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The New Jersey Devils could pull off a major trade before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7th. And in recent days, reports have surfaced indicating that it's a possibility. The Vancouver Canucks are listening to offers on star J.T. Miller, and New Jersey emerged as a potential landing spot. However, general manager Tom Fitzgerald has thrown cold water on those rumors.
Fitzgerald appeared on the Leafs Hour Podcast with Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne. The Devils decision-maker has been quite open when discussing trade possibilities this season. The subject of a potential blockbuster trade came up. This led to Fitzgerald addressing the rumors around his team and Vancouver.
“(Canucks GM) Patrik (Allvin) and I are really good friends, but quite honestly, we haven't talked,” the Devils general manager said on Leafs Hour on Thursday around the 40:30 mark.
Devils' Tom Fitzgerald does not rule out blockbuster trade
Tom Fitzgerald may have put a damper on any trade rumors around J.T. Miller. However, he did not exactly rule out a blockbuster trade. To be fair, it does not appear as if Fitzgerald is actively seeking a blockbuster deal. But the Devils general manager said they have the capacity to strike if they strongly believe a move brings them closer to Stanley Cup contention.
“With the respect of my organization and what I have internally, I do think we're set up pretty good. With what we have under the hood, it's just trying to create cap space if you want to make that type of big deal. Every day you accrue, the more cap space you're going to have. Again, we're looking at what we, internally, need to do. We have a good team,” Fitzgerald said on the Leafs Hour Podcast.
The Devils currently have about $5.6 million in deadline cap space, according to PuckPedia. New Jersey can accrue more deadline cap space with each passing day. A massive trade is more likely around the March 7th deadline, as a result.
There is room for New Jersey to make a larger-scale move, as well. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are an elite 1-2 punch in the NHL. However, their offense is rather top-heavy. Adding a top-six scoring winger could go a long way to balancing the offensive attack to some extent.
It remains to be seen how Fitzgerald operates at the NHL Trade Deadline. Maybe he calls up the Canucks and a trade for J.T. Miller comes to fruition. In any event, New Jersey is certainly a team to watch leading into March 7th.
