Four players the New Jersey Devils should consider trading at the deadline
With playoff hopes all but gone, the Devils are positioned to sell at the deadline.
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The New Jersey Devils dropped five of six games heading into the Olympic break, all but officially ending their playoff hopes.
HockeyStats gives the Devils just a 6% chance of getting in and they’ve generally sat on the more optimistic side of the fence.
Considering the Devils are 11 points back of a playoff spot, and would have to jump seven teams, even 6% feels generous.
The Devils are not going to enter any sort of rebuild, nor do I think that’s necessary.
They should, however, be looking to sell off some veterans and better position themselves to reload for next season.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at four players they could or should listen to offers on leading up to the deadline.
Jonas Siegenthaler
Siegenthaler is a strong defender and he’s signed through the 2027-28 season at a team-friendly $3.4 million price point.
Siegenthaler can flirt with 20 minutes nightly, kill penalties, and be trusted against quality opponents.
Adding someone with his defensive capabilities, and low cap hit, would no doubt be an attractive proposition to any team looking to make a run.
That could make him a sought after player if he’s put on the market. Siegenthaler only carries a 10-team no-trade list so the front office would have flexibility to shop him around to 21 other clubs.
I wouldn’t be forcing Siegenthaler out the door by any means but I’d be more than open to dealing him if the return is strong.
Ideally, the Devils could fetch a 1st round pick they could flip in the off-season or a young player soon ready for NHL duties (last year, the Bruins got both for a similar player in Brandon Carlo).
Siegenthaler is one of the few players on the roster who is a) movable and; b) capable of fetching a meaningful return.
The team could clearly use a shakeup, and dealing Siegenthaler is one way they could go about it while landing pieces to help build a better version of this team.
Siegenthaler’s even-strength offense has graded out at -0.34 WAR per 82 games (or worse) in all five seasons with the Devils, and he’s on pace to finish below -0.70 for the fourth straight year.
His play with the puck and offensive impacts are so poor that he’s likely to finish with a negative total WAR for the second time in three years.
The Devils need to become more adept at moving the puck, and selling Siegenthaler would be addition by subtraction in that area.
