Last year’s offseason was about as off putting as possible for New Jersey Devils fans. During a time when almost every team is excited for their roster, the Devils downgraded. They put their chips in the basket of players like John Quenneville, Steve Santini and Brett Seney to replace the production of the likes of Patrick Maroon, John Moore, Brian Gibbons and Michael Grabner. That did not work.
Here’s the thing, however, there wasn’t anyone worthy of the Devils time on the market this season. The Ottawa Senators were waiting until the trade deadline before sending off Matt Duchene and Mark Stone (mostly because they really wanted to re-sign them both).