Hockey

Devils Involved In Plenty Of Trade Chatter As NHL Deadline Approaches

Published: Mar 7, 2025, 7:03 AM
5 min read
Updated: Jul 8, 2025, 7:39 AM
Fact checked by:
Sergey Demidov
Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Carolina Hurricanes warms up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena

Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Carolina Hurricanes warms up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

On the eve of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, NHL trade chatter linking the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes exploded on social media. That prompted RG to poke around and find out if there was any truth to the rumors that connected Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen, and Devils forward Dawson Mercer and defenseman Simon Nemec in what would potentially be a three-way trade.

“I’ve heard all of those names are in play tonight, but I can’t connect them right now,” a trusted NHL source told RG on Thursday night.

However, another NHL source warned that this chatter could be the usual rumors intensifying before an NHL Trade Deadline.

“I think too many people are trying to connect the dots,” a veteran NHL scout told RG late Thursday night. “That being said, I wouldn’t count the Devils out on any of that. They’re going hard.”

As Thursday went on, numerous reports indicated that the Hurricanes were leaning towards trading Rantanen, who just six weeks ago was traded to Carolina in a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche and the Chicago Blackhawks.

That trade also saw forward Taylor Hall go to the Hurricanes while forwards Jack Drury and Martin Necas went to Colorado, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from Carolina, who also acquired Chicago forward prospect Nils Juntorp. The Blackhawks acquired a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft from Carolina. The Blackhawks retained 50 percent of Rantanen's $9.25 million salary cap hit.

A Devils source did later confirm that the Devils were in trade talks with both the Hurricanes and Canucks but would not specify any players, picks, or prospects involved.

Considering the bad news he got on Wednesday, the fact that Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald was exploring multiple trade options and targets on Thursday night is not a surprise.

On Wednesday, Fitzgerald and the Devils found out that top center Jack Hughes was out for the season with an upper-body injury. Then he learned that defenseman Dougie Hamilton was week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fitzgerald didn’t waste time adding depth to the blue line on Thursday morning by acquiring two-time Stanley Cup champion and veteran defenseman Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for prospect Herman Traff and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

It should also be noted that even before the Devils lost Hughes and Hamilton to injuries, RG reported last Saturday that Fitzgerald was going all in at the NHL Trade Deadline.

“They’re going for it, that’s for sure,” an NHL executive source told a week ago.

“I’m hearing they’d really like to add a rugged, scoring, playoff-type guy into their top-6 and also add more depth on defense. With the way they’ve been playing heading into and coming out of the break, I think you’ll see Fitz do something soon, maybe even by Monday.”

By all accounts, Fitzgerald was still exploring plenty of NHL trade options on some of the biggest names on the trade market as the clock wound down to the 3 p.m. ET deadline on Friday.

NHL Reporter
James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist with 25 years of experience covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL, including two decades on the Boston Bruins beat. His work has appeared on NHL.com, NESN, ESPN Boston and more, and he’s made regular TV and radio appearances on NESN, ESPN, TSN and SiriusXM. A familiar face in the hockey world, Murphy has covered multiple Stanley Cup Finals, NHL drafts and playoffs, and now co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire, interviewing top NHL executives, coaches and players. He joined RG in 2024 after stints with Boston Hockey Now and LiveBarn.
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James Murphy
James Murphy
NHL Reporter

James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL hockey for RG.

With 25 years of experience covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA, CHL and more, Murphy has seen it all when it comes to hockey. His hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a diverse array of hockey media personalities who have lived and worked in and around the game. Murphy also currently co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire and, along with McGuire, interviews NHL owners and executives, as well as NHL and NCAA head coaches and players daily.

The Arlington, Massachusetts, native began his writing career in hockey in 2001, when the Boston Bruins raised one of his childhood idols, Ray Bourque’s No. 77, to the rafters before their 2001–02 season opener. For 22 of his 25 years as a hockey reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins daily, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals, multiple NHL drafts and countless Stanley Cup playoffs. He did all that for the Boston Metro, NHL.com, NESN.com and ESPN Boston.

In addition to his print work covering the Bruins, Murphy also made regular TV appearances on NESN, Fox 25 Boston, ESPN and NHL Network. From 2008 to 2012, Murphy hosted The Hockey Primetime Show on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and made numerous appearances on national and international radio shows.

Ironically, his three years not covering the Bruins were spent covering their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens. From 2012 to 2015, Murphy was based in Montreal and covered the Canadiens for NHL.com and TSN.ca. He also appeared regularly on TSN 690 radio and CTV.

Murphy returned to Boston in 2015 and left the media business to work in sales and marketing for LiveBarn, a Montreal-based sports streaming company, for four years. In 2019, Murphy once again became a Bruins beat reporter, this time writing for Boston Hockey Now. He spent four seasons working for BHN before arriving at RG in 2024 and also dedicated more time to The Eye Test podcast.

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