April 29, 2017: The day everything changed for the Devils
The New Jersey Devils continue to benefit from winning the 2017 NHL Draft lottery.
After his team finished 27th overall last season, general manager Ray Shero was awarded the first pick at the lottery draw on April 29, leapfrogging Arizona, Vancouver, and Colorado - all teams that finished with fewer points - on the draft board.
As a result, Shero walked to the podium and called center Nico Hischier's name on draft day, and the 18-year-old immediately jumped right onto the Devils' roster this season, recording five goals and 13 assists through his first 24 NHL games.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Hischier gave the Devils some additional depth at center, as he joined Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, and Pavel Zacha, along with other newcomers in Brian Boyle and Marcus Johansson.
Still, the team was woefully thin on defense even after landing prized free agent Will Butcher, with a hole left gaping from the entirely understandable decision to trade Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall.
Hischier's arrival, then, opened the door for Shero to deal from a newfound position of strength. He subsequently pulled off a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, acquiring defenseman Sami Vatanen in exchange for Henrique and forward Joseph Blandisi, along with a conditional third-round draft pick in 2018.
In Vatanen, the Devils receive an offensively capable, defensively responsible 26-year-old who's under contract through 2019-20 at a decent $4.875-million cap hit. He can jump right in and help solidify the blue line for a club that boasts a plus-4 goal differential despite having a top-ten offense.
Henrique, 27, was a holdover from the previous regime - a center who played a big role in the Devils' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 as a rookie. He averaged 0.56 points per game in 455 appearances with New Jersey after being drafted 82nd overall in 2008, and proved to be a driver for a team not previously known for dynamic offense.
Having said that, Henrique - who carries a $4-million cap hit - is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2019, meaning the Devils gained a measure of term on their end as well. Coupled with Blandisi's $680,000 cap hit, the deal is a wash financially, with no salary retained either way.
That in and of itself is a nice bonus for Shero.
And again, this trade likely doesn't occur if the Devils had selected fourth or even third in the draft. Nolan Patrick - who went second to Philadelphia - may have stepped in and produced like Hischier has, but Miro Heiskanen and Cale Makar - defensemen taken third and fourth, respectively - are more long-term projects and would have kept the Devils in more of a transition period for the time being.
Instead, New Jersey has posted a surprising record of 14-6-4, and sits a point back of Columbus for first in the Metropolitan Division. Playoff contention may have been a hope coming into this season, but few expected the Devils to be this good, this soon.
New Jersey has perhaps been riding a bit of a lucky streak, and the underlying numbers suggest some drop-off should be expected. Vatanen, though, will bring some stability to the back end, and this deal signals Shero is intent on maximizing the present around top talents like Hall and Cory Schneider, while developing a promising young core around them.
And he has the hockey gods to thank for a gift in Hischier that keeps on giving.
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