Devils Trade Brian Boyle To Predators For Second-Round Pick

Brian Boyle
Photo credit USA TODAY images
By WFAN.com

The New Jersey Devils are officially rebuilding again, as they really don’t have any other options.

Another step in that rebuild came on Wednesday, when the team announced that it had traded veteran center Brian Boyle to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

#NHLTrade: The #NJDevils have acquired a second-round pick in the 2019 #NHLDraft from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Brian Boyle (@BriBrows22).Details: https://t.co/wsNEh2BRYE

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) February 6, 2019

Boyle signed a two-year, $5.1 million deal with New Jersey in July of 2017. The Boston College alum has previously spent time with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2017, Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, but in October he announced that his cancer was in remission.

The Devils are 20-25-7 at the moment, which is a record bad enough to be the worst in the Metropolitan Division and the second worst in the entire NHL. Boyle has managed 13 goals and six assists in 47 games this season.

His departure will surely make John Hynes’ team worse, but that’s kind of the idea at this point. This is a team that isn’t trying to win right now. Instead, the Devils are looking to accumulate assets for the future.

Boyle is a free agent this summer, but he should be able to help the Predators before then as they continue to compete in the regular season and eventually turn their eyes towards the NHL Playoffs.