With a week before the NHL Trade Deadline, the New Jersey Devils are trying to get ahead of things and add some depth on the blueline.
On Friday, the Devils acquired defenseman Kurtis MacDermid from the Colorado Avalanche. Going back to Denver is the signing rights to forward Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 seventh-round pick.
MacDermid has played sparingly for the Avs this season, scoring two goals in 29 games. He was last in the lineup on Feb. 22 in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. In his seven years in the NHL, the 29-year-old has never played a full season, with the most MacDermid played in one season coming during the 2021-22 campaign, where he made 58 appearances during the regular season. However, he did not play in the playoffs during the Avalanche’s run to the Stanley Cup.
This is the second time MacDermid has been traded in his NHL career. The Quebec City native was traded to the Avs just six days after being claimed by the Seattle Kraken from the Los Angeles Kings in the 2021 Expansion Draft.
To make room for MacDermid, the Devils sent forward Brian Halonen down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets.
Bardakov was selected by the Devils in the seventh round in the 2021 draft, but has yet to leave his native Russia. Since becoming an NHL prospect, the Seversk native has played with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League, having scored 44 points in 156 games over the last three seasons.
The draft pick acquired by Colorado originally belonged to the Nashville Predators. New Jersey received that pick when they traded their 2023 seventh-round spot to the Preds during the 2023 draft, in which Nashville selected Aiden Fink.
The Devils (30-25-4) are currently fighting for their playoff lives. They sit tied for fourth in the Metropolitan Division with the New York Islanders, five points back of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers, and six behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Avalanche (37-19-5) are tied for third in the Central Division with the Winnipeg Jets, both two points back of the Dallas Stars for first.
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