With the NHL trade deadline just three weeks away, the New Jersey Devils are expected to make a splash to help them to a postseason berth in a disappointing season. They currently sit two points out of the second wild-card spot and five points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division, with two games at hand on the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s abundantly clear that general manager Tom Fitzgerald has been aggressive in trade talks, simply considering how many rumors have circulated around the Devils. With that in mind, there are a few Devils players to keep your eyes on if a trade were to go through.
Alex Holtz
For whatever reason, Alex Holtz just can’t seem to catch a break this year under head coach Lindy Ruff. The 22-year-old Swede has been marinating for years in the Devils’ pipeline and finally earned his full-time role at the NHL level, but hasn’t been able to garner top-six minutes despite some impressive 5v5 metrics — he’s third on the team in 5v5 points (21) and goals (11). He’s shown flashes of absolute brilliance and has otherwise rarely played poorly. It’s perplexing, but he just hasn’t quite meshed with Ruff and his expectations.
Some of his other underlying metrics are misleading, too, as his playstyle as a passenger player — which isn’t necessarily an issue, to be clear — is often reliant on his linemates, most of which have been the worst forwards that have been iced this year. His expected goals share (xGF%) has been overwhelmingly positive when playing alongside skilled transitional players like Jack Hughes and Michael McLeod and has been lackluster when playing alongside players who struggle in that facet of their game, like Chris Tierney and Nathan Bastian. Again — it’s not a problem, it’s just the type of player he is, and he’ll find the most success as a player when he’s paired with someone who’s prepared to do the heavy lifting in transition.
Because Ruff seemingly wants to turn him into a play driver, which hasn’t happened this year and will likely never really happen, he’s been relegated to fourth-line duties. With that in mind, it might be in both the Devils’ best interest and his best interest to move him to another team in a package for a better player. It might not necessarily be the best thing for the Devils’ contention window — a young, cost-controlled goal scorer is certainly a coveted asset, especially for a team that might have some cap-crunching to do — but I would be surprised if Holtz ended the year in black and red.
Jonas Siegenthaler
Another candidate for getting moved is stay-at-home defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler. He’s had an atrocious 2023-24 season, having faltered significantly on the defensive side of things. He’s been out for the last six weeks with a broken foot, though he should be able to return in a couple of days. On the season, despite what can be assumed from his xGF% of 52.12%, his expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) of 2.6 is by far the highest of his career, and it can be correctly judged that his drastic uptick in expected goals for per 60 (xGF/60) is due to the stellar play of his most common linemate this season, Dougie Hamilton.
He is a prime bounce-back candidate though, whether that be in a Devils uniform or playing for another team. He’s shown seasons of brilliance in his own end, regarded as one of the premier defensive defensemen in the NHL just two seasons ago. He’s a worthwhile investment from other teams considering his prior seasons and his more-than-reasonable $3.4 million cap hit. This is also the only season in his contract in which he doesn’t have some sort of no-movement clause, so if there’s a season to deal the 26-year-old Swiss defenseman, it’s this one. If he were to get moved, I have to imagine that it would be for another defenseman — one who has not struggled this season — or in a package deal for a better goaltender.
Vitek Vanecek
It’s no surprise that the Devils are looking to acquire a goalie upgrade — they’ve been heavily linked to Calgary Flames’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom in recent days and have been affiliated with more or less every goalie rumor this season. With that in mind, the Devils would need to get rid of one of their netminders to make it work, and Vitek Vanecek is the most likely of the three NHL-calibre goalies in New Jersey’s system to be sent the other way in a deal.
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For starters, he’s far and away the oldest of the trio. At 28 years old, he’s got five years on both Akira Schmid and Nico Daws. Trading Vanecek instead of the other two would allow them to marinate a little longer — at this point, we know what kind of goalie Vanecek is, but Schmid and Daws are both still question marks with relatively high ceilings. He’s also far and away the highest-paid of the three, and if the Devils were to acquire a Markstrom or Juuse Saros, they’d need Vanecek’s salary to go the other way to make the cap situation more comfortable.
Finally, he’s just flat-out the worst of the three goalies, and it makes sense from a talent perspective to let him go instead of dealing with either of the other two. On the year, he’s touting team lows in goals saved above expected (GSAx) with -11.1, GSAx/60 with -0.372, and save percentage (SV%) with a .890. He’s lost the Devils many more games than he’s won them, and is one of the main perpetrators in why the Devils sit outside of a playoff spot right now. He needs to go.
Devils Need to Be Active at the Deadline
The Devils are a win-now team, despite whatever stigma lies around their current record. Their skater group can compete with the absolute best of them when everyone is healthy — the team’s record has been a victim of bottom-of-the-league goaltending and unlucky injury woes. Even with those problems, the Devils are still in the playoff race. With a couple of moves to address goaltending and add a piece on defense, the Devils should have no issue cruising to a playoff spot, despite wherever they may be now. There’s a whole lot of hockey left to play.
