It is the same old story for the New Jersey Devils as injuries continue to mount at the center position. Already without Cody Glass, who is week to week with an upper body injury, the Devils will be without center Jack Hughes for a minimum of eight weeks after undergoing surgery on Saturday on a non-hockey-related injury.
Once again, Sheldon Keefe has to juggle his lineup, moving players around, as they go into a big part of the schedule with Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, Luke Glendening, and Juho Lammikko as his centers. Not an ideal situation for a team that has high expectations this year. The team has a different mentality this season. So far, they are not letting the injuries get them down. The players are battling and persevering.
However, they will need help moving forward. Nathan Legare and Shane Lachance have been recalled from the AHL Utica Comets, but these guys are wingers. Marc McLaughlin is still out injured and isn’t available to return until late November. So, President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald will have to look to make a move to replenish the center position. It was a question mark last year; it is a question mark again this season.
Jack Hughes Has Successful Surgery on Non-Hockey Related Injury
With the way the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators are struggling, the Devils are being connected once again to Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly. The Devils tried to trade for both players last year around the trade deadline, but the price tags were high. Not to mention, the Devils’ direction changed after Jack Hughes was lost for the 24-25 season with a shoulder injury.
The New Jersey Devils need to address the center position despite the win on Saturday night in Washington. These two players make the most sense.
Ryan O’Reilly is the Ideal Fit
Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators makes too much sense for the Devils. He is the ideal fit for the Devils, considering they are entering their window to win. Even though O’Reilly doesn’t have trade protection, Predators GM Barry Trotz treats him like a player who has a no-trade clause. The price tag could be high once again as the Devils don’t have the cap space and will need Nashville to retain some money.
O’Reilly is in year three of a four-year deal that carries a $4.5 million cap hit. Any trade between the two clubs will be a hockey-type deal, player-for-player, to make the money work. Do the Devils want to give up one of their top prospects to make this deal happen, along with a draft pick? That could be the starting price.
Brayden Schenn Also Makes Sense
As DevilsNation.com reported last year, around the trade deadline, the Devils tried to trade for Brayden Schenn, but the price tag was so high that Fitzgerald passed on the deal. That price may still be high for the Blues and GM Doug Armstrong, who looked to send a message by threatening to trade everyone yet again.
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Schenn’s name is back out there with the Blues off to a poor start. He wanted to stay last year because the Blues were in the mix. Could that mindset change, considering how badly the team is struggling this year? He is in year six of an eight-year deal at $6.5 million a season. Like with O’Reilly, the Schenn deal would have to be rostered player for rostered player to make the money work.
Schenn is a 20-25 goal scorer and a 50-60 point guy who gives the Devils added depth if more injuries pop up. But he, even when the team is healthy, gives them another look at the center position they didn’t have before.
Where Else Could the Devils Look?
Well, there will be the Nazem Kadri rumours, but the Calgary Flames don’t want to trade him, and he doesn’t want to leave. The Flames will need to retain a good amount of Kadri’s $7 million salary if they were to trade him to a contender. And the offer from the Devils would be something GM Craig Conroy couldn’t refuse.
Not to mention, like with J.T. Miller last year, what team wants to pay their third-line center $7 million? Because that’s what he would be when Jack Hughes returns from injury. Even at a reduced cap hit, is Kadri really a third-line center? Is someone moving to the wing permanently? This is a pipedream for most teams right now.
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Do the Devils look inside the division and try for Christian Dvorak of the Philadelphia Flyers or Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the New York Islanders? Though the latter might be tough if the Islanders are in playoff contention near the trade deadline. Does Alexander Wennberg of the Seattle Kraken make sense, or do the Devils go in a completely different direction?
Tom Fitzgerald and the rest of the management staff only know that answer. But it is expected that the New Jersey Devils will not only address the center position but also try to make a splash at the trade deadline.
