Revisiting 5 Biggest New Jersey Devils Storylines of 2020

NHL Trade Deadline

After Hall was traded in December, it became clear the Devils would be selling the farm during February’s trade deadline. Anyone that wasn’t bolted down would be available. There were rumors surrounding everyone that wasn’t Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes. Travis Zajac saw his name in rumors, but he ended up saying he wanted to leave that to the offseason (which was never revisited, so it looks like he’s playing out his final year).

Kyle Palmieri looked like he was on his way out the door, too. He was supposed to get the Devils two 1st-round picks, but his price ended up being too high. Then he was going to be traded in the offseason, and those rumors still exist, but for now, Palms is still in New Jersey.

The Devils did make a lot of moves ahead of the deadline, including one that caused an arbitration fight into the offseason. It started with Blake Coleman, who brought Nolan Foote and a 1st-round pick from the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. That same day, they traded captain Andy Greene for a 2021 2nd-round pick and prospect David Quenneville.

Then, deadline day was a busy one for Fitzgerald. He ended up trading Sami Vatanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, Wayne Simmonds to the Buffalo Sabres, and Louis Domingue to the Vancouver Canucks. They got back Janne Kuokkanen, Freddy Claesson, a 3rd-round pick, a 2021 5th-round pick, and Zane McIntyre.

It was a lot of additions for the future of the Devils. They are built for the future just like multiple other teams (Kings, Senators, and Rangers come to mind).