3 New Jersey Devils Trades To Actually Move Needle On Brady Tkachuk
Brady Tkachuk's name has been in the news again, but the Ottawa Senators captain is likely not getting traded. If he is, the New Jersey Devils should be front of the line asking what the cost could be.
There are more and more rumors coming out that Brady Tkachuk could be available this offseason. It’s probably just scuttlebutt that we always see at this time of the year. Teams with stars who don’t make the playoffs will always see their stars put into trades. And they always look horrible.
Heck, we will probably see it this year with the Devils. Get ready to see the “Jack Hughes for two second-round picks and a B+ prospect” or the “Jesper Bratt for this gritty player who had 22 points last season,” or our favorite, “Josh Anderson for your whole franchise.” Every trade you see on the internet is probably terrible.
Wait… what are we doing here? Are we making trades again? Welp, this one is a little different. This isn’t just the normal trades we would do. Instead, let’s talk about what it would actually take for a new ownership group to trade its captain and star. (Spoiler alert: it would be a ton.)
Nico Trade
Captain for captain. This would be one of the most insane trades in history. We've seen some insane trades that saw two star players moved for each other. The Devils have been involved in many of them, but this would be even bigger than Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. It might even be bigger than P.K. Subban for Shea Weber because of everything it means for both of these franchises. Tkachuk for Nico Hischier would send one team's captain to another for their captain.
This would be the first captain for captain trade in a decade. In 2014, the New York Rangers sent Ryan Callahan to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the deal that sent Martin St. Louis to Broadway. However, St. Louis was near the end of his career and Callahan did not have the ceiling of Tkachuk or Hischier. This would be changing everything we thought we knew about both these teams.
It seems incredibly unlikely (obviously), but we know that Fitzgerald at last tried on Matthew Tkachuk. If Brady Tkachuk is traded to New Jersey, who we know is related to the Devils GM, it might be a family reunion. The real issue here is the Devils can't afford to lose another center. Hischier is the only reason we're not sounding the alarm for the lack of center prospects and the loss of Michael McLeod after his sexual assault arrest.
Devils Link
The Devils are able to claim maybe three pieces are untouchable in a Brady Tkachuk trade. All those untouchables will likely have last names that start with "H." That leaves many of the young studs on the Devils up for trade. We're sure the likely solution would be to send either Jesper Bratt or Timo Meier to the Senators to make the salaries work, but it doesn't make a lot of sense for the Senators. They will want an amazing asset who won't make a lot of money. In comes Dawson Mercer.
Mercer did have a "down" year in 2023-24, but he was still decent. Last year, we said he was untouchable. We believe that should still be the case unless something insane falls into Fitzgerald's lap. Adding one of the Tkachuk brothers is that exact insane thing that would move Fitzgerald to make Mercer available.
However, Mercer alone isn't enough to move the needle for the Senators. The Devils would have to add the first-round pick to make this deal work. It ends up being a top young NHL player who can play center or wing and a likely top-10 pick for a superstar winger who's signed 2028 at a reasonable salary.
It's a massive price to pay, but we think the Devils would do it. Would the Senators? We just don't know if anyone else is matching this deal. At this point, the Devils would be negotiating against the Senators desires to keep a fan favorite who is still
Devils Links
The Devils might want to take this to another level. Well, that will cost them prized young defenseman Simon Nemec. If the Devils want to solve their top six and bottom six at the same time, they could do that by targeting Shane Pinto on top of Tkachuk. This one might not be enough. It's really hard to decipher what Pinto is worth after the gambling suspension and his return to a lame-duck season.
Let's say the Devils have to add Seamus Casey to make this work. Would a Devils fan still do it?
This immediately gives the Devils a championship-level forward unit. Nobody would be able to touch them. Keeping Bratt, Meier, Hughes, and Hischier while adding Pinto and Tkachuk makes the Devils straight up dangerous. It will give the Devils everything they need.
Yet, it puts them in a very scary place defensively. Luke Hughes is a great asset. The Devils were lucky enough to also get a second-overall pick to take Simon Nemec, who is already in the NHL. He's actually played quite well, no matter what Travis Green thinks. The Devils would have to really consider this deal because it solves a problem this offseason. However, it could provide problems for many offseasons for years to come.
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