Just before the NHL takes a pause to give way to players taking part in the Winter Olympics, the New Jersey Devils and the St. Louis Blues pulled off an intriguing swap, as reported on Wednesday by hockey insider Frank Seravalli.
In the trade, the Devils are sending center Nick Bjugstad to the Blues in exchange for forward Thomas Bordeleau and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. That pick is going to be whichever is later between the Dallas Stars' and the Winnipeg Jets'.
The 33-year-old Bjugstad is set to play for his eighth team in the NHL and his fourth since the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
With the Blues in the 2025-26 season, Bjugstad has scored six goals to go with an assist for seven points in 35 appearances.
Selected in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, Bjugstad has apparently become a roster casualty due to the poor season the Blues are having. Entering Wednesday, the Blues only have a 20-27-9 record and have lost all but one of their previous eight outings. He has one more year left on his contract beyond this campaign, and he's due to earn $1.75 million in 2027-28.
Now with the Devils, Bjugstad can provide depth for New Jersey's forward group.
New Jersey is doing just slightly better than the Blues, as the Devils hold a 28-26-2 record going into their final game on Thursday against the New York Islanders before the Olympic break. Bordeleau is not a big loss for New Jersey, and the pick the right to the pick the team parted ways with in this trade is unlikely to be a game-changer, so the Devils get some decent upside with this swing on Bjugstad.
