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New Jersey Devils: 5 Moves That Would Unnecessarily Speed Up Rebuild

By Nick Villano

Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils (2nd from left) celebrates his game-tying goal at 5:30 of the third period against the New York Rangers and is joined by P.K. Subban #76, Nolan Foote #25, Ty Smith #24 and Nicholas Merkley #39 at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils (2nd from left) celebrates his game-tying goal at 5:30 of the third period against the New York Rangers and is joined by P.K. Subban #76, Nolan Foote #25, Ty Smith #24 and Nicholas Merkley #39 at the Prudential Center on April 18, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils: (Bruce Bennett/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports) /

The New Jersey Devils are terrible. This isn’t anything you don’t know. The Devils just came off of a four-game sweep at the hands of the hated New York Rangers. This season is a mess, and most people are claiming the rebuild is a major failure. The facts are that the Devils are putting out a roster that most teams would get excited about if it was Scott Wheeler’s prospect rankings. Unfortunately, this is the NHL team.

There is hope, of course, but it’s not hope for anything now. The Devils tried to make a couple of moves to make the team better in 2020-21. None of them worked. Trading Joey Anderson for Andreas Johnsson was an abject failure. Trading for Ryan Murray was fine, but it hasn’t moved the needle and he’s had more issues than positives. Corey Crawford never played one minute for the Devils. He retired in the offseason despite getting a $3.9 million contract. Dmitry Kulikov was the only player that really worked, and now he’s on the Edmonton Oilers roster.

None of these moves were really supposed to make the Devils a playoff team. If they were, it was going to be on the backs of young players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Mackenzie Blackwood. Just like everything this season, it didn’t work out. Hischier missed most of the season with two completely different fluke injuries. Hughes might be the most unlucky offensive player in the NHL. Blackwood has been maddeningly inconsistent.

So, with so many fans desperate for a competitive team, let’s take a look at what the Devils could do to make it happen immediately. This is an exercise that has failed time and time again. This is NOT what the Devils should do. However, it’s an interesting way to look at what the Devils could do. Might they make one or two of the moves in this article? Possibly, but it’s still not likely. There are some terrible contracts, the team would have to lose most of their top prospects and great young players, and they would be mortgaging the future they spent five years building. Still, it’s not impossible to put together a Stanley Cup competitor overnight.

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