Devils Trade Greene to Islanders, Coleman to the Lightning
The New Jersey Devils traded defenseman Andy Greene to the New York Islanders for prospect defenseman David Quenneville and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Devils also shipped winger Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning for left wing prospect Nolan Foote and a conditional first-round pick (originally belonging to Vancouver) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
The New Jersey Devils trade Andy Greene to the New York Islanders (Photo via NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Just over a week before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, Devils interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald is wasting little time getting started on rebuilding his roster. Greene and Coleman were recent fixtures in the NHL rumor mill.
Greene, the now-former Devils captain, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello knows him well, as Greene played for Lamoriello during his tenure as the Devils GM. He’ll bring invaluable defensive experience to the Isles’ blueline as they jockey for playoff positioning down the stretch. The 37-year-old rearguard also indicated he intends to continue playing next season. Perhaps he’ll earn a bonus-laden one-year deal with the Isles if he plays well.
Quenneville, 21, was a seventh-round pick by the Isles in 2016. He spent last season with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport and this season with Worcester in the ECHL. The real prize for the Devils is the second-round pick, replacing the one they traded to Nashville last summer in the P.K. Subban deal.
Coleman, 28, is a versatile two-way forward with 21 goals this season, putting him on the verge of eclipsing last season’s career-high of 22. He’s no playoff rental, as he has a year remaining on his contract at an affordable annual salary of $1.8 million. This move is a bit of a surprise, as it was assumed the Bolts were more in the market for a defenseman with Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta on injured reserve. Nevertheless, Coleman will be a solid addition to their already deep forward lines.
The return for Coleman is better for the Devils than the one they got for Greene. Selected in the first round (27th overall) by the Lightning in last year’s draft, the 19-year-old Foote is the son of former NHL defenseman Adam Foote. He’s a promising scoring winger currently with the Kelowna Rockets. He tallied five points in seven games for Canada’s gold-medal team at the 2020 World Junior Championships.
The Devis also picked up the Canucks’ conditional first-round pick that the Bolts acquired last year in the J.T. Miller trade. They now have potentially three picks in the first round of the 2020 draft.
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Great picks retrieved by NJ
Coleman gets a 1st means Kreider gets at least equal
Perhaps Staal has a market now for a 2nd
High price but proves the Bolts are all in for this year and can use the depth at 1.8M for next year when a cap crunch hits. Scouting is all over on Foote (Stud or dud?) as he isn’t world beating as an overage, but this and a first will be OK if the Bolts bring home hardware, possibly painful if they don’t. But seeing age creep in and a cap crunch coming good on the Bolts for notfiying both team and fans that management really wants it too.
The Devils return for Coleman has me thinking about what the Habs could get for Tatar. Probably a first, a solid prospect and a young NHLer. Come on, Bergevin, do it already. It’s obvious to the rest of us that big changes are needed.
I was just thinking the same thing when i saw what they got back for coleman! I feel like tatar will/should bring back way more
New Jersey gets 2 top prospects, a 2nd and a 1st rounder, all for just Greene and Coleman??
Wowzer.
I give Fitzgerald credit I think he made a tremendous deal. You build a championship team through the draft then augment years later when you are close.
These picks could be in the 14 – 24 range so there will be 2 really good players available plus their own which could be a top 5 pick.
If they hit on all 3 picks they could be set up for years.
Good on the Devils
WOW!
Crazy market value right now !
I would never have thought a Top 1 A Prospect and a 1st rounder for Colemen
Future on the back end looks good in New Jersey
Bahl …..6,7 240 lbs
Foote ….6.4 200 lbs
Crazy season just got crazier ….
Almost any random trade scenario could be legit within reason…with that kind of market value !
A few days ago someone “spitballed” about the prospect of Edmonton acquiring Coleman and wondered what it would cost. Now we know.
As I pointed out then, he had 21g 10a 31 pts in 54gp at that point, on a cap-friendly $1.8 mil to the end of next season. To give that up NJ would have to get an offer they couldn’t refuse. And they did. A very good prospect and a 1st which, even if it turns out to be the 31st pick (should Tampa win the Cup), is a very good return – as is a 2nd for 37-year-old Greene!
Having a cap hit of just $1.8 mil with a year to go made Coleman a lot easier to fit under the cap for those top contenders with cap concerns, especially for the balance of this season as most of that $1.8 will have been paid out.
Tatar, on the other hand, at $4.8 mil, including next year, is a much tougher fit and that lowers the possible list of suitors among the top contenders. Certainly a team like Colorado, Columbus, NYI, winnipeg could accommodate what’s left of that this season, but perhaps they don’t want to include that $4.8 mil in their mix for next season while they deal with their own RFAs/UFAs they wish to retain.
Kreider is a UFA next year and no doubt a lot of teams could fit what’s left of his $4,625,000 for the balance of this season – but I just don’t think the Rangers are seeking to move him. Hell, they’re only 7/8 pts back of the 2 wild card teams and have games in hand on both. Maybe their picture will be clearer on February 24 and if they’ve fallen back by then he might be moved. In which case they should get as good – if not better – than did Coleman.