There are watershed moments in a franchise's history. The LA Kings completely changed the course after landing Wayne Gretzky. Acquiring the Great One changed the direction of a once moribund franchise. The Toronto Maple Leafs ushered in a new era by trading for Mats Sundin. The Colorado Avalanche (thanks to the Quebec Nordiques’ incompetence) set up the foundation for their success with the Eric Lindros trade.
We could go on about examples of teams that altered their trajectories with massive trades. But there are also teams that missed out on major trades and paid the price. For instance, the Vancouver Canucks missed out on Gretzky. The New York Islanders picked Rick DiPietro in the 2000 NHL Draft over Dany Heatley or Marian Gaborik.
And, the New Jersey Devils missed out on Quinn Hughes. It seems that Hughes to the Devils was a slam dunk. There wasn't anyone who seriously covers hockey who didn’t think the Devils were the frontrunners.
Suddenly, seemingly out of left field, the Minnesota Wild came in and swooped Hughes off his feet. It was such an impactful moment that, in my estimation, the Devils haven’t really recovered since.
On December 11, the day before the massive trade, the Devils were 17-13-1. They had just come off an 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The club ended a five-game losing streak before going right back to the wrong side of the scoreboard. As such, landing Hughes would have been the ultimate shot in the arm, despite the player that would have been shipped out in the process.
The Devils were also playing without Jack Hughes. So, there was an understandable headwind going against the club.
Then, the news hit. Hughes was heading to Minnesota. And that just seemed to completely take the wind out of the Devils’ sails. Since the trade, the Devils are 5-6-1. While that’s not a terrible mark, looking under the hood, the numbers aren’t exactly pretty.
In those 12 games, the Devils have scored 21 goals. That works out to 1.75 goals per game. That’s with Jack Hughes back in the line. In contrast, the Devils have surrendered 33 in that span. That works out to 2.75 goals against. That’s a full goal more against than for.
All right, so there have been a bunch of close games there in which the Devils could have won. That’s where things get kind of iffy. There was a 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, a 2-1 loss to the Islanders, and worst of all, a 4-0 blanking at the hands of the struggling Maple Leafs. The only really impressive win in that span was a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Of course, Tuesday night’s 9-0 loss was arguably the worst in team history. It might have been the moment where the wheels fell off for the Devils. The performance prompted my colleague Nick Villano to proclaim that coach Sheldon Keefe has lost the group, while GM Tom Fitzgerald hasn’t done enough for the team.
Looking at the way the Devils have played since the Quinn Hughes trade, there’s plenty of evidence to back that assertion up. Unfortunately, the trend seems to indicate the Devils are closer to the bottom than the top. I’m not sure if there’s a way to spur the club after the massive letdown that came after missing out on Quinn Hughes.
A coaching change or a massive trade won't fix this on its own. Perhaps the Devils can tread water until the Olympic break. At that point, the hiatus could give the club a chance to reset. Maybe the club can go on one of those retreats where men sing tribal songs and open up about their fears. Maybe sitting naked in the wilderness for a couple of days can help the team bond and get back into its early-season groove.
Whatever the team needs to do to make things work, it’s something that has to be explored. This team is too good to lose the way it has. Again, the losses themselves haven’t really been the issue. It’s the way the Devils have just given up on Sheldon Keefe. A change must come, and it won’t come by just jettisoning guys.
It needs to come from the top down.