Sunny Mehta has done his introductory press conference and the ensuing press tour after he was named as the New Jersey Devils’ GM, replacing Tom Fitzgerald in that role. There were a few major mistakes from Fitzgerald that led to his unemployment. Failing to trade for Quinn Hughes is at the top of the list. However, not far behind is Fitzgerald’s decision to give Jacob Markstrom a two-year extension.
Markstrom was already showing concerning signs at the beginning of the season, but Fitzgerald went ahead with the negotiation anyway. In the end, Fitzgerald matched Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit, but there was one major issue here. The Calgary Flames were holding onto some of the cap hit. This new contract has the Devils holding the cards for the entire price.Â
Not only that, but the Devils can’t buy out this contract before it goes into effect. Since the normal buyout window exists in the days after the Stanley Cup Final ends, the only way the Devils could possibly buy out the deal would be to send a player to arbitration. That would trigger a second buyout window. The Devils have two players available for arbitration: Arseny Gritsyuk and Paul Cotter.Â
There’s another route the Devils can take. They can trade Markstrom. That helps in two ways. The obvious one is that it gets the full contract off the books. Who would want an aging goalie with a big cap hit? Maybe a team looking for an extra piece tagged onto the trade, say, a second-round pick.Â
There’s another possibility. What if the Devils take on a bigger risk?Â
The Vegas Golden Knights are going to be looking for a suitor for Adin Hill. The guy who won them a Stanley Cup has fallen out of favor with the organization. They, for some reason, are happy with moving forward with Carter Hart. It has them in the conference finals, so there’s that.
When the Knights' season ends, they will be looking to trade Hill. He has a cap hit north of Markstrom’s $6 million, but not by much. He’s making an average of $6.25 million per season.Â
That’s essentially a wash, but Markstrom’s contract ends in two seasons. Hill’s contract ends in 2031. It’s a problem, as Hill is past the age of 30 now, and he is coming off a rough season. It’s the reason they went after Hart in the first place, despite coming off a court case.Â
Outside of his first season, which consisted of four games, Hill had never had a save percentage under .900 in his career. This past season, his save percentage was .871.
It’s crazy to think about, but the Golden Knights might trade for Markstrom and add assets to the trade. Would they give a draft pick for the Devils to take on Hill?Â
Hill is also very likely to bounce back. Maybe he was hurt, or maybe the pressure of Vegas got to him. The Devils could trade for Hill and pair him with Jake Allen this season. It’s a huge risk, which you don’t love, but it’s still a better situation in our mind than trotting out Markstrom and Allen next season.Â
Mehta is an analytical type, and he might be willing to take such a risk.
And the reason why the Knights might be willing to take this risk is because of the presence of Akira Schmid. The man who helped the Devils beat the New York Rangers in 2023 is a restricted free agent this offseason. He also has arbitration rights. As we mentioned earlier, Markstrom’s contract can only be bought out if a team uses the arbitration process.Â
In a weird way, Schmid’s replacement might be replaced himself because of the young goalie’s contract status.Â
It’s not a perfect trade by any means, but it might be the type of risk that Mehta wants to take right now.Â
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