The New Jersey Devils are dealing with some key injuries, including a season-ending surgery for Jack Hughes, but that hasn’t deterred them. They are still buyers and went out and paid a fairly steep price to the Anaheim Ducks for rental defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

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In exchange for Dumoulin, the Devils sent a 2025 second-round draft pick and the rights to 20924 third-round pick Herman Träff. 

TRADE: We have acquired RW Herman Traff and a conditional 2025 second-round pick from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Brian Dumoulin.https://t.co/pMMnVgZCip

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) March 6, 2025

Dumoulin is a two-time Stanley Cup champion and has traditionally been a capable top-four defenseman throughout his career. Now in the last year of a two-year deal, he’ll provide some stability on the back end. He might push young Simon Nemec out of some playing time at the NHL level, but it is a short-term upgrade defensively there. 

A second and a prospect feels like a pretty expensive price for a 33-year-old defenseman that might end up playing third-pairing minutes in the current NJ defense corps, but it seems to be a sellers market this year.

Who Is Herman Träff?

I think the Ducks did really well in this trade to get a draft pick and a more defined asset in Träff, who was selected 91st overall last June. He is a 6-foot-3 forward with some scoring pop, who has played most of this season in Sweden’s pro levels.

Träff is a 19-year-old winger who checks in at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds. He is not yet under NHL contract and has one more season remaining on his SHL deal with HV71. 

Over the course of the year, Träff has played in 25 SHL games with HV71, posting seven points including three goals. He has also been occasionally loaned out to Nybro Vikings IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan where he has made a noticeable impact, with six points in nine games. He was also selected for Sweden’s team at the 2025 World Junior Championship where he scored two goals.

Träff has size and is finding ways to create offensively at the pro level. He is a good skater for his size and can make plays off the rush. He has more learning to do and likely needs another year in Sweden before coming over to North America. He’s a prospect that is worth an NHL contract and getting into the mix to develop him as a future scoring depth option.

What Träff has shown this season is encouraging for his overall development trajectory. Spending another year in the SHL before getting a chance to come over and play for San Diego in the AHL will be a great chance for him to continue on this arc that is even more encouraging than when he was drafted.

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