and the Bruins wanted the pick to take a center. Since the second-overall pick is no longer available, the Devils have to take an insane risk to make the deal happen. They have to trade their 2023 1st-round pick, known as one of the better draft classes in a long time, without any protection.

On top of that, they are also giving them Alexander Holtz, a former seventh overall pick. The Devils would be able to sign Pastrnak, a 26-year-old winger who still has five years of prime scoring years, and they would be able to keep Slafkovsky. Losing Holtz would hurt, but this isn’t the worst-case scenario for them.

The Devils would add Miles Wood, a player who has the style the Bruins might want in a young player. They have to figure out a new contract for a player coming off a hip injury, but it seems like a small price to play after seeing how he played when he did return last season. Wood’s ability hasn’t dissipated, but he just needs more time to rest.

The Devils would also take on the contract of Nick Foligno. The Devils could decide to just keep him to play in the bottom six, and he’d be valuable there, or they could buyout the deal. That would cost the Devils less than $1 million in 2023-24, so it might be worth it to just keep the roster spot available. But again, it’s not like Foligno isn’t valuable at all, he’s just a bottom line guy at this point.