Nick Ritchie – Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes are steeped in the rebuild, not only of the franchise but of their location, stadium, etc. They are willing to trade just about anyone not named Logan Cooley. It would be an interesting conversation to make about Clayton Keller, but for now, let’s focus on the rental at forward. Nick Ritchie is actually having a decent season when considering who he’s playing with.
He has just 10 power play points, but that’s second on the Coyotes to Keller’s 11. He’s tied for the team lead in goals with the man advantage with four.
He’s doing alright there, but he struggles at 5v5. He has just 11 points there, ninth on the team. Clearly, the Devils could provide Ritchie with a better line combination anywhere in their lineup than he’s got right now. He plays with Christian Fischer and Travis Boyd. Jesper Boqvist, Dawson Mercer, Yegor Sharangovich, Miles Wood, and many others could fit well with Ritchie. Especially when he plays that pest-like net-front presence, he would fit in with what the Devils need.
There is a lot the Devils would like about Ritchie. He’s very responsible with the puck. He has just 12 giveaways at 5v5 this season. Ritchie would fit really well in the Devils bottom six. He won’t cost too much in terms of trade value, and he would be a lineup fixture in the playoffs. This could be a really fun under-the-radar move that helps with the Devils depth more than most other trades.