Over the last month or so, I have taken a look at forwards from several Western Conference teams that could potentially make sense as a trade target for the New Jersey Devils. Some of those players such as JT Miller have since been on the move, but most of those players are still with their current clubs.

However, the trade deadline is quickly approaching as it is now 9 days away. Time is of the essence as we have so many more players to cover and get to and frankly, not enough time with which to do so.

This week, I’m going to empty the tank on potential trade targets from a variety of teams. Some will definitely be sellers. Some might not be even though they probably should be. But I think its worth trying to cover as much ground as we can. Odds are, I won’t get to everyone….I didn’t exactly have Curtis Lazar as a trade target on my bingo card two years ago when I wrote a similar series of articles leading up to the deadline that year, but there are a lot of interesting players who can lengthen the Devils lineup and help them match up better for a playoff series. For this exercise, I’m going to list a team with their obvious trade candidates and try to pick one additional player who might be “off the board”, so to speak, but could theoretically be available if the right offer was to be made.

Before we begin though, a little housekeeping. If you’re reading this article and wondering “wait, what about Ryan O’Reilly or Jared McCann”, I didn’t forget them. I already wrote about those guys. You can check my thoughts on said players at the links below.

Utah Hockey Club – Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Kerfoot

Seattle Kraken – Jared McCann, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brandon Tanev

Vancouver Canucks – JT Miller (who has since been traded), Elias Pettersson, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, Teddy Blueger

Nashville Predators – Ryan O’Reilly, Tomas Novak, Colton Sissons

New York Islanders

The two obvious trade candidates with the Islanders are their two biggest pending UFA in Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.

Nelson is a life-long Islander who is closing in on 900 games with the franchise, and while he’s having a little bit of a down season, his counting stats aren’t too off of his average pace of 52 points per season. Nelson can play center or wing, he’s topped the 30 goal plateau in each of the last three seasons, and while he’s not known for his prowess in the dot, he has performed well there this season winning over 53% of draws.

Nelson will be a popular name at the deadline for teams looking for a second-line center or just another forward to round out a Top Nine, assuming he’s ever on the trading block in the first place. Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Islanders and Nelson’s representation were having discussion about a potential contract extension that would essentially make Nelson an Islander for life. Nelson’s roots and his heart might be on Long Island, but his M-NTC only covers half the league and as of this writing, the Islanders and Nelson have yet to agree to terms. Nelson has a $6M AAV that will assuredly need to be retained regardless of who deals for him.

Kyle Palmieri, the one-time Devils fan favorite over his six seasons in New Jersey, is in the final year of a four-year contract extension he signed after the Devils traded him to the Islanders in 2021. At the time, the Devils were an also-ran while the Islanders were a team in contention for the postseason. Now, the roles are reversed with the Devils in a top-3 spot in the Metropolitan and the Islanders on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

Palmieri has been a consistent source of secondary scoring throughout his career. The problem is that when he was on the Devils, he was one of the primary sources of offense due to the lack of talent elsewhere on the roster. But we are talking about a player who has twice scored 30 goals in a season, is having a fine season this season, and wouldn’t be asked to do anything more than what he’s doing now. Palmieri has long shown a willingness to get to the dirty areas of the ice to try to create offense. He’d be an ideal fit for a Devils third line where offense has more or less gone to die.

The million dollar question(s) with the Islanders is “Will Lou sell if he’s this close to a playoff spot”, and if so, would he sell to the Devils? While I think I know the answer, I also think anyone who definitively knows what Lou Lamoriello is thinking is full of it.

One thing that has always been true about Lou Lamoriello is that he is loyal to his guys, almost to a fault. Nelson and Palmieri are two of the players remaining from the roster that made at least one of the back-to-back Eastern Conference Final appearances that the Islanders have been chasing since 2021. The Islanders haven’t always made the playoffs since then, and when they have, they’re typically one-and-done. Their core is getting older and Lou has handed out long-term deals to so-called core guys and bottom six players like Halloween candy. Despite the fact that the Islanders have lost four straight and sit seven points out of the final playoff spot, Lou has a long history of not selling at the deadline. Part of that is because his teams are usually in contention but there’s also probably some stubbornness and ego mixed in there as well where he doesn’t want to wave the white flag on a season if he doesn’t have to.

I think its far more likely that Lou tries to extend Nelson, Palmieri, or both. I think its more likely that he buys or does nothing than it is he sells. And if Lou decides to sell, I think there’s a whole other set of hurdles to clear. Will Lou be willing to trade to a team in division, let alone THE team where he carved out of Hall of Fame career before being unceremoniously kicked upstairs in 2015 when it was clear his time had come and gone? He was willing to trade with the Devils when it came to buying players he was familiar with in Palmieri and Travis Zajac, but will that be the case if he’s selling? Would Nelson even be attainable with how in-demand he might be as a center? Does either player have NJ on their no-trade list?

I think Palmieri is the more attainable of the two where something like a 2nd and 4th round pick should get a deal done. That would be a similar return to what the Devils got from the Jets last year in the Tyler Toffoli trade. I just have my doubts that it will happen for the reasons I’ve pointed out.

Wild Card: Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Pageau is a good defensive forward who can play in all situations and wins the majority of his faceoffs. He’s not the biggest guy at 5’11” but he is a right-handed center who’s not afraid to block shots or throw a hit.

With another year on his deal and him also being one of “Lou’s guys”, I have my doubts he is available either. But I am looking at a Devils team with a glaring hole at 3C and a potential solution in Pageau, albeit a short-term fix.

Proposed Deal: Devils trade a 2026 1st round pick, 2025 4th round pick, Nolan Foote, and Chase Stillman to the Islanders for Kyle Palmieri and JG Pageau (both 50% retained)

Essentially, I’m offering the reverse of the deal that sent Palmieri and Travis Zajac to Long Island, with the added ironic twist that the Devils took Stillman with the 1st round pick they got from the Islanders in said trade.

Is it a fair offer? It’s probably the only offer that will end with Kyle Palmieri returning a first round pick, and Pageau could potentially be a valuable role player for a Devils third line that is in use of one. I don’t know that I’m necessarily banging the drum for that particular trade to happen, but if it did, I think I’d at least understand it.

Chicago Blackhawks

The popular name in terms of a rental with the Blackhawks is Ryan Donato, and while I think he could make some sense, I think there’s a misunderstanding of who and what he actually is and what he does.

Donato is listed as a center and has taken more faceoffs than ever this season, but I view that as being out of necessity due to Connor Bedard’s inefficiency in the dot. He’s really more of a winger moonlighting as center, which, while flexibility is nice to have, I think this is one of those cases where if you think he’s the answer at 3C, you’re probably analyzing this player incorrectly.

Donato is having a career season in terms of offense, and yes, part of that is due to playing on a line with Bedard. The Devils wouldn’t have any trouble fitting him in on an expiring deal worth $2M AAV. I think he’s a decent target for a 3rd line LW with the idea being of moving Paul Cotter back down to the 4th line and someone on the 4th line out of the lineup. But with a 15.3 shooting percentage, I think its fair to question whether Donato’s production is sustainable, and if his game is well rounded enough to play top minutes on a good hockey team. Would Donato continue to produce if he’s away from an elite-level talent like Connor Bedard or Jack Hughes, assuming he were to come to New Jersey. Donato has long had issues with his defensive side of the game, and that would seem to run counterproductive to what Sheldon Keefe is looking for as well.

Wild Card: Craig Smith

Smith is a player who was an analytics darling a few years ago when he was in Nashville, but since leaving for Boston in free agency, his game has been in a steady decline regardless of where he’s been. He’s basically a fourth liner at this point, and while I think he’s ok defensively, he’s not overly physical. He’s also not a center despite being listed as one. He might have one more playoff run in him, but at age 35, I’d let someone else take that gamble.

Proposed Deal: None

I’d pass on what Chicago has to offer. I’m not really interested in paying top market value for a rental Donato who is on a shooting bender that will eventually run dry, and if he’s not scoring goals, he’s not doing enough in other areas where his contributions would be a net positive.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The most interesting name the Penguins have (outside of their core guys who aren’t getting moved) is Rickard Rakell.

Rakell is enjoying one of the better seasons of his career and will come close to matching his career-high in goals. He’s clearly been a beneficiary of playing primarily with an all-time great in Sidney Crosby and a good veteran winger in Bryan Rust, although Rust is injured at the moment.

What makes Rakell particularly intriguing is that he’s signed for three more seasons after this one at $5M AAV. In a rising cap environment, that number is a steal for a player who is capable of flirting with 30 goals and 60 points in any given season. The Devils might have a problem when it comes to finishing, and Rakell could be a solution to said problem.

Of course, Pittsburgh knows this and they don’t HAVE to trade Rakell (who can only block deals to 8 teams), so they’re not going to accept a bunch of magic beans for him. But the Penguins aren’t going anywhere this season and Kyle Dubas is playing the long game in Pittsburgh as the Penguins continue to try to get younger and accumulate assets for the post-Crosby era.

Another name that has popped up of late is Anthony Beauvillier and I can see why the Penguins might be trying to sell high on the journeyman. Beauvillier has some speed but is basically a hail mary, D-tier signing if you’re hoping he recaptures his form from his years with the Islanders.

Wild Card: Michael Bunting

Kyle Dubas loves him some Michael Bunting, who enjoyed his breakout in Toronto under him and was one of the key pieces the Penguins got back in the Jake Guentzel trade last year.

Bunting hasn’t been quite able to recapture his scoring touch since leaving the Maple Leafs, perhaps a byproduct of no longer playing on a line with Auston Matthews, but he’s still a decent source of secondary offense at a fair price. Under contract through next season at $4.5M AAV, I think its fair to wonder if the Penguins would deal Bunting now, but he is a notable player that Sheldon Keefe has familiarity with. Whether or not that was necessarily a positive familiarity where Keefe would be open to a reunion is up for debate though.

Bunting does have a history of getting under the skin of the opposition. Heck, it wasn’t too long ago where half of this Devils roster wanted a piece of him. Guys who do that are good to have come playoff time. He can also chip in on the second power play unit. I do question whether the rest of his game is well rounded enough for four playoff rounds though.

Proposed Deal: Dawson Mercer for Rickard Rakell

Pittsburgh isn’t losing anything in terms of team control and they’re getting the younger player with theoretical upside who steps into their lineup right now. If Mercer has another level to gain, this deal wouldn’t look great for the Devils, but I’m of the belief that Mercer’s development has plateaued and this might be who he ultimately is as a player. Rakell is a smidge more expensive than Mercer but you are getting one more year of cost certainty on the back end in a rising cap environment and Rakell is more of a proven commodity. The $1M difference in AAV seems like a fair price to get a player who has shown he is capable of a 30-goal season.

If the skeleton of this proposed deal looks familiar, it’s because there are shades of the Pavel Zacha-for-Erik Haula swap here that Fitzgerald has indeed done before. Like in that deal, the Devils would be giving up age in Mercer for the player who may be deemed a better fit. The Devils would be assuming some risk, as Rakell is also on a bit of a shooting bender this year, and he does turn 32 this spring.

I would guess that this trade doesn’t happen in part because the Penguins don’t trade Rakell. At least, not now. They are still trying to pretend they’re competing for a playoff spot and trading their most productive winger would be the equivalent of waving the white flag. I would also guess this deal probably requires the Devils to include an addition piece or two. Maybe this is a deal that happens in the offseason when more teams have money to play with and the Penguins can maximize the return, but by then, the Devils will likely turn their attention elsewhere as well when it comes to finding a scoring winger.

Montreal Canadiens

Jake Evans has been a popular name linked to the Devils as a potential deadline addition, and its easy to see why.

The pending UFA center has excelled in his walk year thanks in part to a likely unsustainable 19.6 shooting percentage, but he is going to set a career high in points this season while winning over half of his faceoffs the last three seasons. Evans can play in all situations and would theoretically give the Devils a right-handed center option that can immediately slot in to their third line. Even acknowledging that he will cool off offensively (you could say he already has as he has 1 goal and 3 assists since New Year’s Day), he does enough other things where he’s a valuable player.

The asking price for Evans is reportedly a second-round pick, which is high for what is a third line player, but he does play a premium position and comes at a fairly low AAV of $1.7M. Toronto and Tampa Bay have reportedly been checking in on Evans as well, so if the Devils want him, they might want to act sooner rather than later before he’s off the board.

Wild Card: Joel Armia

Armia is an interesting bottom six forward. He has plenty of size, he has playoff experience from Montreal’s surprise run to the Cup Final a few years ago, and while he’s not known for his offensive prowess, he’s on pace to top his career highs in scoring in his age 31 season.

My only hangup with Armia is that even at $3.4M AAV, he’s a little expensive for the Devils given their cap situation given his role. The Devils should be looking to add multiple forwards and Armia would be eating up a chunk of their remaining space. It’s also not as easy as “have Montreal retain half”, as they’re already retaining salary on two players and might prefer to save that last retention slot for David Savard to secure a better return. I like the player, but I’d probably pass here.

Proposed Deal: Devils trade the best of their second round picks (NJ, EDM, WPG) to Montreal for Jake Evans

The Devils solve their 3C issue for the rest of this season with Evans and get the inside track on potentially resigning him as a UFA.

Is a second round pick for Jake Evans an overpay? Perhaps, but there’s not a ton of supply when it comes to centers (especially right-handed) and the demand is high, so the market is what it is. I will say though that Evans, while was on an unsustainable shooting bender, he does enough other things on the ice where he should have value. He can kill penalties. He can win faceoffs. He will throw the body around a little bit. And he comes at a low $1.7M AAV price for the rest of the season. If you can get him for ‘just’ a second round pick, you’re probably doing well there.

I wouldn’t be happy if Evans was the only move the Devils made. But if he was one of the moves they made, I can get on board with that.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues have been in a steady decline as an organizations since they won the Stanley Cup back in 2019, and as a result, it might be time for them to retool if not outright rebuild. All of this has reportedly put captain Brayden Schenn on the block.

Schenn, who has three years left at $6.5M AAV, is a battle-tested veteran with a lot of playoff experience. He’s a physical presence who typically wins about half of his faceoffs and chips in roughly 50-60 points annually. He is having a bit of a down year this season, at least in terms of the counting stats, but he’s a big name with playoff experience. I don’t think he’s a realistic fit for the Devils but I do think teams will fall over themselves to add a player like him.

Radek Faksa is a pending UFA with a reputation for being a good defensive center. He’s also excellent in the faceoff circle, hovering around 55% over the last five years. I think he could be a more realistic target, especially if the Blues retained half of his $3.25M AAV.

Wild Card: Oskar Sundqvist

Sundqvist could be another potential target, and what I like about him is that he’s signed for next season at a reasonable $1.5M AAV. He has been playing 3C for the Blues and while he’s not necessarily anything to write home about offensively, he has a high-compete level. He has playoff experience as he was a key depth player for the Blues during their title run. He can play in all situations. Unlike Faksa, he is right-handed.

Proposed Trade: Devils trade the 2025 VGK third round pick to Blues for Oskar Sundqvist

I don’t know whether Sundqvist would fit better as a 3C or 4C but I look at the Devils situation in the short-term and regardless, they need additional help at center. The team may or may not decide to move on from one or both of Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar given how ineffective they’ve both been. Sundqvist would not only give the Devils cost certainty for next season with one of their bottom six centers, he also shouldn’t stop the Devils from pursuing a better 3C come summer time. I do think the Blues would be smart to take a Top 100 pick for a 30-year old bottom six player though, especially after giving up so much draft capital with the Broberg and Holloway offer sheets.

Anaheim Ducks

The name I keep circling back to with the Ducks is veteran center Ryan Strome, who wouldn’t be an ideal fit but could help the Devils 3C issues.

Strome, who was recently listed on The Athletic’s Trade Board, is a playmaking right-handed center who is typically good for at least 40 points a season. He’s been durable throughout his playing career and could really be a boost to a Devils third line that could use a little more offensive creativity.

Strome historically hasn’t been great in the faceoff dot, with a career percentage of 44.6%, he’s average at best defensively, and he doesn’t kill penalties, so he doesn’t come without his flaws. He’s more or less a polar opposite version of what Erik Haula theoretically does well when he’s going good. But Strome doesn’t have any trade protection and he’s signed for two more years at $5M AAV.

The Ducks don’t really need to trade him unless they’re ready to open a Top Six slot for Mason McTavish. They’re nowhere near the cap ceiling, they’re likely operating under an internal cap, and the Strome deal helps keep them above the floor. I don’t know what the floor will be next season, but it’s $65M now and the Ducks have just under $56M committed to next year’s roster with Strome on the roster. The Ducks will need to spend money, and while they do have a few notable RFAs, that hill only gets steeper if they dump Strome somewhere.

Wild Card: Mason McTavish

For the record, I don’t expect McTavish to be moved or be available, but bear with me for a moment.

Greg Wyshynski had a throwaway line in an article back in December on how Kevin Weekes heard there was trade buzz surrounding the former 3rd overall pick. There hasn’t been much said about McTavish since, but Ducks GM Pat Verbeek tends to play things close to the chest and it does go noted that he has yet to claim a Top Six role in Anaheim.

I think its way too early for the Ducks to consider giving up on McTavish, but I also look at a Ducks team that has Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas, and Drew Helleson as their RHD at the NHL level and I wonder if the Devils RHD organizational depth would intrigue Verbeek. Particularly with both Gudas and Trouba scheduled to hit UFA after next season.

Still, I think if McTavish is even remotely available, the Devils need to do due diligence and check in there. If you want to solve the 3C issue for the next half decade, the answer is right there. And if you’re of the mindset that Jack Hughes is better off on the wing anyways, you could always slot McTavish between Hughes and Bratt and let that line cook.

McTavish isn’t without his flaws as he still has work to do on the defensive side of the game. He’s also another left-handed center on a team that could use a righty. But the talent is certainly there.

Proposed Trade: Simon Nemec for Mason McTavish

There’s not a lot of precedent for two fairly recent former Top 5 picks being traded for one another but the deal that saw Patrik Laine traded for Pierre Luc Dubois is one of them.

Circumstances are a little different as those players grew a little disgruntled in their situations and requested a deal, but we’ve already heard a little grumbling from Nemec’s agent about him not being in the NHL. And while McTavish’s camp has been buttoned up, one would think he’d embrace a larger role on a better team elsewhere. So maybe at the end of the day, its not all that different.

McTavish is due a new contract as he will be coming off of his ELC and that will be an interesting negotiation but that’s also a tomorrow problem. I’m more concerned about solving the today problem of “how can this team beat Carolina in the first round of the playoffs”, which I think McTavish can be part of the solution to. I’m also concerned about the Devils center depth issue, and while I don’t necessarily love robbing Peter to pay Paul, I do think dipping into the Devils RHD organizational depth to plug a more glaring hole could make sense. Even if they wind up losing Johnathan Kovacevic as a UFA, they would be in good position over the next couple seasons with a Hamilton-Pesce-Casey trio on the right side.

Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia has made it abundantly clear that they are in it for the long haul, as evidenced by their recent trade that shipped Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier, and draft picks. They are rebuilding and remain in asset accumulation mode.

I think Kuzmenko could be available in the right deal. I also think he isn’t worth his $5.5M AAV and given the questions surrounding his two-way game in the past, he seems like an odd fit for a John Tortorella coached team. I get the logic that maybe this move was made specifically for Matvei Michkov, but I think its more likely Philadelphia is hoping to pump and dump Kuzmenko and eat half his salary on the way out for more draft capital.

Admittedly, I’m not a big Kuzmenko guy, and even acknowledging that you’re just looking for secondary scoring out of him, I think he’s mostly lived off of his 39 goal debut season two years ago where he shot 27.3%. That level of production was never sustainable, and I don’t think he plays a complete enough game where I’m all that interested even at half price.

Wild Card: Scott Laughton

Scott Laughton has seemingly been on the trading block ever since Danny Briere took over as Flyers GM, yet he remains on the Flyers roster at a reasonable $3M AAV through next season.

I don’t doubt that Laughton might be available at the right price, but I do think the Flyers are setting a higher than expected price for a guy who has topped 40 points in a season once. Elliotte Friedman said on 32 Thoughts recently that the asking price was a first round pick. I think that’s a non-starter for the Devils.

It’s not that I don’t like Laughton. He’s been a good leader for the Flyers during this retooling of the roster and he can play in all situations. He has value. But I’m not really interested at that price tag.

Proposed Trade: None

Boston Bruins

Everything that has happened with the Boston Bruins this season is screaming for them to be a seller at the deadline. They’ve lost Hampus Lindholm for the season. They might have lost Charlie McAvoy for the season. This is a team in an unfamiliar position that should probably sell. But what do they even have?

The popular name with the Bruins has been pending UFA Trent Frederic, who has the profile of the type of player GMs fall over themselves to add at the deadline to round out their bottom six. He’s big. He hits people. He’ll block shots. And while he’s more of a winger than a center, he can chip in a little bit offensively as well.

I don’t know what Boston is going to do long-term and if they’ll decide this year was an aberration and try to retool next season. Their core is mostly in place as David Pastrnak, McAvoy, both Elias and Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Jeremy Swayman are signed long-term. So trading a Charlie Coyle or Morgan Geekie might seem counterproductive.

That said, I think Coyle probably makes a little bit of sense (never mind the fact that he has a NMC and M-NTC). He’s signed for one more year after this one at $5.25M which isn’t ideal. He’s also having a bit of a down year as his assist numbers are way down, which also isn’t ideal. Boston has been playing him on the wing a bunch this season, which makes me question whether or not his defensive game has slipped or if they’re just that desperate for offense in the Top Six.

I don’t want to entirely dismiss Geekie, but it should be noted that he too has played more wing than center for the Bruins. He also wouldn’t be a pure rental as he is scheduled to be an RFA after the season. He might be a solid sell-high candidate if Boston indeed is looking towards the future, and even if he’s not a center, he should be able to slot in to a third line role and contribute.

Wild Card: Brad Marchand

Let’s get weird here.

The Bruins captain is a pending UFA after the season, and while he is getting older (he turns 37 in May), he’s still productive offensively.

I normally don’t think scoring wingers are worth a first round pick at the deadline, but if Marchand is actually available, I could see teams willing to give theirs up to bring him on for a potential Cup run. He’s a big game player (138 points in 157 playoff games) who brings a ring to the room and a reputation for getting under the skin of the opposition. GMs will be lining up to add that guy.

Should the Devils though? Greg Wyshynski threw the idea out there while simultaneously wishcasting Ondrej Palat’s contract off of the books. While I don’t dispute that Marchand would give the Devils some much needed secondary offense and I don’t doubt that there’s a legion of Devils fans willing to volunteer to drive Palat to the airport, potentially trading a 1st for an expiring contract winger probably isn’t the best use of their assets at this time. That seems like more of a Vegas move, and lo and behold, they’ll have LTIR money to blow thanks to the Shea Theodore injury and his old coach there to boot. Granted, the Golden Knights don’t have their first until 2027, but what does Vegas care about that if they can win now?

Proposed Trade: Probably None

I suppose I could be talked into a Morgan Geekie, Trent Frederic, or Charlie Coyle trade. I also think there are also other players I’d prefer to pursue.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres will not be making the playoffs this year, and after changing coaches yet again this past offseason as well as the supporting cast, one does wonder if we’re getting close to the breaking point for their core where they need to make a deal just to shake things up.

Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway are two pending UFAs who could theoretically help the Devils in different ways. Zucker is another guy who is having a career year shooting the puck, but he’s been a reliable source of secondary offense in the past. Greenway is more of a defensive specialist and physical presence who would strengthen the bottom six and make the Devils tougher to match up against come playoff time.

Dylan Cozens has been a popular name in trade rumors as he’s in the second year of a long-term deal paying him $7.1M AAV. He’s also had a rough year this year as his scoring is down. He has been more physical this year and he is improving in the faceoff circle. He also has good size and is right-handed.

I don’t know if Cozens will get moved….frankly, I doubt it in season….but I do know that he is a bit too expensive for a Devils team that is already up against the cap. Even with a reduced, 3C role on a better coached team than the one he’s on now, that’s probably a little too pricey to justify.

Wild Card: Alex Tuch

In terms of adding secondary offense from the wing, nobody has been higher on my list for about six seasons now than Alex Tuch.

Tuch, who went to the Sabres in the Jack Eichel trade, would give the Devils some much needed size upfront, but he also is typically good for 55-ish points per season and he’s on pace to do that once again. Tuch is also on a team-friendly contract that pays him $4.75M AAV through the end of next season, so he would not be a pure rental. He can block trades to only five teams.

Tuch, who hails from upstate New York, has been vocal about how much he wants to be part of the solution for Buffalo. I think he’s right in that he can be part of the solution, and had the team not named Rasmus Dahlin captain, I think an argument could be made for giving Tuch the ‘C’. But he’s also probably their best trade chip outside of their core guys, all of whom are locked up long-term. He also got hurt in their win over the Rangers this past weekend, potentially putting a damper on any trade speculation.

Proposed Trade: None, other than your run of the mill “here’s a pick for your winger at 50% retained” deal.

Even if Tuch is healthy and attainable, I think the Sabres will ask a lot for him. I also think the Sabres will likely wait until the offseason to make any foundational “shake up the core” type of moves.

If the Devils want to trade a 2nd for Zucker (50% retained) or a 4th for Greenway, I don’t have any issues with that. But like I mentioned before with Evans, I wouldn’t want for that to be the only move the Devils make.

Carolina Hurricanes

Wait, are they really about to flip Mikko Rantanen a month after trading for him?

It sure seems that that might be a possibility as the Canes took a swing at signing Rantanen during the Four Nations break, even if Carolina isn’t initiating trade talks? And while it would be humiliating for them to turn around and flip him so quickly, Rantanen hasn’t exactly been a seamless fit in Raleigh.

Still, there’s probably nothing to see here. Rantanen may or may not wind up staying or going but Carolina isn’t going to trade with a Devils team that they know they’re going to have to match up with in Round 1.

New York Rangers

It’s even less likely the Devils swing a deadline deal with their archrivals, although they have done one before. It was a decent idea on paper, but didn’t work out.

New York is close enough to a playoff spot where they’re probably not looking to subtract. Nor am I all that interested in giving up a late round pick for….Jimmy Vesey? Reilly Smith at 75% retention? Jonny Brodzinski?

Never mind. Forget I said anything.

San Jose Sharks

While I could continue to go around the league and hit just about every team, I’ll finish this up with the Sharks.

The Sharks already got out in front of things by dealing Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars for a 1st and 4th round pick, so there’s already not much there. In addition, San Jose has used all of their salary retention slots so any trade requiring retention would require a third party, which will only raise the cost.

The one name that jumps out is Nico Sturm, who is basically a faceoff specialist at this point, winning 58.5% of his draws in his time in San Jose. He’s still winning faceoffs at a big margin, but he hasn’t taken as many this year. I don’t know if that’s a byproduct of the Sharks trying to work in some younger centers this year but it goes noted.

Sturm does kill penalties, so he could make sense as a 4C option. He also has postseason experience as he was part of the Avalanche team that won a Stanley Cup a few years ago. He’s not going to contribute a whole lot offensively, but for a team that has specific needs like the Devils (4C, faceoff specialist), he could make sense and shouldn’t cost a ton.

Wild Card: Fabian Zetterlund

Fabian Zetterlund was one of the key pieces that went to the Sharks in the Timo Meier trade two seasons ago.

Zetterlund has played well since heading to San Jose, averaging about .5 PPG while consistently playing top minutes on a bad Sharks team, which would raise the question “wait, why would the Sharks trade Zetterlund”. And the short answer is that they probably shouldn’t and won’t. I wouldn’t necessarily call him a core piece like I might a Jesper Bratt but Zetterlund has been a solid role player for San Jose.

The Devils wouldn’t necessarily say whether or not they want a do-over on the Meier trade, but there was probably some reluctance on their end to give up Zetterlund in the first place. After all, he was drafted and developed here and was really coming into his own as an established NHL regular prior to the Meier deal.

There’s no reason for the Sharks to give up Zetterlund unless they either know he won’t sign (which there is no indication of) or they’ll have guys who will eventually pass him on the internal depth chart. It’s probably a little too soon for the latter, although the Sharks already have arguably the deepest prospect pool in the league. They’re also going to continue to add to it with two first round picks this year, two seconds next year, and enough payroll flexibility to continue to take on short-term cap dumps in exchange for future draft capital. So the Devils would need to make it worth the Sharks while if they thought a Zetterlund reunion was doable.

Proposed Trade: Devils trade a 2026 1st round pick, 4th round pick, and Tomas Tatar to the Sharks for Zetterlund and Sturm

I put Tatar in this deal as his salary basically cancels out Strum, but the deal is essentially a slightly better deal than the one the Sharks just accepted for Granlund and Ceci.

I don’t know if the Sharks accept this deal, as you’re basically just retroactively redoing the Meier deal to put another 1st in there instead of Zetterlund, but keep in mind Zetterlund has two more years of control past this year and he already has a familiarity with most of the key players already in place. Yes, a first round pick for him is probably a smidge steep, and yes, he does need a new contract, but part of Zetterlund’s value is that he’s cheap now while you’re up against the cap right now. Getting a Zetterlund on top of Sturm while simultaneously dumping Tatar gives the Devils enough room for one more piece from somewhere else at 50% retained.

Final Thoughts

The Devils are going to add at least one forward at the deadline this year. The key question will be just how much can they actually do given their limited cap space and somewhat limited pool of assets with which to deal from.

I’ll talk in more detail about this next week but the #1 priority for me is adding a third line center, followed by a scoring winger, and lastly an additional depth forward. Without a competent center, nothing on the third line is going to work, and while I’m not trying to be dismissive of the Devils and their need for secondary offense, there’s only so much an import winger is going to do if the Devils continue to insist on running 2 of Justin Dowling, Curtis Lazar, and the artist formerly known as Erik Haula out there.

The #1A priority for me is adding forwards who can help them better matchup against Carolina in a playoff series. Why? Because the Devils are probably going to face Carolina and Carolina’s structure can create problems for them, particularly when the Devils do not have last change. Can the Devils add the right mix of players to put them in a better chance to succeed should they meet in a seven game series? If they can’t, the Devils will be a one-and-done playoff team and will have to try again this summer.

Anyways, that is how I view the forwards at the trade deadline this year. Perhaps you view things differently. Please feel free to leave a comment below and thanks for reading.