New Jersey Devils: 5 Ways To Salvage This Season

Crush The Trade Deadline

First and foremost, the New Jersey Devils have to win the trade deadline. Like we said earlier, the Devils have seen some of their mainstays, and some of their unrestricted free agents tied to other teams. We don’t blame the reporters for those other teams. When a team is at the bottom of the standings, the contenders will come to them like vultures.

However, a good general manager can use those vultures to his or her advantage. There are going to be teams that low ball you with offers, but if the team makes it clear from the get go that the conversations will end right there, then you eventually stop wasting time with teams that are never going to hit your price.

Also, the Devils don’t want to waste assets. Blake Coleman was drafted with a 3rd-round pick back in the 2011 NHL Draft. He’s on an insanely affordable contract, and the Devils spent six years waiting for him to develop before he became a full-time NHLer. If after all that, they get a 2nd-round pick for him, then this is a failure of epic proportions.

However, if the Devils are instead able to trade Kevin Rooney for a 5th-round pick, Sami Vatanen for a 1st-round pick and a prospect, then Andy Greene for a similar deal that the Devils got for Ben Lovejoy last year, then we all leave happy.

The Devils have to figure out who they are going to re-sign, and that includes the players with term. If Kyle Palmieri is not someone you are giving a contract to this offseason, it might be worth it to trade him when his value is high now. Either way, the Devils have some really hard decisions, but they need to win these trades after the Taylor Hall deal came with mixed results at best.