Sunny Mehta just put his first fingerprints on the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils Trade
Devils get: New York Rangers’ 2026 Second Round Pick (35th overall), Vegas Golden Knights 2027 first-round pick, Colorado Avalanche 2028 first round pick (both top-10 protected), left-shot prospect defenseman Etienne Morin.
Calgary Flames get: Simon Nemec and Maxim Tsyplakov
James Nichols: Nemec had been long rumored to be a trade candidate for New Jersey due to the plethora of right-shot defensemen they have at the NHL level. Set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, Mehta no longer has to worry about Nemec’s upcoming cap hit—which, according to numerous reports including New Jersey Hockey Now’s own, the ask was going to start at Luke Hughes‘ number.
That just wasn’t going to fit.
Instead, the Devils move Nemec to the Flames with Tsyplakov, open up $2.5 million to use in the week ahead, and set themselves up with a plethora of assets to use on the trade market that has already seen a magnitude of 10 in regard to player movement.
Nemec was just never going to usurp the roles from the players in front of him on the depth chart. As nice as the offensive breakout was and a few clutch moments late in a game or in overtime, defensive deficiencies prevented Nemec from regular top-four minutes. It forced Sheldon Keefe to keep him in a bottom-pair role with Brenden Dillon and it looked more and more like Nemec was never going to truly fulfill his status as a second overall selection.
Mehta is on the record in more than one ocassion explaining he believe’s the Devils are on the precipice of Stanley Cup Playoff contention. He learned from Bill Zito, who just reeled in Brady Tkachuk by similarly weaponizing the Florida Panthers with the assets to make it happen.
It should come as no surprise to see Mehta do the same thing down the line in order to improve the Devils’ roster right now.
With names such as Matthew Knies, Jason Robertson, and Jordan Kyrou on the mill, and perhaps even a goaltender such as Connor Hellebuyck reportedly available, Mehta gave himself the necessary assets to turn around and make an even bigger splash.
On the Calgary side, the Flames buy Nemec’s offensive upside at 22 years old to play in their top-four behind Zayne Parekh for at least the duration of the Slovakian defenseman’s RFA years.
Nemec doesn’t go to Calgary as a perfect player as previously stated with a clear need to work on his defensive game. However, he showed promise in the 2026 Winter Olympics where Nemec tends to thrive when given more minutes.
If it works out for the Flames, they accelerate their rebuild with another solid blueline addition. However, the gamble of giving up two first-round picks-albeit, late ones—and an early second in the upcoming draft feels a touch heavy for a player who may not pan out as a top-four defenseman at this point.
For now, the Flames get the best player in the deal because… well, New Jersey didn’t get any yet in return.
However, with the anticipation that Mehta flips the assets for something greater, come revisit these scores if/when it happens.
Devils grade: B+
Flames grade: C+
We knew Mehta could play poker. We knew he could play the guitar. Now we also know he can cook.
Seriously: on the surface level, there are so many positives to come out of this trade. Fetching two first-round picks not only is a tremendous return, but buys him time to gauge the market with his assets and assess the team’s situation accordingly without making panic moves.
Neither acquired first-round pick will be until 2027 at the earliest. Meaning even if he doesn’t want to actually use them to draft, they will still hold tremendous value near the trade deadline, or even next offseason.
Then, just like in poker, he has the ability to go all-in if he feels it’s necessary.
Next is the cap aspect. For the first time in a long time, it feels like the Devils have breathing room. Not only will the absence of a Nemec extension free up a chunk of room on its own, but they also free up Maxim Tsyplakov’s $2.25M cap hit. That aspect will always be overlooked but remains immensely important.
Of course, Calgary made this trade for a reason. They feel Nemec’s upside as a former No.2 overall pick is worth the gamble on. But I beg you to take a look at his player card from this season:
It became clear Nemec needed big minutes to even be serviceable, yet, when given those minutes, he still struggled on the defensive side of the puck. By every advanced metric, Nemec was consistently one of the worst defensive defensemen in the entire NHL. Ill-advised pinches and being caught puck-watching were commonplace.
An early-season shooting heater from Nemec kept his struggles from being talked about as much as they should have.
On December 11, he was on pace for ~19 goals and 48 points – a shooting percentage of 14% and a plus-4 rating.
In the next 37 games, he had just eight points (4G, 4A) – an ~18-point pace over 82 games. His shooting percentage was just 7.8%, coupled with a minus-15 rating.
Lastly, just like the Quinn Hughes saga, it felt like Nemec’s name was constantly being talked about – whether it was being unhappy in the AHL a couple years back, or rumored demands for a trade. Whether true or not, those things can become a distraction. Now, it’s not the Devils’ issue anymore.
Sure, at just 22 years of age, there’s time for Nemec to meaningfully improve. But with the Devils’ cap space, defensive logjam and long-term vision, Mehta clearly felt moving on was the right course of action. Based on what we know, it seems the pros far outweigh the cons.
Devils grade: A-
Flames grade: C
