Trade #3
This deal was a small one, but it could have been impactful for the New Jersey Devils. With Jack Hughes out, Erik Haula falling off a cliff, and Curtis Lazar not living up to the fourth-line duties, the Devils need as many centers as they can get. They did get one in Cody Glass from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who might be the most impactful player they got on trade deadline day, but they needed at least one more.
They could have had one for the paltry price of a fourth-round pick. Heck, the Devils could have told the San Jose Sharks to keep their future sixth-round pick that the Panthers ended up getting.
Nico Sturm isn't going to change trajectories by himself, but he can put pucks in the net sometimes. He had 14 goals two seasons ago, so we know that's in him. He has seven goals this season, which is more than Haula, Lazar, Tomas Tatar, Nathan Bastian, and Justin Dowling. The Devils could have added this for a very small price.
The Devils did have a few deals to make on deadline day, even if the biggest deals never came to fruition. There was a chance to salvage this season with some smaller moves. Tom Fitzgerald did not get the deals on a day when they were hard to come by.