Devils Going All In at Trade Deadline

The New Jersey Devils are ready to add to their roster in hopes of a deep playoff run.

Feb 26, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) celebrates his goal with defenseman Luke Hughes (43) and defenseman Seamus Casey (24) and left wing Ondrej Palat (18) in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Entering the 2024-25 season, the New Jersey Devils were an under-the-radar pick to win the Stanley Cup. Through 61 games, the Devils are setting themselves up nicely for a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing last year.

Injuries and spotty goaltending derailed their 2023-24 campaign, but with a mostly clean bill of health and Jacob Markstrom taking over as the backstop, the Devils are ready for a deep run this spring. With the trade deadline looming, the Devils might even have an interest in bolstering their group to look like real contenders.

According to a source with RG, the Devils are looking to be active in the week leading into the deadline and could be pushing all their chips to the middle of the table.

“Watch out for the Devils, man,” a source told RG. “They’re all in.”

A different NHL executive source noted to RG that the Devils are ready to act quickly to bring in key pieces missing from their lineup.

“They’re going for it, that’s for sure,” an NHL executive source said to RG. “I’m hearing they’d really like to add a rugged, scoring, playoff-type guy into their top-6 and also add more depth on defense… I think you’ll see [Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald] do something soon, maybe even by Monday.”

There are more than a few “rugged playoff-type” forwards floating around the trade market, and if that’s what the Devils are targeting, they’ll have plenty to pick from.

Names like Philadelphia Flyers’ Scott Laughton, Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Evans, and New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson all come to mind as perfect fits for the Devils. Laughton and Nelson may be on rival teams, but Fitzgerald is trying to build a winner.

“Would we like to add some depth scoring? Would we like to add some support on the back? You can never have enough of that, right?” Fitzgerald told RG. “We’re looking at that and we will figure it out but I think we have that here. So it’s up to me to add to that and it's up to the guys we have to do that too.”

No matter where the Devils decide to look for help, there should be plenty of options to pick from. They have the assets to make big moves in the next week, and will absolutely be a team to keep an eye on in the days leading into the trade deadline.

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