Yes, the New Jersey Devils disappointingly missed out on getting Quinn Hughes early, but, in the absence of Jack Hughes, the team's true roster sores have been badly exposed. One of those - a No. 3 center - has long been a need.
Fortunately, the latest NHL trade rumors suggest that Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is moving towards fixing that issue.
Of course, actions speak louder than words, especially after the aforementioned Hughes failure, but it shows the Devils at least have somewhat of an idea of what they're doing these days.
According to a recent report from RG's Marco D'Amico, the Devils are one of the teams that have "kicked tires" on disgruntled Los Angeles Kings center Phillip Danault, who, according to D'Amico, has also asked for a trade.
Sources indicate that Phil Danault has asked for a tradein LA. His camp hopes a deal gets done sooner than later; prior to the Trade Freeze.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) December 16, 2025
Kings are willing to wait it out, looking for a player-for-player trade.
MTL, NJD and CAR are some of the teams to kicked tires there.
As it relates to this situation, it is worth noting that the Devils failed to come up with Quinn Hughes in large part due to their failure to clear out the $6- and $9 million salaries of Ondrej Palat and Dougie Hamilton, respectively.
Danault, 32, has a 10-team no-trade list, as well as a $5.5 million cap hit in each of the next two seasons, whereas Palat is on the hook for two more seasons at $6 million with a 10-team trade list, and Hamilton is due for three more campaigns at $9 million, also with a 10-team trade list.
It's unclear if either player would be willing to accept a trade out West or if the Kings are on their no-trade lists at all, but between Danault's own trade protection and the Devils' cap situation, there would undoubtedly be a lot of moving parts to any deal between the two sides.
The former first-round pick has yet to score a goal in 30 games this season and has just five assists, but Danault, always a supremely reliable two-way center, had no fewer than 43 points in each of his last four seasons while playing north of 17 minutes a night.
Easier matchups in New Jersey, especially behind Nico Hischier and a healthy Hughes, could lead to more offensive production, and his lackluster offensive production to this point should paradoxically drive his trade value down.
Agent Allan Walsh took to X to scold D'Amico for his reporting, but never actually denied the report itself. Now that Danault's trade request has apparently gone public, that's another factor that hurts the Kings' negotiating leverage as they aspire to still remain a playoff team.
Time will tell where it all goes, but Danault is now the lowest-hanging fruit for the Devils on the trade market.