The trade of center Blake Coleman has the pitchforks out in Newark partly because of the popularity of Coleman for his hustling play on both ends of the ice and his fan-friendly manner away from the game, but equally as much with the discontent with the franchise over a highly anticipated season that turned into a fire sale.
The immediate reaction aside, I can understand why the Devils felt the need to move Coleman now.
Coleman is 28 and in the middle of a career year with 21 goals and 10 assists, which followed his previous top year with 22 goals and 14 assists.
Add Coleman's grit, his ability to play on both the power play and penalty killing units with an extremely team-friendly contract (pro-rated 1.8 million for the rest of this year and only 1.8 million for 2020-21) and you can see why Blake Coleman could be looked at as a "Sell High" candidate.
Players with Coleman's playing style can wear out suddenly without notice, remember David Clarkson?
Clarkson scored 30 goals at age 27 and four years and 32 goals later was a broken player that was out of hockey and while Coleman doesn't show signs of a physical toll yet, the style that he plays does seem to make you believe that a similar career arc to that of Clarkson isn't beyond possibility.
The Devils added 6'4 left winger Nolan Foote in the trade and a first-round draft pick from Vancouver through Tampa Bay that the Devils will receive in the 2020 draft if the Canucks make the playoffs, but if Vancouver misses the post-season the Devils will obtain the Canucks top pick in the 2021 draft.
Foote was the first-round selection of Tampa Bay in the 2019 draft and is thought to be a top-scoring prospect.
Foote scored 36 goals for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League in 2018-19 and spent this season playing for the Canadian National Team in the World Junior Championships, where he scored three goals in seven games.
Foote is the son of former Colorado defenseman Adam Foote, so the genetics are there to be a fine player and his stock has risen since being drafted last June with some NHL people rating him with an "elite" shot.
Essentially, the Devils received two number one picks for Blake Coleman in Nolan Foote and whoever is selected with the Vancouver pick in either 2020 or 2021.
Had you asked me before the season that the Devils would acquire two number one picks in a trade, I would have thought that it would be most of the return for Taylor Hall.
Had you asked me before the season, would I accept an offer of two first-rounders for Blake Coleman I would have raced to the window to grab that offer!
I know Coleman is a fan favorite, he's one of my favorites too, but Coleman is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2020-2021 season and it's never a guarantee that a player will stay with a team, no matter his popularity.
Everyone loves Blake Coleman and how he plays the game, but I think the Devils did very well in this trade when you look at the total picture and even though he'll be missed by the team and fans Tom Fitzgerald did the right thing.
If you want to say that Blake Coleman will be missed and the team right now will be worse for his departure- I'm right there with you.
But if you believe that the Devils didn't scoop up the proper value in return, you are on your own on that one.
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