3 Defensemen Devils Should Avoid On Trade Market
The New Jersey Devils are in the market for a defenseman. While Nikita Zadorov would have made sense, he's no longer available. The Devils need to avoid the mistake of going after the next best thing.
The New Jersey Devils are very clearly in the market for a defenseman. They lost Damon Severson and Ryan Graves in the offseason, and they hoped Kevin Bahl, Luke Hughes, and Colin Miller would be enough to replace them. It would be since those players have been fine to good this season, but the drop in production from John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler left this defense with a lot of work to do. This is far from the defense that was suppressing shots, and the goalies' failure isn't helping.
The Devils are reportedly looking at defensemen on the market, especially since Dougie Hamilton went down with an injury. His torn pectoral could keep him out for the rest of the season, but it's at minimum going to keep him out until well into 2024.
A new report from James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now says the Devils are looking for a "stabilizing defenseman." Simon Nemec's ascent allows for the Devils to be patient, but that doesn't mean there are players that would be a colossal mistake to acquire.
Jake Bean
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to be sellers at the NHL Trade Deadline. They have some interesting assets if they decide to go full blow up. Patrik Laine hasn't worked at all this season and could use a change of scenery. Kent Johnson might bring the kind of return Columbus is looking for after he's been pulled back and forth between the NHL and AHL. Jack Roslovic is another interesting piece if he's able to come back from his fractured ankle.
As far as defensemen, there aren't many they will make available. They traded a third-round pick to the Devils so they could sign Damon Severson to an eight-year deal. They have some young players on the blueline, like David Jiricek. There aren't many movable pieces, but Jake Bean is a younger player who's in the last season of his deal.
The 25-year-old makes sense in some aspects. However, he doesn't really fix what the Devils need. If the Devils are going to trade for anyone, they need someone to fix this situation. That's not Jake Bean.
Chris Tanev
Calgary Flames
This is the one that will surprise many readers. Chris Tanev is someone for whom many Devils fans are opining. They want Tanev after Nikita Zadorov was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. The Calgary Flames are clearly trying to find partners for the upcoming free agents. Tanev's name might be the most popular right now.
It's likely because the market is slow outside of Calgary, so they are one of the only games in town. Tanev is a good defenseman. He might be an upgrade to what they have in some places, but the issue with Tanev is he plays very simalarly to what the Devils are already putting out there. The issue with the Devils is their propensity to always go for the poke check. Teams know that's their priority, and you can tell they've changed how they attack on the rush because of it.
Tanev is also a poke-first defenseman. He has 10 hits this year, which is 15th on the Flames. That number would be behind Colin Miller (who has missed most of the season), Dougie Hamilton, and John Marino. Tanev is a good defenseman, but he's not what the Devils need.
The price on Tanev is also likely going to cost more than the two middle-round picks the Flames got from the Canucks for Zadorov. It's not going to be worth the price of acquisition for the Devils when he will only have a slight upgrade to the unit, if at all.
Anthony DeAngelo
Carolina Hurricanes
This one is just brain dead, but reports say the Devils are in on the controversial offensive defenseman. Elliotte Friedman reportedly mentioned Tony DeAngelo as an option for the Devils to replace injured Dougie Hamilton. It doesn't sound like it's actually something that the Devils have explored, but it's a name that's been mentioned, and that's enough to scare us.
DeAngelo's history is well reported. He was kicked off the New York Rangers after getting into a physical altercation with Alexandar Georgiev. He's been in social media fights with fans before quitting Twitter/X. Now, there are fans who believe he has burner accounts. While that would be ridiculous, it's what comes with the price of keeping DeAngelo on the roster.
It would be one thing if he was actually good (although still not something the Devils should explore). However, with how bad he's played for the Hurricanes this season, there's literally no reason to make this move. He's been a healthy scratch for most of the season, especially recently. The reason he's not playing is he's a disaster on defense. The Devils can't afford that.
DeAngelo is a New Jersey native. He was born in Sewell and played his youth hockey in South Jersey. So, as with every single New Jersey native ever, DeAngelo was eventually going to be tied to the Devils. This seems like an outside chance at best, and it would be the worst possible move Tom Fitzgerald could make.
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