The New Jersey Devils completed their second trade of the day, sending forward Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning, with prospect Nolan Foote (son of former NHLer Adam Foote) and Vancouver's 2020 first-round pick (previously acquired in the J.T. Miller trade) heading to Newark. How did each side do in the swap?
Lightning get: F Blake Coleman
Devils get: F Nolan Foote, 2020 first-round pick (Vancouver)
Tampa Bay Lightning: B-
Julien BriseBois has been the No. 2 guy to Steve Yzerman for years in Tampa Bay's front office. So let's note that BriseBois helped shape this talented win-now roster. But let's also admit that he inherited a dream situation for his first GM gig. And now he's trying to really put his stamp on the roster, and put them over the edge to win the Stanley Cup.
The obvious thing to note here is that BriseBois paid a steep price for a 28-year-old whose previous career highs are 22 goals and 36 points (even if, with 21 goals already, Coleman is on pace to smash that). Teams are increasingly stingier with their first-round picks, and Foote is a blue-chip prospect.
That said, Coleman makes this team far better. The Lightning stumbled through the early season but have come on fire as of late. Since Dec. 23, the Lightning have gone 22-2-1 for an NHL-best 45 points, with an amazing plus-46 goal differential. BriseBois is rewarding his group by giving them even more talent.
At midseason, Dimitri Filipovic, writing for ESPN, named Coleman the most underrated player in the league, noting Coleman ranked third in generating the most shots per minute, was tied for 10th in 5-on-5 goals and ranked eighth in the league in 5-on-5 chances generated. Coleman also plays regularly on the penalty kill, and has three short-handed goals.
Coleman was a hot commodity; Boston and Colorado were among the teams interested. The fact that he's locked in for next season at a bargain $1.8 million rate is what drove up the price. Coleman's addition also gives BriseBois some flexibility this summer, when he was going to have to shed some salary anyway. And the Lightning still have one first-rounder for the 2020 draft; they had an extra from the J.T. Miller trade last summer. Overall, the price is high, but if Coleman helps them get over the edge this year or next, it will be worth it.
New Jersey Devils: A
Tom Fitzgerald impressed with the return in his first trade as GM of the Devils; he got the rival Islanders to pony up a second-round pick for 37-year-old stay-at-home defenseman Andy Greene (despite having very little leverage, considering Greene's no-trade clause). Fitzgerald somehow did even better in his second trade, which was completed a few hours later.
Remember, Fitzgerald is just the interim GM. He has power to conduct trades, but he's also trying to impress ownership and earn the full-time job. Coleman is an underrated player signed to a very good contract. So there's some risk in trading that away. However, the return he yielded makes it absolutely worth it, especially because it's looking as if the Devils might not be very competitive next season, either. They need to enter a rebuild in earnest.
A first-round pick gives New Jersey a much-needed boost and can help them restock the talent pool quickly. As long as the conditions of the Taylor Hall trade go in New Jersey's favor (and Arizona doesn't get a top-3 selection) the Devils will have three first-round picks in the 2020 draft.
What's more, 6-foot-4 power winger Foote is a heck of an acquisition. According to ESPN prospect analyst Chris Peters, Foote's "puck-handling and skating are closer to average, but he has a high-end brain and really thrived when playing with fellow elite prospects for Team Canada where he won gold at the World Juniors." Peters adds that when Foote has been healthy, he looks as if he can project as a strong future top-six scorer.
The Devils are in the market for young players to grow and develop with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes; they've now added two more possibilities in one trade, which is a win.