At some point, especially given the nature of all their injuries, the New Jersey Devils are going to have to make a trade to address their center depth and overall forward depth.
Fortunately, if the latest rumors are true, it would appear that the Devils already have some ideas in mind for future reference.
According to Sirius XM and NHL Network insider David Pagnotta via the DFO Rundown, a reunion with former fan-favorite forward Blake Coleman could be one of the possibilities on the table and is believed to be on the team's radar.
"I think they're in that mindset right now where they're starting to explore what options are available to them. Look, [Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald] is not afraid to make a big splash or to go out there and make a big move," Pagnotta said of the Devils.
"From a trade perspective, I think they're starting to do their due diligence. They may have already started a week or so ago, maybe prior to that, but basically trying to understand what the market is. We've talked about a guy like Blake Coleman, a former Devil now in Calgary with another year on his contract, being a fantastic complementary piece for a Stanley Cup contender like New Jersey. I think that's the case. I think he's on their radar. I think he's on a few teams' radars. At the same time, there is still an opportunity and a willingness to go for a big fish."
Coleman, 33, last played for the Devils back in the 2019-20 season, when he racked up 21 goals, 11 assists, and 32 points in 66 games before Fitzgerald, taking over for Ray Shero, dealt him for Nolan Foote and a first-round pick that ultimately became defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin.
Coleman, also known as 'Pickles', has scored 45 goals and 93 points over the last two seasons with the Calgary Flames, despite now being in the twilight of his career. Even dating back to his early days with the Devils, the former third-round pick was always an efficient bottom-six player who found ways to score on top of doing the dirty work defensively.
The Devils have gotten a total of three goals this season from Luke Glendening, Ondrej Palat, Paul Cotter, and Stefan Noesen, and with Evgenii Dadonov and Connor Brown battling injuries, some extra help in the middle six sounds really nice.
Coleman, despite the Flames being as bad as they are this season, has six goals in 18 games, and he's still holding up well physically, handling a healthy 17:07 a night.
The obvious roadblock to bringing Coleman back to New Jersey is his 10-team trade list - it's hard to see the Devils not being one of those 10 teams - and $4.9 million cap hit.
As of right now, the Devils are benefitting from Johnathan Kovacevic's $4 million cap hit being on LTIR, but after that, they'll have to make some kind of lateral move to fit Coleman in.
All signs would point to players like Palat and Dougie Hamilton with their respective $6- and $9 million cap hits, but both players have 10-team trade lists like Coleman. That's a job easier said than done for Fitzgerald and Co.
The good news is that Pagnotta is fairly convinced that the Devils are moving to get a head-start on the trade market this year, whereas, on the other hand, waiting too long ultimately sunk the team last year, especially after Jack Hughes went down for the season.
Trading for Coleman probably isn't the move that pushes the Devils over the hump, but it is one that addresses some major, long-standing needs.