The New Jersey Devils made a trade that shocked many fans, but most of them understood why the trade was being made. As of this writing, the Devils are choosing between Shane Lachance, Lenni Hameenaho, Luke Glendening (on a PTO), and Kevin Rooney (on a PTO) for the final spot on the roster. Up until Saturday, that final spot could have gone to Kurtis MacDermid. He’s a bruising defenseman-turned-forward who was re-signed in 2024 on a three-year deal paying him $1.15 million per season.
The deal looked like a bust immediately. Bruising forwards never cost much, and they almost never need term. Did Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald expect teams to line up to sign MacDermid? Someone would have given him an NHL deal, but we’d be floored if the Devils really needed to give him three years.
Many might think that a paltry $1.15 million doesn’t matter when the Devils have multiple players making between $7 million and $9 million per season, but the issue comes with giving someone who could be making $775,000 an extra $350,000. The Devils need as much money as they can find.
After Luke Hughes re-signed last week, the Devils were facing a reality where they had to make uncomfortable moves to stay under the salary cap, even with Johnny Kovacevic on LTIR. This move allows the Devils to save the required cash to keep the roster compliant.
Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators, who acquired MacDermid, sound like they wanted more toughness in the lineup. That sounds familiar.
The Devils traded for MacDermid after Matt Rempe played as recklessly as possible, injured players, and the Devils didn’t punch back. MacDermid was in the lineup to give that punch.
Unfortunately, punching was the only thing he really did. He played 23 games last season, and he scored zero goals and had zero assists. He didn’t add anything to the lineup outside the possibility that he could fight someone.
And listen, the line brawl where he took out Matt Rempe was great. It’s a core memory for our Devils fandom, but the team lost a really good young center to get MacDermid in Zakhar Bardakov. All because a Rangers player got into their heads.
Ottawa Senators got Kurtis MacDermid from the New Jersey Devils for the reason the Devils got Kurtis MacDermid
Now look at the Senators’ situation. They were coming off a game where the Senators were bullied by the Montreal Canadiens. Former New Jersey Devils interim head coach Travis Green, who is now the head coach of the Ottawa Senators, and coached MacDermid in New Jersey, was apparently the catalyst for this trade going down. He told The Athletic that “He’s one of the tougher guys in the league. He’s a tremendous teammate. He sticks up for his whole team. He’s a smart individual. He understands the game.”
When the Devils traded for MacDermid, this is what Lindy Ruff (then Devils head coach) had to say about him:
“There is a physicality that he can bring. We have some players out of the lineup who brought that to our team, and now he is going to add that to our team.”
Sticking up for the team is not a reason to acquire a player. Doesn’t Brady Tkachuk do that for the Senators? The whole point of a team like the Florida Panthers is that they have tough guys who can play hockey. Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and A.J. Greer can play hockey while also fighting when necessary.
Acquiring a player like MacDermid for the price he’s being paid for the reason of toughness shows the Senators are not prioritizing the right things, just like the Devils didn’t prioritize the right things in 2024.