The New Jersey Devils likely want a Nico Hischier extension done this offseason
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: 27-year-old New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier has a year left on his contract at a $7.25 million cap hit. Devils manager Sunny Mehta held preliminary talks with agent Allain Roy about two weeks ago. It would be hard to see the Devils wanting to go into next season with an extension in place.
If Hischier were to be made available, you would likely see the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, and Montreal Canadiens among the interested teams. There would likely be around 12 more teams interested as that type of player doesn’t always become available.
The Devils and Hischier would need to find a number that both sides can live, and that Hischier will be to be okay with the direction the team is going in.
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Would the Columbus Blue Jackets be another team looking to trade up in the first round?
Tyler Kuehl of Daily Faceoff: Steven Ellis thinks the Columbus Blue Jackets might one of the teams willing to move their first-round pick. They missed the playoffs again, but there is some optimism surrounding the organization. They’ve got the No. 14 pick and might be willing to do something with it to move up in the draft.
“I think a team that wants to make a splash and be competitive sooner rather than later, and I think one team that I would watch is the Columbus Blue Jackets. They got the No. 14 pick. Team picking there, you’d think they’d be a bit more competitive, and then their pipeline would be good, but honestly, their pipeline’s not that great.
Let’s not forget, Kent Johnson hasn’t been the player I think a lot of people expected him to be. They already moved on from David Jiricek. They’ve got some holes to fill out there.
Obviously, Jet Greaves is that No. 1 goalie. Do they want to get some extra goaltending depth? I think they addressed that last year, but you could always use a bit more goalie depth. Could they go out there and use a bit more offensive weapons? 100%.
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So at 14, I don’t think you’re getting a guy that’s going to really move the needle in a big way. I think that’s something where if they could find a way to move up, if it’s 14 and Kent Johnson to get into the top 10, I think that’s at least an intriguing starting point.”
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