New Jersey Devils lose major trade target to Montreal Canadiens

After the loss of Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild, the New Jersey Devils are focusing on filling their needs instead of adding top talent overall. The eldest Hughes brother was a unique situation, with his other two brothers playing in New Jersey, and Quinn reportedly showing interest in playing alongside them. However, now that the dream is on hold, the Devils have to pivot to moves that make more sense for their current situation. 

The hope is to get Ryan O’Reilly from the Nashville Predators, but it sounds like he’s happy where he is, and Barry Trotz isn’t too keen on sending him somewhere he doesn’t want to go. That shrinks a center market that was already in a bad way, with more teams looking for one than trade targets to satisfy the need. 

One of the few options on the market is now off the market. The Montreal Canadiens have been a team in desperate need for a center, hoping to get someone to step in on the second line. They are in a more desperate position than the Devils. Oliver Kapanen is currently centering Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky. It’s just a huge talent disparity.

So, the Canadiens made the move to get Philip Danault from the Los Angeles Kings. Multiple reports said they sent a second-round pick to the Kings, while taking on all of Danault’s $5.5 million salary.

Here’s the thing: the Devils couldn’t do this move. They lost Hughes, reportedly because they couldn’t clear an extra $2-3 million in salary. We think they were going to take $5.5 million just to get a slight upgrade at 3C? 

Danault would have been a smart move for the Devils if they could swap salaries with the Kings. If they moved Palat, which is playing a similar position to multiple Devils on the roster, then the move made sense. They are getting a little relief in salary while also fixing their center depth.

At the end of the day, this is a player with five points this season and no goals. Danault was not solving their scoring issues. He might even exasperate them. The Devils need much more of a sure thing, and Danault is a risk, to say the least. The Canadiens sent a that second-round pick to LA, but they shouldn’t be done. That’s the bad news. This doesn’t take a team in need out of the market. The Canadiens could still use that center.

The Devils are looking at options like Brayden Schenn, Steven Stamkos, or Nazem Kadri to help them build their center depth. Getting Jack Hughes back will help that as well, although it’s unclear if he’ll be able to take faceoffs with his bad hand.