3 Under-the-Radar Bottom Six Trade Targets for the Devils
The Devils have been linked to Ryan Donato and Jake Evans for a while now, but who else could be a palatable target?
The NHL Trade deadline is just two weeks out, and the Devils, being a firm playoff team, should be looking to add to their roster. In particular, they have had struggles in the bottom six, who, though not defensively inept, are largely unable to do anything in transition or in the offensive zone. Outside of one or two players, they’re also incredibly slow skaters who get caught in the neutral zone because they don’t have the skating ability to transition from zone to zone.
The Devils have been linked to several bottom-six players this season — Ryan Donato, Jake Evans, and even Scott Laughton as of late — but they may opt to go off the board. Instead of writing up on the usual suspects, let’s take a look at three under-the-radar players the Devils would be smart to target to aid their bottom six.
1. Mathieu Joseph
37 Games Played | 3 G | 4 A | 7 TP | 12 PIM | 46 SOG | 6.5 SH% — $2.95 million through 2025-26
The St. Louis Blues have reportedly been shopping many of their players, including their captain Brayden Schenn, and their best player, Jordan Kyrou. One player who could also be on the move despite not necessarily appearing in rumors is Mathieu Joseph.
The ex-Senator is having a bit of a rough first season with the Blues, but he’s certainly shown flashes of high-octane offense and provides something that the Devils don’t have in their bottom six: speed. Despite only appearing in 37 games this season, he ranks in the 50th percentile for total speed bursts of at least 20 mph and has a blistering top speed ranking in the 88th percentile of the league, according to NHL Edge. Last season, in which he played 72 games, he ranked in the 85th percentile for speed bursts of 20+, putting his explosiveness on full display.
His defensive impacts are significantly better than his offensive ones, but he’s much better than anyone the Devils have in the bottom half of their lineup transitionally, being above league-average in zone entries per 60 minutes, controlled entries per 60 minutes, and practically all zone exit metrics:
I feel as though he’ll be able to be picked up for pennies on the dollar considering the down year he’s having. As I said earlier, he’s shown that he can provide offense to match with his generally above-average underlying metrics — he’s scored 10+ goals in four of his seven seasons, has scored as many as 35 points (last year), and when he was first acquired by the Senators in 2021-22, he had 12 points in 11 games. The offensive toolkit it certainly there. He’s put up just seven points this season, though, and will likely be supremely cheap as a result.
The Blues would have to retain 50%, but they have no retention slots taken up already and the deal is only for this and next season. I would imagine that a third-round pick would suffice to acquire Joseph under those circumstances.
2. Justin Brazeau
53 Games Played | 10 G | 10 A | 20 TP | 16 PIM | 71 SOG | 14.1 SH% — $775k through 2024-25
For the cap hit, I’m not sure there’s a better bottom-sixer available this season. Justin Brazeau has quietly been excellent since stepping foot into the NHL last season, being a staple in the Bruins’ bottom six. His expected goal share (xGF%) this season isn’t as ludicrously high as it was in his 19 games last season (59.13%), but he’s still in the positive on a Bruins team that largely isn’t. He’s also fourth on the team among regulars at producing expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60).
The hulking 6’6 winger certainly isn’t a speedster, but is able to drive play by proxy of his elite forechecking abilities:
He’s been the Bruins’ best player in terms of pressures per hour, and the only Devil with more is Stefan Noesen. With a bottom six complexion that largely relies on dump and chase because they’re generally transitionally inept, this would be a boon.
He doesn’t shoot the puck all that much, but he has excellent hand-eye coordination, being one of the top deflection producers in the league as a byproduct of this. If he can be the forechecker for a Dawson Mercer — someone who does like to shoot the puck — he can certainly provide that netfront chaos and hand-eye coordination to pot home a few more goals for the bottom six.
I can’t imagine he would cost much, either, considering he is an expiring free agent playing fourth-line minutes. Despite his strong underlying game, a mid-round pick should do the trick.
3. Beck Malenstyn
50 Games Played | 4 G | 5 A | 9 TP | 17 PIM | 45 SOG | 8.9 SH% — $1.35 million through 2025-26
I know, I know, I’ve said the issue in the Devils’ bottom six has been their scoring — and that is true — but there is genuinely a lot to like in Beck Malenstyn’s game, especially as it hypothetically complements the Devils’ players.
The 6’3 27-year-old is one of the league’s fastest players, with a top speed ranking in the 80th percentile and number of 20+ mph speed bursts ranking in the 71st percentile, according to NHL Edge. He’s also been a standout defensive forward on a Buffalo Sabres team that leaks chances against.
In particular, he shows strength where the Devils’ bottom six largely struggles a ton: exiting the zone with possession.
The Devils have some intriguing things in their bottom six that, once they aren’t in the defensive zone, actually have some offensive upside — Paul Cotter, Dawson Mercer, and Tomas Tatar are the ones who come to mind. Malenstyn, meanwhile, is one of the most efficient zone exiters in the entire NHL, which leads me to believe that he’ll have a lot more offensive success in this Devils lineup than he is having in Buffalo. He’s aggressive in retrieving the puck and once he regains possession, is promptly able to use his speed and surprisingly soft hands to deal with the burdens of transitional play. There aren’t many forwards more effective at leaving the zone with possession of the puck:
The Sabres have stuck Malenstyn with Peyton Krebs and Sam Lafferty, two players who don’t exactly have many offensive chops, so I think he would be much better suited for the Devils’ lineup which has passenger players in the bottom six who can feed off of Malenstyn’s transitional abilities. The problem isn’t necessarily talent in the bottom six, but playdriving. Malenstyn provides the transitional play to be effective there. Plus, as I have previously noted, speed is an issue in the bottom half of the lineup, and that’s what his best asset is.
I can’t imagine it would require much to acquire a career fourth-liner who has scored double-digit points once in his career (he had 21 points last season with the Capitals). A mid-round pick should get the job done.
Moves Should Be Made Soon
With the NHL trade deadline just two weeks away, it’s hard for me to imagine a world in which Fitzgerald isn’t hyperactive in the trade market. There is no doubt in my mind that the issues with this New Jersey Devils team have been apparent to the front office for months, and it would be unlike him to stand pat.
Look for the Devils to start making moves soon.