Why The Devils And Kings May Be Fighting Each Other For More Trades

The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils helped push the preliminary dominos to kick off the 2023 offseason, both acquiring top-line forwards Tuesday afternoon.

The Kings broke the news first, acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Jets in exchange for Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Samus Kupari alongside a second-round pick.

Being a restricted free agent, the Kings followed the trade with an 8-year, $68 million signing to hopefully keep him in LA until 2031, which did not seem like it was going to happen in Winnipeg.

So, while Dubois was certainly on the Jets’ trade block, Tyler Toffoli also was for Calgary, except not as knowingly.

Regardless of who may have speculated the 31-year-old would leave Alberta, the Devils added another offensive threat to their forwards room for the price of Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick.

Toffoli is currently on a rental deal for New Jersey, as he is on the final year of a 4-year, $17-million contract, so after his career year with the Flames, Tom Fitzgerald can go either direction on whether to extend him or not.

Regardless, two 100-point teams with above-average offenses last year already have worked early to secure more scoring options, but it may not be the only time this free agency period that they’re seeking similar roster moves.

Both LA and NJ’s biggest question marks come between the pipes ahead of 2023-24, as the Kings finished 16th in goals against league-wide, which improved after LA acquired Joonas Korpisalo at the deadline, and the Devils had a successful year behind Vitek Vanecek, but the future of his role on the team is unclear after losing his starting spot to rookie Akira Schmid in the postseason.

While both teams could at least enter the season with their current goaltending situation, the decisions they make at goaltender could solidify them as a Stanley Cup contender or not.

The free-agent pool of goalies is not the deepest the league has ever seen, with players like Jonathan Quick, Semyon Varlamov, and Frederik Andersen leading the chart. But similar to the forwards that have been moved early, the best options could come from a trade.

Those options have most notably been Connor Hellebuyck and Juuse Saros.

Looking first at Hellebuyck, the Dubois deal makes it even more apparent that Winnipeg may be clearing salary space, as the Michigan native is also off the books after this season. He has been open about a potential trade and knows what he is worth, reportedly wanting over $10 million a year in a multi-year deal.

And while goaltenders do not usually see double digits yearly yet, Hellebuyck may have the best resume for it, as he’s been a workhorse since 2017. While owning a career 2.66 goals against average, he’s also led the league in starts in 3 of the last 6 years and saves in 4 of the last 5.

Saros on the other hand has 2 more years under control at a $5 million cap hit either year, and at just 27-years-old, he has seen his most success since becoming the main man in Nashville.

He’s led the league in the last 2 years in starts, and last year he led the league with 1,928 saves on a .919 save percentage.

As each team is currently composed, the Devils can make either goaltender work. While it’s going to be a tough pill to swallow seeing either team sign Hellebuyck’s desired extension, the Devils could make it work keeping him just the final year of his current contract, as they have Schmidt and prospect Nico Daws who may be able to take the reigns once Hellebuyck leaves.

The Kings on the other hand don’t have the youth at the goaltending position that’s NHL-ready yet, so if they fall short or don’t wish to pursue Saros as heavily, they could find themselves caught between a rock and a Hellebuyck extension.

Regardless, the action of the opposing team this offseason could drive up each other’s prices, especially considering these talented stoppers will most likely attract more suitors. But the two team’s early action on the trade blocks could signal an aggressive front office for both sides, which should make for a fun summer, to say the least.