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Shane Lachance, Boston University (Photo credit: Matt Woolverton)

Devils’ Trade With Oilers Sets Them up for Deadline Success

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Daniel Amoia | Last updated Mar 4, 2025 2:55 PM ET

Early Tuesday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils were involved in a three-team deal involving the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers. The Devils acquired the rights to Oilers forward prospect Shane LaChance in exchange for the rights of forward Petr Hauser (2022, 141st overall) and 50% retention on Trent Frederic’s contract ($575,000).

With the Devils in desperate need of some forward additions, there was an initial outcry on social media. Some were wondering why the Devils would burn over half a million dollars in cap when they’re tight to begin with. But after diving into the situation, it becomes clear that this can only help the Devils, not hurt them.

Devils Maximizing Their LTIR Pool

According to PuckPedia, the Devils’ current cap space (following the LaChance deal) is close to zero. That’s no reason to panic; they currently have Jonas Siegenthaler ($3,400,000) on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), meaning that money can be used at the deadline. However…there’s a caveat.

Any remaining non-LTIR cap space would be subtracted from the LTIR pool, rendering it unusable at the deadline. Sound confusing? Let’s make this simpler.

Say the Devils didn’t retain the $575,000 from Frederic, that would get subtracted from what they are allowed to use from Siegenthaler’s LTIR. For example, since Siegenthaler’s contract is $3,400,000, they would only be able to use $2,825,000 if they had exactly $575,000 of cap space remaining.

Since they retained part of Frederic’s contract, that brings them extremely close to using up all of their initial cap space, excluding LTIR. Thus, they’ll be able to make up for what they lost in Frederic’s retention with their LTIR pool. No harm, no foul.

Still confused? The $575,000 they retained doesn’t actually change anything; it could be used at the deadline anyway. Of course, this is provided that Siegenthaler remains on LTIR until Friday’s deadline, but given that he underwent a procedure a few weeks ago, that seems like a given.

Furthermore, it’s also a possibility that Jack Hughes ends up on LTIR after suffering an injury on Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights. His contract is $8,000,000, meaning the Devils would have significantly more room to work with at the deadline. Though, it obviously would come at the cost of losing their star player.

To Summarize…

The Devils basically acquired a prospect with decent potential for free. Hauser, whose rights they dealt, will likely never touch the NHL. The 6-foot-5, 218-pound LaChance is the captain of Boston University and has scored 25 points in 32 games this season. He profiles as a physical, bottom-six winger with a decent scoring upside.

The $575,000 retained on Frederic won’ t impact what they have to spend at the deadline at all. Of course, just because they have the space doesn’t mean they’ll use all of it. It’s ultimately on general manager Tom Fitzgerald to decide which move(s) to make.

The Devils are in desperate need of skilled forwards, as they rank just 28th in all-situations scoring since Jan. 1. While they have an 89.4% chance to make the playoffs, that could free-fall if Hughes is out and not enough scoring is added at Friday’s deadline.

Stay tuned to The Hockey Writers for all of your NHL Trade Deadline coverage.