The New Jersey Devils have traded veteran forward Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators, one of his former teams, in exchange for defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel and a 2025 fourth-round pick, the Devils announced Wednesday.
The Devils did not retain any salary in the detail, clearing Haula's full $3.15 million cap hit off their books in preparation for what is shaping up to be a busy offseason for GM Tom Fitzgerald and Co.
Hanzel, 22, is a 2023 sixth-round pick of the Predators who has two assists in nine games in parts of two seasons in the AHL. The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenseman spent most of his 2024-25 season with the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators, scoring three goals, 19 assists, and 22 points in 61 games to pair with 28 penalty minutes and a -24 rating.
As for Haula, the 34-year-old completes his Devils tenure with a total of 41 goals, 56 assists, and 97 points in 225 regular season games, helping New Jersey return to the playoffs twice in his three seasons in Newark.
The Haula trade was seemingly in the cards for a while now, given that he struggled to the tune of just 11 goals, 10 assists, and 21 points in 69 games with the Devils. Haula had one assist in five games in the Round 1 playoff loss to the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes.
With Haula out of the picture, the Devils currently have $14.394 million in cap space with 10 forwards under contract on the NHL roster.
With the addition of Nashville's fourth-round pick, 99th overall, the Devils now have two picks in the second, fourth, and sixth rounds.