How do the big Metro Division trades impact the New Jersey Devils?

A pair of elite point producers were traded within the division over the past week.

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

Whoo boy. The past eight days have been extremely exciting from a hockey fan perspective — but admittedly a bit terrifying from a New Jersey Devils fan perspective — after two gigantic trades with Metropolitan Division rivals being the primary benefactors.

Here are some thoughts on the trades:

Rantanen and Miller to the Metro

Let’s start off with the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes last Friday.

The Canes sent away their leading scorer in Martin Necas, a solid depth piece in Jack Drury, and a couple of draft picks for a player who has surpassed 40 goals and 100 points in each of the last two seasons and has played at an above-point-per-game pace in the postseason in every season since 2018-19. 

Yikes. 

Rantanen is an exceptional fit to the Hurricanes’ system, one that will see him play 4-5 fewer minutes nightly so he’ll have more energetic shifts. One that prioritizes a heavy forecheck, which fits his 6’4”, 215-pound frame and exceptional strength well. 

More than that, it provides the Hurricanes with the goal-scoring star that they have been ragged on for not having when it matters most in the playoffs. And they added him without moving any major futures — they still have their first-rounder and all of their top prospects, giving them the assets they need to continue adding. 

I don’t like it one bit. 

On top of that, they added a viable third-line scoring option for literally nothing in Taylor Hall. He has more offensive upside than Drury and still has a good amount left in the tank. 

Flash forward to Friday night, where it was announced that JT Miller was sent to the New York Rangers in exchange for concussion expert Filip Chytil, middling prospect Victor Mancini, and a protected first-round selection. 

Getting Chytil out of MSG is probably a good thing for the Devils — he’s inarguably their best play-driving center — but adding Miller in his stead hurts for at least this year and next. 

The 31-year-old is a point machine, having scored at least 30 goals and 82 points in each of the last three seasons, including 99-point and 103-point campaigns. He’s a physical force, an incessant forechecker, and a complete and utter pest. 

They also added a sneaky-good puck-moving defenseman, something they lacked outside of Adam Fox and (sometimes) K’Andre Miller.

Erik Brannstrom should be a third-pair option for them, but in my ideal world, he’s riding pine for Urho Vaakanainen. 

Still, after acquiring Miller and improving their recent play, the Rangers are shaping up to be the Wild Card team they were projected to be. 

New Jersey’s next moves