{"id":385729,"date":"2025-11-17T17:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385729\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:58:16","slug":"devils-in-on-big-fish-why-not-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/385729\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils ‘In’ on Big Fish, Why Not Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re halfway through November, and there\u2019s already plenty of discussion on the NHL trade front this season. The New Jersey Devils<\/a> have been mentioned plenty, and with their latest development, perhaps they should get ahead of things early.<\/p>\n

The brutal Jack Hughes<\/a> news this weekend was certainly unwelcomed. It could have been worse, but it\u2019s not ideal regardless.<\/p>\n

The Devils will be without their best player for what sounds like two months. The hand injury is going to be re-evaluated in six weeks, with the potential to return as soon as then. However, the timeline could go up to eight weeks, perhaps longer, as some were worried he might miss the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the Devils cannot let this season go to waste. Two months is a lot of time to let the season slip away.<\/p>\n

The Devils passed their first test without Hughes, beating the Washington Capitals<\/a> in the shootout over the weekend, once again, on the stick of Simon Nemec.<\/p>\n

However, it was a dicey win, one where you could see the game slip away from the Devils after holding a 2-0 lead through the first 40 minutes against a struggling Washington team.<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t fly against the NHLs best teams, and with so many injuries mounting in addition to Hughes, the hurdle could be too much to overcome.<\/p>\n

According to a recent report, New Jersey is expected to be in the market for a \u201cbig fish\u201d this season via Devils trade<\/a>. They\u2019re anticipated to take another step in their collective development from a playoff to Stanley Cup contender.<\/p>\n

On a recent episode of The Sheet<\/a> with by Jeff Marek, David Pagnotta disclosed what he\u2019s hearing on the Devils\u2019 involvement on the NHL trade market.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a big fish, I think they\u2019re going to be in there in some capacity,\u201d Pagnotta explained. \u201cThis is a really good team, and I think they feel, rightfully so probably, that the opportunity to pounce is now. So can you get a complimentary piece?<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably. Do you want to swing or aim a little higher? I don\u2019t think that\u2019s out of the realm of possibility at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pecking order of need should be quite clear. The Devils are actually quite deep, even with injuries, on the wing. Instead, they certainly need center depth first and foremost. Secondly, perhaps they need a different kind of defenseman, one who is a proper defender, as opposed to a puck-carrying distributor.<\/p>\n

Starting at center, Nazem Kadri would be a huge add. Yes, it\u2019ll cost a premium. Expect the Devils\u2019 2026 first-round pick and Seamus Casey to be on the move for starters. However, it\u2019ll likely cost a bit more. Kadri is the kind of player who can center the top line for now, and be moved down to 3C once Hughes returns. In fact, if Sheldon Keefe felt it necessary, he could slide Hughes to the wing and play him alongside Kadri and Jesper Bratt.<\/p>\n

Kadri is also the kind of player who drags his team into the fight and over the finish line. Want your Sam Bennett-like Conn Smythe playoff performer? Kadri is that guy.<\/p>\n

If the Devils are going to make a big add at some point, why not now, when they can keep their momentum going?<\/p>\n

Ryan O\u2019Reilly is another center that could be had. Similar to Kadri, he could buoy the Devils\u2019 top-six until Hughes\u2019 return, and then make for a great depth piece. He\u2019ll cost less than Kadri, too. However, he won\u2019t pot as many goals.<\/p>\n

Would the Utah Mammoth entertain moving Nick Schmaltz if they figure they can\u2019t come to terms on an extension? How about J.G. Pageau and the New York Islanders? And although the San Jose Sharks are fun to watch, if they can get something for Alex Wennberg, they will.<\/p>\n

In terms of \u201cbig fish,\u201d Kadri and O\u2019Reilly are the two big names. Schmaltz can be considered in that mix, he\u2019s on a 46-goal pace.<\/p>\n

However, the Devils are going to need to offload some money. So, how do they do that?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mentioned it earlier this week with respect to Dougie Hamilton, his name has been out there. It was out there in the summer,\u201d Pagnotta explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got nine million, he\u2019s got a 10-team [trade] list. I don\u2019t know if they go to that extreme, and I think those conversations are going to pop up every now and again with some teams looking. I don\u2019t know if they go move out nine, bring in nine, in terms of AAD or cap it, but I do think they\u2019re going to consider all of their possibilities with respect to insulating this roster even further to bring them to championship pedigree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dougie Hamilton<\/a> seems more like a summer move, but moving out Ondrej Palat seems feasible. He\u2019s got similar restrictions with a 10-team trade list as well. However, if the Devils are serious about staying atop the Metropolitan Division over the next two months, they probably should have already asked Palat for his preferred destinations to see if they can make something happen.<\/p>\n

Palat\u2019s $6 million cap hit is more digestible these days in the rising salary cap era. New Jersey might have to attach something to make it happen, but they have the futures.<\/p>\n

The East has never been more open for the taking. Yes, opposing GMs will try to bottleneck Tom Fitzgerald knowing his circumstance. However, he has Hughes\u2019 timeline on his side, knowing he will be returning. He doesn\u2019t HAVE to make this move now, but he should.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to take some hardball, some elbow grease to get it done. But in the long-run, the Devils will be better for it.<\/p>\n

Salvage the strong start the Devils have had. Instill the faith in the locker room that the belief is there that they can contend for a championship. <\/p>\n

Then, once the lineup is fully healthy, if ever, Keefe has a plethora of weapons at his disposal to go on a deep playoff run.<\/p>\n

Why not now?<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJames is the New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the PHWAs New … More about James Nichols<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re halfway through November, and there\u2019s already plenty of discussion on the NHL trade front this season. The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":385730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[15743,181810,142067,2994,293,62,184238,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-385729","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-devils","9":"tag-devils-news","10":"tag-jack-hughes","11":"tag-new-jersey-devils","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tom-fitzgerald","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115566340530329036","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}