One of the biggest criticisms at the 2026 NHL trade deadline was the New Jersey Devils' seeming lack of action.
While the Devils did pull off a couple of moves, they weren’t exactly what fans had hoped. GM Tom Fitzgerald deserves a ton of credit for dumping Ondrej Palat’s contract without giving up an arm and a leg.
There was also the acquisition of Nick Bjugstad, which actually makes some sense. But beyond that, there were no major trades. There weren’t any earth-shattering moves such as trading Dougie Hamilton or potentially solving the club’s scoring woes.
That said, there might be a plausible explanation for the inaction. According to notable insider Frank Seravalli, it might not be that Fitzgerald couldn’t do anything; it was that he wasn’t allowed to act.
“The Devils and Tom Fitzgerald...there were lots of question marks as their deadline unfolded, how much autonomy does Fitzgerald really have… he said that he does… I think that's a situation that people are keenly watching.”
The prevailing chatter is that team ownership has a firm grasp on what happens with the team. As such, could there have been major trades that just didn’t get the seal of approval? Could the Devils have had upgrades in the pipeline, but the deals just never made it across the line?
Those are questions that will continue to make the rounds in NHL circles. But judging from the Devils’ relative inaction at the NHL trade deadline, there’s plenty of reason to believe Fitzgerald was indeed handcuffed.
Could Devils make an offseason splash?
Despite the inaction at this year’s NHL trade deadline, the Devils may still have deals in the works. Those deals may gain some traction throughout the remainder of the season and potentially happen at some point in the offseason.
The spotlight will be back on Hamilton. But there might be other players who could come back into focus. For instance, Dawson Mercer was a name that was out there for a while. Also, Simon Nemec and Jonathan Kovacevic were also believed to be on the block.
Then, there’s the goaltending situation. While Jacob Markstrom is still under contract for two more years, the Devils might be looking for alternatives.
That’s all speculation at this point. But it is part of the chatter that permeated the Devils’ trade deadline talk.
Fans won’t know for sure what might be in the pipeline, likely until after the season is over. That’s why it’ll be worth keeping an eye on lineup deployment from now on. It would be surprising to see the Devils take the gas off some of the players that may be on the block.
The last thing the Devils might want at this point is to have a trade target suffer a devastating injury. In the meantime, the rumor mill continues to grind, particularly with Fitzgerald apparently being hamstrung.