Breaking: New Jersey Devils Make Trade For Left-Handed Defenseman

The New Jersey Devils have been involved in dozens of trade talks for months now, but the moves are starting to flow as we are less than a week away from the NHL Trade Deadline. The Devils tied themselves to the deal that sent Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars. They took on 25% of his salary and added prospect goalie Cole Brady to the deal to get a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Now, on Friday evening, we learned of another deal they made.

The Devils added left-handed defenseman Kurtis MacDermid from the Colorado Avalanche for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft and Russian prospect Zakhar Bardakov. The Devils took Bardakov with their 201st-overall pick in 2021.

MacDermid might bring something that most fans have been calling for all season: toughness. He's known to thrive when things start to get hectic on the ice. He's not going to provide any offense. The son of former NHL player Paul MacDermid, Kurtis MacDermid has played both defense and forward in his time with the Coloradl Avalanche. That's something the Devils have been doing with Brendan Smith.

Maybe Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald wanted a fighter to bring toughness to this locker room. McDermid has been a fighter in the past, and he took on Jamie Oleksiak in November. McDermid hasn't played as much this season, and he was watching from the stands during the entire Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup run in 2022, but his experience will still be something to lean on during this stretch run.

This isn't likely to have a huge impact on the Devils, but neither would that seventh-round pick and Bardakov. It's a minor move to solidify depth.