Predators Acquire Erik Haula From Devils for Jeremy Hanzel, Draft Pick

The New Jersey Devils announced that the team has acquired Nashville’s fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and defenseman Jeremy Hanzel in exchange for forward Erik Haula.

#NEWS: We've acquired Nashville’s own fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and defenseman Jeremy Hanzel in exchange for forward Erik Haula.

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— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) June 18, 2025

Haula was originally acquired on July 13, 2022, from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Pavel Zacha. He scored 41 goals and 56 assists for 97 points with 140 penalty minutes (PIMs) in 227 games played with the Devils over the past three seasons. He added seven points (4g-3a) and 17 PIMs in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games with New Jersey in 2023 and 2025. Haula had one year left on a three-year contract with an average annual value of $3.15 million.

The seventh-round pick (No. 182) of the Minnesota Wild in the 2009 NHL Draft has 337 points (153 goals, 184 assists) in 759 games for the Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Predators, Bruins, and Devils. He has 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 78 playoff games and helped the Golden Knights advance to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, a five-game loss to the Washington Capitals.

Hanzel, 22, spent last season with Nashville’s minor league affiliates, the Milwaukee Admirals (American Hockey League) and Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL). He registered two penalty minutes in four games with the Admirals and three goals and 19 assists for 22 points with 28 penalty minutes for the Gladiators. He appeared in four regular-season games (0g-2a, 2 PIM) and one Calder Cup playoff game (PIM) with the Admirals in 2023-24, following the completion of his junior career.

Hanzel was acquired by Nashville from the Colorado Avalanche on March 7, 2024, with the Avalanche’s third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for forward Yakov Trenin and defenseman Graham Sward. Born in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and a native of Burnaby, he was initially drafted by Colorado in the sixth round, 187th overall, of the 2023 NHL Draft.