Two early 2026 deadline targets for the New Jersey Devils

These versatile forwards could be made available for much different reasons.

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

---

By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

This off-season has been a drag, to say the least. Not a single trade has gone down since July 25th, and not a single trade has happened for the New Jersey Devils since July 2nd, despite the vast majority of fans and pundits alike expecting the team to be quite active. 

With that said, I would expect the 2025-26 season to be a bit different in this regard. The 2026 NHL Entry Draft features several players who would have gone 1st overall in 2025, including borderline generational talent Gavin McKenna.

Many teams should be trying to get out of the playoff sphere early, and with that should come a very active trade deadline.

As for the Devils, who will almost certainly be buyers come that time, I would hope that they have these two players on their radar:

Jared McCann - Seattle Kraken

I know, I know, a report just came out that the Devils inquired about Jared McCann and were promptly turned away.

Regardless, I can’t shake the feeling that he remains high on their trade target board and will be a priority come the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.

The 29-year-old can slot in both on the left wing and down the middle, which would make him a viable asset for a team likely searching for both positions.

McCann would infuse the top-six with a scoring touch otherwise unpresent on the roster, with the team generally lacking a sharpshooting player outside of perhaps Nico Hischier – Jack Hughes and Timo Meier, while both strong goalscorers, are volume-based shooters rather than efficient ones.

McCann, meanwhile, has shot at least 13.5% in four of the past five campaigns, including a 40-goal slate in 2022-23.

In addition, he has scored more goals than his individual expected goals (ixG) total in every season since 2017-18.

Between those two metrics, it’s clear that he’s the efficient goalscorer the Devils desperately need.

In the past three seasons, McCann ranks 20th in the NHL in points per 60 at 5v5, one slot behind Jesper Bratt but ahead of notable players like William Nylander, Aleksander Barkov, and Kirill Kaprizov.

This offensive prowess doesn’t come with an inability to play in his own zone, either. Impact-wise, McCann ranks in the 68th percentile for defensive play in the last three seasons, according to Evolving Hockey’s GAR/xGAR model. He’s a net positive at both 5v5 and on the penalty kill.

With the Seattle Kraken going nowhere fast and playing without a direction, it’s likely that they fall short of being competitive once again and a trade could be revisited. 

Evan Rodrigues - Florida Panthers