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Devils Listening To Offers For Depth Defensemen

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The Devils are fielding offers for depth defenders Colin Miller and Brendan Smith, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. While secondary targets for teams compared to top-six winger Tyler Toffoli, Miller and Smith have a fair amount of playoff experience and are pending UFAs.

Miller, 31, could be flipped for more than the Devils paid for him last summer. The Stars signed him to a two-year, $3.7MM contract in free agency in 2022, but a cap crunch in Dallas forced him out after one season. He headed to New Jersey in exchange for their 2025 fifth-round pick.

The veteran right-shot defenseman has posted four goals, four assists, and eight points in 41 games in 2023-24, adding a +10 rating and 55.3 CF% at even strength while averaging 15:55 per game. He’s been a positive possession player for every team he’s played for except for his three-year run with the Sabres, and he’s logged a 52 xGF% in New Jersey while spending most of his time as a more steady partner for rookie Luke Hughes.

A few contending teams are still looking for a depth defender. Miller could be a cheap solution for the Lightning, as Nicklaus Perbix and Darren Raddysh have struggled significantly to maintain possession when paired alongside Victor Hedman. After losing out to the Golden Knights for Noah Hanifin’s services, Miller could be a much more cost-effective solution for the Lightning’s most significant deficiency on paper. He carries a $1.85MM cap hit, which the Lightning could absorb without retention.

Smith’s value to playoff teams comes more from his willingness to hit and drop the gloves than his possession-control ability. The 35-year-old can play defense and wing and has had minimal offensive contributions this season, recording three goals and six assists for nine points in 44 games with a 14:34 ATOI. He was once a reasonably successful possession player during his prime on the Red Wings blue line in the early 2010s, but those days are behind him – he has just a 49.5 CF% at even strength this year, -5.5% worse than the Devils’ overall CF% without Smith on the ice.

Enforcers remain desirable assets for contenders at the deadline regardless of their possession impacts, though, as evidenced by the Avalanche picking up fourth-line grinder Brandon Duhaime for a 2026 third-round pick from the Wild yesterday. Smith could realistically fetch a fourth or fifth-round pick, as his age makes him a less desirable asset. He and Duhaime have identical $1.1MM cap hits and are pending UFAs.

It will be an active day for the Devils on all fronts, as they remain in pursuit of long-term goaltending help and have reportedly inquired about multiple high-profile targets, including the Flames’ Jacob Markström, the Bruins’ Linus Ullmark, and the Predators’ Juuse Saros. Toffoli could also very well be on the move with extension talks stalled.

Toffoli Seen As Fallback Option For Guentzel Suitors

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  • Trade speculation has begun to increase surrounding New Jersey Devils’ forward Tyler Toffoli tonight, especially after the scoring forward was scratched by the organization for trade-related reasons. With Jake Guentzel likely headed to the Carolina Hurricanes, many interested teams are now pivoting to Toffoli, who is viewed as a fallback option to Guentzel (X Link). It makes a lot of sense, as Toffoli could benefit a plethora of playoff-bound teams with 26 goals in 61 games for the Devils this year.

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Trade Notes: Sharks, Toffoli, Johansen

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The San Jose Sharks plan to scratch forwards Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov for trade-related reasons, per team reporter Sheng Peng and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

Both players have seen their names heavily mentioned throughout Trade Deadline season, though interest around them has seemed to flux. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported on Wednesday that extension talks broke down between the Sharks and Barabanov, leading to the team exploring the open market. Duclair shared in late February that he hadn’t yet discussed an extension with the Sharks, setting him up as a trade candidate.

Barabanov has taken a noticeable step back this season, managing just 10 points and a -23 in 38 games – a far cry from the 10 goals and 39 points he scored in 2021-22, or the 15 goals and 47 points he managed last year. The 29-year-old winger made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020-21 season, after a seven-year career with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg. He played in 13 games with the Leafs before being flipped to the Sharks for Antti Suomela. He’s since totaled 104 points across 198 career games.

Duclair is in his first season with the Sharks, joining the team via trade on July 1st, with San Jose sending Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round pick back to the Florida Panthers. Duclair previously spent three fruitful seasons in Florida, totaling 99 points in 137 games with the club – including a 31-goal, 58-point season in 2021-22. That year marked Duclair’s career-highs in all three scoring stats, though he’s broken the 40-point mark two other times in his career. Duclair has become an established journeyman, playing with seven different clubs across his 10-year career. He’s totaled 288 points in 546 combined games, since making his debut in the 2014-15 season.

Duclair carries a $3.0MM cap hit, while Barabanov has a slightly cheaper $2.5MM cap hit. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, making them rental options at this Trade Deadline. While they’ve each shown flashes of prowess over their careers, it’s likely that neither will fetch a particularly compelling return on the open market – instead serving as strong contingency plans for teams who fall out of the race for other top scorers.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils are also planning for a move, scratching top winger Tyler Toffoli for trade-related reasons. Toffoli currently leads the Devils with 26 goals in 61 games, adding 18 assists as well. It’s a continuation of the red-hot season he had with the Calgary Flames last year, scoring 34 goals and 73 points in 82 games. With one more point this season, Toffoli will cross the 45-point mark for just the fifth time in his 11-year career. He’s in his first season with New Jersey – the fifth club he’s been a part of. Much of Toffoli’s career was spent with the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him 47th-overall in the 2010 NHL Draft and won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season of 2013-14. Toffoli scored 14 points, split evenly, through 26 games on that Cup run. New Jersey hasn’t yet ruled out signing Toffoli to an extension, though his healthy scratching suggests the two sides weren’t able to come to a deal.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers will continue to shop around centerman Ryan Johansen, per general manager Daniel Briere. Briere added that Johansen was, “probably not” a part of the team’s future plans. Johansen joined the Flyers alongside a 2025 first-round pick in the trade that sent Sean Walker and a fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia proceeded to place Johansen on waivers, which he cleared, likely thanks to his hefty $4MM cap hit. Philadelphia will likely look to leverage their cap space once again, with the team capable of retaining salary on one more contract. The Flyers previously served as a broker on the deal that sent Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights, receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick to retain 25 percent ($1.2375MM) of his salary.

Latest On Tyler Toffoli

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The Devils are one of a handful of teams potentially in both buy and sell modes ahead of Friday’s deadline. A goaltending upgrade remains a short-term and long-term necessity, but as they’re now eight points out of a playoff spot with three wins in their last 10 games, it might behoove GM Tom Fitzgerald to recoup some value on their pending UFAs.

Their leading goal scorer, Tyler Toffoli, is the most prominent name on that list. While the Devils reportedly prefer to continue discussing an extension with their number-two winger, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Toffoli is still a candidate to be on the move in the next two days and could garner a significant return.

Kings fans may wish for a reunion with the winger, who won a Stanley Cup in Los Angeles as a rookie in 2014, as they deal with injuries to Viktor Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe down the stretch. That could still be in the cards, as GM Rob Blake had reported interest in Toffoli last week.

A Pacific Division rival is creating some competition, though. The Golden Knights, who are still finalizing a massive trade to land top-pairing defender Noah Hanifin and have already added winger Anthony Mantha for added scoring depth this week, have also demonstrated interest in Toffoli, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

A Toffoli trade likely isn’t indicative of a step back in the Devils’ rebuild. Nearing completion of a four-year, $17MM deal signed with the Canadiens in 2020 that’s seen him traded twice, Toffoli and the Devils haven’t agreed on the length of a potential extension as of Tuesday. It doesn’t appear there’s been progress in the last 24 hours, making it a prudent move on Fitzgerald’s part to retain assets for Toffoli instead of potentially letting him walk for nothing on July 1. Moving him out at the deadline doesn’t mean New Jersey couldn’t circle back with Toffoli if he heads to market over the summer.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic says not to expect a trade tonight, so the Devils will continue gauging the market tomorrow and potentially Friday morning before electing to move him.

Ondrej Palat Out With Lower-Body Injury

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  • Missing last night’s game with a lower-body injury, team reporter Amanda Stein is reporting that New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat was also absent from the team’s practice this morning. Currently on a three-game losing streak, the loss of Palat will do nothing to help the Devils’ hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. In 51 games for New Jersey this season, Palat has scored nine goals and 24 points, which is a similar pace to his production last year.

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Devils Working Out Toffoli Extension, Palát Injured

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  • The Devils made it known earlier this week they’d prefer to keep winger Tyler Toffoli past the trade deadline and continue working on an extension. Today, GM Tom Fitzgerald said the two sides are close on salary but still have a gap to bridge regarding contract length (via Amanda Stein of the Devils’ official site). It’s not clear which side prefers a longer-term deal than the other, however. Toffoli leads the Devils in goals with 26 in 60 games and is wrapping up a four-year, $17MM deal signed with Montreal in 2020.
  • New Jersey will also be without winger Ondřej Palát due to a lower-body injury as they aim to get back in the playoff race tonight against the conference-leading Panthers, interim head coach Travis Green said (via Stein). Palát has had a middling second year with the Devils, recording nine goals and 24 points in 51 games, but the two-time Cup champ with the Lightning has always been regarded for his playoff production rather than regular season point totals. Veteran center Chris Tierney, who’s averaged just 9:06 per game this year, will slide into a third-line role alongside Curtis Lazar and Dawson Mercer in Green’s debut leading the New Jersey bench.

New Jersey Devils Fire Lindy Ruff, Promote Travis Green As Interim Head Coach

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The New Jersey Devils have fired head coach Lindy Ruff, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com. Travis Green will step up as interim head coach. Green has served as an Associate Coach in New Jersey this season – his first coaching gig since being relieved from a five-year stint as the Vancouver Canucks head coach in 2021-22.

Ruff has been with the Devils since the 2020-21 season, relieving Alain Nasreddine from his 43-game stint following John Hynes’ departure. He led the Devils to their highest point total in club history last season, earning 112 points and New Jersey’s second playoff berth of the last decade. But the Devils didn’t make much come from the historic season, getting booted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. They’ve struggled to get their prowess back this year, falling to a 30-27-4 record largely thanks to their long list of injuries – including Dougie Hamilton, whose season was cut short by a torn pectoral in November and stars Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, who have played in just 45 and 50 games respectively.

Their circumstance would be challenging for any team to handle, though Ruff’s lineup choices have been called into question many times. His use of young forward Alexander Holtz has been particularly divisive, with Holtz averaging just over 11-and-a-half minutes and minimal power-play time despite scoring 13 goals and 24 points. Holtz has expressed frustrations with his role, telling NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky, “I don’t know, it’s hard to say… Some games I don’t play that much. I’m just trying to focus to get better every day and show them I’m able to play more.”

Holtz will now be commanded by Green, who had plenty of experience bringing up young players in Vancouver – serving as the head coach for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes in their rookie seasons. Green totaled a measly .462 win percentage across his five years in Vancouver, though he did lead the team to the second round of the playoffs in the 2019-20 season. The Canucks were Green’s first NHL coaching role, coming after he served four years as head coach for the AHL’s Utica Comets. He now steps into a new role with experience in hand, and may even have a chance to secure the job with the Devils on the cusp of the playoff race.

Devils Prefer Not To Trade Tyler Toffoli

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Devils winger Tyler Toffoli has drawn some trade interest ahead of Friday’s deadline, including from a former team. However, the team prefers to hang onto the pending UFA and continue negotiating an extension even if he’s not inked by the end of the week, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on Monday’s edition of “32 Thoughts” (and relayed by James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now).

While they haven’t been publicly named, it’s clear the Kings aren’t the only team interested in Toffoli’s services. That’s far from surprising — Toffoli is on pace to lead his team in goals for the second straight season and has firmly cemented himself as a top-six winger with five straight 20-goal seasons, including the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.

Toffoli broke out that season with 28 snipes and 44 points in only 52 games for the Canadiens, the highest point-per-game rate of his career up to that point. He’s since surpassed that mark with his career-best 34-goal, 73-point season with the Flames last year.

He was traded to the Devils by Calgary last summer in exchange for the signing rights to Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick, his third time being dealt over the previous four years. It’s been quite a tumultuous time for Toffoli throughout his offensive breakout, skating for four teams since his eight-year stint with Los Angeles ended before the 2020 trade deadline.

Friedman labeled Toffoli as “more of a wish than a likelihood” for teams looking to add scoring help this week, keeping one of the better pending UFAs out there barely on the market for now. He carries a cap hit of just $4.25MM and is nearing completion of the four-year, $17MM contract he signed with Montreal during his last time testing the free agent market in 2020. If teams want to pry Toffoli away from the Garden State, it’ll need to be an offer above market value for a rental.

His stat sheet in New Jersey isn’t quite as impressive as last year’s run in Calgary, potting 26 goals, 18 assists, 44 points, and a -14 rating in 60 games. He is, however, averaging the highest time on ice of his career with a 17:31 average, and the team’s subpar goaltending has tanked his rating. His expected +5.9 rating is fifth on the team behind Jesper Bratt, rookie defenseman Simon Nemec, Jack Hughes, and Ondřej Palát.

As such, he’ll command a considerable raise (and some trade protection) on an extension with the Devils, something they should be willing to dole out given how he helped stabilize the offense with injuries taking out both of their top two centers for extended periods this season. The team is built for the future despite a disappointing season. While a long-term deal isn’t in the cards for Toffoli at age 31, he’s likely to be a valuable top-six piece for New Jersey as they work toward making the postseason consistently over the next few years.

After back-to-back losses to the Ducks and Kings, the Devils are now only three games above .500 and trail the current second wild-card spot holder, the Lightning, by eight points with two games in hand. Per MoneyPuck, their playoff chances have dipped to 15.8%, beneath other wild-card hopefuls like the Islanders and Penguins but still ahead of the Capitals and Sabres.

Even so, it makes little sense for the Devils to sell, given they’d very likely be in playoff position with anything close to league-average goaltending. Their trio of Nico Daws, Akira Schmid and Vítek Vaněček have conceded a combined 19.1 goals above expected on the season, according to MoneyPuck, costing them several wins.

Devils Sign Mikael Diotte

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The Devils have added to their prospect pool, announcing that they’ve signed defenseman Mikael Diotte to a three-year, entry-level contract that begins next season.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 20-year-old went undrafted but has taken some steps forward this season to get on the NHL radar.  Diotte is in his fourth full QMJHL season, all spent with Drummondville where he has already set new career highs offensively with 10 goals and 27 assists through 50 games.  Over his career with the Voltigeurs, the 6’3 rearguard has 20 goals and 65 assists in 197 major junior contests.

Diotte will spend the remainder of the season with Drummondville but will not be eligible to return for next year due to his age.  Instead, he will begin his professional career, potentially with AHL Utica, a team that only has two other prospect blueliners under contract for the 2024-25 campaign as things currently stand.

Devils Circling Back On Jacob Markström, Will Take Full Salary

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The Devils added some bottom-six grit today by acquiring enforcer Kurtis MacDermid from the Avalanche. Still, GM Tom Fitzgerald is far from done ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. He remains aggressive in his pursuit for a goaltender and, with Predators starter Juuse Saros all but off the table thanks to Nashville’s recent hot streak, he’s refocused his attention on the Flames and Jacob Markström.

That still doesn’t likely solve all of New Jersey’s roadblocks in acquiring Markström, who carries a $6MM cap hit through 2026. The Flames’ unwillingness to take salary back means it’s highly unrealistic that they’d take Devils netminder Vítek Vaněček, who carries a $3.4MM cap hit through next season, back in a trade. That would pose significant cap issues for the Devils in 2024-25, as they have under $20MM in projected space with only 13 out of 23 roster spots filled. To make it work, they’d likely need to part with more assets to dump the last season of the struggling Vaněček’s deal in a separate trade.

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