New Jersey Devils Trade Targets: Who Could Be This Summer's Tyler Toffoli?

Nikolaj Ehlers - Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets once again follow up a great regular season by crashing out of the playoffs early. That's been a trend up there for quite some time, and after losing to the Colorado Avalanche in five games, changes may be coming.

Ehlers could be high on the chopping block for a few reasons. First, he's making $6 million and surely will want a raise on his next contract. Why that becomes an issue because of Ehlers usage. He was often placed sporadically in their lineup, sometimes finding himself getting third-line minutes.

Winnipeg must also ask themselves if they want to keep around a player whose production may not match his salary. Ehlers put up his highest point total since 2016-17 and the second-highest of his career with just 61. They could opt to cash in on him now, move his $6 million, and give younger players like Cole Perfetti and Brad Lambert a chance in the lineup.

What would make Ehlers a great fit for the Devils is for two reasons: his pace of play and his underlying numbers. Unlike Toffoli, Ehlers would bring an elite level of skating that only Jesper Bratt can rival. Having the ability to deploy Bratt and Ehlers either one after the other or even together would give the Devils a level of speed and dynamism they lacked this season.

As for his underlings, Ehlers scores in the 90% and above in major offensive categories such as goals, zone entries, and rush shots just to name a few. The biggest question is whether or not Ehlers can take his game to another level or if this is his final form. While he is 28 going on 29, he possesses a lot of the traits you look for in a scoring winger and has been a consistent 20+ goal scorer throughout his career.

Ehlers is also a smaller player and is contradictory to the type of player Fitzgerald seems to be looking for, but he could be on the move this summer and would give the Devils another element of speed to their lineup that was missing his