New Jersey Devils: Top-3 2021 NHL trade deadline assets
These three New Jersey Devils may not be long for the team in 2021.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the New Jersey Devils in 2021.
The team has heart, plenty of salary cap, and three incredibly fun young players primed to take a leap moving forward in Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and MacKenzie Blackwood. If a few things break their way, it’s entirely possible the team could shock the world, punch above their weight class, and maybe even vie for a bottom-four playoff position.
But if we’re being honest and objective here, it’s just as likely – probably more so – that the Devils are a bad, bad, not very good hockey team who are the opposite of buyers when the trade deadline rolls around – whenever that may be. If that happens, we may have to watch some of New Jersey’s older players say au revoir a la Blake Coleman and Taylor Hall last season.
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I know, I know, do you think I like being the bearer of bad news? I’m a Devils fan too, for goodness sake!
While I would like nothing more than to see Hischier score 40 goals, Hughes record 50 points, and P.K. Subban revert back to the player he was back in Nashville in 2017-18, writing it into existence won’t make it be.
But hey, don’t feel too bad about the presumed plight of the New Jersey Devils. They’ve amassed a ton of assets over the last year thanks to said trades and could further fill out their minor league ranks with a ton of future talents like 2020 first-round pick Alexander Holtz and ex-Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Nolan Foote.
With that in mind, in order to acquire premier young assets like Hall, Hischier, and Hughes, sometimes you have to say goodbye to new guys, big-time free agency additions, and fan-favorite lifers alike. Fortunately, with seven players currently set to hit free agency in one way or another in 2020, there are some obvious players to pick from.