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After being eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes, the New Jersey Devils have been looking to improve their roster. They have already made some solid moves this NHL offseason, but one more trade is in order to make this summer a success for the franchise.
It has not been a summer full of moves for the Devils. They opened the offseason by trading away Erik Haula, sending him to the Nashville Predators and bringing back Jeremy Hanzel in return. They have also brought back Jake Allen and Cody Glass, while adding Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov. Still, general manager Tom Fitzgerald needs to improve scoring options on their top two lines.
Last season, four players scored 50 or more points, with all four of them playing on the top two lines for New Jersey. Current projections have Ondrej Palat and Stefan Noesen on the top two lines as well. Noesen scored 22 times while adding 19 assists, but 15 of his 41 points came on the powerplay. Meanwhile, Palat scored just 15 goals and 13 assists. The Devils need another playmaker on the top line to pair with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
Cap space is a slight issue for the team. They have just $6.2 million in cap space left and still need to re-sign restricted free agent Luke Hughes. This would make bringing in another top-level forward difficult. Still, the Devils may move Dougie Hamilton, which would clear $9 million in cap space and allow the team to snag a top-flight forward.
The Devils add a star in Jason Robertson
Hamilton has been connected to four teams as a possible trade destination. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Utah Mammoth, and Dallas Stars have all been linked to the defender. While all four teams have a player who would be attractive to the Devils, getting the player they want may be difficult. It would be a dream to trade for a player like William Nylander or Dylan Larkin, but the most realistic trade would be with the Dallas Stars.
The Stars are also short on cap space, so this will take some maneuvering to make this deal work, but Stars GM Jim Nill has made a habit of working well with the salary cap, as shown by his three straight GM of the Year awards. The Devils' perfect target is currently on the Stars' roster.
The Stars have been listening to offers for Jason Robertson. He was the 39th overall pick by the Stars in the 2017 NHL Draft. He would break into the NHL in the 2019-2020 season, but play in just three games. The next year, he would stay with the NHL club and has been there ever since.
First, there is the attractiveness of his durability. The Devils were plagued by injuries last season, including missing Jack Hughes for the playoffs. In the last three seasons, Robertson has played in 82 games each time. Further, he has missed just 13 regular-season games in the last five seasons. Meanwhile, he has been a scoring machine.
In each of the last four campaigns, the American-born winger has scored 79 or more points. He has also had 29 or more goals in each of those seasons. This past year, he scored 35 goals while also adding 45 assists. That gave him 80 points for a second straight season. These numbers placed him as the team leader in goals and second on the team in points in Dallas last year.
If he is able to replicate these numbers with the Devils, he would be a huge addition. The team leader in points last year was Bratt, who had 88 points. This means Robertson would have been second on the Devils in points last year. Also, Nico Hischier led the team in goals with 35. That was the same amount the former second-round pick had just a year ago.
Beyond just point production, the forward has solid playoff experience. He has played in 56 playoff games in his career, scoring 18 goals with 26 assists. He did not have his best playoff run in this previous Stanley Cup Playoff, but still had four goals and two assists. His postseason experience would be a major addition to the Devils as they try to make a run at the Cup.
The biggest issue in this trade would be financial. The Stars are $1 million over the cap. They would save $7.75 million by moving Robertson, but if the trade is for Hamilton, it would be a net addition of $1.25 million for the Stars. The Devils may not want to retain salary, as they are trying to sign Hughes to a new contract. Regardless, a solution is available, and this will be a deal that could benefit both franchises.
