4 Moves the New Jersey Devils Should Have Made at the Trade Deadline

The NHL trade deadline has officially passed. For the New Jersey Devils, the annual movement circus brought little change this season.

Jaromir Jagr is gone, having been sent to the Florida Panthers for a second- and third-round draft pick, a sizable bounty for a 43-year-old player whose contract expires at the end of the season.

On deadline day, Marek Zidlicky was also traded. The Czech defenseman went to Detroit for only a third-round draft pick.

But that was all general manager Lou Lamoriello decided was worthwhile for the Devils to do. 

There were players who may have garnered interest as rental players for playoff contenders, such as Michael Ryder, Martin Havlat, Scott Gomez and Jordin Tootoo. Yet, rumors for these players never truly took off, though their availability was not in question.

While none of these players had overwhelming value, each could have filled a role for certain teams that look to be playoff-bound. 

Since I took a look last week at some of the more high-value and unlikely moves the Devils could have made at the deadline, this retroactive look will focus on smaller moves involving these players that seemed quite possible.

Though these moves are not as exciting as a move for a player like Loui Eriksson or Ryan O'Reilly could have been, they were much more likely to get done. With the Devils facing a period of transition after this season, even the small moves to acquire draft picks or prospects could have been helpful.

Anything That Adds a Goal-Scoring Prospect

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Top Devils prospect Reid Boucher in one of his few games in the NHL this season.

In an ideal world, the Devils could have turned some part of their excess veteran forwards and young defensemen into a player who can help the offensively anemic Devils right away. But the chances of that were always going to be quite low.

The next-best thing would have been a highly regarded prospect who is projected to be a goal scorer at the NHL level. 

New Jersey has only one highly touted prospect who fits that bill—Reid Boucher. Even if Boucher was having a tremendous season in the AHL, having only one goal-scoring prospect would be less than ideal.

But even Boucher is not consistently giving the Devils hope. He has only 12 goals and 26 points in 52 games with New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils.

So, the Devils could clearly use a goal-scoring prospect. 

They did pick up three draft picks, a second-rounder and two third-rounders, but it is hard to see those turning into the sort of player the Devils are in need of. The picks are likely too late in the draft to be picking up a bona fide offensive threat, particularly given that New Jersey's recent history of drafting forwards is poor.

Only one of the forwards currently on the Devils' roster has been drafted by New Jersey in the last 10 years—Adam Henrique.

So, it would have been a step in the right direction for the Devils to have added a goal-scoring prospect.

A Move Involving Scott Gomez or Jordin Tootoo—If the Price Was Right

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Jordin Tootoo celebrates a goal against the Boston Bruins.

Some of New Jersey's potential rental forwards were players the team definitely wanted to get rid of. But others have contributed since being given an opportunity, surprisingly increasing their value as trade bait.

Scott Gomez and Jordin Tootoo both fall into the latter category. 

Gomez signed with the team on December 1 after spending October and November practicing with the team, hoping to work his way onto the NHL roster. Since signing, Gomez has shown some of the same spark that he did in the early 2000s when he was one of New Jersey's top forwards.

He has five goals and 18 assists in 39 games, giving him the second-highest points-per-game rate on the team, behind only Michael Cammalleri. 

The days of Gomez being a first-line center on a playoff team are over, but he could have contributed as a second- or third-line center on a team that needed help down the middle. 

Tootoo probably had less value than Gomez, but his play of late may well have turned some heads. He likely would have been only a fourth-line player if he was moved to a playoff contender, but his grit, willingness to stand up for teammates, decent hands and surprising speed all could have made him a desirable addition.

Though both players would probably be willing to return next season, it seems unlikely that either will be able to continue to play this well. Gomez will turn 36 in December and is having his first truly productive season since 2009-10. Tootoo just turned 32 and is enjoying an abnormally high, and likely not repeatable, shooting percentage this season (13.6 percent this season compared to 6.2 percent throughout his career). The result in the uptick has only been six goals.

Neither would have fetched a particularly high return, but like the Jagr deal, some return likely would have been worth more than keeping either around.

A Better Deal for Marek Zidlicky

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Marek Zidlicky doing what he does best—moving the puck.

For the sake of fairness, it is important to note that Marek Zidlicky has a no-trade clause in his contract. Thus, any move the Devils wanted to make regarding the Czech defenseman had to be approved by the player. 

So, New Jersey's hands were likely somewhat tied in its trading of Zidlicky, who ultimately was sent to Detroit for a third-round draft pick in 2016 that will become a second-rounder if the Red Wings make the Stanley Cup Final.

Though Zidlicky is 38, he is still a productive player and likely worth more than what the Devils received for him. He had 23 points in New Jersey this season, has a ton of NHL experience and can be an effective power-play general when given other talent to work with.

After seeing Lamoriello nab two decent picks for Jagr, who is five years older than Zidlicky, seeing the defender go for so little was disappointing.

Of course, this is not to say that Lamoriello should not have made the move. Getting something for Zidlicky was certainly better than getting nothing, and the Devils have more than enough young defensemen to make up for his absence.

Still, one cannot help but think there could have been a better deal somewhere for Zidlicky.

Selling Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat—Regardless of What Is Received

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Martin Havlat gets a scoring chance against the Boston Bruins.

Zidlicky had obvious value to certain playoff contenders, so seeing him go so cheaply was disheartening. The cases of Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat, however, were the total opposite. Their value was certainly in question, so anything the Devils could have gotten for either player would have been acceptable.

Both Ryder and Havlat have a history of scoring goals in the NHL but simply have not worked out in New Jersey. Whether the fault for their failures should fall on management for misusing them or on the players for not doing enough personally to succeed is at this point irrelevant. Ryder and Havlat's contracts expire at the end of the season, and now the Devils will likely have them watching the majority of the team's games from the press box.

If Lamoriello could have brought in anything for either player, he should have done so. It seems extremely unlikely that either player will re-sign with the Devils after the season ends, so even a mediocre prospect or low draft pick still would have given the team more than it will now have when the season ends.

It seems hard to believe, despite all their struggles, that no team was at all interested in Ryder or Havlat. Ryder had 35 goals and 27 assists in 2011-12, while Havlat had 22 goals and 40 assists in the same season. Though that is now three years ago, certainly there is a potential playoff contender that would have parted with a third- or fourth-round draft pick to take a chance on either player for 20 games and the postseason.

Instead, the Devils will now have to tolerate two discontent, underachieving players for the rest of the season, then watch both walk away for free when free agency rolls around.

Though Lamoriello did well to move Jagr before the deadline, two New Jersey Devils that he did not trade will garner more attention as the season draws to a close.