In an almost unprecedented move, the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche sent shockwaves throughout the NHL Friday night, seeing superstar Mikko Rantanen traded in a swap that sent Marty Necas and some other assets to the Avs. It is a huge move, one we have not seen in years and thus opens the door to similar moves being made in the future.
The Devils are also in need of some help. They have seen their play crater since the Christmas break and are desperate for a shakeup. While the long-standing bottom-six issues have persisted throughout the year, the combined fall in the form of the top-six forwards has really made scoring feel like an impossible task.
Particularly, they need help getting Jack Hughes firing on all cylinders. When Hughes is on, very few players that can compete with him. We saw that in overtime on Saturday night, where he shook off a rough game and put the game-winner in the back of the net. But this season, we are seeing more uncharacteristic mistakes and plays costing the team goals against, and in the grand scheme of things, points in the standings. One reason is the presumable lack of defensive support on his line. Palat is just not the player we saw a few years ago, and with that, Hughes's risky plays become more costly.
Recently, there has been a lack of dependable players on his line, which has been costly. Paul Cotter, while a likable player, is nowhere near the level of talent needed to understand and play up to Jack's speed. Instead, we need to look to the past and see what has worked.
During Jack's record-breaking 2022-2023 season, he mostly played with Erik Haula. While Haula is not a supremely talented player, he provided Jack Hughes's line with stability and faceoff threat. A Haula upgrade could be precisely what the Devils need to compete in the division.
A player that admittedly is too outrageous to consider is Vancouver's Elias Pettersson. A former 100-point player, Petterssen is the type of player that is hard to come by. When he is motivated and playing to his potential, he is a selke-level center who can pot 35+ goals. An EP40-JH86 combo could be deadly and help to ease Hughes's creative burden. It would give them two legitimate shutdown centers, an extremely rare commodity in today's NHL.
The New Jersey Devils need to get an offensive superstar to pair with Jack Hughes.
A big swing that could fix some of their scoring woes is Seattle's Jared McCann. While only on pace for 23 goals this season, McCann is one of the best shooters in the league, posting a 32-goal average over the last 3 seasons. He is also a responsible, quite mobile defensive winger and give Jack an upgrade on Tyler Toffoli from last year.
Another player that adds a solid veteran, Stanley Cup-winning presence is Nashville's Ryan O'Reilly. O'Reilly is practically a perfect Haula upgrade, a supreme defensive presence, and a player Jack can learn a lot from. He is also on pace for a 25-goal, 50-point season, adding a true scoring threat to the top six. His contract is difficult to handle, however, so perhaps Barry Trotz can lend a favor to his old player, Tom Fitzgerald.
There are some bottom-six players that could be interesting to add. The Devils need fast, quick players that can provide a decent scoring threat. While he is on a down year, Pittsburgh's Drew O'Connor could be a great fit. A New Jersey Native, the 6'4 winger is one of the quicker players in the league with a 96th percentile score in the "speed bursts over 20 mph" category. He also came off a 16-goal campaign last year, and perhaps the change in scenery could bring back some of that scoring touch.
The Devils also need a true third-line center. Haula and Lazar both seem to have lost a step, and another player who could take faceoffs would be a luxury. A player such as Jake Evans makes a lot of sense in this regard. He is one of the quicker players in the league and has recently found his scoring touch. Though I doubt this to continue, Evans pushes play in the right direction and could be the key piece in a successful third line.
These are just some necessary moves the Devils could do to get back to their pre-Christmas form and become true contenders in the East.