The longer the New Jersey Devils go into the offseason, the likelier they are to need to be creative to find ways to create cap space.
No, Luke Hughes has not signed a contract extension yet, and, yes, the Devils still have less than $7 million in cap space.
Devils like Dougie Hamilton, Ondrej Palat, and Dawson Mercer have dominated speculation and trade rumors since most of the activity around the NHL died down two weeks ago. But with Hamilton and Palat still having some protection against trades, the Devils need to be a little more creative to achieve their goals.
Palat, for example, has a 10-team no-trade list, which likely features bottom-feeders with tons of cap space like Chicago, Anaheim, San Jose, and Seattle. The 34-year-old has also spent his whole NHL career on the East Coast, so we can deduct that teams like Utah and L.A. are probably on his list, too.
That's where a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets might come in play.
On Thursday, according to his agent, Shumi Babaev, Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov "would like to move to a different location," requesting a trade away from Columbus.
Chinakhov, 24, is a talented former first-round winger with a heavy shot, but has played just 83 combined games over the last two seasons.
The Russian's best NHL season to date was his 2023-24 campaign, during which he picked up 16 goals, 13 assists, and 29 points in 53 games. The Blue Jackets had higher hopes for Chinakhov this past season, but "misunderstandings" with new head coach Dean Evason stuck a fork in that, leading us to where we are today.
Yegor Chinakhov can be the impactful forward the Devils need
In Palat's case, the Blue Jackets, like the Devils, are a young, up-and-coming team in the East, and one which nearly made the playoffs last season against all expectations. With all the talent in Columbus, it's not a dissimilar project to be a part of.
Plus, it might help that former Devils teammates Miles Wood and Damon Severson, who, alongside Palat, made the playoffs with New Jersey in 2022-23, are on this Blue Jackets team.
The Blue Jackets have $16.3 million in cap space, so taking on Palat's full contract won't be a challenge for them. The challenge will be navigating Palat's no-trade list, as the first three weeks of July have proven thus far.
Obviously, Palat for Chinakhov won't be a suitable return on his own, but the Devils could add another player, like Mercer, who has no trade protection.
Mercer, 23, has never missed an NHL regular season game, but he's had the two least prolific seasons of his career in consecutive campaigns. Mercer, like Chinakhov, could use a change of scenery, and he's already proven with his 56-point 2022-23 season that he can play in a top-six role and put up points.
If the Devils were to offload Mercer and Palat together, they'd shed $10 million in cap space, and with Chinakhov, take back $2.1 million for the season.
That's a net gain of $7.9 million in cap space with a motivated Chinakhov looking to establish himself as an NHL player in a contract year. The 24-year-old will be an RFA with arbitration rights at the end of the upcoming season.
In the unfortunate event Chinakhov doesn't pan out for the Devils, there are no strings attached.
Losing Mercer would sting, yes, but even if the Devils end up with nothing to show for the hypothetical Chinakhov other than a Hughes contract extension, they still created a bigger opportunity for players like Arseniy Gritsyuk and Lenni Hameenaho.
The question remains: how aggressive is GM Tom Fitzgerald willing to get going forward?