The New Jersey Devils are playing an interesting game of roster construction since Sunny Mehta took over. He’s prioritized revamping this entire roster after Tom Fitzgerald left them in an undesirable place. There were too many no-trade clauses given out to players who no longer play a role that makes sense to the roster.
The Devils didn’t get out of many of those clauses, unfortunately, but Mehta has built a roster that Sheldon Keefe can sink his teeth into. Over the offseason, he did trade Simon Nemec and Jacob Markstrom. That gave him the ammo to build more thoughtfully. He added Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, and he attempted to offer sheet Barrett Hayton of the Utah Mammoth (but they matched it).
On top of Jesper Boqvist and Evan Rodrigues, who they got in the Markstrom trade, and the additions of Declan Chisholm and Amadeus Lombardi, the Devils all of a sudden had a revamped roster. And yet, they struggled out of the gate.
The biggest issue was goaltending, so Mehta jumped into the Connor Hellebuyck negotiations, and a deal was done last Friday. He’s already had his first start and his first win in Devils red and black.
The Devils are always going to be tied to the superstar trade after winning the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes
After shocking the hockey world with the Hellebuyck trade, there are reports the Devils might be in on another star.
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the Devils are one of the main teams engaging in negotiations with the Red Wings for Larkin’s services.
"The Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes are among the teams that have been engaged in talks with Detroit this week, per sources, while the Montreal Canadiens continue to hold out hope Larkin changes his mind and adds them to his approved trade list."Dave Pagnotta, The Fourth Period
Some might ask how the Devils could get into such a sweepstakes when they have basically no cap space available, but it would take someone waiving a no-trade clause or some serious salary gymnastics to make it work.
One thing is clear: the Devils aren’t looking to get in second place anymore. They want the big fish when he becomes available. And we have to discuss the Quinn Hughes of it all. The Devils coming in and taking the Minnesota Wild’s top target at a position where they desperately need someone- someone who happens to be great friends with Quinn Hughes personally- has to at least be part of this entire equation.
Bill Guerin’s latest comments haven’t exactly drawn confidence in his ability to re-sign one of the best defensemen in the league, and losing Larkin to the team that also has his brothers must be the final nail in the coffin.
It would be nearly impossible to trade for Larkin and the eldest Hughes brother after adding Hellebuyck’s full cap hit, but we trust Sunny to balance our household budget at this point, so maybe anything is possible with him.
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