The New Jersey Devils' offseason officially began after losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. It will likely come at the expense of moving a guy like Ondrej Palat instead of buying him out if teams are willing to take on his contract to meet the Cap Floor. Three teams that make the most sense in this manner are not in the division: the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Chicago Blackhawks.
What could the Devils get in an Ondrej Palat trade? First, looking at the Blackhawks roster, there's not much other than Artyom Levshunov on RHD, Arvid Soderblom and Spencer Knight in net, and draft picks. There really isn't much both parties could part ways in a Palat trade, but it is best to window shop. The Devils already have Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, and Anton Silayev ready to replace Dougie Hamilton, Brenden Dillon, and eventually Brett Pesce when their deals are up.
Other than that, the Czechia winger would be used for mid and late-round picks to relieve cap space. Goalie-wise, the New Jersey Devils have Veeti Louhivaara in Finland, Mikhail Yegorov at Boston University, Nico Daws likely to play a full season under Jacob Markstrom, then Isaac Poulter awaiting his turn in the AHL with Jakub Malek. It wouldn't be the right fit at this point in time to go after those pieces in Chicago, but maybe a season or two later if things evolve.
The Anaheim Ducks do have some interesting pieces in Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, and Isaac Lundestrom, but you can acquire Mason McTavish via an offer sheet. This was mentioned on a crossover with our very own Trey Matthews, the host of Locked On Devils.
Cutter Gauthier is the one who truly pops off this list as a left wing who is a controllable asset as a restricted free agent. He had 44 points in 82 games, 20 of which were goals. He added grit stats like 51 blocks and 68 hits; the kid is playing like a man already with 22 takeaways. His Sasquatch Two Way Score (Points, Hits, Blocks) is 163, so he's nearly a two-stat per game player.
It is fair to say that a year ago, the Devils didn't have enough grit, but the problem this past season was they didn't have enough goal scoring, and the Devils got shut out more than they should have because we saw things were too Jekyll & Hyde. It's also fair to say that Gauthier would cost way, way more than Palat.
When you look at the San Jose Sharks, they will likely be willing to move any of their core players under RFA contracts. One of whom is former NJ Devils prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin, who will provide a physical defensive game while using that heavy bomb of a shot to produce high-danger rebounds for teammates up front. Another reason is that, like the second paragraph talking about Anton Silayev in New Jersey down the road after Brenden Dillon's contract ends, it would be counterproductive to bring back a familiar face in Shakir, who Anton Silayev replaces.
In the old hard truth for using San Jose as a contract loading destination, it would not be fair to Ondrej Palat, but that young core in San Jose might look great down the line. Any other team willing to eat Ondrej Palat's remaining $12 million ($6M AAV) deal could retain half with NJ at $3M AAV to make it doable, and Tom Fitzgerald may need to add a sweetener to get rid of the contract and save a buyout.
The New Jersey Devils need more scoring than anything else. They should not have been shut out as many times as they were last season. That's unbecoming for a playoff team.
The need for a Tyler Toffoli-like player is out there, and potentially, a Ryan Donato-type center can help bolster the top nine and slot the other forwards in the bottom six, which will get the Devils not only into the second round but deep into the playoffs. Guys like Lenni Hameenaho and Arseni Gritsyuk are already here between Utica and the New Jersey Devils; it is only a matter of time before they make their mark, lighting up the lamp.