New Jersey Devils: 3 Trade Deadline Deals With Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils fans have been dealing with fake trades from Montreal Canadiens fans for days, months, and years. If the name Josh Anderson comes across our screen again, we might lose our minds. Hearing Canadiens fans think Anderson is worth Simon Nemec or Dawson Mercer is wildly frustrating.
This isn’t necessarily payback. This is more like teaching. We will teach Canadiens fans what realistic trades might look like. We’ve previously talked about trading for Cole Caufield, but that just doesn’t make sense in this scenario. The Canadiens want to continue to get younger.
The Canadiens already have 11 draft picks in the 2022 NHL Draft. That doesn’t mean they won’t want more. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked their prospect pool 11th in the NHL. That’s not good enough for a team that hopes the rebuild lasts a season or two. The Canadiens need young help, and they need it fast. Luckily, the Devils have plenty of young talent, with the youngest roster in the NHL in second place in the Metropolitan Division and a top-two prospect pool.
The Devils and Canadiens can make a trade that makes sense for both sides. Let’s look at some options.
We talked about Sean Monahan being an under-the-radar trade option recently. It makes a lot of sense. Monahan plays the style of game that Lindy Ruff loves. He’s basically what Erik Haula tried to do. Monahan can play a reliable game, win faceoffs, and he can complement Jack Hughes by making sure he is always in the right position.
Here’s the difference; Monahan can score. In fact, it might be what he does best. Hughes became a scorer this season out of necessity. He has a career-high in both goals and assists this season already. Imagine if Tom Fitzgerald gets him someone that can score.
The Devils are giving up a good prospect in Reilly Walsh, but what can they really do with Walsh long term? He’s a right-handed defenseman. The Devils have Dougie Hamilton and John Marino signed for at least four more seasons. Simon Nemec is the right-handed defenseman of the future. Walsh needs to find a team where he has a chance to make the NHL. Is Walsh a high price for a rental, but the situation makes it worth it if Monahan can come back from his injury.
The Devils would still have to do a little bit of salary swapping, but they only need to make about $200,000 go the other way to make the salaries work if the Canadiens retain 50% of Monahan’s salary.
This one is pretty simple. While we’re talking about Timo Meier, Brock Boeser, and Vladimir Tarasenko, there’s a good chance Tom Fitzgerald is also looking at a move to bolster the bottom six. The Devils want to upgrade the entire roster. Sure, adding Meier would automatically upgrade the bottom six by sending current top-six players into the bottom six. However, this would be a move that makes sense on top of that one.
Jonathan Drouin is an interesting name. The former third-overall pick is far removed from the potential that had him scoring north of 100 points in back-to-back seasons for the Halifax Mooseheads. Now, he’s a 27-year-old winger who hasn’t scored a goal this season. He was actually playing well before he was injured. He had six assists in seven games, including a three-assist performance against the Nashville Predators.
Drouin is expected to return to the lineup soon. It’s worth it for the Devils to give up a very low-quality asset in a fifth-round pick to get Drouin on the roster. Is he worth more than that? Not really. He’s just a guy now. His name value is negative. His trade value is close. That’s why the Canadiens can make this deal work while also taking on Andreas Johnsson’s salary.
Honestly, would the Canadiens mind seeing if Johnsson would be worth signing to an extension in the offseason? He’s played well in the AHL, and he might just need one more shot to play well in the NHL.
This trade isn’t going to get anyone too excited, but the Devils are looking at their Utica Comets counterparts and hoping they could have another contender on their hands. After a rough start which saw them in last place in the division in December, the Comets are in second place in the North Division.
The Devils made a few savvy moves to bring in once-great prospects to the organization. They tried it with Jack Dugan, Zach Senyshyn, and Brian Pinho. Many of those players are having less-than-expected seasons so far. Another one of those prospects is Brian Halonen. The former Michigan Tech product seemed like a great signing for the Devils when he left college. However, it hasn’t worked out.
Halonen has 18 points in 40 games. The 24 year old still has a long way to go, but there’s something there a team could build upon. The Devils would be acquiring Anthony Richard, the Laval Rocket leading scorer. To make that swap, the Devils have to add more than Halonen. He has potential and is two years younger than Richard, but there’s still not enough to make the swap.
Next. Why New Jersey Devils Don't Have To Make A Trade. dark
The Devils will add another long-shot prospect to make the deal work. Case McCarthy is a prospect most probably forgot about. McCarthy is having a great season for Boston University. It would help bolster the Canadiens defensive prospects.