Revisiting The Erik Haula, Pavel Zacha Trade
The Devils and Bruins have both been excellent during the 2022-23 NHL season but there is one clear winner in the trade the two teams made with each other this past offseason. The Bruins and Devils swapped Erik Haula for Pavel Zacha and it’s pretty safe to say the Devils would like to have this one back.
Zacha, 25, disappointed during his tenure as a former high draft pick with New Jersey. In seven years with the Devils, Zacha’s career high point total was 36 last season. It just so happened that all he needed was a change of scenery.
With Boston, Zacha has been a perfect fit on the second line with David Krejci and David Pastrnak. Zacha does a lot of the dirty work defensively while Pasta pockets goals. It’s the first time in Zacha’s career that he has a positive +/- mark (+15). Maybe you can say that Zacha wouldn’t have been able to do this in New Jersey. However, the work he’s done on the defensive side is important and the guy has now earned a contract extension from Boston.
Zacha is never going to be a master on the powerplay but his offense has taken a jump since sporting a Bruins sweater. Zacha has 32 points in 48 games with a strong chance to pocket 20 goals for the first time in his career. He’s going to smash his prior career high point total now in Boston. It’s safe to say there are no real regrets here.
Haula, 31, is a disaster. It’s not the first time Haula has been traded either. Vegas scooped up Haula in the expansion draft from Minnesota. Haula was eventually dealt to Carolina for Nic Roy and a 5th round pick. Roy has since been a stable for the VGK and is starting to really develop as a quality third line center. Carolina then traded Haula along with three others for Vincent Trocheck. Each and every time Haula has been traded, the team that sent him out of time got the better end of the deal. This one is no different.
Did anybody else watch the Stars and Devils game last night? I did.
This is the kind of nonsense that Haula has done all year. Haula is a gritty player that’s important winning puck battles along the boards. He’s also winning faceoffs at a high rate (54%). However, the plays that make you scratch your head are there on display on a nightly basis. He also can’t find the back of the net to save his life. Haula has 21 points in 49 games for Jersey. That’s while getting plenty of opportunities to skate with Jack Hughes. 17 of those points are via assist.
The trade isn’t a disaster for Jersey. The Devils are still a young team on the rise. Losing Zacha isn’t going to make or break things going forward. However, there’s no doubt Boston got the better end of this one and he’s absolutely helping a Bruins team that could wind up breaking the point record for a single season. Zacha is also six years younger and should be around for a long time while Haula is a pending UFA and likely won’t or shouldn’t be retained.
