The New Jersey Devils were off again Sunday, but general manager Sunny Mehta still found a way to make news. He traded goaltender Rémi Poirier to the Washington Capitals for Washington’s own seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Poirier came over from the Dallas Stars on waivers Sept. 27 and never played a game for New Jersey, so Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Allen are now the two goalies on the NHL roster, with David Rittich and Jakub Malek under contract behind them.

The Devils (9-5-0) also have a defenseman chasing a record. Luke Hughes has five goals through 14 games and is on pace for 29, in a franchise where no defenseman has scored more than 22. Elsewhere, the Red Wings suspended Dylan Larkin Oct. 29 and have yet to sign Simon Edvinsson, and Michael Amato wants the Tampa Bay Lightning to think hard about Nikita Kucherov.

Devils Trade Rumors & News

The Devils traded Poirier to the Capitals for a 2027 seventh-round pick. The move takes New Jersey from 43 to 42 players on standard contracts and raises cap space from $124,340 to about $974,339. The Devils now hold five picks in 2027: two firsts, their own second and fifth, and the Washington seventh, after sending their own seventh to Winnipeg in the Hellebuyck trade. Rittich is the recall option if the Devils need goaltending help.

In Luke Hughes Is Chasing a Devils Record, I looked at whether the 5-goal start is sustainable. Hughes has taken 36 shots and is shooting 13.9 percent after a 5.6 percent career mark coming in, and Dougie Hamilton’s record of 22 would require 17 more goals over 68 games. Evan Bouchard of the Oilers was the only NHL defenseman with more goals going in, and he is at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

Catch up on Devils Postgame Live from Friday in Las Vegas: the 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, plus Gritsyuk, Hellebuyck, coach Sheldon Keefe and the Kucherov news.

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NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Michael Amato’s Sunday Overreactions argues the Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild should trade Nikita Kucherov and Quinn Hughes, Luke and Jack’s older brother, if they do not get extensions done, so they do not lose them for nothing. Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois says he has no plans to trade Kucherov, who has a 10-team list. Amato points to the Mikko Rantanen deal as the blueprint for moving a star and still coming out fine.

Max Smith’s Detroit Red Wings Trend and a Prediction checks his October picks and makes new ones for November. He predicts the Red Wings will settle the Larkin and Edvinsson situations before Thanksgiving. Smith writes that Larkin has quit playing and was suspended as of Oct. 29, and that Edvinsson, still unsigned as a restricted free agent, must sign or force a trade by Dec. 1 to play in the NHL this season. Smith also says John Gibson needs to share the net after a 4-5-1 start and that Emmitt Finnie has three goals in his last five games.

Dan Kingerski’s Penguins Q&A says the Pittsburgh Penguins have the second-worst winning percentage in the Eastern Conference after another disjointed loss in Montreal. He says they are not close to contending, do not have the trade bait to chase disgruntled young players such as Edvinsson or Larkin, and need to rebuild through pain. He also says no to moving Sidney Crosby to the wing.

William James has the Philadelphia Flyers’ 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth, a season-high in goals for the Metropolitan Division rival. Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, Oliver Bonk and Cole Knuble scored for the Flyers (4-8-4).