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

Five New Jersey Devils trade targets who can help replace the injured Curtis Lazar, including experienced NHL studs like Nico Sturm, Jake Evans, Scott Laughton, and more.

New York Islanders v New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders v New Jersey Devils | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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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.

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