Devils ship Haula to Predators in cap dump

Tom Fitzgerald created some necessary cap flexibility in trading Erik Haula to Nashville.

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The New Jersey Devils created $3.15 million in much-needed cap space Wednesday night, shipping veteran forward Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 4th round pick and ECHL defenseman Jeremy Hanzel.

The 4th round pick comes in this year’s draft and is Nashville’s, meaning it is a top-100 selection (99th, to be exact).

Haula had a full no-trade clause over the first two years of his contract. That protection was set to loosen significantly, with Haula only carrying a six-team no-trade list for the upcoming season. Those protections generally turn over on July 1.

That would leave him with very little control over his next landing spot. Thus, he’s likely content going back to Nashville and a situation he is familiar with from a prior stop there.

Getting any positive asset for Haula – even a lottery ticket unlikely to amount to anything – has to be seen as a win for Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils front office.

While Haula was able to finish the season on a stronger note, he did not play well for the vast majority of the 2024-25 campaign.

Offensively, Haula struggled to an unbelievable extent. He ranked 312th among the 350 most-used forwards in 5v5 points per 60 minutes.

He also finished 339th in individual points percentage, contributing to just 48% of the goals the Devils scored with him on the ice.