Trade Trees Impacting New Jersey Devils Current Roster

CapFriendly has an amazing tool that lets you follow trades. This was a fascinating web of player movement. We will start with the players currently on the New Jersey Devils roster that were in these trades. This is a fascinating history of trades that paid dividends for the Devils.

It’s fun to take a look at how certain players ended up on the Devils. Yet this is a bit more educational than something overloaded with stats and analytics. This is meant to be a journey of trade trees that built today’s Devils roster. Let’s start with a trade that is paying immediate dividends.

John Marino

John Marino was a part of two moves that were absolute fleeces. Edmonton received a sixth-round pick in 2019, which became Shane Lachance, while sending Marino to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The New Jersey Devils then acquired John Marino for Ty Smith and a draft pick that became Drew Fortescue.

As of now, Marino’s addition changed the Devils into a very dynamic team. This is one of those lopsided trades that will push Devils fans to make management want to build a ring of honor for Tom Fitzgerald as a builder. Marino, who arguably couldn’t be here if the Devils signed Johnny Gaudreau, shot down the sniper in the first matchup. Marino shut down the New Jersey native at the Prudential Center for a Devils win.

Kevin Bahl, Dawson Mercer, & Jonas Siegenthaler

If it weren’t for the Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall trade between Edmonton and New Jersey, this Kevin Bahl and Dawson Mercer might be toiling in Arizona. Then-GM Ray Shero moved Taylor Hall and Blake Speers for Nick Merkley, Nate Schnarr, Kevin Bahl, and the first-round pick that became Dawson Mercer and a third-round pick that the Devils never made (more on that in a moment).

The New Jersey Devils parlay of moving on from Taylor Hall has paid massive dividends with the drafting of Dawson Mercer, and the addition of Kevin Bahl now truly showing his potential on a physical stay-at-home defense role. The Devils also traded the third-round pick they got in this trade for Jonas Siegenthaler, who’s become the Devils top left-handed defenseman next to Dougie Hamilton.

Nolan Foote & Timo Meier

Blake Coleman was moved by then-interim GM Tom Fitzgerald to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were desperate to win a Stanley Cup. They not only gave up a first-round pick, but they gave up the Vancouver Canucks pick given up in the J.T. Miller deal that would become Shakir Mukhamadullin. Nolan Foote also came in that deal and is looking to be the successor to Miles Wood.

Andreas Johnsson, who came to New Jersey in exchange for Joey Anderson, was mixed in with Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotiuk, and two draft picks (one of which was used this year to take Quentin Musty) in exchange for San Jose’s Timo Meier, Santerri Hatakka, Scott Harrington, and Timur Ibragimov.

Meier just signed an eight-year deal after showing in the playoffs he can help the Devils become a dangerous, feisty team. Santerri Hatakka will look to start the season in Utica if he can keep impressing the upper brass in New Jersey, thinking they have a diamond in the rough defenseman. This is one of the hallmark moves that Tom Fitzgerald will be looking to see if it gets Tom Fitzgerald that Stanley Cup to his name as a GM and gets him more than one GM of the Year award.

Erik Haula

Erik Haula has a pretty famous journeyman career. The journey for Haula on his way to NJ started in Vegas, where he was then traded to Carolina for Nicolas Roy and another player. Carolina and the Florida Panthers would exchange Erik Haula for Vincent Trocheck. Haula would later head up to Boston and be traded mono e mono to New Jersey for Pavel Zacha. Zacha was not cutting it for the Devils, and the chemistry under Haula as a forward has brought a playoff-winning attitude and a true veteran leader.

Curtis Lazar

Ottawa moved Curtis Lazar in a deal to Calgary in a multi-asset trade. After signing with Buffalo, he was moved with Taylor Hall to Boston. Lazar would sign in Vancouver and get traded for a 2024 4th-round pick to New Jersey. Lazar did score a Cam Janssen style of goal vs. the Rangers but also played a physical and exciting defensive style of hockey, willing to bang the body when it truly matters.

Colin Miller

The veteran defenseman started off being moved from the Los Angeles Kings to Boston with Martin Jones. The Buffalo Sabres would then acquire Miller and his defensive prowess from the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Recently the New Jersey Devils invested that 2025 5th round pick for the addition of Colin Miller to take part in the New Jersey Devils blueline. The Devils always needed extra character and beef besides the Jonas Siegenthaler trade Tom Fitzgerald made a few seasons ago for a draft pick.

But Miller, like Siegenthaler, can block shots, hit, and chip in more with a heavy slap shot that could be vital on the second power-play unit. Miller won’t have much readapting because Ryan McGill, his old defensive coach from Vegas, will simplify things.