Breaking down the Devils' quiet trade deadline

With no expiring assets of value and a lot of trade protection to navigate, the Devils' inactivity wasn't shocking.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

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The NHL trade deadline came and went without the New Jersey Devils making a single move.

It’s abnormal for a team sitting 25th in the standings – and dead last in goals scored – to sit on their hands at the deadline. I’d be lying if I said I expected that to be the case.

However, there are some reasons a lack of activity isn’t shocking.

For one, the Devils didn’t have a single remotely valuable asset on an expiring contract. Every player who’d be of any interest to other teams has term remaining.

There was zero pressure on the front office to make a move if an offer they couldn’t refuse wasn’t tabled.

The Devils are also littered with players who have at least some level of no-trade protection, including the most obvious trade candidates.

Brenden Dillon is a plus-defender and plays a rugged brand of hockey. He’s the type of player who’d be sought after at this time of year.

He’s also a family man who, until the summer, has a full no-trade. He may not have had any interest in leaving.

It could have made sense for the Devils to explore the market for Johnathan Kovacevic given their abundance of defense-first defensemen who can’t move the puck (and his struggles).

It’d be a tough sell given his contract, though, and he also had no interest in being moved.

Dougie Hamilton’s name has been in rumors for a while – and probably will continue to be – but his protection and hefty cap hit made dealing him now a difficult needle to thread.

With the kind of hockey he’s playing, it doesn’t make much sense to force him out the door if the return isn’t there.

Simon Nemec is one player the Devils listened on who they could have moved freely but kicking the can down the road on that is probably the best course of action.

No playoff-bound teams will want to trade anything off their roster in the here and now, sawing off some possible trade partners.

Waiting until the summer when anyone and everyone who likes Nemec can get involved is going to get the Devils the best return.

Not to mention, there’s the possibility of front office turnover. If you’re not certain Tom Fitzgerald will be around for the long haul, you don’t want him being the one to pull the trigger on a trade that ships out one of the franchise’s more valuable assets.

It was an underwhelming deadline for the Devils, to be sure, but it’s an understandable one.

If Dillon and/or Kovacevic wanted to stay put, there’s nothing the Devils could have done. That’s the bed Fitzgerald made for himself.

Forcing Hamilton out the door to one of the 10 teams on his trade list, or rushing into a Nemec trade when the list of potential suitors is cut in half, isn’t going to do the team any good.

Waiting for the summer to perform major surgery is the best course of action and, clearly, that’s what the Devils opted to do.

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