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.