The New Jersey Devils are in the midst of a free fall coming out of the holiday break. New Jersey continued to be mentioned in trade rumors heading into the Four Nations Faceoff and the upcoming March 7th Trade Deadline. While they have multiple needs, the biggest one is goal scoring. However, does J.T. Miller actually make sense for this team?
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As TheDevilsNation.com has reported, Devils President and General Tom Fitzgerald wants to acquire a center, a pure goal scorer, and a defenseman. While Fitzgerald filled several needs in the offseason, the main issue of scoring was not addressed. Negotiations with Tyler Toffoli did not progress before last year’s trade deadline.
The money and length of the contract did not work for Toffoli. Not to mention, things fell through in the summer with Johnathan Marchessault and the Devils on July 1st. Even with the offensive weapons on the team, the Devils do not have that consistent threat. However, it is another case of those making connections without being in the area.
The reports of Miller to the Devils began with Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet speculating on the connection between the Devils and Canucks a couple of days ago in a recent article.
“While it may be easier to move either, or both, of Miller and Pettersson in the off-season, it’s not impossible something could happen before March 7. If it does, keep an eye on New Jersey for either player. They have assets and player pieces the Canucks could find attractive, and at the moment are on track to have about $7.469 million in deadline day salary cap space, according to PuckPedia.”
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Things continued on Friday, with Cam Robinson and Rick Dhaliwal on Halford and Brough on Sportsnet 650 stating the Devils had an interest in Miller. The belief was the Rangers did not want him going there.
There’s some smoke out there that the Devils are really kicking the tires on JT Miller.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) January 17, 2025
However, all of this JT Miller talk to the New Jersey is just smoke. The Devils do not need that type of player on the team. As Fitzgerald said at the beginning of the season to the media, “We want good people, no dickheads..just good people,”
He doubled down on those statements this past Thursday. Fitzgerald was on Sportsnet 590, and when asked about the trade chatter surrounding Miller, he poured cold water right on it.
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald was on SN The Fan 590 on Thursday and poured cold water on the rumours. “Patrik (Allvin, Canucks GM) and I are really good friends. Quite honestly, we haven’t talked,” he said.
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The Devils want to add scoring, but there is a potential for another Canuck. The team is looking to add scoring in Brock Boeser. As Fitzgerald told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, he is open to a rental and a player with team.
“Somebody that can come in and maybe give us that extra oomph – and maybe proper slot people to make us a strong four-line team come playoff time,” Fitzgerald said. “We love what we have. I just really want to add on top of that.”
That does not sound like a general manager who is looking to add JT Miller. While he is a good player on the ice, his locker room issues are well-documented. Do the Devils really want to mess with a good group? Probably not. He describes players who have been there before, like Yanni Gourde and Ryan O’Reilly. Not to mention, the Devils have been linked to Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans.
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According to PuckPedia.com, Miller’s $8 million cap hit would require the Devils to pay for the next five-plus seasons if they were to trade for him now. The Devils have close to $2 million in cap space. Their deadline cap space would be around $4 million. They would have to move out several pieces to make the money work. But that leaves them cap-strapped, especially with someone players to sign in the summer.
So why would Tom Fitzgerald want to do that to his team? The fit between the Devils and JT Miller is just not there. However, the Devils are in the market to add players, and they may have a trade chip to use, but it will not be for J.T. Miller. Maybe they still call the Canucks about Brock Boeser. That is the type of scoring punch the Devils need.
So before you jump to conclusions, think rationally. JT Miller to the New Jersey Devils, never made sense.
