Devils Potential Trade Partner: Utah Hockey Club

The Utah Hockey Club will likely sell off some players, but do they have anyone that makes sense for the Devils?

As we inch closer to the NHL Trade Deadline, this week at All About the Jersey, we shift our attention from one Western Conference also-ran to another.

After breaking down what the Seattle Kraken might have available at the trade deadline, it’s time to take a look at the one franchise that could feasibly claim to be the newest franchise in the NHL, the Utah Hockey Club.

Utah has performed admirably in their so-called inaugural season, as the former Arizona Coyotes made some win now moves over the summer and have managed to stick around in the playoff race. But with Utah six points back of the final playoff spot in the West and the two teams directly in front of them with a game in hand, it’ll be an uphill battle for Utah to claim a postseason berth.

After years of tanking and accumulating draft assets, it is clear that Utah is heading in the right direction, but they clearly need several more pieces before they can take that next step towards being a playoff team. Fortunately for them, they have a few pending UFA who might be of use, as well as a couple pending UFA defensemen. Let’s take a look at who might be available and if they make sense for the Devils.

Can Utah Solve the Devils Center Issues?

Yeah, they might be able to.

Utah’s biggest, and I do mean biggest, pending UFA is the 32 year old center Nick Bjugstad. Standing at 6’6” and 205 lb., the right handed Bjugstad has spent parts of the last three seasons in the Arizona/Utah organizations, posting nearly a .5 PPG page and a faceoff winning percentage of 48.4%. He also brings 27 games worth of postseason experience to the table between previous stops in Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Florida.

Of course, I’ve profiled Bjugstad before and what he brings to the table, so there’s not a huge need to rehash a lot of it. But he does bring a lot of things up front that the Devils simply don’t have a ton of. Size? Check. Right-handed center? Check. Someone who can win close to half of their faceoffs? Check.

That said, Bjugstad hasn’t had the greatest season this year, with 15 points in 48 games for Utah. He is shooting a career low 5.7% on the campaign, so perhaps this is a case where he is getting unlucky and his numbers should wind up closer to their career norms, but with under 13 minutes of ice time, he’s not getting a ton of chances to bounce back.

The good news is that his struggles should make him relatively cheap. Even with the center market being relatively thin, I have a hard time believing Bjugstad would go for more than a 3rd round pick, if that. There’s also no long-term commitment if he doesn’t work out, as he’s on an expiring contract worth $2.1M AAV.

Is It Time to Bring Alex Kerfoot “Home”?

The other notable forward that Utah has that is a pending UFA is Alex Kerfoot.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he is a former Devils draft pick dating back to 2012. The one-time Devils prospect never actually signed in New Jersey though, as he played all four seasons collegiately at Harvard and then signed with the Colorado Avalanche as a UFA once his college playing days were done.

Kerfoot has carved out a nice NHL career for himself, playing 2 seasons with the Avalanche before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kerfoot played under current Devils coach Sheldon Keefe for four seasons and played a variety of roles in his lineups, so this is one of those situations where Keefe is very familiar with the player.

Kerfoot is a solid, if unspectacular, source of secondary scoring, posting 280 points in 579 career games. While he can play center in a pinch, he’s probably better off in his role of playing wherever he’s needed in the lineup, as he can play all three forward positions, and he can play in all situations. Kerfoot isn’t overly big or physical, but he does skate well, he is durable, and has some skill, so he can be a nice add if one feels the Devils shifted too far in the “go after grit players” direction.

Kerfoot is signed through the end of this season at $3.5M AAV, so this might be one where the Devils would need Utah to retain half to facilitate a deal, but with several high end forward prospects making their way through Utah’s system, they’d probably be smart to cash in on a guy like Kerfoot who has some value. Kerfoot also doesn’t have any trade protection.

I’ll add that while some fans might hold a grudge that he didn’t sign in NJ when he had the chance, I don’t look at this situation that way. I look at it as a player and agent making what they felt was the best decision for them at the time. If they felt the Devils center depth at the time was deep enough to block him from regular NHL playing time, that’s their prerogative. That said, things change, circumstances change, Kerfoot isn’t exclusively a center, and even if he wanted to block a trade to the Devils, he contractually can not.

Kerfoot is a versatile forward that Sheldon Keefe holds in high regard. I suspect if he was available and Sheldon Keefe had his way, Kerfoot would be on the Devils roster sometime after March 8th. That to me would trump any lingering bad tastes that might still be lingering from when he didn’t sign here once upon a time.

What Else Does Utah Have?

Utah doesn’t really need to move any guys with term. Players like Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther are part of the future there, and they’ll still need veteran leaders to help insulate some of the younger guys they have, so I have my doubts that Nick Schmaltz or Lawson Crouse will be on the move.

One player who has a little term remaining that I do wonder about though is winger Matias Maccelli. Maccelli has been a recent healthy scratch for Utah. I’d be lying if I said I watch a lot of Utah hockey games, but I think its reasonable to assume he has drawn the ire of head coach Andre Tourigny for some reason. Even if its for something relatively benign like “he missed a forecheck once that led to a scoring change against”, most guys who get into the coach’s doghouse don’t usually turn things around on another team until they play better.

Maccelli was a revelation for Arizona the last two seasons with 106 points in 146 games and a 4th place finish in the Calder voting, but he’s taken a step back this year with 18 points in 52 games. He’s not overly big or physical, and while it might be painting with a broad brush, his bio screams “soft skill winger” that the Devils have had plenty of the last few years. If you’re looking for someone to put the puck in the back of the net, I worry that Maccelli is more of a playmaker and facilitator type when he’s going well than a goal scorer. He’s also making $3.425M AAV through next season before he hits RFA.

Jack McBain is another interesting option in regards to a bottom six center as he brings plenty of size and physicality to the position. He hits RFA after this season with two more years of club control. Liam O’Brien exists if you’ve ever asked yourself “Could we get Utah’s version of Kurtis MacDermid, except he’s a bigger pest”, contract and all. Kevin Stenlund is there as well, although I think I’d prefer some other center options rather than committing to Stenlund for another $2M next season.

I did mention UFA defensemen and Utah has quite a few of them as their blueline has been decimated by injuries this season. With the uncertainty surrounding the injury to Jonas Siegenthaler, the Devils might be smart to at least check in on veteran defensemen, particularly those who can play well in a defense-first, penalty-kill role. Of Utah’s options, Ian Cole probably makes the most sense if the Devils want to add one more experienced blueliner rather than rely on some of their younger, internal options. Cole can play either defenseman position and has a reputation for being a defense-first guy who can kill penalties. If Siegenthaler is going to be out longer than expected, Cole could be a good fit to slide right into that spot.

Final Thoughts

Neither player is a household name, but Utah has two players that I think could make sense for the Devils in Nick Bjugstad and Alex Kerfoot.

In Bjugstad, you’re adding to your center depth and at the bare minimum, getting a player in there who brings more to the table than Justin Dowling. Bjugstad gives the Devils more size up front, which isn’t nothing. He does bring some physicality to the table, which is appreciated. The one catch with him is that he’s having a bit of a down season in terms of bringing secondary scoring to the table. Maybe that changes with a change of scenery, maybe it doesn’t, but if you’re asking Bjugstad to clear the very low bar of “can you score more often than Curtis Lazar and Justin Dowling have”, its something he should be able to accomplish. The other thing with Bjugstad is that I view him as more of a 4C on a good team than a 3C. If you believe that you are not getting enough from Erik Haula (and to be clear, the Devils have not gotten enough from Erik Haula), the upgrade in going from Lazar/Dowling to Bjugstad is fairly minimal.

As for Kerfoot, he too is having a down season offensively but is a player who historically is good for around 40-ish points a season. Because of his speed, his versatility where he could feasibly play anywhere in the middle six, and his familiarity with Sheldon Keefe’s system, he’d be an interesting flyer for a team looking for a little more secondary offense. I don’t know that he would be my first choice in terms of adding a scoring winger, but this is a situation where because the coach has familiarity with the player and because I trust the coach, I would trust him to put him in the best position to succeed.

I would ideally like to see the Devils add three forwards at the deadline. I don’t know how feasible that actually is given their cap space and how creative Tom Fitzgerald can get when it comes to tinkering with the bottom of the roster, but I say that to say that bringing in just a Kerfoot isn’t quite enough for me at this deadline. Bringing in just Bjugstad isn’t enough. They probably need a lines worth of forwards if they’re going to hope to match up effectively with Carolina in Round 1 of the playoffs, which should be their top priority seeing as that’s the team the Devils are most likely to face if and when they get there. Utah has some pieces that could potentially help, and maybe the Devils pluck from that tree, but I think they would be best suited to exhaust other options.

Anyways, that is how I view the Utah Hockey Club. Perhaps you view things differently. Please feel free to leave a comment below and thanks for reading.