Could There Be a Reunion Between the New Jersey Devils and Blake Coleman
James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now: Nichols writes via the DFO Rundown Insider Podcast with Irf Gaffar and Dave Pagnotta, that a player like Blake Coleman of the Calgary Flames could be an excellent addition for a contending team like the New Jersey Devils.
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Coleman has a year and a change left on his deal, which runs through the 2026-27 season with a cap hit of $4.9 million, including a 10-team trade list. Bringing back Coleman would be more of a depth move given how the top-six in New Jersey are already set.
The injuries are mounting for the Devils, with Cody Glass and Evgenii Dadonov still out, though there is hope that Connor Brown is returning shortly. It makes sense for the Devils to add a player who can score 15 to 20 goals a season.
NHLRumors.com Note: As we have seen, a team can never have enough depth scoring when the playoffs come around. Coleman does make sense, but outside of Stefan Noesen, Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald has yet to show he is willing to bring back former players. Adam Henrique was connected to the Devils for years, but it never happened. But any trade the New Jersey Devils make will have to be a money-in-money-out type of deal, given they are right near the salary cap.
Chicago Blackhawks Will Have to Decide Between Two Players to Bring Back
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times: The Chicago Blackhawks have a tough decision to make this offseason, choosing between Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev, given how they have structured their contracts to allow some of their prospects to come up and see NHL time.
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There is an argument for keeping Dickinson over Mikheyev, and vice versa. Dickinson is a center and is the team’s faceoff man, while Mikheyev provides more offense and has been more available over the years. However, they usually play on the same line together and have been feeding off each other this season.
The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping Dickinson can return to the lineup after an injury and solve the problem short-term, heading into the trade deadline, before the bigger problem comes in free agency.
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