Devils' Trade Deadline Needs Already Coming Into Focus

There may still be 2 months until the NHL trade deadline, but the New Jersey Devils' needs are already clear.

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The NHL trade deadline is still a little less than two months away. There's plenty of time for things to materialize, but with the 4 Nations Face-Off taking place from Feb. 12-20, teams may want to get some work done before the March 7 deadline.

It's quite obvious what the New Jersey Devils need ahead of the trade deadline. And with it being anyone's ball game in the Eastern Conference, expect general manager Tom Fitzgerald to be relatively aggressive in improving the roster.

Devils Need a Middle-Six Scorer/Finisher

I don't think I can make it any clearer based on some of the content I’ve written here or posted on social media, but more scoring is a priority for this team.

The Devils generate plenty of offense, but don't convert on enough of it. They've created 100.23 expected goals at five-on-five but have just 88 actual goals. Expand that to all strengths, and they have 142 goals on 161.56 expected goals.

Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier finish their chances. As does Stefan Noesen, but the finishing talent is few and far between on the rest of the roster.

Timo Meier is on pace for 26 goals and 54 points, but they could use more from him. Ondřej Palát has come alive lately and has a chance of hitting 20 goals, but the Devils will still need more scoring ahead of the trade deadline.

When looking at the Devils' lineup, they don't have an elite finisher. Acquiring an elite finisher (think a Patrik Laine) is unlikely to happen at the trade deadline, but there should still be candidates to help improve the Devils' middle-six scoring.

On yesterday's 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that Oliver Bjorkstrand is a name he's heard out there a bit. Bjorkstrand has 13 goals and 28 points in 43 games, putting him on pace for 25 goals and 53 points.

We know Fitzgerald generally prefers to acquire players with term. Fortunately, Bjorkstrand is under contract through the end of next season at a cap hit of $5.4 million. It might cost a bit to get the Seattle Kraken to retain the remaining year and a half of his deal, but he's probably someone who'll interest the Devils.

Of course, there are players we have already mentioned in previous posts. Jason Zucker remains one of the Buffalo Sabres' most consistent players, pacing for 29 goals and 59 points in 82 games.

The Devils traded Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets for second and third-round picks a season ago. That could be what it costs to pry Zucker out of Buffalo if he doesn't re-sign with the Sabres.