Devils keep collecting- Trade Kinkaid and Johansson

Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero wasn't expected to stop his dealings by Monday's trade deadline after his previous trades and he did not do so as the Devils made two more swaps before the end of the trading period arrived.

The first of those two deals were announced early in the morning as the Devils traded goaltender Keith Kinkaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 5th round draft pick in 2022.
The 29-year-old Kinkaid had disappointed the Devils this season with his play after being given every opportunity to replace Cory Schneider as the day to day goaltender after Schneider's awful play last season.
Kinkaid's save percentage was under .900 and he was allowing well over three goals a game for the season, so that makes a very strong case for a squandered chance.
Rookie Mackenzie Blackwood, who has played well in his eleven starts (Two shutouts and allowing over a goal fewer than Kinkaid) will remain with the team with Cory Schneider for the remaining time in the season and won't have to be at the ebb and flow of the roster needs from game to game to not have to return to AHL Binghamton as such.
Kinkaid will be a free agent at the end of the season and frankly, I'm surprised that under those conditions that the Devils found anyone to give up anything for Kinkaid, albeit a late round draft pick four drafts away, so even a small morsel of a return at this time for Kinkaid is a win for Ray Shero and the Devils.

As the deadline neared, Shero struck again as he moved the player that most observers looked at as most likely to be sent away before the end of trading as the Devils traded forward Marcus Johansson to the Boston Bruins.
Johansson had scored 12 goals with 15 assists for the Devils this season in 48 games and had been playing well since the return of the All-Star break with five goals and six assists in twelve games.
Johansson has a concussion history that cost him much of his first season (29 games, five goals and nine assists) with the Devils (Ironically, the player that caused that concussion-Brad Marchand, will now be a Bruins teammate), I'm sure that dropped his marketability a bit, but still at 28 and motivated by free agency at the end of the season, Johansson can help the Bruins in their playoff run.

The return for the Swedish forward was close to what the team paid for Johansson before the 2017-18 season (a 2nd and 3rd) as the Devils picked up Boston's second rounder in the upcoming draft and their fourth rounder in the 2020 draft.
The Devils will also pay forty percent of Johansson's salary for the remainder of his contract, which isn't an issue as Johansson will be a free agent at the end of the season for Boston.

The four trades by Ray Shero have added three picks in June's draft- Boston and Nashville's second rounders and the third rounder of the Dallas Stars along with Boston's fourth rounder in 2020 and the fifth round pick of Columbus in 2022, so for a team at the bottom of the standings, the Devils did exactly what you would wish- trade four players that are not part of the Devils future, all would be free agents at the end of the year and added five draft picks, three of which could be used in trades to help the team return to being competitive next season.
One can always hope for more, but all said, there is no reason to huff and puff about what the Devils received in return.

Now the Devils play out the remaining games, see where the pick in the draft falls,which looks like barring a strong late run will at least fall in the top five, and start talking trades again with the extra draft picks that they now hold.
And wait until next season, when perhaps TRS might make a return to the Devils televised package...