Buckle your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
With the season officially past the midway point, the next checkpoint is the annual Trade Deadline. With only a handful of teams out of the playoff race, this year’s trade frenzy should be quite entertaining – unless you’re one of the players being dealt.
Monday night, the Devils played host to the Golden Knights and pulled out a wild 6-5 come-from-behind win in overtime. But almost as important as the two points at stake was the fact the Devils and Golden Knights could become trade partners in a couple of weeks. After the back-and-forth game, it’s become abundantly clear these two teams can help each other out.
After all, a 1-0 Golden Knights lead quickly became a 3-1 Devils lead, before morphing into a 5-3 game with Vegas in front and then being decided 6-5 in overtime in favor of New Jersey. Of course, a Tyler Toffoli hat-trick (including the game-winner in OT) as well as two-point nights from Nathan Bastian, Simon Nemec, and Curtis Lazar can make you forget about the rough second period in which New Jersey gave up four goals.
Defense and goaltending have been season-long issues for the Devils. Meanwhile, goal-scoring depth and health have been the problems for Vegas. So, with the Devils’ surplus of offense and the Golden Knights’ surplus of defense, perhaps these two teams should get together at the negotiating table.
Now, let’s put on our GM hats and take a look at a few hypothetical trade proposals. If you were in charge of either team, would you go for them or not?
DEVILS ACQUIRE: LOGAN THOMPSON
GOLDEN KNIGHTS ACQUIRE: ALEXANDER HOLTZ
Let’s get this out of the way now. This trade hinges on the health of Vegas netminder Adin Hill. If Hill is off the IR and playing like he did during last year’s playoffs then the Golden Knights can do this deal. Hill has the contract. Hill won The Cup. Thompson is going to want to go somewhere else to prove he can be a starting goalie in the NHL.
Hello, New Jersey.
The Devils need an upgrade in net. The combination of Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, and Akira Schmid has not done the trick. Logan Thompson won’t get any Vezina Trophy votes, but he could be the answer in net for New Jersey.
Alexander Holtz is exactly the type of middle-six forward the Golden Knights need. He’s shown he can score, as evidenced by his 12 goals on the season. Holtz won’t be a restricted free agent until 2025-26 and his cap hit is under $1M. With all of Vegas’ injuries, Holtz would provide exactly the type of secondary scoring the defending champs need.
DEVILS ACQUIRE: NICOLAS HAGUE & 2024 3RD ROUND PICK
GOLDEN KNIGHTS ACQUIRE: NATHAN BASTIAN, KEVIN BAHL & 2025 2ND ROUND PICK
A good compromise is one in which neither side is totally happy. That describes this potential trade perfectly. The Devils would have to give up a solid depth forward, a versatile defenseman, and a second-round pick. The Golden Knights would have to give up a young, physically imposing defenseman who won’t be a restricted free agent until 2025-26 and a third-round pick.
For New Jersey, the lack of a big, physical defenseman has been a huge problem this year. Hague fills that role and then some. For Vegas, the amount of injuries they’ve had to their roster has been astounding, so getting two players who can immediately plug into the lineup and be effective is a win.
Sure, a third-rounder doesn’t compare to a second-rounder, but the Devils are getting the superior player, so it’s only fair the Golden Knights get the better draft choice.
Due to roster and contract limits, Vegas would have to make a corresponding move to fit Bastian and Bahl onto the team.
DEVILS ACQUIRE: BRAYDEN MCNABB, NICOLAS ROY & LOGAN THOMPSONGOLDEN KNIGHTS ACQUIRE: COLIN MILLER, CURTIS LAZAR & AKIRA SCHMID
This one gets complicated. On one side, New Jersey would pick up a steady defenseman in McNabb (who would have to waive his modified No-Trade Clause), a young center who won’t hit unrestricted free agency until 2027-28, and a goalie who would represent a slight upgrade over their current netminders.
Meanwhile, Vegas would get a solid, if unspectacular defenseman in Miller, a swiss-army knife-type center in Lazar, and an inconsistent goalie in Schmid, who is currently back in the AHL.
Why would these teams potentially make this deal? Well, the Devils would get an upgrade in net and a steadying presence on the blue line; plus a young, cost-controlled forward. The Golden Knights would get a goalie who has key postseason experience – that’s very important in case Adin Hill were to get injured during the playoffs – and two players who they can plug into their lineup and get solid performances from.
Of course, the Devils would still need to make another corresponding move to stay cap-compliant and open up a roster spot. Moving Dougie Hamilton to LTIR until the playoffs would work, although the Devils would rather have him back before then.
Alright, that’s enough hypothetical trades from me. What do you all think? Should the Devils and Golden Knights get together between now and the Trade Deadline? If the Devils’ 6-5 overtime win showed us anything, it’s that these two teams could have a lot to offer each other.
