Devils Trade Deadline Process Raises Even More Concerns
The New Jersey Devils' three NHL additions were fine, but their process and who they missed out on raises even more concerns about this front office.
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Boy, was I way off on that trade deadline. In fairness, I think most of us were. Even with Jack Hughes' injury, I thought the New Jersey Devils would be buyers. They were, to an extent, but not to the extent that I thought they'd be.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald was in a tough spot. There were basically 24 buyers this season, so there was not much to choose from among sellers. You also don't want to go all-in on rentals with Hughes and Jonas Siegenthaler done for the season; in Siegenthaler's case, it's the regular season for now.
Still, the Devils could have had a better trade deadline, and some of the players they were targeting raised even more concerns about what this front office views as needs for this team.
Devils Could Have Made Better Use of 2nd and Traff
The Devils didn't acquire bad players at this trade deadline. Brian Dumoulin is a quality third-pair defender, Cody Glass is a solid bottom-six center, and Daniel Sprong was once one of the most efficient five-on-five goal-scorers in the league.
If the Devils were close to a Stanley Cup contender, you'd probably be pretty happy with those moves. They'd round out the edges and shore up their depth.
Even now, I don't hate the acquisitions. Sprong and Glass will likely be better than 80-90 percent of the Devils' bottom-six forwards. You're telling me Glass isn't better than Erik Haula? There's a strong likelihood he's a significant improvement. He's also a restricted free agent and could stick around beyond this season. He's a fine enough addition.
Sprong had 11 goals and 25 points in 19 AHL games this season. Maybe he's got something left in the tank. At the very least, it's worth finding out. And they'll also remove some of the deadweight from the Devils' bottom six, ideally Justin Dowling and Nathan Bastian or Curtis Lazar.
So why the criticism? It doesn't necessarily have to do with the players, who I will get into more detail about in the next few days. They're solid enough, but it has more to do with the Devils' process.
Dumoulin is a rental defenseman, and the Devils gave up a second-round pick and Herman Traff, who Will Scouch had a late first-round grade on in the 2024 draft, to acquire him. Traff was playing well in the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan this season, and though I think his ceiling is a bottom-six winger, that's a high price for a rental defenseman.
If you're going to pay that for Dumoulin, why not use it on a forward, which was a much more pressing need than a defenseman, even with the Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton injuries?
Per Scott Powers, who covers the Chicago Blackhawks for The Athletic:
"Whether the Blackhawks would move Ryan Donato was up in the air, but they didn’t receive an offer of a first- or second-round pick."
Donato has 23 goals and 46 points in 60 games this season. He's averaging 2.42 points and 1.36 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five. Those numbers would rank first and first on the Devils. And you know what they struggle with this season? Scoring five-on-five goals.
Donato's production has not been completely fluky, either. Yes, his shooting percentage of 16.9 is well above his career average, but he's been legit great in an elevated role this season:
The Devils offered a second-round pick and one of their better prospects in a thinning pipeline for a rental defenseman but supposedly didn't for Donato, who fills a much bigger need. Maybe the Blackhawks just wanted to keep Donato, but I imagine a second and Traff would have enticed them.
I know I said don't go all in on rentals this season, but if you're gonna spend a second and Traff on a rental, at least make it for something that will have more of an impact on the team, like Donato.
Those Brayden Schenn Rumors
Don't get me started on those Brayden Schenn rumors. Per Anthony DiMarco and James Nichols, the Devils shifted their attention toward Schenn yesterday. Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don't make, and thankfully, the Devils seem turned off by the St. Louis Blues' ask.
If they had acquired Schenn, I can tell you right now that it would have been an absolute disaster. Schenn has five five-on-five goals this season. That is one more than Haula. ONE.
Schenn's contract is also not great, as he has three years remaining on his deal at a cap hit of $6.5 million. Maybe the Blues would have retained a portion of that, but I doubt it'd be anything significant. That contract is already aging poorly, and it will only get worse.
Schenn may be the Blues' captain. I'm sure he brings great intangibles, but so did Ondřej Palát, and how's that gone? We're talking about buying out or clearing Palát's contract this offseason, and I would almost guarantee we'd be talking about the same thing in a couple of years with Schenn:
Fortunately, it doesn't look like Doug Armstrong had any intention of moving Schenn yesterday, so he may have saved the Devils from themselves.
The fact that the Devils were even looking at Schenn is problematic. He is not what this team needs at center. They need to get a bit younger, faster and more skilled, and he's not that. I'm not joking when I say I'd prefer to take the flyer on Glass and see how that turns out. At least there's some upside with him.
There was also the Devils' interest in Scott Laughton, who went to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first-round pick and Nikita Grebenkin. I'd consider him Schenn lite, and it's good the Devils weren't willing to pay that price for him, either. But it just feels like the front office still has the wrong idea of what this team needs, and that's concerning.
It’s Now Make-or-Break for Fitzgerald
I don't mind the Devils' three NHL additions this trade deadline. I could see Glass and Sprong sticking around if they have some success in the final five to six weeks of the regular season. But targeting Schenn and Laughton makes me concerned about what Fitzgerald wants to add this offseason, and this is not an offseason he can afford to screw up again.
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