The New Jersey Devils go into the Olympic break understanding the situation at hand. The season is over. If it wasn’t over before Thursday (with a win, they could have been within seven points), it’s over now.
The Devils' season started off so optimistically. They thought this was a playoff contender who could make a run. Now, they are out of the playoff picture before the Olympic break, and they’ve done absolutely nothing short of way-too-late Ondrej Palat and Nick Bjugstad trades.
Sheldon Keefe is still the coach despite the results on the ice. Tom Fitzgerald is still the GM despite a roster that has no interest in suiting up. The Devils want to head to Milan, then figure out the rest of the season later.
Right now, the Devils are 11 points out of a playoff spot after losing to the New York Islanders. They tried literally everything to score more than one goal on Thursday night, but it was like a force field was surrounding the net. They couldn’t get more than that one goal by Nico Hischier past Ilya Sorokin.
Meanwhile, the Islanders scored with less than four minutes remaining in the game. That was the back breaker. The Devils pushed hard with an empty net, but Mathew Barzal found the back before the Devils could. It secured a 3-1 victory for the Islanders and clarity for the Devils.
At this point, there’s not much else to say. It’s time to officially transition to a new philosophy. The Devils are sellers, and now they know.
In true Devils fashion, they secured their status as sellers when they couldn’t even make trades. The NHL is on a movement freeze, so no trades or other moves will be made while the NHL is at the Olympics.
Still, it’s nice to have this clarity. We understand what the rest of the season is about. Let’s gain some assets and root for chaos around the league.