Devils GM discusses team's strategy ahead of NHL trade deadline

The New Jersey Devils sure don’t sound like they’re looking for draft picks anymore. General manager Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Mike Morreale of NHL.com and mentioned the term “hockey trade” more than once, while admitting that they still haven’t made a decision on how the deadline will play out for their pending unrestricted free agents.

"Is there a hockey trade you could make to not only help your team immediately, but the future? Somebody in the age demographic of where we’re at with the core of our team. Is there a hockey trade that makes sense for us more long-term, but can help jumpstart us now?"

The Devils already have several high-end young players on the roster, so it makes sense that they would want to add to that group instead of looking a few years down the road with any additional draft picks. When Jack Hughes’ huge extension kicks in next season, the pressure will be on to start competing for a playoff spot, especially after handing out a $63M contract to Dougie Hamilton last summer. P.K. Subban and Jimmy Vesey are the team’s two more notable players on expiring deals, but neither one would be expected to bring back a very valuable asset.

• After just two games with the Charlotte Checkers, Noel Acciari has been recalled from his AHL conditioning loan. Of note, since he’s on long-term injured reserve, he does not need to be activated yet, and Acciari is still listed on IR. The Florida Panthers do actually have an extra roster spot open at the moment, but that had been used by Matt Kiersted and Spencer Knight at various points, both of whom are currently assigned to the minor leagues.
• It’s still a waiting game for Team USA defenseman Jake Sanderson, who missed photo day Saturday night at the Olympics as he remains in Los Angeles following a positive COVID test. Steven Kampfer and Andy Miele, who were also stuck in isolation for a short period of time, have rejoined the group, according to Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff, but it’s still not clear if Sanderson will be able to join the team by Thursday’s opener.