Today is the NHL \u201csoft\u201d trade deadline slash Olympic roster freeze, with the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline coming up in a little over a month.<\/p>\n
The New Jersey Devils have had many issues this season, including but not limited to, poor management from the top down, poor coaching, poor goaltending, the regression and\/or underperformance of several key skaters, an offense that can\u2019t score, a defense that can\u2019t keep the puck out of the net, and a wide variety of injuries.<\/p>\n
Other than that, things are going great in Newark.<\/p>\n
The result of all of the factors I listed above has caused the Devils to squander a good start to the season and fall out of the playoff race. They\u2019ve shown since the middle of November that they\u2019re incapable of stringing together a solid couple of weeks of hockey. Any progress that is made on the ice is almost immediately followed up by a four or five game losing streak, and they\u2019re losing because of one or many of the reasons I pointed out above.<\/p>\n
Tom Fitzgerald\u2019s job as the general manager is to ultimately make whatever moves he can to put the Devils in a position to win. Fitzgerald is in a tricky spot where he might feel the proverbial hot seat is indeed warming up and that he might need to do something now to ensure that he continues to be employed as the general manager of the Devils next season and beyond.<\/p>\n
But part of what comes with being a general manager is swallowing your pride and knowing when to cut your losses. Part of the job is not chasing short-term results, but looking at the bigger picture.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t believe there is a move or moves out there that, at this point, can position the Devils to make the playoffs. Never mind winning a playoff series. Never mind winning a championship. We\u2019re getting to the point of the season where the Devils are almost out of runway to make up the ground they\u2019d need to make up and get in. With it looking like the Atlantic Division will get both wild card teams, the Devils would need to finish Top 3 in the Metropolitan just to get into the playoffs. And while I\u2019m ever the eternal optimist that once you get in, anything can happen, I have to be a realist as well. The Penguins and Islanders might be \u201ccatchable\u201d in that I think someone can chase them down and take their spot, but why would I think the Devils would be that team? Have the Devils done anything this season to show they can beat the Penguins or Islanders in a Best-of-Seven series, let alone a Carolina team that has owned them the last several years?<\/p>\n
The answer to those questions is no.<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald might want to buy at the deadline and give the Devils a slightly better chance in the here and now. But if the idea is to build a team that can sustain long-term success, he\u2019d be better off taking a step back now, admitting defeat, cleaning up some of the mess that he created in the first place the best he can, and looking towards next season.<\/p>\n
The Devils have already gotten a start on this by moving out Ondrej Palat for Maxim Tsyplakov<\/a>. I don\u2019t know what Tsyplakov will be as a Devil, but I do know moving off of the final season of Palat\u2019s contract at $6M AAV is a much needed start. I do know that the Devils have a little more flexibility now than they did prior to this deal.<\/p>\n The Devils would be smart to continue to move out older players on unsavory contracts and give themselves more flexibility down the road, rather than double down on this particular group and buy.<\/p>\n Now, some might view this as calling for a rebuild. That\u2019s not what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n For starters, trading a so-called core piece away from the Devils is a seismic move, and one that shouldn\u2019t be taken lightly. I\u2019ll touch more on why this is a bad idea next week, but it\u2019s the type of move I\u2019m not sure I would trust Tom Fitzgerald to even do in the first place. It\u2019s the type of move where the Devils are probably losing said deal because you\u2019re not getting equal value for said player. There\u2019s a reason why those types of moves should be viewed as a last resort type of move. It\u2019s the type of move that signals a full-blown rebuild.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s put Nico Hischier aside as he\u2019s entering a contract year next season. Suggesting the Devils tear it down to the studs, trade everyone, and commit to another prolonged multi-year rebuild is not only foolish, but it\u2019s not necessary. And it\u2019s certainly not the type of move that should be rushed into in the middle of what is shaping up to be a lost season.<\/p>\n But I do think looking up and down the rest of the roster, it makes sense to explore the market on veteran players that aren\u2019t considered to be \u201ccore\u201d pieces.<\/p>\n Brenden Dillon is 35 years old. He\u2019s signed through next season at $4M AAV. He has a full NTC this season that becomes a 10-team list on July 1st. I like Dillon as a player, but let\u2019s be realistic\u2026.even in the best case scenario where the Devils bounce back next season, is Dillon part of the long-term plans for the Devils? Probably not. Would you want to be in a position where we are giving Dillon another contract that approaches his age 40 season? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n Jonas Siegenthaler is 28 years old and signed for two more seasons at $3.4M AAV. He has a 10-team no trade list. I like Siegenthaler, but he like Dillon is very much a defensive defenseman who doesn\u2019t move the puck. He\u2019s also had a dreadful season. Wouldn\u2019t the prudent move be to try to cash in on him rather than getting to a spot a year from now where we\u2019re debating whether or not the Devils should hand him another contract? Some might say you\u2019d be selling low on Siegenthaler, but I would\u2019ve said the same thing a couple years ago with John Marino when he had a dreadful season and he fetched two 2nd round picks.<\/p>\n Stefan Noesen is currently sidelined after undergoing knee surgery, but he has a year left on his deal at $2.75M and fairly light trade protection (a 7-team no-trade list after July 1). If he\u2019s healthy enough to play in the postseason (which is no guarantee as we don\u2019t know his injury timeline), isn\u2019t he the type of player a team would target as a depth forward? Evgenii Dadonov hasn\u2019t really fit in with this group at all, and while he has a full NTC until March 1st, any team should be able to fit in his $1M AAV. He has enough of a track record of success elsewhere where someone should theoretically be interested, even though he\u2019s literally done nothing as a Devil. Maybe the Devils aren\u2019t all that enthralled with what Maxim Tsyplakov brings to the table either and would like to move on from the $2.25M AAV he\u2019s slated to earn next season. Obviously that\u2019s tough to say until we see a larger body of work. I doubt there would be much of a trade market for Jacob Markstrom given how he has played this season<\/a>, but for what its worth, his no-trade list is 20-teams this upcoming season and 5 the following year.<\/p>\n Obviously, the Devils would need to replace all of these players on the roster. They\u2019ve already begun that process with the recent callup of Lenni Hameenaho and the early returns there are promising. I don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll be able to fill all of those holes next season with internal options. I do know that for a team that is entirely too mediocre, there should probably be few so-called untouchables. I do know that for a team that is entirely too mediocre, guys like Paul Cotter, Juho Lammikko, or Luke Glendening shouldn\u2019t have ironclad roster spots. We\u2019ve seen enough where there\u2019s no harm in giving someone else from Utica a chance.<\/p>\n I do know that for a team that is currently slated to have just under $14M in available cap space next season (according to PuckPedia), they should be more aggressive finding ways to create more space. Not because this team should go out there and try to buy their way out of this mess in a mediocre free agent class. They should do it because you have to have all options available to you. They should do it because you want to be in a position to reshape this roster on the fly. Moving out contracts now and picking up extra draft capital to use in potential deals will help with that.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying there aren\u2019t conversations that shouldn\u2019t be had in regards to some of the bigger names on the Devils roster. When the team has been as average at best as they\u2019ve been, they should at least keep an open mind. Dougie Hamilton\u2019s $9M AAV is a big number and his recent hot streak and age aren\u2019t enough to convince me the Devils shouldn\u2019t look to move him if they get a good enough offer. Dawson Mercer being invisible for large stretches gives me pause when it comes to continuing to build around him. The same could be said for Timo Meier, who the Devils did pay. But I do think those are larger, big picture conversations that would probably be better off being had in the offseason, rather than making a knee-jerk reaction and selling low on players who aren\u2019t easily replaceable and who are under contract for several more seasons.<\/p>\n The Palat trade has given the Devils some short-term maneuverability. Rather than rush out into the open market with money burning a hole in your pocket, the prudent move for now would be to sell off some of the obvious players you\u2019d look to sell off on, give yourself even more maneuverability going into next season, and reevaluate everything else come summertime. That makes a lot more sense than doubling down on this particular group and trying to push for a playoff berth.<\/p>\n What concerns me is what Fitzgerald actually does.<\/p>\n As much as the team was a slog throughout the second half of last season, they managed to hold on to a playoff spot throughout. Fitzgerald didn\u2019t go crazy at the deadline, but he did make some fairly minor moves on the margins to try to give the Devils a better chance. It didn\u2019t work, but its not really worth getting mad at him for giving up a 2nd round pick for Brian Dumoulin. Or a future third round pick for Cody Glass when he\u2019s been one of the bright spots with this team.<\/p>\n This season is different. The Devils are closer to being a last place team in the Eastern Conference than they are being a true contender. There\u2019s enough of a body of work to know that there is no trade Fitzgerald can make that will move the needle enough to catapult this team to the top of the division. They shouldn\u2019t trade premium picks, players, or prospects unless they\u2019re getting a true difference maker with team control back, and even then, that\u2019s probably not going to be enough for this season.<\/p>\n The \u201cShould Jack Hughes Go To The Olympics\u201d Debate<\/p>\n Jack Hughes has missed the last two games for the Devils after sustaining a lower body injury last week against Nashville. He is currently day-to-day, and expressed a desire to return before the Olympic break. One game remains on the schedule prior to the break as the Devils are slated to host the Islanders tomorrow night.<\/p>\n Hughes may or may not play against the Islanders tomorrow. That remains to be seen. But as of this writing, he hasn\u2019t been replaced on the Olympic roster. So there\u2019s certainly a possibility that Jack misses the Devils last few games prior to the break before hopping on a plane, flying to Italy, and suiting up for the first Olympic game.<\/p>\n