3 Devils Who Could Get Moved By the Trade Deadline

With the NHL trade deadline just three weeks away, the New Jersey Devils are expected to make a splash to help them to a postseason berth in a disappointing season. They currently sit two points out of the second wild-card spot and five points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division, with two games at hand on the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s abundantly clear that general manager Tom Fitzgerald has been aggressive in trade talks, simply considering how many rumors have circulated around the Devils. With that in mind, there are a few Devils players to keep your eyes on if a trade were to go through.

Alex Holtz

For whatever reason, Alex Holtz just can’t seem to catch a break this year under head coach Lindy Ruff. The 22-year-old Swede has been marinating for years in the Devils’ pipeline and finally earned his full-time role at the NHL level, but hasn’t been able to garner top-six minutes despite some impressive 5v5 metrics — he’s third on the team in 5v5 points (21) and goals (11). He’s shown flashes of absolute brilliance and has otherwise rarely played poorly. It’s perplexing, but he just hasn’t quite meshed with Ruff and his expectations.

Some of his other underlying metrics are misleading, too, as his playstyle as a passenger player — which isn’t necessarily an issue, to be clear — is often reliant on his linemates, most of which have been the worst forwards that have been iced this year. His expected goals share (xGF%) has been overwhelmingly positive when playing alongside skilled transitional players like Jack Hughes and Michael McLeod and has been lackluster when playing alongside players who struggle in that facet of their game, like Chris Tierney and Nathan Bastian. Again — it’s not a problem, it’s just the type of player he is, and he’ll find the most success as a player when he’s paired with someone who’s prepared to do the heavy lifting in transition.

Because Ruff seemingly wants to turn him into a play driver, which hasn’t happened this year and will likely never really happen, he’s been relegated to fourth-line duties. With that in mind, it might be in both the Devils’ best interest and his best interest to move him to another team in a package for a better player. It might not necessarily be the best thing for the Devils’ contention window — a young, cost-controlled goal scorer is certainly a coveted asset, especially for a…