Sunny Mehta already has an option to pick up the phone and negotiate a potential New Jersey Devils trade and improve their top-six.
After failing to make the playoffs for the 10th season in a row, the Detroit Red Wings are now the longest-tenured team to miss the postseason after the Buffalo Sabres finally punched their ticket this spring.
Amid expressing his disappointment in what was declared a disappointing season by Steve Yzerman, he explained the Red Wings “need better players,” and that no one in the organization is untouchable.
“We’ll certainly look at any way we can to improve our team to take that next step, so to speak,” Yzerman said. “Certainly prepared to do that. We’re absolutely open to doing that.”
While it’s unclear what direction Detroit’s GM will choose to go this summer, the Red Wings certainly have a few players that would benefit New Jersey in a potential Devils trade.
At his introductory press conference, Mehta explained he wanted to, “make smart, objective and educated decisions… over, and over, and over again.”
He later made it clear that although he has a background in analytics as a former professional poker player, stocks trader, and NHL executive, he finds value in blending the analytics with his hockey knowledge.
“The reason that I ever even cared about analytics, statistics probability is because it helped me win. It helped me win in poker. It helped me win on the trading floor, and it’s helped me win in hockey. And so that’s why I care about it.
“And the blending is, of course, important in the same way that in poker it’s not just numbers. You have to have a feel for your opponent. You have to understand the subjectivity of bluffing. And, you have to understand the psychology. And the same thing is true in trading, right? That you have to have a feel for markets. You have to understand how news affects things, subjectivity, and human emotion affects things.”
So, who could the Devils target in Detroit to improve their own roster?
DeBrincat is the Red Wings leading goal scorer in the lates two seasons, scoring 41 and 39 goals respectively. 2025-26 was the third time in the 28-year-old’s nine-year career he’s reached or eclipsed the 40-goal mark. He’s also netted five 30-plus goal seasons in his career.
DeBrincat scores in many different ways. He can finish on the rush, snipe from an isolated area in the offensive zone, he netted 15 power play goals last season, and added eight helpers on the man advantage.
DeBrincat is coming off a career-best 85-point season, which will certainly increase his trade value.
DeBrincat—a regular running-mate with Patrick Kane—would be a strong fit next to Devils stars Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt to finally round out that line.
He’s got one year left on his contract in 2026-27 with a $7.875 million before due for a new contract next summer.
The Devils need to score more goals and that’s what DeBrincat does best.
If the Devils want a younger option, Mehta could target Lucas Raymond.
One of Raymond’s criticisms in 2025-26 was that he needed to shoot more. Still, he netted 25 goals on 173 shots—a shooting percentage of 14.5%.
In four of Raymond’s five seasons in the NHL, he’s eclipsed 20 goals or more. In 2023-24, Raymond netted a career-high 31 goals, and in the following season collected a career-high 80 points.
Raymond is a skilled all-around forward who will cost a bit more at 24 years old heading into the prime years of his career.