James Nichols
The New Jersey Devils woke up on July 1 with a handful of automatic contract tweaks that slightly reshape their flexibility on the trade market.
It’s nothing dramatic, but the changes do give the front office a touch more room to work with a couple of veterans while handing one star a modest layer of protection he didn’t have before.
Jack Hughes moves from zero trade protection to a 10-team no-trade list. This is significant as Jack goes into year five of his current eight year contract that carries an $8 million deal. \ Mehta isn’t looking to trade Hughes, so it’s unlikely he’ll need to enforce the trade protection. But going into his ninth season in the NHL, this is the first trade protection he’s ever had. The 10-team trade list is in effect through the duration of his contract.
Stefan Noesen’s list actually gets smaller, dropping from 10 teams to seven. On paper that gives the Devils a few extra possible landing spots if they decide to move the winger. The change is incremental, but every additional team that doesn’t require his approval matters when you’re trying to find the right fit and the right return.
Brenden Dillon sees the biggest swing in the other direction. He’s coming off a full no-trade clause that forced the Devils to get his blessing on any deal. That protection is now limited to a 10-team list. The organization suddenly has far more options if it wants to reshape the blue line or clear cap space.
One name the Devils can stop worrying about entirely is Jacob Markstrom. After he waived his full no-move clause to join the Florida Panthers—which downgraded today to a 20-team no-trade list as his new contract kicked in—no longer applies in New Jersey.
That chapter is closed.
The rest of the core group stays exactly where they were. Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Connor Brown, Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Johnathan Kovacevic carry the same trade protections they had yesterday. No surprises there, and no extra complications for the front office to manage.
However, the once-daunting thought of the mounting trade protections in New Jersey are starting to dissipate. That is until some new contracts kick in, such as Hischier’s pending extension.
With a little more wiggle room and some new-found salary cap flexibility, July 1st could be another good day for Mehta and the Devils.
