Breaking: Nikita Gusev has been traded.

Huge midsummer trade.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Breaking: Nikita Gusev has been traded.
Sergei Savostyanov/TASS/Zuma

The Las Vegas Golden Knights have just been forced to trade away what looks to be a pretty good player.

According to an official announcement from the Golden Knights organization, the team has traded the rights to Kontinental Hockey League superstar Nikita Gusev to the New Jersey Devils. In exchange for the Russian star the Devils will be sending a 3rd round draft selection in 2020 and a 2nd round draft selection in 2021 back the other way to the Golden Knights. 

For the Golden Knights this was a deal that was clearly motivated by money. Gusev had some big contract demands and for a team already over the salary cap it simply would not have been realistic to sign him. Of course teams around the NHL were well aware of this so it left Golden Knights general manager George McPhee in a tough spot when it comes to pulling off this trade deal. 

For the New Jersey Devils this is the acquisition of another elite level player this summer, a series of moves clearly designed to show superstar forward Taylor Hall that the organization has every intention of building a serious contender around him. Gusev joins a long list of big time additions that include star defenseman P.K. Subban and 1st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft Jack Hughes. It's hard to imagine being a New Jersey Devils fan right now and not being extremely excited about the direction that your team is moving in. 

Update: The Devils have wasted no time here and have negotiated a brand new contract with Nikita Gusev and his representatives. According to an official announcement from the Devils, the team has signed Gusev to a 2 year contract worth $9 million. That works out to an average annual balue of $4.5 million, a price that the Golden Knights could never have realistically paid for Gusev. 

Nonetheless this feels like another huge win for the Devils this summer.


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