NJ Devils trade Blake Coleman to Lightning hours after dealing Andy Greene

The NHL trade deadline is always a difficult time for the sellers. But for the New Jersey Devils, the 2020 deadline is more heartbreaking than others in recent history.

Forward Blake Coleman was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a conditional 2020 first-round draft pick and prospect Nolan Foote on Sunday night, the team confirmed. The trade came just hours after the Devils sent captain Andy Greene to the Islanders and a few months after they traded 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes.

The Devils are well out of playoff contention and assets are what they need, but trading away three heart-and-soul players in the same season hurts.

"Trading a fan-favorite, I know it's not a popular thing to do as a general manager," interim GM Tom Fitzgerald said. "There were a lot of teams calling me about Blake. He was a very popular player, but I just felt it was too good to ignore."

The move took many by surprise considering Coleman is still under 30 and has a year left on his contract, but it shouldn't have been that shocking. His grit, high-end skill and affordable $1.8 million cap hit made him an exceptionally valuable commodity.

Sure, he was someone who brought Devils' fans hope for the future, but Fitzgerald said he would listen to offers on just about everyone and reiterated the fact that he is unafraid to trade players with term.

"I’m not telling anyone that this player or that player is off-limits," Fitzgerald said Sunday afternoon. "People call me about certain players. I don’t ask for anything, but if someone wants to talk about one of my players that may have a contract then that’s fine. Let me know. But these are my players that I control and I don’t have to do anything with them."

In the end, he did something with one of them. The Lightning paid a high price for a high-quality player and it was enough to sway Fitzgerald.

The conditional first-round pick was previously owned by Vancouver and acquired by the Lightning in a trade for J.T. Miller last season. If the Canucks fail to reach the postseason, then the Devils will get Vancouver's first-round pick in 2021.

Foote is a 19-year-old Englewood, Colorado, native currently playing in the Western Hockey League with the Kelowna Rockets. A 6-foot-3, 200-pound left-shot, left-winger, Foote was drafted 27th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft and is a highly-regarded prospect. Through 26 games with Kelowna this season, Foote has 33 points in 26 games (15 goals, 18 assists). His brother Callen Foote is one of the top prospects in the Tampa Bay organization.

The Devils now have eight draft picks in 2020 with three coming in the first round, but two are conditional and could end up becoming 2021 picks.

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The 28-year-old winger became a fan favorite over the last three seasons with his infectious energy and his incredible efforts on the ice. Coleman posted back-to-back seasons with 20 or more goals and is one pace for a career year with 21 goals and 10 assists. An elite penalty killer, he has nine career shorthanded goals and helped the New Jersey penalty kill become one of the best in the league.

A late bloomer who played four years at Miami-Ohio, the same collegiate program Greene came from, Coleman is arguably one of the best players to come out of the Devils’ system in the last five years. Coleman emerged as a solid two-way forward in 2017-18, when he was part of a shutdown checking line with Travis Zajac and Stefan Noesen. He grew into one of New Jersey's best forecheckers and top offensive contributors.

Coleman and Noesen played youth hockey together in Plano, Texas, and he has been active in trying to grow the game in the Dallas area. Coleman became known as “Pickles” after he was caught drinking pickle juice in the penalty box two years ago. Since then, he’s developed a line of the brine and marketed it to other athletes as a hydration alternative to Gatorade and other electrolyte drinks. Part of his Pickles’ Pals program, part of the proceeds of P20 pickle juice and the merchandise go to the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Newark Ironbound.

Coleman and his wife, Jordan, went viral over the summer with a choreographed dance to “Old Town Road” at their wedding in Dallas. The couple is expecting their first child, a girl, in March.

Coleman was reportedly dealt to the Colorado Avalanche shortly before the Devils hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the report was incorrect. However, it was the beginning of the end for Pickles in New Jersey. He was scratched for precautionary reasons and sent home from the Prudential Center facilities.

Instead of Colorado, Coleman is joining the team that beat the Devils in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Abbey Mastracco is the Devils beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Devils analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: mastraccoa@northjersey.com Twitter: @abbeymastracco