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The New Jersey Devils were never going to be in on Brady Tkachuk

New Jersey Devils fans have always circled Brady Tkachuk as a premier option to fix their top six and add toughness to the team, but after more information comes out about the situation, it's clear the Devils weren't even on his radar.
ByNick Villano|
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Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7): Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7): Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images | Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

The New Jersey Devils and the rest of the league got bad news on Sunday evening when word came out that Brady Tkachuk was joining his brother Matthew Tkachuk in Florida. The Panthers sent three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Ottawa Senators for the former Senators’ captain. 

At the end of the day, it seems like this was always how this situation was going to end. Many of the former Team USA players have been forcing their way out of their homes, and it seems like the same teams are on everyone’s trade list. Players are forcing their way to South Florida, Vegas, or Minnesota. 

All three have their reasons for targeting. Florida and Vegas are in no-tax states. Minnesota’s GM is Bill Guerin, who is the GM of Team USA. Carolina was also on Tkachuk’s reported trade list, as they are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

Brady Tkachuk was never coming to New Jersey

It was fun when we saw Brady partying on the Jersey Shore at the same time as the Hughes brothers, but it was always a long shot. This was the pipe dream of pipe dreams. Was Tkachuk a perfect fit for the Devils ? Sure, but they haven’t been a playoff team for a while. 

Does this hurt the Devils in future opportunities? Not really. Maybe the absolute haymakers aren’t happening this year, which would be Tkachuk, Robert Thomas, Jason Robertson, or Dylan Larkin, but the Devils will be fine if they just keep the same roster and get better results in net. Many might think that’s crazy, but there was something spiritually wrong with the Devils last season that was more than a roster construction problem.

Just realize that the Devils had the problems they had despite Arseny Gritsyuk being a better player than we could have hoped, Cody Glass turning into a legit third-line offensive threat, Connor Brown growing into a huge contributor, and Dougie Hamilton knocked himself out of his funk. 

Now, imagine if the Devils get what they are paying for from Luke Hughes, Dougie Hamilton plays like the second-half player from last season, Nico Hischier gets some more offensive opportunities, and Jack Hughes skips the steak dinners. That’s a contending team if they make an upgrade on Jacob Markstrom, which they are apparently trying to do. 

Tkachuk would have been very nice, but he was always a luxury. He was never a need, even though he’d be perfect on this roster. 

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