5 New Jersey Devils rumors we're happy never came to fruition

There were dozens of rumors surrounding the New Jersey Devils this offseason, as it was clear Tom Fitzgerald was out to revamp the roster. However, there are a few rumors that would have been colossal mistakes if they happened.

New Jersey Devils v Tampa Bay Lightning / Mike Ehrmann/GettyImages

2 of 5

2. Trading the 10th-overall pick

One of the most popular rumors heading into the 2024 NHL Draft was focused on the Devils with the 10th-overall pick. Reports claimed the Devils had made it known the pick was up for grabs for help at the NHL level. Many even said the deal could happen on the draft floor at The Sphere.

It never happened. There really wasn’t one specific player tied to these rumors. It was a very generic “the pick is available” distinction. That probably should have had most of us raising questions, but the rumor was everywhere.

The Devils ended up selecting Russian defenseman Anton Silayev with the pick. Some had him going as early as third to the Anaheim Ducks, so this felt like a steal. Yes, there were other really good defensemen on the board at the time, but Silayev doesn’t repeat the impact that players like Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes will already have on the roster.

Whether the pick works out or not does impact this, but for now, we’re happy to have another high-quality defenseman in the system. It seemed like the players who were actually available at the time weren’t the Brady Tkachuks that most hoped for. It was probably like Jakob Chychrun, who the Devils did not need.

Home/Rumors