Simon Nemec changing agents is actually a huge deal for New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are going into the NHL Trade Deadline with five defenseman realistically in trade talks. Dougie Hamilton has been in trade talks for a long time. He still hasn’t moved, just hours before the deadline. Jonas Siegenthaler, Brenden Dillon, and Johnny Kovacevic have all seen their names join trade rumors at different levels of believability. However, the one who has been most prominent in talks is Simon Nemec.

The 22-year-old former second-overall pick has been up and down with the Devils in his career. Honestly, his career has been as dramatic as any we’ve seen in a long time. He’s talked too much in overseas interviews, made his issues with playing in the AHL known, played an inconsistent NHL game, but also played hero on more than one occasion. He was the reason the Devils even got a playoff win last season when he scored the overtime game-winner in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Now, just 11 months later, the Devils are considering a move that would send him to another franchise. He’s been that same up-and-down defenseman this season, but his highs are higher than usual. He has three overtime goals this season, which is one away from the record held by Scott Niedermayer. 

The news that came out on Thursday, referencing Nemec, was shocking and significant, outside of the trade rumors. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report that Nemec switched agents, hiring Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management. Oster also represents clients like former Devils forward Ondrej Palat, Erik Karlsson, Matthew Tkachuk, and Rasmus Dahlin. He’s a super agent who gets top dollar for his clients. 

Simon Nemec changing agents this close to the NHL Trade Deadline is not insignificant

Clearly, Nemec was not happy if there were contract talks. And if there hadn’t been contract talks, he was not happy with that fact, either. Nemec is up for a surprising contract this offseason. Some expectations are that he could make upwards of $7 million per season on a long-term deal. 

If the Devils are scoffing at that number, and we expect they might after paying Luke Hughes $9 million, then a trade seems more likely. Even if it doesn’t happen now, it likely happens in the offseason. 

The Devils just had a tough negotiation with Luke Hughes that bled into training camp and is partially to blame for Hughes’s rough season. The Devils don’t want that kind of drama with another young defenseman, especially if it’s going to come with a new head coach. 

The new agent is not insignificant for the Devils. Now, Tom Fitzgerald has no idea where the negotiations start and end with Nemec with just hours to go before he has to decide whether or not to trade his prized young player. 

Was this a negotiating tactic in of itself by Nemec? The timing is pretty crazy. Maybe he thinks that jumping onto a new team with a new agent makes the most sense. A clean start, in a sense. However, he definitely made life harder for the Devils.