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The New Jersey Devils sit 29th in points and 30th in goal differential. They are very bad.
You know what very bad teams do at the trade deadline? Sell players; in particular those without contracts beyond the current season.
That – coupled with the fact Sami Vatanen is likely to be paid more than he’s worth on a long-term deal – means his days with the team are probably numbered.
I recently looked at three potential landing spots for Vatanen, with the Carolina Hurricanes among them.
The logic was simple: they want/need a defender to plug into the top-4 with Dougie Hamilton out long-term, and there aren’t many available on the trade market.
It just so happens the two teams have been in contact regarding a Vatanen trade.
This from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic:
The Hurricanes have talked to the Devils among other teams while they search the D market. The pending UFA Sami Vatanen, a right-hand shot D who can play both sides, would help fill the void left by Dougie Hamilton’s injury.
Further to that,
LeBrun recently wrote a post about six deals that make sense to him and, in his estimation, *could* actually come to fruition. He had Vatanen going to Carolina.
New Jersey Devils trade Sami Vatanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2020 second-round pick. (Devils retain 30 percent of Vatanen’s $4.875 million cap hit.)
Again, the Hurricanes are a natural fit for Vatanen. The Devils eating some of his salary is a realistic possibility, too. I have a *very* hard time believing they’d only be able to fetch a pick in the 47-62 range for Vatanen, though.
Just one season ago the Devils traded Ben Lovejoy – Ben freaking Lovejoy! – to Dallas for a 3rd round pick and Connor Carrick.
If Lovejoy – a 3rd pairing PK specialist with no offensive ability or name recognition – fetches a 3rd and an NHL body, there is no way a 28-year-old defender on pace for 40 points is only worth a 2nd rounder. Especially not when there are next to no name-brand defenders available.
I’m not saying the Devils must/should get a 1st. But a 2nd round pick with nothing attached would be an underwhelming return.
The Devils have to do better than that and I think they will, be it in a deal with the Hurricanes or another team.
We’ll find out within a few weeks if that’s the case.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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