The NHL trade deadline is just hours away. Friday, at 3:00 pm ET all NHL trades will need to be made. Each team around the league will get one last chance to get better. Several teams will need to decide whether they want to buy in hopes to bringing home a Stanley Cup or sell and get better for the years to come.
The New Jersey Devils are in a precarious position. They are currently five points in the playoff race. They are also without their superstar Jack Hughes. They’ve already made a couple moves, however, it seems as if they are far from done.
Devils Assets
Entering trade deadline day, the New Jersey Devils own $343,338 in cap space plus an additional $13,127,231 in long-term injured reserve pool space according to Puckpedia. As for tradable assets, the Devils own six selections in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. They do not own a first-round pick, but they own two second-round selections. In 2026, the team owns all their picks plus an extra fourth-round selection.
Top Prospects
If the Devils were to make any big news, here are the list of the team’s current top-10 prospects and some other lower-level names you may hear on deadline day:
- Simon Nemec, D (’22 1st round; NHL)
- Anton Silayev, D (’24 1st round; KHL)
- Arseni Gritsyuk, F (’19 5th round; KHL)
- Seamus Casey, D (’22 2nd round; NHL)
- Lenni Hameenaho, F (’23 2nd round; Liiga)
- Mikhail Yegorov, G (’24 2nd round; NCAA)
- Jakub Małek, G (’21 4th round; Liiga)
- Matyas Melovsky, F (’24 6th round; QMJHL)
- Cam Squires, F (‘23 4th round; QMJHL)
- Topias Vilen, D (’21 5th round; AHL)
Other Notables:
- Xavier Parent, F (AHL)
- Cole Brown, F (OHL/NCAA)
- Adam Beckman, F (AHL)
- Ethan Edwards, D (NCAA)
- Daniil Misyul, D (AHL)
- Daniil Karpovich, D (KHL)
- Isaac Poulter, G (AHL)
- Tyler Brennan, G (ECHL)
Devils Needs
Looking at the Devils’ roster as is, there is no secret what the team’s main needs are. New Jersey desperately needs offensive help.
With Hughes on the shelf, the team’s center depth is even shallower than it already was. Even with Hughes, the Devils would’ve greatly benefited from acquiring a third-line center. Without Hughes, that need is almost a must. A middle-six center should be a top of their list.
New Jersey can also use help on the wings. Ondrej Palat has slotted as a top-six winger for most of the year. Despite this, his on-ice impacts have been extremely poor. Slotting him further down the lineup by means of acquiring another player more suited for a top-six role would help the team in their pursuit of a return to the playoffs.
On the back end, the Devils are pretty set, especially after Thursday’s deal the team made to acquire left-handed defenseman Brian Dumoulin. In addition, the Devils have a couple young defensemen currently standing in, as both Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey have played games recently. Behind them, Santeri Hatakka, who impressed in a small sample last season, is finally healthy and has been playing with AHL Utica.
In net, the Devils are set. Jacob Markström is having a terrific season and appears back to full health. Jake Allen, at a minuscule price tag, has been terrific in a backup role. Not to mention, Nico Daws seems to be nice insurance, as he played very well in a few games this season. New Jersey seems pretty set in net.
In summary, the Devils should be on the prowl for the following before Friday’s 3:00 pm ET deadline:
- Middle-six center
- Top-six winger
Potential Targets
As we analyzed in a post yesterday, general manager Tom Fitzgerald must be very careful how he approaches the deadline. With the playoffs not a guarantee, especially with the Hughes injury and the shrinking buffer in the playoff race, pieces that are either controllable past this season or very cheap rentals should be the focus.
Below are names that fit this description and would provide the team with an instant boost:
Help Now and Later:
- Ryan O’Reilly, C (NSH)
- Casey Mittelstadt, C (COL)
- Rickard Rakell, W (PIT)
- Alex Tuch, W (BUF)
- Dylan Cozens, C (BUF)
Cheap Help Now:
- Anthony Beauvillier, W (PIT)
- Nick Bjugstad, C (SEA)
- Joel Armia, C (MTL)
Top-15 Trade Bait List
Please click here for the full list. Below is the top 10 from that group:
- Scott Laughton, C (PHI, 1 year)
- Brock Boeser, W (VAN, UFA)
- Brandon Tanev, W (SEA, UFA)
- Ryan Donato, C (CHI, UFA)
- Rickard Rakell, W (PIT, three years)
- Rasmus Ristolainen, D (PHI, two years)
- Jaime Oleksiak, D (SEA, one year)
- Kyle Palmieri, W (NYI, UFA)
- Brayden Schenn, C (STL, 3 years)
- Dylan Cozens, C (BUF, 5 years)
Trade Tracker
For a full tracker of every move made thus far, click here and scroll down. This will be updated through Friday’s deadline.
Below is a list of deals the Devils have made as of Friday morning:
- NJ acquire D Brian Dumoulin**/ANA acquire F Herman Träff, 2nd-round pick*
- NJ acquire F Shane LaChance / EDM acquire F Trent Frederic**, F Max Jones, F Petr Hauser / BOS acquire D Max Wanner, ’25 2nd-round pick, ’26 4th-round pick
Trade Deadline Content
- Top-20 List and Trade Tracker, Mar. 6
- Jack Hughes Deadline Effect, Mar. 6
- Scott Laughton Trade Profile, Mar. 6
- Kyle Palmieri Trade Profile, Mar. 3
- Brock Boeser Trade Profile, Feb. 25
- Ryan O’Reilly Trade Profile, Feb. 11
- Jake Evans Trade Profile, Feb. 12; Extended by the Canadiens
- J .T. Miller Trade Profile, Jan. 20; Traded to Rangers