There has been a mind-shocking amount of buzz surrounding the New Jersey Devils over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been all that positive. While the Devils are riding a two-game winning streak, they’re 4-5-1 in their last 10 and starting to fade in the Metro Division.
Still, the Devils remain in the thick of the playoff race. That’s why there’s still an opportunity to right the ship and get back into a postseason spot.
Another major part of that major buzz has been the ongoing chatter surrounding Dougie Hamilton and an impending trade. While that talk has gotten the lion’s share of attention, trading Hamilton is not atop GM Tom Fitzgerald’s to-do list.
In a January 15 piece in The Athletic, insider Pierre LeBrun expounded on Fitzgerald’s top priority at the moment:
“But before any Hamilton trade happens, the Devils are focused on creating cap flexibility. Moving Ondrej Palat and his $6 million cap hit (through next season) is top of the list, but the veteran winger has a modified no-trade (10-team “yes” list), so it’s also complicated.”
As such, the main goal is to move Palat before anything else can happen. Palat’s cap hit, however, is seen as astronomical given his numbers and the role he’s carved out for himself with the Devils.
There may be some clubs out there who would be willing to take Palat off the Devils’ hands, but not at $6 million. Palat has one more year left on his five-year contract. So, it may seem like retention could be the only way to clear his cap hit off the books.
That’s the tricky part, though. The Devils don’t want to retain anything. Palat has a no-trade clause. Few teams are willing to generously take Palat’s cap hit off Fitzgerald’s hands. It won’t be until Fitzgerald capitulates and adds a sweetener for another party to take Palat that the Devils will remain stuck in the mud.
LeBrun also pointed out that the Devils would like to resolve their pending cap situations before the Olympic break. That leaves Fitzgerald with about three weeks to sort everything out. Looks like the coming days could be especially stressful for the Devils’ general manager.