5 players the New Jersey Devils could trade by the deadline

4. Damon Severson, D

Another right-handed defenseman that may be of interest to some NHL teams come trade deadline. At 25-years-old, Damon Severson would be more than a rental player for a team, due to having three years left after this one on a six-year, $25 million deal that commands a cap hit of $4.166 million a season.

However, Severson has a potential upside as a young defenseman. Last season in New Jersey, Severson had the best offensive year of his career with 39 points in 82 games played. Though this season his 16 points in 45 games played would be considered a down year, Severson is not having a bad year by any means.

Severson has been logging second pair minutes alongside Vatanen this season, but overall holds the most average minutes played per game for any Devils’ skater this season with 22:19 minutes this year. Overall, Severson is being counted upon to play tough minutes for New Jersey this season, as he’s just the second skater on the Devils to top 1,000 minutes in the 2019-20 NHL season.

Unlike Vatanen, however, Severson is more of a long-term investment for a hockey team due to the amount of years left on his contract. While his cap hit is a bit of an easier blow to take, Severson is not a pending unrestricted free agent this summer and may be less of an attractive asset to a team just looking for a playoff rental.

However, should the Devils be willing to deal him, Severson has the potential to become a solid top-pair defenseman in the seasons to come and would make a good addition for a team looking to add depth at the trade deadline.