Our Final Evaluation of Crazy CapFriendly Trades for New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are the perfect blend of expectations, young assets, ties to stars at one position, and flaws for the rumor mill to go absolutely insane. It was even crazier when the Devils were trying to fill their head coaching vacancy. Now that Sheldon Keefe is in place, the Devils will look to the trade market to fill their roster before the NHL Draft and the start of free agency.

When the trade market gets hot, one of the best tools on the internet for entertainment purposes is the CapFriendly Armchair GM. It is literally a sounding board for regular people to build their own rosters, including free agent signings and trades. The trades are what get the biggest reactions, but it shows how opposing fans value the players on the Devils.

Yet, this is the last offseason that will ever be an option. We learned on Sunday that the Washington Capitals were playing a full villain role and buying CapFriendly just to shut it down in July. So, as we head to the end of CapFriendly, let's take a look at some of those entertaining trade offers.

Let’s start with the obvious. Brady Tkachuk trades are all around us. They all ask for insane prices, most of which involve Simon Nemec. We’ve seen some ask for Nico Hischier and even Jack Hughes+ somehow going the other way. Most of these are bait, but this one at least seems like something a sane Senators fan could talk themselves into and think they could realistically ask for.

As fans of a team that once traded Taylor Hall, we understand thinking a team is going to get a haul only to get a somewhat disappointing return. Speaking of that Taylor Hall return, the best piece to come from it was Dawson Mercer. The Devils got what ended up being the 18th overall pick, and Mercer fell to the Devils. 

Now, many want to add Mercer to their trades. Whether it’s a legit superstar trade for Tkachuk (which is fair to add Mercer) or a goalie trade (which a Mercer trade makes no sense), many seem to think the Devils should trade Mercer for 30 cents on the dollar based on one below-average season. 

We can see that with the rest of the package that’s offered. They want Mercer, Alexander Holtz, John Marino, Akira Schmid, the 10th-overall pick, and a 2025 second-round pick. That is a Connor McDavid level ask. No offense to Brady Tkachuk, but he doesn’t automatically make the Devils contenders. He’s really good, but is he a top-20 player? This is an insane package, even when Anton Forsberg is added.