Devils’ Top-6 Trade Deadline Targets With Team Control

The New Jersey Devils are prioritizing adding a forward with term over a rental at the 2023 Trade Deadline. This may have down cut the potential players they are willing to bring in a bit, but there are still a number of very solid players. We will be going over the six best top-six wingers that the Devils will most likely go after this season.

Timo Meier

The San Jose Sharks are allowing Timo Meier to talk to potential suitors to see if he would be willing to sign long-term. The Devils are one of, if not the most interested party for Meier. He is arguably the best player that will be available at the deadline and is a RFA at the end of the season. The Sharks’ winger is looking for a pay raise and a long-term deal, both of which the Devils can accommodate. This would make them legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup this season and keep them amongst the biggest threats for years to come. What the Sharks are looking for is a big haul in return that the Devils can also do.

Related: 5 Sharks Being Traded by the 2023 Deadline

Meier has a cap hit of just $6 million this season and the Devils have players they can move the other way to create space. He will immediately slot into the top-six and stay there. The 26-year-old brings a great shot and scoring ability that he puts on display many times every night. He is second in the league in shots and it would give the Devils two of the top four shooters in the NHL this season.

Brock Boeser

Brock Boeser has been linked to a team like the Devils because of his term and given that he is a top-six winger. He is a cheaper option that would give the Devils a winger who can produce. Not only is he cheaper to acquire and some salary cap could be retained by the Vancouver Canucks, Boeser will also take up less of the cap for his remaining two seasons under contract. His cap hit is $6.65 million AAV and the Devils wouldn’t be on the hook for too long if the trade doesn’t work out.

The Canucks’ winger has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games and has a hard time staying healthy for an entire season. He doesn’t play physically like Meier, shoots less, and hasn’t scored goals like he normally does this season. Boeser has scored at least 23 goals in four of his five seasons in the NHL and a change of scenery is needed. The high-flying offence of the Devils could help him get back on the right track goal-wise.

Adam Henrique

Adam Henrique isn’t a name being thrown around too often, but his production on the top line of the Anaheim Ducks warrants some attention. The Ducks are going to be sellers and have multiple players to meet their goals. A number of potential trade candidates are UFAs at the end of the season, but Henrique provides some term.

He is older than the other potential targets the Devils have, but he is consistent in his ability to produce at both ends of the ice. Henrique has played the wing, but is capable of moving over to centre if the Devils get injuries down the middle. He has 18 goals and 30 points in 49 games for the unproductive Ducks and has just one year remaining on his deal at $5.85 million AAV. The Ducks have a large amount of cap space and could accommodate the Devils by retaining some cap to get a deal done. By removing a productive player like Henrique, they are that much closer to potentially getting a top pick in this year’s draft.

Sam Reinhart, Anthony Duclair

A decision by the Florida Panthers is still up in the air when it comes to which of their forwards they will be trading. They are close enough to a playoff spot that they won’t make the decision to sell just yet. When a couple of forwards return from the LTIR, they will need cap space. This will force the team to trade one of Anthony Duclair, Sam Reinhart, or Sam Bennett. There have been rumours surrounding all three of them, but the Devils will be interested in just Duclair or Reinhart.

Duclair is the cheaper option, but would also be coming off an achilles tear that has kept him out of action since last season. Reinhart on the other hand misses very few games and is an underrated scorer. He has scored 22 or more goals in six of his seven NHL seasons and already has 17 goals this season. He put up 33 goals and 82 points for the Panthers last season and has one year left at $6.5 million AAV. The Panthers can’t afford to retain as much as some of the other bottom-feeders.

Duclair is under contract until the end of next season at just $3 million. He had a career year last season as well for the Panthers by scoring 31 goals and 58 points in 74 games. He is more of a risk than Reinhart because he has done it for only one season and is coming off of a serious injury, but also half the cost.

Travis Konecny

The final good option for the Devils that I am going to present is Travis Konecny. He too isn’t talked about as much as he should be considering where the Philadelphia Flyers project to be for the next five seasons. Konecny is on a great contract making just $5.5 million AAV for the next two seasons. He leads the Flyers in goals (24) and points (49) in 45 games as well as ATOI from the wing.

He is pesky and physical, adding an element that the Devils don’t have in their top-six. Konecny would cost the most behind Meier to acquire and the Devils wouldn’t have him under contract at such a great cost for many years. This is a downside but allows them to see if he’s worth an extension. He would help the team a lot regardless if brought in.