Devils Trade Stempniak to Boston for 2nd and 4th Round Picks

The New Jersey Devils have dealt their leading point scorer Lee Stempniak to the Boston Bruins for a 2nd round pick in 2017 and 4th round pick in 2016. According to a press-release and reports after the 3 PM deadline, the Devils managed to pull of this trade with Boston.

Farewell Lee

Stempniak, who was signed after a tryout with the team in the fall, worked to become the leading scorer for the team up until the trade deadline. With 41 points, including 16 goals and 25 assists, his chemistry with Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri was a high point for the first half of the season.

While Stempniak's loss will surely be reflected in the Devils' offense for the rest of the season, there is a possibility he could be back in the future. It is his third time in a row to be traded and the Bruins will be his 9th team.

The Return

Shero, who was set on only selling Stempniak if he could get what asked for, dealt him to Boston for two high draft picks, a 2nd and 4th. While it was thought by some that he could fetch a first, that was unlikely for a player having a career year with not a ton of playoff success.

A second round pick is huge for a team in the midst of a retooling, this trade, in addition to the Eric Gelinas trade gives New Jersey 18 picks in the next two drafts, including 7 in the top four rounds.

As mentioned above, Stempniak could resign in New Jersey this off-season. He's previously been on the record as noting he enjoys living in New Jersey and being part of the team, thus it is not a reach to claim that he may be interested in returning this off-season.

Your Thoughts

How do you see the rest of the Devils season playing out without Stempniak? What do you think of the return for him? Will Shero flip the picks for a forward? Do you see him resigning this off-season? Let us know your thoughts and thank you for reading.