Kevin Rooney has been sort of an enigma for much of this season. It seems like for a long stretch head coach John Hynes just kept him in the lineup because they knew next season he was on a one-way contract and they needed to make this work for the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils first called him up in late October, very early in the season. This team was fighting off losing streaks, and worked to keep away from losing major ground early. They called Rooney up to the NHL while sending down John Quenneville, who seemed to be playing well despite going scoreless.