Toffoli traded to Jets by Devils for 2 draft picks

Tyler Toffoli was traded to the Winnipeg Jets by the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday.

The 31-year-old forward is in the final season of a four-year, $17 million contract ($4.25 million average annual value) he signed with the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 12, 2020, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The Devils are retaining 50 percent of Toffoli’s contract as part of the trade.

“It’s the business and it’s one of those things where you’ve got to be ready for it and be prepared for anything that can happen,” Toffoli told TSN on Friday. “And obviously with this going down today, it’s just another step along the journey and it’s an exciting time being able to join a really good team. They’re playing really well and they have a lot of the pieces, so hopefully we can we can make a push.”

Toffoli has 44 points (26 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games this season, his first with New Jersey after being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on June 27.

The Jets are two points behind the Dallas Stars for the Central Division lead with three games in hand.

He’s the second major acquisition this season by Winnipeg, which acquired Sean Monahan in a trade with the Canadiens for a first-round pick in the 2024 draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on Feb. 2. Monahan has nine points (eight goals, one assist) in 13 games with the Jets (39-17-5).

Winnipeg plays at the Seattle Kraken on Friday (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, TSN3).

Toffoli said he doesn’t yet know where he will fit in with his new team.

“I talked to ‘Chevy’ (general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff) obviously when things happened,” Toffoli said, “and I just talked to ‘Bones’ (coach Rick Bowness). So, [I] haven’t really talked specifics yet, but we’re just trying to figure out when I’m going to meet them in [Vancouver on Saturday] or how that’s going to work. So, we’ll see how that all kind of unfolds today.”

Toffoli was the leading goal-scorer for the Devils (31-28-4) this season, but with New Jersey six points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning for the first and second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, it decided to become a seller and held Toffoli out of a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday for trade-related reasons.

Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (No. 47) of the 2010 NHL Draft, Toffoli has 510 points (253 goals, 257 assists) in 794 regular-season games for the Kings, Vancouver Canucks, Canadiens, Flames and Devils, and 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 88 playoff games.

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing being on so many teams,” he said. “I’m just kind of going with it … and it’s been fun every step of the way. Like I said, I’m excited to continue it and join Winnipeg and trying to push them over the edge and see how much fun we can have.”

Toffoli won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014.

NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report