Grading Devils' Eventful 2024 NHL Trade Deadline

The New Jersey Devils had a busy 2024 NHL trade deadline, making four deals. How did general manager Tom Fitzgerald fare?

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It wasn't much of a surprise, but the New Jersey Devils had an eventful 2024 NHL trade deadline. It also wasn't surprising that it was a combination of buying and selling, given their short- and long-term plans. They dealt a couple of pending unrestricted free agents and redid their goaltending tandem in one day. Let's grade general manager Tom Fitzgerald's moves and how they impact the Devils moving forward. 

Devils Trade Toffoli to the Jets

All eyes were on Tyler Toffoli and what the Devils decided to do with him at the deadline. He was the team's leading scorer with 26 goals, and I'm sure the Devils wanted to re-sign him. But it became clear in the hours leading up to the deadline that the two sides were at an impasse and that trading him would be the result. 

A couple of days ago, I wrote about Toffoli and what trade packages could look like for him. I was off on that, and that's on me. Having said that, I still thought the return was quite underwhelming, even if it was a buyer's market. 

Perhaps the return for Jake Guentzel should have been a sign of things to come. He's obviously a better player than Toffoli, so that return wasn't a true comparable. But I felt pretty confident that Toffoli could've still gotten the Devils a first-round pick since he's pacing for 35 goals. 

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The Devils received a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third from the Winnipeg Jets, and that was with them retaining 50 percent of Toffoli’s $4.25 million cap hit. If not a first, then a second and a B-level prospect should've been a part of the package. 

The Jets have a solid prospect pool. Obviously, Rutger McGroarty and Brad Lambert were off the table, but maybe Nikita Chibrikov, who Scott Wheeler has ranked as the Jets' No. 7 prospect and projects as a middle-six winger, could have worked? The Penguins received the No. 6, 7, and 9 ranked prospects from the Hurricanes for Guentzel, so I don't think that's unreasonable.