The New Jersey Devils are playing out the string, as they will miss the playoffs once again and fall short of expectations. This was a crucial year for the Devils and this core. Everyone, including the players themselves, were expecting bigger things from the Devils.
But yet again, injuries to key players like Jack Hughes and the trade speculation early in the season surrounding the potential acquisition of Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild. But the injuries could no longer be an excuse for a core that was supposed to be in the Eastern Conference Final this season.
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Entering the season, a big question surrounded this core group of players, and was this the right mix to bring a Stanley Cup back to New Jersey? When the Devils show what they are capable of, they can compete with any team in the league. When they don’t, it looks like a rebuilding team. Now, there are more questions than answers.
Speaking of questions, what will the New Jersey Devils do at the deadline?
Well, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman stated on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, he isn’t sure what to make of the Devils situation. Friedman believes many of the decisions could be put off until the off-season.
“I’m not sure what to make of the Devils yet. This was supposed to be a big year for them, and it started out that way, but it didn’t go well. Like two things really hurt them this year, the Quinn Hughes trade stuff and Jack Hughes injury. They were really going until Hughes got injured the first time at the team party.
And so, I don’t know what to make of them going in the next week yet. Like, I think everybody would love it if they could find a solution with Dougie Hamilton that works for everybody. But other than that, I’m not sure what to make of their situation yet. It’s been really disappointing, but I wonder if a lot of those decisions get punted to the off-season.”
One of the bigger questions for the Devils, as Friedman stated, is Dougie Hamilton. He has a 10-team trade list and is sticking to it, as far as we can tell. Hamilton is playing better and has been one of the better Devils defensemen recently. But the Devils would like to resolve the situation in a way that works for both parties.
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He could see that happening now if something worked out for everybody. Just remember, Hamilton is owed a $7.4 million signing bonus on July 1st. As DevilsNation.com has been reporting, that has been a sticking point for many teams as his actual cash drops on July 2nd.
But are there other defenseman in play? Friedman stated on Monday’s podcast that he had heard some things but didn’t want to name names, but he heard that New Jersey had made some defensemen available for trade.
New Jersey. I said on the last pod that I really wasn’t sure what they were up to. I heard some things on the weekend, but I could not get them confirmed. So let me just be careful, because I think the Devils, like I couldn’t get confirmations or denials, but I think they have some of their D out there. Like, not Luke Hughes, and I don’t know, I honestly don’t know about him (Simon Nemec when askeded about him). Not Luke Hughes, and I don’t think (Brett) Pesce. I didn’t hear Nemec. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear it. But, maybe some of the other D.
We know Simon Nemec‘s name has been out there in trade rumors for the past couple of seasons. Teams like the Nashville Predators wanted him in a trade for players like Juuse Saros and Ryan O’Reilly. Not to mention the St. Louis Blues in a trade for a player like Brayden Schenn. We know the Canucks wanted Nemec part of a trade package if the Devils were to get Quinn Hughes.
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Again, Nemec thrives when he has a bigger role. Does he feel he will get a bigger role in New Jersey? Nemec proved he is a top-pairing defenseman for Slovakia at the Olympics. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald was very non-committal about Nemec’s future with the club when he met with the media.
“Well, he needs a contract,” Fitzgerald said. “Where that goes again that’s part of my job, but it’s not for today.”
Nemec is a pending restricted free agent, and his agent has made comments in the past suggesting he would like more playing time and a chance to shine elsewhere. The Devils need an upgrade at forward, but again, there has been hesitation to move him in the past.
In addition to Nemec, defenseman like Brenden Dillon, Johnathan Kovacevic (who is in year one of a five-year deal, coming off major surgery), and Jonas Siegenthaler could be in play.
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But there will have to be some hard conversations this offseason regarding the Devils. Is the general manager back? Will the coach be back? We know players like Evgenii Dadonov, Luke Glendening, and maybe Paul Cotter and Nick Bjugstad are on the move.
Outside of that, for the Devils to improve at the deadline, it has to be a hockey trade. Could Dawson Mercer fall into that category? If that doesn’t materialize than those hard conversations will be revisited in the summer.
