The New Jersey Devils need help on offense. Despite having stars across their lines with the likes of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier among others, it still appears the Devils are one offensive superstar short in the top six. After the Carolina Hurricanes made a massive move to get Taylor Hall and Mikko Rantanen, the Devils likely have to make a move to really compete for the Eastern Conference.
There are a few interesting trade candidates, even if Hall is currently off the board. Some of the names still available at the top of the trade board include J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Nelson, and Yanni Gourde. They would all be nice, but the player that makes the most sense for the Devils today is Nashville Predators' center Ryan O'Reilly.
The veteran surprisingly signed with the Preds in the 2023 offseason. He committed to four years in the Music City, but an awful season for Nashville might have him leaving prematurely. The 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner has two seasons left after this season, which is a big committment for the Devils. However, he's only making $4.5 million. That's really not much for O'Reilly, who should be serviceable for the rest of his contract.
This season, O'Reilly had 14 goals and 14 assists. The Devils would love to add around a 25-goal pace to the top six. It's basically taking Tyler Toffoli's goal-scoring ability while allowing him to play center.
O'Reilly is winning faceoffs at a 55% clip this year. And it's not like it's a small sample size. He's taken 750 faceoffs at the time of this writing. Imagine if the Devils could pair O'Reilly with Jack Hughes? Gaining possession on 55% of attempts to get the puck on Jack Hughes' stick, then getting O'Reilly into a bumper or net-front position would be ideal for this team.
This is a no-brainer fro the Devils, and it could give the Devils one of two ideal lineups. One where O'Reilly is the center of Hughes's line and another where O'Reilly bolsters the bottom six.
Palat-O'Reilly-Hughes
Bratt-Hischier-Meier
Noesen-Mercer-Cotter
Tatar-Lazar-Bastian
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Noesen-Hischier-Meier
Cotter-O'Reilly-Mercer
Tatar-Haula-Lazar
Either one of those lineups feel so much better than what the Devils are putting out there right now. O'Reilly is such a perfect fit for this Devils' team, but at the same time, it feels like an impossible trade to make.
If it's a perfect fit for a team that wants to be a contender, the team should make it happen at any means necessary, right? The issue here is Barry Trotz. Tom Fitzgerald has had multiple conversations with Trotz, but Trotz then went on the radio and said he talked to the Devils. Basically, he tried to use the Devils as leverage, and instead, he just signed Saros and traded Yaroslav Askarov with no leverage. It was a wild turn of events.
With O'Reilly, the conversation would go in a similar direction. The Devils would ask for O'Reilly, and the Predators would ask for something insane. Simon Nemec? That's what they want for a guy who is way too close to his mid-30s. Arseni Gritsyuk? That sounds like a nice addition. A 2026 first-round pick? The Predators are going to treat this like it's a premium asset.
Because of the price, the Devils will have to look elsewhere for a trade partner. Even with how bad things went in Nashville this year after an insane offseason, Trotz will not accept a small return just because he's held over a theoretical barrell.
The Devils have no interest in sending the world for a player who's older, even if he has term. Trading 10+ years of Simon Nemec for 2+ years of Ryan O'Reilly makes no sense. And we see the Devils going to other trade partners before coming to an agreement with Nashville. It's a shame, but it won't make or break the Devils' season.