New Jersey Devils
Devils Scouring NHL Trade Market, 3 Forwards Recently Available
The Devils are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market. Over the last few days, a handful of intriguing names have become available to Tom Fitzgerald on the market.
It’s no secret that the New Jersey Devils are going to look to improve on their scoring woes in the 2024-25 season.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald explained he knows his offense underperformed, and there will be changes as a result.
The Devils’ top players were all up to snuff. Jack Hughes was on a point-per-game pace before he became injured. Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier both reached new career highs. Timo Meier drove the bus at the end of the season. And yet, the Devils were still bounced from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the first round.
Injuries, yadda yadda, but that was part of Fitzgerald’s point. The Devils, like plenty have before them, must overcome that kind of adversity.
Depth scoring was the issue all season. Fitzgerald pointed it out in his year-end conference, and put everyone on notice.
However, the Devils certainly need one top-six scorer which will knock everyone down a peg, perhaps in their proper position on the depth chart, which should contribute to their lack of depth solution.
As we inch closer to the official offseason as the Stanley Cup Final commences, Elliotte Friedman explained on a recent episode of Sportsnet’s The Fan Hockey Show that the Devils are scouring the market.
“They were disappointed with the way their year ended,” Friedman started. “And you know, I think they’re looking around, so they’re looking to see what they can do.”
Again, that should be no surprise.
The good news? Well, recently there have been a handful of names who have come up in NHL trade discussions as reportedly available.
The Devils should certainly be checking in on all three.
J.J. Peterka
We previously wrote that J.J. Peterka is an intriguing offer sheet candidate.
That’s still true, however, it sounds more and more like the German scoring forward could be dealt on the NHL trade market.
The Peterka trade chatter is reportedly driven by his agent, Allen Walsh. Yet, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Remember when Walsh published that interested photo with Marc-Andre Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights? Fleury then became a member of the Minnesota Wild.
So, there’s merit to the Peterka chatter. The Devils’ rival, the New York Rangers, have been heavily linked to the Sabres forward. However, in terms of assets, the Devils may be able to provide more value in terms of compensation.
If the Sabres aren’t hanging up the phone on the Peterka discussions, this is another forward the Devils should go all in for.
The 23-year-old forward is a pending restricted free agent who scored 28 goals and 68 points last season.
AFP Analytics projects Peterka to ink a long-term, seven-year contract near an $8 million average annual value (AAV). The belief is Peterka will be a perennial 30-plus goalscorer—perhaps as soon as next season—and he has yet to even hit the peak of his prime.
If the Devils can pluck Peterka from Buffalo, they shouldn’t hesitate to do so.
Martin Necas
Well, this is certainly a plot twist.
It felt like less of a blow in the wake of trading Mikko Rantanen to the Colorado Avalanche faithful when Martin Necas arrived and scored at an elite rate.
However, despite Necas’ success in Colorado, the Czech forward is reportedly unhappy with his situation in Denver.
If the Avalanche were unafraid to move on from Rantanen, they’ll certainly be equally quick to trade Necas if they get any inkling that he’ll walk away for nothing. And, he can do that next summer. Necas will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, 2026. He’s entering the last year of a two-year contract that carries a $6.5 million AAV.
Necas finished last season with 27 goals and 83 points, finding great chemistry with Nathan Mackinnon. It’s certainly realistic that he could find similar chemistry in the Devils’ top-six.
Perhaps Necas’ gripe with Colorado is that he’s not playing on an East Coast clock.
With no protection from trade, he doesn’t have much say in where he goes next, if anywhere. But, if Necas desires a return to this side of the continent, Fitzgerald should certainly be calling to see what it’s going to cost.
The Avalanche may feel they need to net a big return, given he was the player they acquired for Rantanen. However, the Avalanche also paid the New York Islanders a ton in return for Brock Nelson.
If Necas is truly unhappy in Colorado, he’s yet another name on the NHL trade market that would be a fit for the Devils.
Jason Robertson
The Dallas Stars are still recovering from being eliminated in the semi-final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
As they got through what seems to be like an identity crisis, word has spread that Jason Robertson very well may be available on the NHL trade market.
We lamented on the idea a few days ago.
We’ll just double down on the notion here and say if he really is going to be chopped from the Dallas block, Fitzgerald needs to go all in on the mutli-40-goal scorer.
READ MORE: Perfect Devils Trade Target Emerges; Must Go All In
For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.
Follow us on 𝕏:
@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL
And on Threads:
