The trade deadline came and went, and the New Jersey Devils top six looks the same now as it did before. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald was active in terms of the number of moves made, adding on defense, offense, and in the system, but it seems like a tall task for the few depth additions at the NHL level to completely address New Jersey’s desperate need for scoring as the playoffs quickly approach. Let’s break down the acquisitions from the 2025 trade deadline.
Brian Dumoulin (D)
Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, Brian Dumoulin is a veteran left-handed defenseman with plenty of playoff experience, having won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. With Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler out long-term, it isn’t surprising to see Fitzgerald add depth to the back end. New Jersey has some promising defense prospects, but it’s a bit of a gamble relying on such inexperience with little to no room for error.
In 61 games with the Ducks this season, Dumoulin has tallied two goals and 14 assists for 16 points. He is also a +2 on the season despite being on a Ducks team with a -20 goal differential.
Dumoulin will wear No. 2 with the Devils.
Cody Glass (C) and Jonathan Gruden (F)
The Devils added two depth forwards, Cody Glass and Jonathan Gruden, in a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Glass is a 25-year-old center from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fitzgerald addressed the need for a bottom-six center with this acquisition. Glass is sound defensively and has won over half of his faceoffs this season, an area where the Devils needed some improvement.
In 51 games with the Penguins this season, Glass recorded four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. His best offensive numbers came in 2022-23 with the Nashville Predators, when he recorded 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 72 games.
Glass will wear No. 12 in New Jersey.
Gruden is a 24-year-old left-handed center from Michigan. This season, he has played 42 games in the AHL for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has seven goals and six assists in that time.
He has 16 games of NHL experience in the past two seasons. He played 13 games for the Penguins in 2023-24, recording one goal and averaging 8:40 of ice time per game.
Gruden will report to the Utica Comets.
Daniel Sprong (F)
Daniel Sprong is a 27-year-old right-wing from Amsterdam, Netherlands. He could potentially bring a solution to the lack of goal-scoring in the Devils’ bottom six. Sprong has had a hard time finding his footing this season, playing 19 combined games at the NHL level split between the Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken. He has just two goals and three assists for five points in that time.
Nonetheless, Sprong is just one year removed from back-to-back 40+ point seasons. In 2022-23, he scored 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points in 66 games. The following season, he tallied 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in 76 games. If he can find his scoring touch again, this could be a great addition to the forward group.
Sprong will wear No. 10 with the Devils.
Dennis Cholowski (D)
Acquired from the New York Islanders, Dennis Cholowski is a 27-year-old left-handed Canadian defenseman. He has played in both the NHL and AHL this season. At the NHL level, Cholowski has three goals and seven assists for ten points in 33 games.
This is another move to reinforce New Jersey’s defense, which has taken a few blows as the season winds down. Siegenthaler is done for the remainder of the regular season, and Hamilton’s timeline hasn’t been specified, but another injury to the blueline could spell disaster for the Devils as they fight for every available point. Defensive depth is always useful down the stretch.
Cholowski will wear No. 44 in New Jersey.
Marc McLaughlin (F)
Acquired from the Boston Bruins, Marc McLaughlin is a 25-year-old center from Billerica, Massachusetts. This season, he has played 34 games in the AHL, tallying five goals and nine assists for 14 points. He also played 12 games with the Boston Bruins, collecting two goals.
McLaughlin has played 26 career NHL games, tallying six goals and no assists.
He will report to the Utica Comets.
Shane LaChance (F)
New Jersey acquired forward prospect Shane LaChance from the Edmonton Oilers. At 6’5”, LaChance is currently a sophomore and captain for the Boston University Terriers.
In his first year at Boston University, he played in all 40 games, tallying 13 goals and 14 assists for a total of 27 points. As a sophomore, he has played in 34 games, collecting 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points. LaChance has also proven effective at the face-off dot, winning over half of his draws this season.
Seasonal Outlook
It isn’t so much the moves that were made that have Devils fans surprised, but rather the moves that weren’t. With Jack Hughes done for the year, there was an expectation that a top-six addition would be made.
With the few depth adds, it’s clear that Fitzgerald has a different strategy and expects the team to tighten up even more defensively and win low-scoring games. New Jersey will lean heavily on its goaltending and defense and will have to manufacture offense whenever and wherever possible.
On the one hand, reworking an entire forward group and adding depth on defense is a lot for one trade deadline, especially with the high price tags. In the long run, it might be better for Fitzgerald to leverage his picks and prospects to make a more long-term, impactful splash in the offseason.
On the other hand, it’s a shame to potentially waste a season when New Jersey has a spectacular goaltending tandem and defense. It’s easy to focus on the names they have lost to injury, but the Devils still have a solid core with Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Luke Hughes. They’re also still in a playoff position despite their struggles since the holiday break, making it a bit hard to justify only adding around the fringes.
At the end of the day, everyone will have to wait and see how the season plays out before making a final judgment on the deadline moves. Maybe the new depth players will come in and energize the team, helping them heat up in the final stretch. Either way, as it stands now, it is understandable for fans to be a bit underwhelmed after no additions to the top six.
Deadline Week – Inside The Rink
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