Should the New Jersey Devils trade or keep No. 10 pick in 2024 NHL Draft?

The New Jersey Devils recently introduced new head coach Sheldon Keefe. After that, GM Tom Fitzgerald went up to Buffalo for the NHL Scouting Combine. There, Fitz told NHL.com that he is “listening” to deals for the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which will take place later this month. There are a few routes and approaches the Devils can take with the pick and looming NHL Free Agency in July. Below we’ll go over all the potential scenarios and which route is the best: keeping the pick or trading it?

The Devils keep the pick

We saw a few seasons ago when the Devils jumped up from the fifth-best odds to get the second overall pick and landed No. 2 in the 2022 NHL Draft. Many believed the best route would be to trade the pick and land a player who can help the Devils now. Instead, New Jersey went with defenseman Simon Nemec, who finished with 19 points in 60 games as a rookie this past season at age 19-20. It’s still to be seen if this was the right move but you can never have too many prospects, particularly a player of this caliber, in the system.

If the Devils keep the pick, they could end up with one of a number of players. That group includes forwards Berkly Catton, Konsta Helenius, Tij Iginla or even Cole Eiserman. Defensemen Zeev Buium, Sam Dickinson and Carter Yakemchuk could also be potential targets with the pick. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Devils to scoop up the best forward available and bank on that player being ready to go in 2-3 seasons.

Helenius has played in over 80 games in Finland’s Liiga, the top professional hockey league over there. We’re seeing young elite forward prospects make the jump earlier than expected from the USHL and CHL. Iginla has the name, the son of former Flames captain and Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. Taking a defenseman may not make much sense for New Jersey, but whichever player it may be, that player could take some more time to marinate. Any of the D prospects wouldn’t be needed for at least 3-4 seasons given the Devils have Nemec, Luke Hughes and Seamus Casey, plus Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler and John Marino all signed for at least the next three seasons.

One of those players mentioned as a target at No. 10 could turn into an above average NHLer. We also know the success rate of first-round picks in the NHL isn’t very high and this draft isn’t deemed as “loaded” with talent. That was the sentiment when Nemec was taken. While a very, very strong defensive prospect, the Devils could have moved the pick to get a player to help win now. Had the Devils dealt the No. 2 pick for an established NHL player (whether it be a defenseman or forward), might the team had gone further in 2022-23? That should certainly be a question Fitzgerald asks himself before the draft.

In the end, keeping the pick is likely more of a dice roll but one that could benefit the team during what should be a window of contention for the Stanley Cup in the next 3-4 seasons.

Trade the pick for a goaltender

This is the most obvious move and one the Devils should be familiar with. Back in the 2013 NHL Draft, then-GM and President Lou Lamoriello infamously traded the No. 9 pick for Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider. At the time, the trade was a great deal. Schneider had been buried behind Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo on the Canucks’ depth chart. After backing up Lu for three seasons, Vancouver moved him to New Jersey for a pick that would turn into center Bo Horvat.

Hindsight is 20-20 and we could talk about this move all day. But in the end, the Devils dealt what could have turned into a future captain and No. 1 center for a goaltender that would start on teams not in contention for the playoffs or Stanley Cup. While Schneider posted good numbers in his first three seasons in New Jersey, the Devils would fail to make the playoffs. Head coach Pete DeBoer, who had led the team to the Cup in 2012, was fired and replaced by John Hynes. Schneider hit age 30 and fell off a cliff due to injuries. The move by Lamoriello would go down as one of the worst in franchise history.

Now, this situation is vastly different. One could argue with league average goaltending in 2023-24, the Devils are a playoff team. New Jersey missed the playoffs by 10 points. You could say the team didn’t exactly push for the final Wild Card spot hard toward the end of the season. Head coach Lindy Ruff was fired and replaced by Travis Green, who didn’t do any better. New Jersey ranked 26th in goals allowed per game at 3.43. Collectively, the Devils goalies finished with a .896 save percentage. Last season, those numbers were 2.71 GAA and .908 SV%.

The Devils also ranked 7th in SAT% and 12th in scoring with 3.22 goals per game. All this while boasted top-15 power play and penalty kills. There was clearly a need in net and Fitzgerald wasn’t able to stop the bleeding until it was too late, acquiring Jake Allen from the Canadiens before the deadline. We’ve seen rumors Allen nixed an earlier trade before agreeing before the deadline to go to New Jersey. We also saw rumors Bruins G Linus Ullmark denied a trade to the Devils mid-season. So you can’t knock Fitz for trying to address goalie but it’s priority No. 1 this offseason.

Trading this pick for a goaltender in a one-for-one type of situation would be fantastic. There are plenty of options out there and we went over some of them after the season ended for New Jersey.

Anyway, we know Flames G Jacob Markstrom is available and could be had for this pick. The Devils may need to throw in a sweetener in order for Calgary to take on some of Markstrom’s cap hit. Perhaps Ullmark changes his mind and agrees to come to N.J. for one season. Wild G Filip Gustavsson could be had for the right price. Predators G Juuse Saros could be dealt before a pending free agency in 2025. There’s a good market for goaltenders and the Devils have a lot of strong assets to work with in a potential deal. Addressing the need at goalie with a starting-caliber player by simply giving up the No. 10 pick feels like a great idea in 2024 vs. 2013.

Trade the pick for a center

The Devils could also entertain the idea of trading the pick to get center depth. Captain Nico Hischier isn’t going anywhere down the middle. He makes more sense as a second-line, shutdown center. What will be interesting is if Keefe moves Jack Hughes to RW. Hughes doesn’t take draws and could project more as a scoring wing. If that’s the case, the Devils will need some center depth given Michael McLeod’s situation and the current roster. There’s Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer. Again, Keefe could view Mercer as an option at center but the Devils really need players who can gather and maintain possession. Haula should be solid as a third-line option. Mercer, again, might make more sense on the wing or as part of another trade package (or this trade package with No. 10).

We saw the Brady Tkachuk trade rumors. Acquiring an elite forward like Tkachuk makes sense. While Tkachuk isn’t technically a center, he did win 52.6% of draws on 380 attempts in 2023-24 for the Senators. The Devils could have Tkachuk take draws on a second line with Hughes still at center, similar to what Ruff employed with Haula on Hughes line. It may be a bit farfetched, but the Toronto Maple Leafs could part ways with RW Mitch Marner or C John Tavares. Either of those players could make sense for the Devils, though Tavares for one season at a discounted rate would be better.

The Devils could explore a lesser option in the form of Blues W Pavel Buchnevich, who has experience playing both wing and center. He’s still young at 29 years old this summer and is coming off 63 points in 80 games for a below average St. Louis team. Buchnevich is on an expiring deal however and the Blues would likely need to throw in a pick or another player to make this deal make sense for the 10th pick. Maybe that means getting back a defenseman like Torey Krug or Colton Parayko and sending Marino of Siegenthaler back the other way? This feels like it’s making less sense as we flesh it out.

The flip side of dealing the No. 10 pick in a trade for a forward is free agency. The Devils should be appealing enough as a destination to play with a young core and Keefe at the helm. There are plenty of forwards available in free agency and the Devils can explore that route while not giving up assets. New Jersey should have around $18 million (if not more) in cap space for July. Mercer is a RFA but that’s about it in terms of players the Devils need to pay before 2024-25.

So if you can address forward via free agency, why not just wait and use the pick or get a goaltender?

Final Thoughts

If I’m Fitz, I’m being aggressive in the trade market leading up to the NHL Draft. Whether it’s involving the No. 10 pick or not, we could see the Devils keep the pick and swing another deal for a goalie or forward. Hell, even an established NHL defenseman would make sense as a 1B option to Hamilton. I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Devils keep the No. 10 pick. But the Devils have also not done a great job developing prospects at either position in the past 20 years. I’m not counting Hughes or Hischier towards that sentiment and outside of them, it’s been a handful of middle-six players and more recently Mercer and McLeod.

My preference is to deal the pick straight-up for a goaltender. That way you retain every other asset and still have some draft picks to mess around with in 2024. Fitz can then assess free agency, fill out the rest of the roster and make any additional deals before the season gets going. Shoring up goaltender with a starter to pair with veteran Jake Allen, plus Keefe’s arrival, could be all the Devils need to get back to the postseason. Getting a starting goalie while making a few plays in free agency and fixing the defense could thrust the Devils back into Cup contention territory. Remember, the Devils entered 2023-24 among the best odds to win the Stanley Cup at +1000.

It shouldn’t take too much to get back to that level.