With just a couple of months until the Trade Deadline, teams are trying to figure out whether or not they are going to be buyers or sellers.
A team that is expected to be on the buying side of things is the New Jersey Devils.
After a trip to the second round last spring, many expected them to be near the top of the Metropolitan Division. However, that is not the case.
Heading into the weekend, the Devils (21-15-3) are fifth in the division, three points out of third-place, and two back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
With their playoff hopes on the fringe, it is worth questioning how hard general manger Tom Fitzgerald is willing to go to acquire big names prior to the deadline. New Jersey is a team that is riddled with injuries. Jonas Siegenthaler, Tomas Nosek, Timo Meier and Dougie Hamilton are all on injured reserve, with Hamilton out for the season.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed the Devils’ strategy over the next couple of months.
Frank Seravalli: I look at this group and I say – We haven’t properly realized how ‘in tough’ the Devils have been all year long. Has their goaltending, 32nd in the league, helped them out? No, it hasn’t…but you said goodbye to Ryan Graves, you said goodbye to Damon Severson. Dougie Hamilton goes down with a torn pec muscle, done for the season, and then you lose Jonas Siegenthaler.
They do have the [Hamilton] LTIR money to go out and spend if they want to.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I wonder if there may be a name out there that might just be too expensive for other buyers, that the Devils can just swoop in without giving up a first or second-round pick.
You can watch the full segment, and entire episode here…
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