Mirco Mueller
The Mirco Mueller trade was the worst move Ray Shero made during his tenure here. Say what you will about the Michael Grabner trade, at least that made sense in the moment, and showed the Devils were really going for it. However, the Mueller trade was one that looked terrible when it happened, continued to get worse, and the Devils just seem to tie themselves to this defenseman despite his issues on the ice.
Mueller has not been good for the Devils. He’s had flashes of being alright, but never really showed the skill that made him a 1st-round pick. It makes it worse that the 2nd-round pick the San Jose Sharks got for him turned into Mario Ferraro, who’s become a full-time NHLer this season at 21 years old.
Mueller was protected in the Vegas expansion draft, he was re-signed this season to more than $1 million, and he’s been able to play 30 games this season despite scoring just one goal and no assists. He couldn’t get one play where he accidentally touched a puck 30 seconds ago and someone scored with it.
Mueller was clearly a pet project for Shero, and it never worked. Now, Mueller is likely in his last season with the Devils. Now that Shero is gone, his worst move is likely a few months behind.