New Jersey Devils’ Tyler Toffoli out tonight for trade-related reasons

The New Jersey Devils have announced they will be holding forward Tyler Toffoli out of tonight’s lineup against the St. Louis Blues for trade-related reasons.

The 31-year-old ranks No. 6 on Frank Seravalli’s most recent trade targets board ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

Toffoli has recorded 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points in 61 games and leads the Devils in the goal-scoring department. Since Jan. 20, Toffoli has racked up 10 goals and 15 points in 18 games. Toffoli is an unrestricted free agent this summer, coming off a four-year, $17 million contract he signed with the Montreal Canadiens, the contract has an average annual value (AAV) of $4.25 million.

This comes just days after Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald addressed the media saying, “I’m not shopping Tyler Toffoli,” he told reporters. “Tyler and I sat together in L.A. [during the Devils’ road trip last week], and we had a great talk. Tyler knows how much I’d like to bring him back. But unfortunately right now there’s a possible term difference [in negotiation]. That doesn’t mean we can’t revisit this past the deadline if he’s still there, or in the offseason. But the reality is, teams have called on him. And what a return looks like, I wouldn’t be giving away a player, my leading scorer, just to gain future assets. But the reality is, those future assets could help us down the road. I’ll know more in the next three days where we’re at.”

New Jersey currently sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division and they have tumbled to a 30-28-4 record. They sit eight points out of a playoff spot and have an 8.8% percent chance to get in, per moneypuck.com.