Today was the NHL Trade Deadline ending at 3PM ET.
The Devils pretty much made their major move last week – unloading Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac to the New York Islanders for two AHL players and two Draft picks.
Today, only one deal was made with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The condition, according to the press release put out by the Devils is that if the Oilers win a first-round playoff series in 2021, the fourth-round pick in 2022 becomes at third-round pick in the same draft.
Edmonton currently stands in a playoff position in the Scotiabank North Division. If the playoffs started today, the Oilers would face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
Kulikov was on a one-year deal with the Devils, set to be an unrestricted free agent next year. He signed on October 22, 2020 and he was due $1,150,000 this season.
Statistically, he had two assists and 26 penalty minutes over 38 games.
The Devils will now have ten picks in the 2022 Draft. They have their own selections in rounds one through seven according to the press release. They also have Edmonton’s conditional fourth round pick (from this deal) and the Islanders’ conditional fourth-round pick (from the Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac trade). They also have the Columbus Blue Jackets’ fifth-round pick (from, I believe, the Keith Kinkaid trade a few years back).
In another transaction that did not net the Devils anything, defenseman Sami Vatanen was claimed by the Dallas Stars off of waivers. Vatanen played yesterday for the Devils against the Penguins while he was on waivers. He had an assist and played well, which may have showcased him to Dallas.
Vatanen was traded at last year’s deadline to the Carolina Hurricanes and returned to the Devils as a free agent in the summer.