The New Jersey Devils tried to get suitors for Sami Vatanen, a right-handed defensemen, but couldn’t gain any traction on him. Vatanen added depth to the Dallas Stars, as he was claimed off of waivers, while joining fellow a handful of fellow Finns. That group includes Miro Heiskanen, Joel Kiviranta, Roope Hintz and Esa Lindell. Having most of them being defensemen and fellow countrymen is a great thing because guys like Heiskanen and Lindell can eat up over 20+ a game and skate on defence with ease. A guy like Vatanen would fit well on Dallas’ third line, and would add an offensive side to his newly assigned pairing.
The New Jersey Devils traded defensemen Dmitry Kulikov to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional fourth-round draft pick. Being for next year’s draft, the condition is that if Edmonton wins round one of the playoffs, New Jersey receives a third-round draft pick from the Oilers for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Moving Dmitry Kulikov to Edmonton allows Tom Fitzgerald to use guys like Jonas Siegenthaler, Will Butcher, Ryan Murray and Ty Smith, while more than likely adding Nikita Okhotyuk from the hockey club’s taxi squad. This past trade deadline has opened up spots for the New Jersey Devils to begin their youth movement. Given the quarantine and sorting out his work visa, Alexander Holtz might not be ready to jump in, however, this will allow him to train in New Jersey.