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New Jersey Devils deadline roundup: On Palmieri, Simmonds, and Vatanen

February 23, 2020, 10:14 AM ET [66 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Mackenzie Blackwood stole the show (again) on Saturday afternoon, as he stopped 33 of 35 and led the charge in New Jersey’s upset win over Washington.

In the grand scheme of things that game doesn’t mean much for the team, where as tomorrow’s deadline means a whole lot, so I’m going to focus on the latter.

Elliotte Friedman, Chris Johnston, and the Sportsnet staff gave us plenty of deadline talking points during a double header of Saturday Headlines.

I’m going to share the cliffs notes with regards to the Devils, but I’d still recommend at least checking out Part 1 (more Eastern Conference-focused) if you have the chance.

Let’s dive in:

• It would take something spectacular to get Kyle Palmieri out of New Jersey

• There is a lot of interest in Wayne Simmonds...teams know they have to get through tough opponents

• Simmonds has been mentioned as a player of interest for the Canucks; Friedman believes the Penguins are also amongst those in on him

• Sami Vatanen will not be back before the deadline but Devils have let teams know about his injury situation; Friedman believes he will be traded to a team that wants offense.


That’s hardly surprising news about Kyle Palmieri. It’s still nice to see, though. Palmieri is a very productive goal scorer, his 5v5 defensive impact is remarkably strong, he plays with a lot of bite/passion, and he’s one of the team’s true leaders. He is extremely valuable on and off the ice and he is signed through next season. There is absolutely no reason to force him out the door. If a great offer is tabled, sure, think long and hard about it. But the Devils shouldn’t just accept the highest bid even if it doesn’t match what they want or need. If they don’t figure something out now, and somehow suck again next season/don’t think Palmieri will re-sign, they can still almost certainly get a 1st round pick in a deal for him then. This guy means way too much to hand give away for 80 cents on the dollar. Get full value, or keep him. It’s as simple as that.

Quite honestly, I thought we’d be looking at a somewhat soft return on Wayne Simmonds. I’m not so sure that’s going to be the case. Simmonds has shown more life of late, producing five points (three goals, two assists) over the last eight games while also throwing his weight around. He’s a playoff-style player GMs always covet around the deadline and he’s picking the right time to show a pulse. I know 21-year-old defenseman Olli Juolevi has not progressed as anyone would have hoped or expected but if his name is being tossed around as a potential return for a few months of Simmonds, it sure seems like there is real interest in him. GM Tom Fitzgerald recently said he’s not going to give Simmonds, or anybody, away and that offers of real quality have to be there. It sounds like they will be.

I think Vatanen is definitely a goner on Monday. If I had to bet on his landing spot, I’d go with the Vegas Golden Knights. They recently cleared some money with the Cody Eakin deal and they’re looking for another defenseman – ideally one who can produce points and take some of the burden off of Shea Theodore. I think Vatanen fits the bill and would give PP2 a nice boost.

The Golden Knights could trot out the following top-6:

Brayden McNabb - Nate Schmidt (shutdown pairing)
Nick Holden - Shea Theodore (offensive pairing)
Alec Martinez - Sami Vatanen (balanced pairing)

That’s pretty good given the firepower in front of them. If the goaltending holds up, the Golden Knights look like they can truly contend once again. It makes sense for them to add wherever they can.

With regards to the potential return, I would certainly be happy getting Kelowna Rockets defenseman Kaedan Korczak (no bias here – he’s good!) or Russian winger Pavel Dorofeyev in the deal.

We’ll see what Monday brings.

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