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The New Jersey Devils have traded LW/C Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins in exchange for C Erik Haula, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. We’re still waiting on details from Dreger on what the Bruins are giving up for Zacha, who was selected by the Devils with the No. 6 in the 2015 NHL Draft. Zacha was set to become a restricted free agent at noon ET on Wednesday with the calendar flipping.
Zacha never really panned out for the Devils. He posted a career-high 36 points in 70 games last season, scoring 15 goals with 21 assists. It was still underwhelming considering where the Devils selected Zacha seven seasons ago. He was never able to live up to his potential as a top-six center/wing. Now, Zacha is a decent risk-reward type of play for the Bruins. He has the potential to become a decent middle-six forward. Perhaps a change of scenery will be good for him.
Haula scored 18 goals with 26 assists in 78 games for the Bruins last season. He’s a decent third-line center, winning face-offs at a 54% clip in 2021-22. Haula was on the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the inaugural season, helping the Knights advance to the Stanley Cup Final. He had 55 points and 29 goals in 2017-18, both career highs. This will be Haula’s sixth team since 2017.