NHL Trade Grade: New Jersey Devils get solid return for Brian Boyle

The New Jersey Devils have traded Brian Boyle to the Nashville Predators. How did each team do in the trade?

It’s official. The New Jersey Devils have sent center Brian Boyle to the Nashville Predators. In exchange, the latter is sending the former a 2019 second round pick. This is in line with what the Tampa Bay Lighting got for Boyle from the Toronto Maple Leafs just two years ago.

Let’s break down the trade and grade each team’s performance.

Predators

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Boyle is an extremely easy guy to root for. He’s got a very likable personality. Ask anyone who has played with him and you’ll likely hear absolutely nothing but excellent things. Boyle is a character guy who should be great in Nashville’s locker room. While the precise value of those things isn’t known, they certainly do have value.

On the ice, Boyle is a useful player. He can chip in points from the third or fourth line. Boyle can play either center or left wing and could probably play on the third line as well. But on the Predators, he’s likely a fourth-liner.

Specifically, you can think of Boyle as Austin Watson‘s replacement. If Watson returns, the Predators will have an even more physical and efficient fourth line. Head coach Peter Laviolette has a very specific purpose for his fourth lines – defensive zone starts.

Boyle should be able to thrive in this role. He started 57.6 percent of his zone starts in the defensive zone and a shade under 60 percent of his faceoffs. Despite that, Boyle isn’t a drag on possession (-0.5 relative CorsiFor percentage, +3.55 relative scoring chances for percentage).

That said, giving up a second round pick for him is a bit much. Boyle is certainly a useful player and he should help the Predators. But if they want to get past the Winnipeg Jets in their inevitable second-round matchup, they’ll need to add more pieces. Boyle addresses a minor problem with the Predators, but not their big one – lack of top-notch forwards.

Grade: C+

Devils

The Devils did well here. Boyle was on their fourth line and they’re getting a second round pick for him. That’s a pretty huge win. Obviously, losing Boyle in the locker room will hurt. But on the other hand, he’s going to be a free agent, so getting something for him was necessary.

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Expect New Jersey to continue to sell. Keith Kinkaid and Marcus Johansson are among their players likely to be traded like Boyle. The Devils certainly didn’t have the season they were hoping to have, but they could set themselves up very well over the next few weeks. Trading Boyle is a good start.

Grade: A-

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