5 New Jersey Devils trade targets to help replace injured Curtis Lazar

4.) Noah Cates, Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers forward Noah Cates, like Evans, is a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season. The key difference between the two, and perhaps even more appealing from the Devils' perspective, is the fact that Cates is only 25 years old and will be a restricted free agent. There is more long-term appeal to adding a Cates rather than adding an Evans, though there are other factors to consider.

First and most obviously is the fact that the Flyers, like the Devils, are a young team. The two franchises are also Metropolitan Division rivals, so there will undeniably be an additional cost to pay for that reason in any potential trade.

Additionally, Cates has yet to score for the Flyers in his eight appearances this season and has served as a healthy scratch for John Tortorella's squad at times. Cates is already making $2.625 million against the cap, so would a raise on an already healthy number be something the Devils are willing to consider after having the player for only part of a season, if that? That is doubtful.

Cates is still young at 25, though, and would likely perform better at both ends of the ice on a more competitive team like the Devils. Further adding to the trade appeal is the fact that Cates can play left wing in addition to center. Once Lazar and Bastian return to the Devils' lineup, Cates can flex over to the left wing and give New Jersey a more traditional checking line. He is far more suited for that role than Tomas Tatar is, for example.

It is more than likely that the Flyers will listen to the Devils or other NHL teams if a reasonable offer is made.

3.) Scott Laughton, Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers again? Seriously?

Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald likes to trade for players with team control or term. Lazar came from Vancouver with term, Jacob Markstrom has term, Jake Allen had term, and Paul Cotter has term. This is deliberate, as Fitzgerald is aiming to bring in certain players with certain profiles with the hope that they help the Devils contend for a Stanley Cup over the course of multiple seasons, locked in at a specific price.

Scott Laughton, 30, is locked in with the Flyers for two more years at a $3 million cap hit, and his much greater offensive output makes him a better bargain than his teammate Cates. Laughton, who wears the 'A' for the Flyers, is a well-respected leader in the locker room and does a ton for the community. He is a player the Flyers have rejected offers on in the past, including one that allegedly included a first-round pick,

That would be a steep price to pay, and one that the Devils probably cannot afford or make possible given their previous transactions. However, everybody has a price, and the Devils can meet it with prospects, too, not just picks.

Laughton, like Cates, can play wing and center and contributes on both the penalty kill and the power play. He's an Erik Haula-esque player who can do a little bit of everything, contribute to the locker room, and remain relevant once Lazar returns from his knee injury.

This one is admittedly far-fetched at this time, but if Laughton makes sense for anyone this early in the season, it's the Devils.

2.) Klim Kostin, San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks newcomer Klim Kostin is certainly not the sexiest name on this list, but he has some appeal, especially for certain factions of Devils fans who call the team "soft" to no end.

Kostin, 25, is a 6-foot-4, 231-pound former first-round pick who has bounced around a considerable amount in his short NHL career but has shown flashes of potential here and there. Although the Russian forward has played only 162 NHL games to date, we have enough of a sample size to quantify just how good of an addition he can be.

Over the course of an 82-game NHL season, Kostin currently averages 12 goals, 11 assists, and 23 points a season, as well as a whopping 193 hits. The 25-year-old has one year remaining on his contract at a reasonable $2 million cap hit, and though he has almost exclusively played left wing, Kostin was drafted as a center.

Kostin also has 14 career regular season fights to his name and has taken on some tough customers in his short NHL career, such as Nick Deslauriers, Pat Maroon, Zack Kassian, Brendan Lemieux, and Erik Gudbranson.

Kostin should be a name the Devils are looking at independent of Lazar's injury status going forward.

1.) Nico Sturm, San Jose Sharks

Of every other center on this list, Sharks center Nico Sturm fits what the Devils need to a tee. He's big, he's physical, he's excellent at faceoffs, he can score a little bit, and he's elite defensively. If the Devils are to add a bottom-six forward of any kind, Sturm must be the No. 1 priority.

Sturm, briefly a teammate of star Devils winger Timo Meier, has won no fewer than 55% of his faceoffs since joining the Sharks in 2022. The 29-year-old scored a career-high 14 goals, 12 assists, and 26 points with the Sharks in the 2022-23 season, but as the team has gotten worse, so has Sturm's offensive output. He won't have that problem in New Jersey.

Sturm currently has two goals, two assists, and four points in 13 games with San Jose, but he's averaging a career-low 10:11 of ice time on a Sharks team prioritizing its young players. Once a Stanley Cup champion with Colorado in 2022, Sturm knows what it takes to win a championship. It was Sturm's Avalanche that defeated Devils forward Ondrej Palat in the Final that year, though Palat has a few Cups of his own.

It would be hard to find a better, more underappreciated bottom-six center than the undrafted Sturm. At 6-foot-3, he has the requisite size needed to bolster an average New Jersey Devils bottom-six that just lost the 6-foot-4 Bastian. The Devils can work out who moves to left wing and whatnot later, as Sturm should clearly be at the top of their wish list.