The New Jersey Devils have a busy offseason ahead of them. Nobody expects them to sit on their hands. Tom Fitzgerald made it clear he wants to improve this roster after a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last offseason, Fitzgerald added goaltending, defense, and toughness to the roster. Now, he needs to add more skill and scoring.
Most believe the Devils are at least close to contention. Putting out a core of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier, all entering or established in their primes, is something few teams can claim. Add in a defense that's star-studded (Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, and Brett Pesce is a good start), and the Devils are primed to make the big move.
The big move seemed like it was going to be Ottawa Senators star captain Brady Tkachuk. He was exactly what the Devils needed. He's a combination of scoring and toughness that works well in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Senators made a huge run this season and made the playoffs. They also think their window is just opening. To take a quote from the late Ray Shero, there is a less than zero chance Tkachuk is traded this offseason.
The same goes for stars of the Montreal Canadiens, who made their run to the playoffs count, the Anaheim Ducks, who claim they are pushing to the playoffs in 2026, and the St. Louis Blues, who's run to the postseason make it seem like Jim Montgomery was the piece that was missing. With so few options to pluck players, which stars could the Devils still target?
1. Quinn Hughes
Vancouver Canucks
We won't spend a lot of time here because this will be discussed time and time again. The Devils are going to target Quinn Hughes, and it might work out if they can make the situation make sense to Jim Rutherford and the Vancouver Canucks. There's also the possibility that Hughes pushes the issue. He might be sick of hearing his name talked about like it is, and he knows that would never happen in New Jersey.
Tom Fitzgerald has his flaws, but nobody can say he's embarrassed his players like other GMs have. As transparent as he's been with the media, he's never thrown a player under the bus unceremoniously and he never pushed a player out like Rutherford seems to be doing with Hughes. This could be the star trade target for the Devils, but they still need upgrades at forward.