New Jersey Devils: 3 Trade Proposals To Move Needle For David Pastrnak
The New Jersey Devils are uniquely qualified to go after a superstar this offseason. It appears the Boston Bruins are looking to unload everything that’s not tied down. That includes David Pastrnak.
This offseason could be a benchmark for the New Jersey Devils. They’ve been loosely tied to Kevin Fiala, Matthew Tkachuk (although that might be wishful thinking), Vladimir Tarasenko, and other superstars. Teams are going to pine for the second-overall pick. They will love what they see out of prospects like Alexander Holtz, Reilly Walsh, and Arseni Gritsyuk. There are some players who are available that could really change the Devils fortunes. Outside of a goalie, there are no other options that could do that as well as someone like David Pastrnak.
It seems impossible that a player like him would be available. Pastrnak is one of the best scorers in the NHL. There’s no reason he should be available. However, it appears the Bruins are looking to go into a rebuild. Patrice Bergeron is likely going to retire. Brad Marchand is going to miss part of the season after offseason surgery. So will Charlie McAvoy. They will likely trade Jake DeBrusk. The team just fired head coach Bruce Cassidy.
And now a report from The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa says David Pastrnak is not coming back to the Bruins as long as Don Sweeney is the general manager. It’s highly unlikely the Bruins lose their GM, so it seems like a trade of their star player is the most likely option.
So, what might a Pastrnak trade look like? The Devils are uniquely built to make this deal happen. Here’s what it could look like. One note: EVERY trade here comes with an immediate extension. None of these pieces are available for one year of Pastrnak.
Trade 1
Let’s get spicy right off the top. The New Jersey Devils need Pastrnak. They have two amazing centers at the top of their lineup, and adding Pastrnak would immediately give them one of the most exciting top lines in hockey. Except, it would cost them one of their own top-line players and one of the most incredible picks available in a long time.
The Bruins get to build with Yegor Sharangovich, who has one more left on his deal himself. He is a restricted free agent after the deal, so the Bruins will have to pay him soon, but his deal won’t come close to superstar money.
On top of that, the Bruins can draft Logan Cooley. They desperately need a center in the system. They have nothing at the position now or in the future. They have wingers when everyone is healthy, but with Bergeron likely calling it a career (or the slight possibility he could play elsewhere), the Bruins need a center in the worst way.
On top of that, they get Nolan Foote as a throw in. He’s a good prospect who could easily become an NHL player with just a little bit of an adjustment.
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.
Trade 3
Then, there’s this trade. Looking at a previous superstar trade involving the Boston Bruins, we look at the Phil Kessel trade of 2009. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded two first-round picks and a second rounder for Kessel, trying to propel a franchise that hadn’t been good in half a decade. It obviously didn’t work, and the draft pick ended up being second overall in 2010 (getting them Tyler Seguin) and ninth overall in 2011 (getting them Dougie Hamilton). The Bruins and Maple Leafs basically both bungled that trade, as the Bruins traded both assets they got in the deal for below market value.
This one is built pretty much the same way. The Devils would give the Bruins a guaranteed second-overall pick and then the possibility to choose high in 2023. The Devils should be better in 2022-23 with Pastrnak, but they still don’t have a goalie. Until they find one, they always have the risk to pick high. The Devils would protect this in the top five since they already guaranteed the Bruins a top pick.
The Devils would ask for Jake DeBrusk in the deal. They’ve reportedly been interested in him in previous offseasons. It seems like the Bruins have been talking about a DeBrusk trade for years but never pull the trigger. It would be a little ironic for it to happen here. The Devils would likely still pull the trigger on this deal without DeBrusk.
Next. 5 Players Worth Trading 2nd-Overall. dark
These are three massive prices to pay, but there aren’t many players even close to as good as Pastrnak that comes available. The Devils have to throw everything they have to make a deal happen. If the Devils get Pastrnak, and they fix the goaltending situation, this is an instant contender. That is going to cost them dearly in terms of future assets. However, in the end, it would likely be worth it.