New Jersey Devils: Realistic Trade Expectations
By Ken Jones
Everyone loves to speculate about the amazing value a team’s players have on the trade market. Here’s an effort to, as Allen Iverson might say, “Keep Things Real.” An honest assessment of the possible Devils trade pieces leads one to the believe we aren’t going to see any amazing happenings in the next week or so.
So, here we are again. Another season, another non-playoff position in the standings for the New Jersey Devils. Sitting and watching the past five home games at The Rock has been, frankly, pretty brutal. So it almost seems refreshing to shift gears and consider the annual New Jersey Devils fire sale and what we might expect to receive for some of our “crown jewels” (a.k.a. trade pieces).
I, of course, say that tongue-in-cheek. Contrary to what one might read on social media or hear in the stairwell exiting Prudential Center, the Devils really don’t have a lot of value to realistically place on the market before the deadline. Here’s a recap of what’s likely available. This intentionally omits those who are a virtual lock to stay with the club (Schneider, Henrique, Zajac, Green, Palmieri, Zacha, et. al.).
Michael Cammalleri – Clearly, he is one of the trade pieces who will be available. But Cammy has spiraled downward into a totally unproductive player for the Devils. The question is, what is his value? I would suggest it is next to nothing. Or, perhaps, less than nothing. That sounds impossible, but it indeed may well be the case.
Michael has two years remaining at $5 million a pop, and a full No Movement Clause. In my opinion, the Devils would have to retain a good bit of his salary for another team to even entertain the thought of accepting him. And, I think he’d bring next to nothing in return.
Time to move on from that thought. It’s highly unlikely he’s going anywhere unless the Devils just want him out the door at any cost.
P.A. Parenteau – Now, this is a different animal. Parenteau is one of the trade pieces who has some value. 13 goals in 58 games is not bad. Reminds me of the Lee Stempniak trade from a couple years ago. That brought the Devils a second and a fourth-round draft pick. Could Parenteau bring back a third to fourth round selection? Certainly. I’d hate to see him go, he’s a useful player, but given the Devils’ position in the standings, anyone would entertain that sort of deal.
Jon Merrill and John Moore – Oh Please! Merrill makes too many mistakes and has no offensive upside. Moore is softer than a six-pack of Charmin. In my opinion, they are not viable trade pieces as they have virtually no value. What playoff team in the NHL would possibly consider either of these two “an upgrade”?
Kyle Quincey – He’s had a decent year. He gets hurt and he’s too slow, but he is a solid physical defenseman with a serviceable shot who also can play on both special team units. Could he fetch a mid-round pick? Probably.
"The Devils don’t have too many chips to put on the trading block this season."
Keith Kinkaid – This is a tricky one. He’s had a few stinkers, such as Sunday in Brooklyn, but Blockaid has also played a number of excellent games this year. Backup goalies are a dime-a-dozen however. While I’m not trashing him and putting him in the Merrill and Moore bucket, I don’t see a lot of trade value with him.
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Jacob Josefson / Beau Bennett / Devante Smith-Pelly – I think it is fair to say that none of the contenders for this year’s “New Jersey Devils Underachieving Forward Of The Year Award” would fetch anything on the trade market. Even JaJo, who Coach Hynes seems to think has the best hockey sense in the world in practice, really isn’t producing at all in games 5-on-5 and has virtually vanished from both special team units in the past month or so. Not a lot of value here.
So, to sum things up, my advice to Devils fans is to temper expectations for the 2017 trade deadline. The club does not have a lot of golden nuggets to bring to the table, so we are not likely to see any blockbuster-type happenings. Maybe that’s good in a way. The vision of the club seems to be to try and acquire young forwards and see if their highly regarded coaching staff can help develop them. Let’s hope they can do just that!