The New Jersey Devils finally made a trade. After being the last Metropolitan Division team to make a move between rosters, Tom Fitzgerald pulled the trigger on the Ondrej Palat trade everyone was looking for. Ironically, he actually did it with a division rival.
Fitzgerald and the Devils sent Palat to the New York Islanders, along with a 2026 third-rounder and a 2027 sixth-round, for winger Maxim Tsyplakov. It’s not a move that’s going to change their fortunes this season. After getting destroyed by the Winnipeg Jets, the Devils are starting to see their playoff hopes dwindle.
Sometimes, a trade can push a team forward and light a fire under everyone, but it’s not a trade like this. The Devils basically sold on one of their veterans, someone who wears the assistant captain “A” every night. In exchange, they got a flyer who has two points in 27 games this season. Tsyplakov could turn it around in New Jersey, but we’re talking about a guy with fewer points than Luke Glendening.
This was clearly not the "move the needle" trade. This was the setup of such a trade. Just losing Palat isn't going to send the message to this locker room that they are a playoff team. Even with their play coming off much better, they are still losing games. On Tuesday night, they lost 4-3. It was a rough game against the Winnipeg Jets, which included a Cody Glass injury.
Will the Devils use their newly-found cap space to make another trade to add a forward?
The prevailing wisdom says the Devils made the Palat trade to make another move to push for a playoff spot. They are five points out of the Islanders, who have back-to-back games with the New York Rangers on the schedule this week. They are seven points from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Wild Card spots are nine points out.
Despite the situation surrounding the standings, the Devils are going to shoot for a playoff spot. Tom Fitzgerald and Sheldon Keefe are fighting for their jobs. Fitz is going to push his chips on the table to desperately try to fix this.
The Palat trade opened $3.75 million in cap space this season and next season. They have space to make a move thanks to long-term injured reserve designations of Luke Hughes, Stefan Noesen, and Zack MacEwen. The Palat trade is definitely not the last Devils trade.
The narrative really should be whether this is too little too late. If that’s the case, the Devils’ next trade should be that of a seller. Based on the points we made earlier (mostly, Fitzgerald’s job status), the Devils aren’t going to sell. They are going to buy.
Hopefully, they aren’t selling big assets for a rental. They need to make a move into the middle, and their first-round pick should be off limits. We might even see the Devils make a move that shakes up the core.
Either way, the Palat move is just the first move of the season. We expect more to come.