Revisiting the Sharangovich Trade After Season's End

Knowing what we know now, should the Devils have traded Yegor Sharangovich and a pick for Tyler Toffoli?

The New Jersey Devils’ season has finally come to a painful end, with the team ending with a sub-.500 record of 38-39-5 after legitimate Stanley Cup hype entering the season. A ton of stuff went wrong for the Devils this season, between league-worst goaltending for the first 60% of the season, poor coaching at times, and injuries to practically every major player on the team.

Another hot topic this season has been the effectiveness of the Devils’ front office and the moves made this past off-season by General Manager Tom Fitzgerald — many fans have pointed to not acquiring a legitimate starting goaltender before the 2023-24 season began as a reason to point the finger at upper management, though I think that’s an asinine point considering the league-average-at-worst goaltending from the same tandem last season. Another trade — or trades, rather — that fans have enjoyed harping on are the moves pertaining to short-term acquisition Tyler Toffoli.

The consensus among Devils' fans, and NHL fans in general, at the time that Fitzgerald sent Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, was that the Devils made out like bandits. After all, shipping out Sharangovich, who took a step backward in 2022-23, to acquire a stud winger who was coming off a career season with the Flames with no reason to believe he was slowing down for the seemingly low price of the third should be considered a no-brainer.

Tyler Toffoli, New Jersey Devils (Jess Starr, The Hockey Writers)

At the end of the 2023-24 season, things admittedly look a little different. The Devils did not make the playoffs, Sharangovich posted a career year of his own (31 goals, 59 total points in 80 games played so far), and Toffoli ended up getting traded himself to a contending team for a disappointing return. The question remains though, was the trade still worth it for the Devils?

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Sharangovich’s Deceiving Statistics

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat — Sharangovich is a good NHL player. Anyone who can score 30+ goals in this league certainly deserves that credit.

With that said, though, things aren’t necessarily what they seem with his statistical profile.