In a deal that got done just before Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, the Devils solidified their offense by acquiring Patrick Maroon from the Oilers for prospect J.D. Dudek and a 2019 third-round pick.
The 29-year-old Maroon has 14 goals and 16 assists in 57 games this season, just a year after recording career highs of 27 goals and 42 points.
The winger is a pending free agent.
“Once I heard New Jersey, I got really excited,” Maroon said on a conference call. “They are really good. Really young. Really skilled. They have a team that can make a push.”
The Devils (32-22-8) entered Monday with a firm grasp on the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Devils general manager Ray Shero said the price came down for Maroon in the last 10 minutes before the deadline.
It was the second deal the longtime NHL executive cooked up after trading for Michael Grabner from the Rangers this past Thursday.
“We’re a better team today than we were a couple of days ago,” Shero said.
Dudek, a sixth-round pick of the Devils in the 2014 draft, is a junior forward at Boston College.