Trade Deadline Notes: Marchand, Leafs, Nelson, Devils
The Trade Deadline is mere hours away, and despite a quiet build up, multiple major headlines have started to boil to the surface – all captured by TSN’s latest Insider Trading. The deadline could be headlined by the Boston Bruins parting ways with team captain Brad Marchand, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic during the Insider Trading segment.
A Marchand trade would be era-defining for the Bruins. He has been in Boston for the entirety of his 16-year, 1,090-game NHL career. Cracking franchise record books is a tough feat on an Original Six club but Marchand nonetheless ranks fourth in Boston history in career goals (422), games played (1,090), and penalty minutes (1,113). He also ranks fifth on Boston’s all-time points leaderboard.
Nearly two decades after his first introduction to the team, Marchand now stands as Boston’s last connection to days past. Where Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask, and David Krejci have retired – Marchand has continued on. He took on the Bruins captaincy last season and has continued strong production into his age-36 season. Marchand ranks second on the Bruins with 21 goals and 47 points in 61 games this season – only behind David Pastrnak‘s dazzling 32 goals and 77 points. Getting Boston to part ways with their captain, their rink rat, and their second-ranked scorer would take a monumental effort, but the right mix of future structure could convince the middling Bruins. Marchand has emphasized his preference to stay in Boston.
More from TSN’s Insider Trading:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue to seek out centermen and defensemen on the trade market per TSN’s Darren Dreger. They’re exploring multiple options, including Philadelphia’s Rasmus Ristolainen and St. Louis’ Brayden Schenn. Both players are entering the golden years of their careers. Schenn is in his age-33 season. He’s captained the Blues since Ryan O’Reilly left in 2023. Like fellow captain Marchand, Schenn has held to his typical style in recent years. He has 12 goals and 38 points in 63 games this season, while offering stout two-way play and a 50.3 percent faceoff win-rate. Ristolainen, 30, has seen his scoring dwindle as he’s entered his 30s. He has just 19 points in 59 games this season, but does boast a plus-five – the first positive plus-minus of his 12-year NHL career. He’s rounded out his defense and offers a hardy physical presence. On a Leafs team looking for the additions to match big moves by the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, either veteran could bring impactful depth.
- The New York Islanders will likely wait until the last minute before they make a decision on extending or trading veteran forward Brock Nelson, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Buzz around Nelson’s deadline availability has ebbed and flowed over the last few months, mixed between reports of total availability and looming extension. The 33-year-old Nelson has 20 goals and 43 points in 61 games this season. He’s one of three players, alongside Anders Lee and Bo Horvat, tied for New York’s lead in scoring. Nelson is set to enter unrestricted free agency this summer and carries a 16-team no-trade clause, which will limit the places the career-Islander is able to go. The New Jersey Devils are among interested teams as they look to bank on accrued cap space after Jack Hughes‘ season-ending injury.
New Jersey Devils Have Expressed Interest In Ryan O’Reilly
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the New Jersey Devils have contacted the Nashville Predators regarding Ryan O’Reilly‘s availability. New Jersey is desperately attempting to fill the void left by Jack Hughes after losing him for the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery.
O’Reilly makes sense as a Devils’ trade target for several reasons. He won’t be able to replicate Hughes’s high-level scoring, but he’s a robust two-way center with plenty of playoff experience. Even when Hughes returns next September, adding O’Reilly would give New Jersey a solid center trio through the 2026-27 season.
The 16-year veteran is in year two of a four-year, $18MM contract signed with the Predators in 2023. He performed admirably in his first year with the club, scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 82 games. On the defensive side of the puck, O’Reilly carried a 53.9% faceoff rate, with many of those draws coming in the offensive zone. Because of his performance last year, O’Reilly finished 36th in Selke Trophy voting.
Like many players on Nashville’s roster, O’Reilly has struggled offensively. Still, there are a few positives to take away from his performance this season. O’Reilly has increased his faceoff rate to 56.6% and his CorsiFor% at even strength to 55.1%. He would make a valuable addition to New Jersey for his faceoff rate alone, given the team ranks 24th in the category with a 49.05% success rate.
There would be offensive struggles in New Jersey the rest of the way simply because there’s no replacing Hughes in the lineup. Still, O’Reilly is an adequate second-line center on any team and could slide down to the third line next season. Unfortunately, the Predators won’t let him be had very easily.
Although his contract doesn’t have trade protection, the Predators have publicly stated they’ll treat O’Reilly as if he has a full no-movement clause. Meanwhile, despite being 30th in the league standings, Nashville hasn’t expressed much desire to move him.
The Devils must present the Predators with a substantial offer if they want O’Reilly to change hands. Since he is not a rental player, this might be something they are willing to consider.
Devils Acquire Brian Dumoulin From Ducks
11:48 a.m.: Both clubs have announced the trade as reported.
10:48 a.m.: The Devils have acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Ducks, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Anaheim receives the better of the Oilers’ or Jets’ 2025 second-round pick and the signing rights to winger Herman Träff in return, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic and Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. LeBrun adds the Ducks also retain 50% of Dumoulin’s $3.15MM cap hit. New Jersey had an open roster spot after placing Jack Hughes on long-term injured reserve yesterday following his season-ending shoulder surgery, so no corresponding move will be necessary.
As expected, the third-place Devils aren’t punting on their season following Hughes’ injury. They have a lot of work to do to hold onto their Metropolitan Division berth with defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler joining Hughes on LTIR and leading defense point-getter Dougie Hamilton out week-to-week, though. Dumoulin, coming in at an affordable $1.575MM price tag and on an expiring contract, is a short-term replacement down the stretch for the former. Meanwhile, Anaheim will finish the season with their three lefty rearguards under 25 – Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger.
Dumoulin, 33, has played all 61 games with the Ducks and turned in a very solid 2-14–16 scoring line with a plus-two rating while averaging nearly 20 minutes per game, although his possession numbers aren’t as encouraging. The stay-at-home defender’s 43.4 even-strength CF% is well below Anaheim’s 46.6% share without him on the ice, although he is starting a career-high 57.9% of his zone starts in the defensive end. His -12.9 expected rating is worst on the Ducks, though, and his 42.2 xGF% is his career’s worst possession quality control figure. Some positive regression on those numbers down the stretch is likely in a much more competent possession system in New Jersey.
Even with this year’s struggles, Dumoulin has a lengthy history of being a strong complementary top-four piece, spending most of his career in Pittsburgh alongside Kris Letang. He’s had above-average possession impacts as recently as last year with the Kraken, who signed him to his current two-year, $6.3MM contract in the 2023 offseason. He was a tad too expensive for their liking after loading up their blue line with Brandon Montour last summer, though, prompting them to trade him to Anaheim for a 2026 fourth-round pick. That’s a good bit of business for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, who upgrades that pick by two rounds and lands an additional prospect while getting 60-plus games out of Dumoulin.
New Jersey’s blue line wasn’t viewed as a priority area at the deadline a few weeks ago, but injuries to Hamilton and Siegenthaler evidently changed that. The latter was only expected to miss two to three weeks after undergoing a procedure over the 4 Nations break, but he’s already missed two and a half and hasn’t returned to practice.
Dumoulin will likely step into a bottom-pairing spot on the left side behind Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes in the interim, likely pushing youngster Seamus Casey back down to AHL Utica when Siegenthaler is ready to return. Whether Dumoulin remains in the regular lineup at that point remains to be seen. Siegenthaler has produced less individual offense this year when healthy with nine points in 55 games but has better relative possession impacts in more difficult minutes. That would presumably push Dumoulin to the press box short of someone shifting to their off side, making a second-rounder and a C-tier prospect a steep price to pay.
Träff, 19, was selected by New Jersey in the third round of last year’s draft. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic tabbed him as the No. 6 prospect in the Devils’ system in his 2025 rankings, but they acquired another big winger with a similar projection by picking up Shane Lachance from the Oilers in this week’s Trent Frederic three-team deal. That softens the blow of losing Träff, who’s posted a respectable 3-4–7 scoring line in 25 games with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League as a teenager this year. The 6’3″, 216-lb winger will be buried a bit more in a deeper Ducks system but still has legitimate NHL upside.
He’ll remain with HV71 to close out the season. The Ducks will retain Träff’s signing rights through June 1, 2028. Notably, they’re down to one available retention slot after today’s move.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Dougie Hamilton Out Week-To-Week
It turns out learning that they’d be without their leading scorer for the rest of the season and playoffs wasn’t the only bad injury news for the Devils on Wednesday. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (audio link) that defenseman Dougie Hamilton is believed to be out week-to-week from the lower-body injury sustained in Tuesday’s loss to Dallas.
After missing the bulk of last season due to a torn pectoral muscle, Hamilton has been his usual productive self on New Jersey’s back end this year. The 31-year-old has nine goals and 31 assists through 63 games despite not even averaging 20 minutes a night of playing time. With 40 points, he leads all New Jersey blueliners in points (a dozen ahead of Luke Hughes) while sitting fifth on the team in scoring overall.
In his absence, it seems likely that they’ll ask Hughes to take a bigger role offensively, especially on the power play. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s injury could also open up a spot for Seamus Casey to get back in the lineup; the rookie had a solid start offensively to the season and has been a strong point producer in the minors so he could be counted on to help shoulder some of the load on that front as well.
It’s another tough blow to a team whose hold on a playoff spot has started to slip recently with the team losing three of their last four games. As a result, they now hold just a four-point lead on Columbus (who has two games in hand) for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division while they’re only six points ahead of a Wild Card position. Now, they’ll be down two key veterans as they look to maintain their grip on a playoff spot. That said, they also have over $13MM in LTIR room at the moment, per PuckPedia, if they want to try to add a replacement or two to try to stay afloat in the playoff race.
Devils’ Jack Hughes Done For The Season After Shoulder Surgery
The New Jersey Devils took a massive blow to their Stanley Cup aspirations. New Jersey announced that center Jack Hughes has successfully undergone shoulder surgery and will be placed on the team’s long-term injured reserve. The team noted he’s expected to fully recover and be ready for next year’s training camp, informally confirming he’s done for the 2024-25 season.
The news is nothing short of a disaster for the Devils. After missing the playoffs last season, the team has rebounded into postseason positioning this year, thanks to a healthier group.
Hughes is the leader of that resurgence, too. The former first overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft was tied for the team lead in scoring with 27 goals and 43 assists in 62 games. Interestingly enough, Hughes will finish the 2024-25 campaign with nearly identical production from last season, scoring 27 goals and 47 assists in 62 appearances.
It also extends Hughes’ recurring injury issues from the last several years. Since the NHL returned to a full 82-game schedule after the 2020-21 campaign, Hughes will have only played in 76% of New Jersey’s regular season contests. The team is objectively better when he’s in the lineup, making the situation all the more unbearable for their playoff hopes.
The loss of Hughes will inevitably shift New Jersey’s trade deadline strategy. The Devils had already been rumored to be scouting the market for an upgrade at their third-line center position. They’ll now need two middle-six centers, assuming captain Nico Hischier steps into the first-line role.
If anything, this should make New Jersey more committed to buying. Although they don’t have their first-round pick for the 2025 NHL Draft, the Devils still have a trio of second-round picks and a few tradeable prospects. Defenseman Simon Nemec comes to mind as an obvious headliner for any trade of magnitude. Since the team is placing Hughes on LTIR, that will open up $8MM in cap space for the team to work with.
Still, it’s difficult to think highly of New Jersey’s chances even if they go big-game hunting. It’s improbable the team will have the capacity to acquire a player of Hughes’ caliber in the next two days.
According to James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, the Devils have reportedly contacted the Carolina Hurricanes regarding Mikko Rantanen‘s availability for this circumstance. The Hurricanes are unlikely to move one of their best players to a divisional-rival and likely postseason adversary. Still, Rantanen is exactly the kind of player New Jersey should be pursuing to get reasonably close to filling the void left by Hughes.
New Jersey Devils Have Expressed Interest In Mikko Rantanen
Per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now, the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in Carolina Hurricanes’ winger, Mikko Rantanen. Nichols added that their interest wholly depends on Jack Hughes‘ status, but it’s an interesting development nonetheless.
Despite rumored interest from the Devils, it doesn’t appear as a likely hypothetical landing spot. Carolina and New Jersey would play in the first round of the postseason if the season ended today, and neither is expected to catch up to the red-hot Washington Capitals. Theoretically, the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers are within striking distance of a divisional playoff spot, although it’s not all that likely.
Meanwhile, the Devils and Hurricanes don’t have a long history of trading with each other. Since the 2019-20 season, the pair have connected on two trades, the first being the deal sending defenseman Sami Vatanen to Carolina in 2020 and the other being a minor league swap of Zack Hayes and Jonathan Dugan in 2023.
Still, it’s hard to dislike Rantanen’s fit in the Devils lineup if the purported interest is accurate. Despite their need for a third-line center, Rantanen would objectively prove a massive upgrade over Ondřej Palát or Dawson Mercer in New Jersey’s top six. Rantanen has more points this season alone than Palát and Mercer combined. Although he doesn’t register many body checks, Rantanen is a physical forward who can put the puck in the net, which would benefit New Jersey’s 14th-ranked offense in terms of GF/G.
Unless the Hurricanes believe they have no realistic opportunity to win the Stanley Cup this season, it’s difficult to imagine a trade of this magnitude happening between the organizations. Even if the Devils maximize their cap space by placing Hughes on their long-term injured reserve, and they’re able to put together a compelling offer, it would make little sense for Carolina to improve a team they’re likely to face in the playoffs.
Oilers Acquire Trent Frederic
The Oilers are acquiring forward Trent Frederic from the Bruins in a trade that will also involve the Devils as a third team, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Winger Max Jones is also headed from Boston to Edmonton in the deal, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. The Devils announced they’ve acquired the rights to left-wing prospect Shane Lachance from the Oilers and will retain half of Frederic’s salary in the trade after the Bruins’ initial 50% retention, bringing his cap hit for Edmonton down to $575K from $2.3MM. New Jersey also dealt the signing rights to right-winger Petr Hauser to the Oilers to complete their involvement. Edmonton announced the full trade, which reads as follows:
Oilers receive: Frederic, Jones, signing rights to Hauser
Devils receive: Signing rights to Lachance
Bruins receive: D Maximus Wanner, the Blues’ 2025 second-round pick, and the Oilers’ 2026 fourth-round pick.
Frederic is currently week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports there’s a possibility he won’t be cleared to play until the playoffs. In that case, the Oilers could place Frederic at his reduced cap hit on long-term injured reserve to open up additional spending flexibility for further moves ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Boston selected Frederic 29th overall in the 2016 draft, ahead of higher-ceiling forwards Alex DeBrincat and Jordan Kyrou who both went in the second round. After a brief but successful two-year collegiate stint at Wisconsin, the versatile depth piece took a couple of years to simmer in the minors, only emerging as a roster regular for the Bruins in the 2020-21 campaign.
Frederic spent a pair of seasons as a fourth-line fixture without much offensive pop, but the physical 6’3″ forward popped big time in Boston’s historic 65-win season in 2022-23. Skating primarily on the wing, he recorded 17-14–31 in 79 games despite averaging under 12 minutes per night, also finishing second among Bruins forwards with 105 hits.
In addition to spending more time down the middle, Frederic amped up his production last season. The Missouri native recorded a career-high 18-22–40 scoring line in 82 games, adding 204 hits while seeing a slight bump in his special teams deployment. But despite skating a career-high 13:55 per game in 2024-25, he hasn’t been able to keep up his scoring. Snakebit like the majority of his Boston teammates, Frederic has just 8-7–15 in 57 games with a career-worst -14 rating. His shooting percentage has regressed to 10.5% after hovering north of the 14% mark the prior two years.
While the drop in point totals is concerning, he’s established his floor as a high-end fourth-line piece with middle-six upside and will likely see an uptick in production depending on how he’s deployed amid a far more talented offensive group in Edmonton. His struggles this season, his expiring contract, and Boston’s slide down the standings made it almost a guarantee he’d be moved at the deadline. The 27-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time this summer after finishing out the year with the Oilers.
Frederic has posted similar offensive numbers to the Oilers’ current pair of third-line wingers in Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, so it’s unclear if he’ll unseat either for a top-nine role. While faceoffs aren’t his strong suit (a career average of 44.4%), his experience playing down the middle also addresses an immediate need for an Edmonton squad without a legitimate fourth-line center. He could slot in there once he’s ready to return, relieving natural wingers like Kasperi Kapanen who have had to step into the role lately.
They also pick up Jones, who amounts to a failed offseason pickup for Boston. He managed only seven appearances for the Bs after signing a two-year, $2MM deal last offseason, going without a point and averaging 10:01 per game. Selected a few spots ahead of Frederic by the Ducks in the 2016 draft, Jones will remain on his minor-league assignment after clearing waivers in November but now reports to the Oilers’ affiliate in Bakersfield. His $1MM cap hit is completely buriable in the minors and thus carries no cap impact for Edmonton. Before the move, he posted 13-8–21 with a plus-one rating in 38 games for the P-Bruins.
Rounding out Edmonton’s haul in the deal is Hauser, who New Jersey selected in the fifth round in 2022. The 21-year-old is amid a tumultuous campaign in his native Czechia, playing for three different squads across the top-level and second-tier professional leagues. He has 1-10–11 in 63 Czech Extraliga games dating back to his top-level debut in the 2022-23 season. While he has great size at 6’4″ and 207 lbs, he wasn’t considered a meaningful prospect in the Devils organization by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic in his January ranking. He’s a low-ceiling, low-floor option whose signing rights will expire in June 2026.
The Oilers give up a decently intriguing prospect in Lachance for the Devils’ additional salary retention. The son of ex-NHLer and Devils head scout Scott Lachance was the No. 6 prospect in an already-thin Edmonton system, per Wheeler. The 6’5″ winger has suited up for Boston University the past two seasons after Edmonton selected him in the sixth round in 2021, posting 23-29–52 in 72 games while also serving as captain this season. New Jersey will hold his signing rights until the Aug. 15 following his final collegiate season.
In what’s been a strong rental market, Boston landing what’s slated to be a mid-tier second-round pick is some decent work by general manager Don Sweeney. Edmonton previously acquired the second-rounder from St. Louis as compensation for signing defenseman Philip Broberg to an offer sheet last August. The Bruins didn’t have a second-rounder in this year’s draft before the trade – they traded theirs to the Capitals in the 2023 Dmitry Orlov three-team deal.
Wanner was also one of the Oilers’ more notable prospects, checking in at No. 10 in Wheeler’s rankings. The 6’3″ righty isn’t a legitimate needle-mover for a Bruins pool that lacks high-end talent, though. Now 21, he was a seventh-round pick in the 2021 draft and projects as a likely No. 7/8 option on an NHL depth chart at his peak. He’s been limited to just two points in 22 games with Bakersfield this year after posting 7-10–17 in 68 games with a +13 rating in his first pro season last year. He’ll now report to Providence.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
New Jersey Devils Activate Jacob Markström, Reassign Nico Daws
The New Jersey Devils are now only one defenseman away from a healthy roster. New Jersey announced they’ve activated goaltender Jacob Markström from the injured reserve and reassigned Nico Daws to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, in a corresponding roster move.
Markström has been on the injured reserve for over a month due to a knee sprain. Boston Bruins’ forward Justin Brazeau accidentally crashed into Markström following a shot attempt in the teams’ matchup against each other on January 22nd.
Despite missing 39 days, Markström only missed 11 of the Devils’ games, thanks to the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Markström was originally supposed to play for Team Sweden during the international tournament but was precluded from doing so due to his sprained knee.
Regular backup netminder Jake Allen played well throughout that stretch, although the team did not. Allen managed a 3-5-0 record as the de facto starter with a .914 SV%. As mentioned, the team didn’t respond well to Markström’s absence, middling to a 6-5-0 record.
As respectably as Allen played, New Jersey had no internal options to replace Markström adequately. The Gavle, Sweden native has a 21-9-5 record in 36 starts this year with a .912 SV% and 2.20 GAA. He’ll look to maintain and even improve that production for the Devils throughout the final stretch of the 2024-25 campaign.
Meanwhile, Markström’s absence allowed Daws his first look in the NHL this season. He went undefeated in three starts with a .966 SV% and 0.88 GAA, far better than his production in Utica. He’ll return to a disappointing Comets’ roster where he’s managed a 6-15-2 record in 23 games with a .891 SV% and 3.37 GAA.
Devils Looking For Scoring Help
- While the Devils have been known to be looking for centers for most of the season, Gabriel Trevino of NJ Advance Media relays that they’re also looking to add scoring help although a move is unlikely to come until right before the deadline. He adds that New Jersey is in a spot where they’re open to accepting rentals or longer-term fits. However, while the latter would cost more to acquire, defenseman Simon Nemec is not someone the team intends to move despite the fact he has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, something he hasn’t been happy They’re projected to have less than $1.7MM in cap room available on deadline day, per PuckPedia, so they’ll need to get creative if they’re going to add an impact player to their roster.
New Jersey Devils Activate Nico Hischier
New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier will play his first game in approximately a month. New Jersey has officially activated their eight-year center ahead of tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars.
Hischier’s activation was expected given he’s been regularly skating for the past few weeks. Thanks to the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, Hischier only missed six games due to the oblique injury. The Devils managed a 3-3-0 record in his absence.
The Brig, Switzerland native was on pace for the second-best offensive season of his career and likely still could. Hischier scored 24 goals and 43 points in 51 games leading up to the injury, which puts him 24 points behind his 67-point output in 71 games last year. Still, thanks to his hot streak to start the 2024-25 campaign, it is likely Hischier will surpass his career-high of 31 goals in a single season.
Despite a healthy forward core, New Jersey will still be shorthanded this evening. Netminder Jacob Markström and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler continue to recover from their knee and lower-body injuries respectively. Those injuries shouldn’t create an insurmountable hurdle for the Devils to overcome.
Even without their top goaltender, New Jersey has averaged 2.28 goals-against per game while maintaining their plus-3.00 goals-for average. Being efficient in the faceoff dot, displaying above-average possession metrics, and scoring nearly every other game this season, Hischier should help the Devils improve in both categories even further.