NHL Trade Rumors: NJ Devils Urged to Re-Acquire Former Sniper For Top-Six Help

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is urged by analyst to re-acquire former Devils forward

Clearly, the New Jersey Devils' top priority at the moment is working out an extension for restricted free agent Luke Hughes. They're hoping to get a long-term deal done. But that doesn't mean they should neglect other needs on the roster.

James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now has his eye on the team's need of another top-six winger to boost their offense, and he is urging the team to make a trade for a familiar face:

The Devils should still be thinking bigger here. They are right to make Hughes their No.1 priority. Yet, they haven’t addressed two of their biggest needs this summer. They need to fill at least one of the voids, being a top-6 winger, or a third-line center.
Here we go, I’m banging on this drum again.
Tyler Toffoli.
He was dealt at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, scoring at a 35-goal pace. That production has not yet been replaced.

Toffoli was acquired in a trade by the Devils with the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2023, going into the final year of his contract with a $4.25M cap hit. As Nichols mentions, he certainly fared well in his 61 games in Jersey, scoring 26 goals and notching 44 points. But as a pending UFA, they dealt him to the Winnipeg Jets for a second and a third round pick.

He finished that season with 33 goals, and went on to sign a four-year deal with the San Jose Sharks with a $6M AAV. He popped 30 goals this past season, marking his third straight year cracking that level.

Nichols says the Devils are taking a big risk if they don't endeavor to fill a scoring void in the top six, and merely hoping for an in-house solution to come forward.

"They’re hoping a player steps up and breaks through as a top-six forward. It’s been one and a quarter seasons since Toffoli was shipped, and that has yet to happen".

The Devils finished well into the bottom half of the NHL in goals per game last season, at 2.93.

The sooner the Luke Hughes situation gets resolved, the sooner GM Tom Fitzgerald can get on to addressing this issue.