New Jersey Devils: 3 Trade Deadline Deals With Montreal Canadiens

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.