Dumoulin traded to Devils by Ducks for prospect, draft pick

Brian Dumoulin was traded to the New Jersey Devils by the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday for a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and forward prospect Herman Traff.

Dumoulin is in the final season of a two-year, $6.3 million contract ($3.15 million average annual value) he signed with the Seattle Kraken as a free agent July 1, 2023, and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The Ducks are retaining 50 percent of Dumoulin's remaining contract.

Dumoulin took part in the Devils' morning skate Friday and is expected to be in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets at Prudential Center (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, TSN3).

"Obviously it's been a lot of change, but it's good to get here," Dumoulin said Friday. "Obviously I want to try to play tonight and help this group. I'm excited to be here. I haven't played with too many of these guys but obviously I played against this team a lot and I know how fast they are and they're a hard team to play against. So I look forward to joining this group."

The 33-year-old defenseman has 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) and 91 blocked shots in 61 games for the Ducks this season.

Dumoulin, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was traded by the Kraken to the Ducks for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on July 2.

"He's a veteran defenseman, he has experience with winning and he's I think a reliable and consistent defender," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Thursday. "He's got size (6-foot-4, 214 pounds) and length but also skates well and can move the puck well.

"I had been digging in on him and watching him myself a little bit closer just to watch his game over the last few weeks because [general manager Tom Fitzgerald] has been working it for a while. So I'm feeling comfortable he's going to help our depth and give us a left-hand shot which is really important at this particular time so I'm happy to be able to get that done."

Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (No. 51) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Dumoulin has 171 points (24 goals, 144 assists) in 687 regular-season games for the Ducks, Kraken and Penguins and 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 81 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Devils (33-24-6) are third in the Metropolitan Division with 72 points. They are currently without defensemen Jonas Siegenthaler (lower body) who has not played since Feb. 4, and Dougie Hamilton (undisclosed), who was injured during a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and will not play Friday.

"I think one of my biggest things is consistency," Dumoulin said Friday. "I like to be reliable and give coaches and my teammates kind of the same every night, not have too many swings of ups and downs. I think for me, it's based on more defensive game with gaps and breakouts and getting out of the zone clean and make and take passes and just exiting the zone, getting out of the zone, giving to the forwards where they can try to create an odd-man rush."

Traff, 19, was selected by the Devils in the third round (No. 91) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 25 games for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League.

The Ducks (27-27-7) are six points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report.