TRADE: Golden Knights Add Holtz & Schmid From Devils for Cotter

The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid.

Vegas trades Paul Cotter and a 3rd to NJ for Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 29, 2024

Cotter, 24, played in 76 games this past season with the Golden Knights, where he had seven goals, 25 points, and 233 hits. Overall, the Michigan native can provide decent secondary offensive production and plenty of grit, so he should be a nice addition to New Jersey's roster. He also has a very good contract, carrying a $775,000 cap hit until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Holtz, 22, was selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He is viewed as having good potential, but he also struggled to break out with the Devils. In 82 games this past season, he had 16 goals and 28 points. Now, it will be very intriguing to see if he can find his scoring touch at the NHL level on a very good Golden Knights team.

Schmid, 24, appeared in 19 games this past season with the Devils, where he had a 5-9-1 record, a .895 save percentage (SV%), and a 3.15 goals-against average (GAA). While it was a down year for the young netminder, he is a prime candidate to bounce back next season. Keep in mind, back in 2022-23 with the Devils, he had a .922 SV% in 18 games for the Devils.