NHL Rumors: The New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks Intrigues

The machinations of the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks

The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston, when asked about the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks, where they are going and which situation intrigues him more.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Johnston: “Probably New Jersey, just because, you know, there’s so much pressure built up in that market. And a lot of pressure, especially from the local reporters trying to Tom Fitzgerald to talk to them, to comment, to discuss what happened. And you know that team had lost six of seven. They won in Minnesota earlier (last) week.

But you know the fact that ultimately, you know, if you’re in Tom Fitzgerald’s shoes, as he was, I don’t know if you saw the whole conversation, but he was asked about his own job security. He was asked about Sheldon Keefe, job security. I know Sheldon has been asked about that before. I mean, when people ask about your job, I know the GM obviously has no control over that, or the coach has no control over what the questions are, but it’s a reflection of what the feeling is around the team. That you know the fans, I think, are pretty up in arms with the Devils. And you know, they wanted someone to talk to it.

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So I think I’m a little bit more, he might not have had such a big money quote. There’s not one quote that we put on a board now and say, ‘This is what he said.’ But just that he had to speak and do it the way they did, with about ten or fifteen reporters, whatever they were, in a room. And you know, you have a very long session with a lot of different topics. You know, I think it’s a reflection of where the Devils are.

And you know, what’s interesting to me is that Fitzgerald has made it clear that he thinks they can still make the playoffs, and he’s not ready to wave any white flags or signal any changes.

And so, you know, it makes the point that I made on our last show that, I think in the short term, the Devils are definitely trying to make a move. Ondrej Palat. Looking for another home for Dougie Hamiltonpartly to create the cat space they need, and then to expand their front group.

So you know, that’s a fair amount of work to do. I think they’re in a tough spot moving those players. But they also have to, if you were to do that, create cap room somehow. And so I think he’s under more pressure than, then Jim Rutherford is.

You know, I think the Canucks are open for business. Of course, they have to be smart about what they do. But they mean you or I could trade Kiefer SherwoodI can assure you of that. I mean, I’m just saying that given his performance, he’s a huge asset in the league for an in-season trade. Given his cap hit. Considering, you know, he has a great reputation. Everything about him is, there are a lot of teams that want him, it’s clearly a matter of trying to navigate the market right and get the best return if you’re the Canucks.

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And you know, they have other similar players that are probably easier to trade, while the Devils are kind of going against it between the various no-movement, no-trade clauses that they’re navigating. Their cap situation. Some of the guys they want to move just aren’t performing anywhere near their contract values. And they’re trying to get better at the same time, because they’re still trying to get to the playoffs.

So I think it’s a more difficult task for Fitzgerald in the short term as he tries to build a winner. Whereas the Canucks, I mean, they didn’t call it that, but I’ll use my words like they do, they roll out the tank commanders, right? As they are, they’re about to strip. And the stripping part is usually the easy part of a rebuild. It is the building behind it that becomes a challenge.

But you know, trading away good players for futures is the name of the game this time of year. So I think Vancouver is going to be active and soon, you know, just based on those comments.

You know, I’ll reiterate a point I made on the last show as well, for those who haven’t heard. I think we’ll see some action here before we reach February 5, when the Olympic trading freeze kicks off. It really feels like the amount of talk about the league has increased. I think in some situations there is a little more urgency. And so I think we’re going to get at least a small number of moves. But you know, the next call it was three weeks, and then obviously it was paused for the Olympics, and then it’s a two-week sprint to the trade deadline.

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You know, this is a pretty fascinating time. And then Vancouver is a place that I’ve been looking at to start those movements. New Jersey would like to get in on the action, but it doesn’t sound like Tom Fitzgerald is on the road much at the moment, in terms of, you know, active threads, where, you know, he’s about to make a deal.

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