Despite being touted as Stanley Cup favorites before the season started, the New Jersey Devils have found themselves out of a playoff spot with less than a quarter of the season remaining. As such, off-season acquisition Tyler Toffoli has been traded to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for two draft picks. In this deal, New Jersey will retain 50 percent of Toffoli’s contract to make the cap hit work for Winnipeg.
Toffoli is in the last year of his four-year, $4.25 million AAV contract that he signed with the Calgary Flames in 2020, meaning that he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. No contract extension is rumored to be in the works.
Jets Get Goal-Scoring Prowess
The Jets have a hole at right wing, and with Toffoli, they’ll be adding one of the top available goal scorers at this year’s deadline. He’s the Devils’ leading scorer with 26 goals and is fourth on the team in total points with 44 in 61 games. He’s surpassed the 20-goal mark eight times in his career and has eclipsed 30 twice, including his career-high of 34 last year.
His underlying statistics are also strong, having an expected goals share (xGF%) of 51.88% on the season, and much like his goal totals throughout his career, he’s been just as good, if not better, throughout his entire career — he’s exceeded an xGF% of 55% in seven seasons. He’ll likely slot in as the Jets’ first-line right winger and will certainly see some time on their second power-play unit, maybe even their first unit.
Devils Prepare for Next Year and Future
This season has not gone the way that GM Tom Fitzgerald has wanted it to go, and he’s smart in shipping off a rental player who won’t be extended while the team isn’t in a playoff spot. Fitzgerald had previously stated that the two parties were working on a contract extension and that they were close monetarily but far apart on the contract’s length. The return is admittedly a little light considering he was the best goal scorer available today, but the Devils should probably be happy to get anything at all.
Related: 2024 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
In acquiring the two draft picks, the Devils either get to build more for the future by drafting the picks or build for their current Cup window by flipping the picks for capable NHLers in the off-season or next season.
