Now that Damon Severson has been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils general manager (GM) Tom Fitzgerald has shown the NHL that he is willing to get creative to fill out his roster. Finding value has been one of Fitzgerald’s strengths, shown through his notable acquisitions of Erik Haula, John Marino, Vitek Vanecek, and Jonas Siegenthaler, who have all made significant contributions to the team’s success. Once Fitzgerald signs his priority restricted free agents (RFA), Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier, he should work on a trade with the Winnipeg Jets for forward Nino Niederreiter.
Jets Making Changes
After succumbing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Jets head into an offseason rife with uncertainty. In 2022-23, they stripped veteran Blake Wheeler of the captaincy and closed out the campaign with head coach Rick Bowness calling out his veterans for not having any pushback when adversity arose.
Several core players are entering their final season under contract, and the Jets have only $12 million in cap space, leaving general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff with difficult decisions. Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler, and Mark Scheifele will become unrestricted free agents after 2023-24 and are unlikely willing to stay in Winnipeg. Pierre Luc Dubois is an RFA and unwilling to commit to Winnipeg long-term (he is also rumored to be seeking a move to Montreal). With so many key pieces in flux, Cheveldayoff will have little choice but to try to retool on the fly by maximizing the return on his assets.
Capitalizing on these assets is the key to remaining competitive while Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey are under contract, but it is difficult to imagine that the Jets can sell off the above-named players and immediately improve.
The Devils are on the rise and would be a natural trade partner with their stocked prospect pool and several NHL-ready players who could be useful to the Jets long-term. After Vitek Vanecek’s statistical dropoff in the playoffs raised eyebrows in New Jersey, many expect management to try and pry Hellebuyck out of Winnipeg. While Hellebuyck would immediately improve the Devils, at what cost, especially without any term beyond 2023-24? The Devils would do better to focus on acquiring Nino Niederreiter.
Niederreiter Makes Perfect Sense for the Devils
The Devils have rebuilt their team through the draft and by making wise, strategic, free-agent acquisitions and finding value in the trade market. They have a young core emerging into stardom and must find the right players to complement them and fill the roles needed for playoff success.
Veteran free agent Tomas Tatar was one of the best forwards in the league at even strength this season, notching the second-best on-ice expected goals (xG%) among forwards who played at least 750 minutes (per MoneyPuck.com). He had a bounce-back season, netting 20 goals and earning a plus-41. He drove play and was defensively responsible, often shifting throughout the top nine, even during games. Tatar signed with New Jersey as a free agent after a disappointing end with the Montreal Canadiens when he was a healthy scratch through much of their run to the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, his regular season impact did not translate to postseason success, making it likely that the Devils will look elsewhere to upgrade on the wing.
The Devils have several internal candidates to replace Tatar, including Alexander Holtz, Graeme Clark, and Nolan Foote, which could save them some cap space. With a less-than-stellar UFA market about to open, Fitzgerald would be best served looking for value through trade. Just last summer, he acquired Marino and Haula, who sped up the team’s rebuild considerably. This summer, he should look north.
Niederreiter is a former first-round draft pick (fifth overall in 2010) who will turn 31 at the start of training camp. He has been a consistent 20-goal scorer throughout his career, which would make up for the loss of Tatar’s goal production. The Devils also need size and grit to play alongside Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. At 6-foot-2, 218 pounds, Niederreiter would instantly become one of the biggest players in the Devils’ top nine, and he’s also been credited with over 100 hits in seven seasons in the NHL, including 50 in the 22 games he spent with the Jets.
He’s also a clutch performer in the playoffs. In 22 games with the Jets (after he was acquired from the Nashville Predators), he earned a 57% xG% at 5-on-5 and scored at a .5 point-per-game rate for a team fighting to get into the postseason – an increase over his 21 points in 57 games with the Predators last season.
The Devils had trouble facing a Carolina Hurricanes team that boasted much more playoff experience. Niederreiter immediately fills that hole. Internationally, he has often represented and captained Team Switzerland, as recently as this year’s World Championship. He has also played in 87 NHL playoff games, which would rank second on the Devils behind Ondrej Palat’s staggering 150 games.
His familiarity with countrymen Siegenthaler, Meier, and Hischier would help ease the transition to a new team and maybe give him a reason to sign an extension beyond the one year he has remaining on his deal. He brings the versatility and scoring to replace Tatar while being an improvement in size and grit that the Devils need as their championship window opens.
Price for Niederreiter
The Jets acquired Niederreiter for a second-round pick at the deadline and received a cost-controlled useful forward for two seasons. Now that one of those seasons has expired, the cost to acquire him should go down, and if the Jets are not competitive by the 2023-24 deadline, Niederreiter would likely be a prime target.
The Jets will likely want to recoup what they paid for him. However, with only one year of team control, the price should go down. Should the Jets prefer a prospect or NHL-ready player to fill the pending holes upfront, the Devils have plenty, with five players who will soon become waiver exempt: Reilly Walsh, Tyce Thompson, and Nolan Foote. All three are on the cusp of making the NHL. New Jersey also has several pending RFAs who have had inconsistent success in Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Boqvist, and Mackenzie Blackwood, who may be attractive to a team about to lose its star goaltender.
The Devils have the assets to acquire Niederreiter. While there has been no indication that he is available, Fitzgerald should be able to put together a package to pry him away from a Jets team in transition. New Jersey might have to add a sweetener to convince Winnipeg to move him this summer, but again, their prospect pool is stocked, and they have enough picks in the upcoming draft to make this deal happen.
Niederreiter is the perfect upgrade for the Devils to continue moving forward. His blend of size, grit, and experience would immediately improve the team. The fact that he has played with several players on the roster already should make the locker room a welcoming place. New Jersey learned the hard way that they need more experience and toughness come next April, and Niederreiter is an excellent way to accomplish both goals with one player.
