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For the second time in three years, the New Jersey Devils were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoffs. After their elimination, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald noted there will be changes coming to the club this offseason. One of those changes should be to trade away Erik Haula. We look at the reasons why it is time for the Devils to trade Haula.
Haula started his career with the Minnesota Wild, being picked 182nd in the 2009 NHL Draft. He would go to the University of Minnesota before signing his entry-level contract in 2013. Haula would see his first NHL action in the 2013-14 season, playing in 46 games for the Wild. Haula would then join the Vegas Golden Knights as a restricted free agent via the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. He would then spend time with the Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Boston Bruins before joining the Devils ahead of the 2022-23 season via a trade.
Haula would sign a three-year deal with the Devils ahead of the 2023-24 season. He is now entering the final year of that deal, making $3.15 million this year. Haula does have a full no-trade clause that is set to expire on July 1st, 2025. That will move to a modified no-trade clause, allowing Haula to pick six teams he does not want to be traded to.
The Devils could save cap space
The Devils could use some cap space this offseason. While they are projected to have just over $12 million in cap space according to PuckPedia, they will need as much room as possible. First, they have a major need to re-sign Luke Hughes. Hughes is a restricted free agent this year and will be commanding a big payday. While Hughes was at a cap hit of just $925,000 this past year, that will go up significantly. Depending on the length of the contract, the AAV for the next contract for Hughes is projected to be in the $6 to $8 million range. That could eliminate over half of the cap space the Devils have.
Meanwhile, Cody Glass and Nolan Foote are both restricted free agents who could be brought back. Further, the Devils have six other unrestricted free agents this offseason. Keeping Haula over some of these other pieces may not make sense from a production level either. Haula had just 21 points over 69 games, or .3 points per game this year. Glass played just 14 games for the Devils and had .5 points per game. He had 22 points over 65 games overall, slightly better than Haula. Glass is also eight years younger.
The Devils will certainly be making trades to free up cap space this offseason. The Devils could buy out Haula, but that would only create $1.6 million in cap space. Trading him then becomes the best solution. A full trade would save over $3 million in cap space. The Devils may not get a large return, but Haula could be part of a bigger deal, or he could go for some late-round draft picks. Still, the savings on money for a forward that was not very productive for the Devils could be huge.
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Erik Haula could benefit from a change of scenery
A fresh start for Haula may be good for his career as well. He is coming off one of his worst seasons in many years. First, his minus-six plus/minus rating was his worst since the 2017-18 season with the Golden Knights. The Knights were also in their first season in the NHL that year. His goal production was the lowest since the 2020-21 season with Nashville, but that was a COVID-19 modified season, and he played in 18 fewer games while he scored just two more goals this season. His assist total was the lowest since the 2018-19 season, when he played in just 15 games.
Further, the season after Haula has moved, he has normally seen a major increase in his production. The first time Haula moved in his career, going from Minnesota to Vegas, he would see his point production go up by 29 points. When he left Vegas and joined the Hurricanes, his points per game production went up by over .1 points per game. Finally, when he left the Predators and was off to the Bruins, his point production nearly doubled. Consistent with his career, Haula has been on a downward trajectory since his first season with the Devils.
In his first year, Haula had 41 points, seven power-play points, three short-handed, and a plus-13 plus/minus rating. That declined in his second year to 35 points overall and a minus-one rating. Last year was his worst, with just 21 points, five on the power play, no shorthanded points, and a minus-6 rating. The journeyman forward has excelled when he has moved to a new team. With Haula in the last year of his contract, a fresh start and better production could benefit him long-term while also helping the Devils with cap space.
