NHL Trade Deadline: New Jersey Devils

The Devils have been hot lately -- a ridiculous 15-1-2 in their last 18 -- enough to drag them out of last in the league all the way to a nose-bleeding 27th. To overcome the four other teams and ten points between them and the eighth-place Hurricanes, the Devils are going to have to keep up this torrid pace for the rest of the season. James Mirtle estimates that the Devils have to go 21-5 down the stretch to make the playoffs. It's highly unlikely but, I guess there is a chance.

So now Lou Lamoriello is in an unenviable position (as he has been for most of the season). Does he tear the team down and try to build for the future as the plan likely was during the team's abysmal first half? Or does he keep with the current good mojo and hold serve or daringly try and be a buyer at the deadline?

NEEDS

The answer to those questions isn't easy but there's one aspect that isn't too complicated; that the Devils don't have a lot to sell. In early January, Lamoriello shipped his biggest UFA-to-be, Jamie Langenbrunner, to Dallas. There are but a few players left: Jason Arnott, Adam Mair and Andy Greene. Mair has no trade value while Greene has some value and could bring back a decent pick but with a few injuries on the blueline, he may be better to held onto for the added depth.

That leaves Jason Arnott who has easily the most value of the three, but who will make Lamoriello jump through the most hoops to get rid of. Arnott has a no-move clause and at 36 has had a miserable season. He has 24 points in 59 games, almost half of his output through 63 games last year. Arnott's numbers have been tailing off for a few years and seem to have finally gone off the cliff.

THE VERDICT

If I'm Sweet Lou, I sit on my hands at the trade deadline unless someone blows me away with an offer for Greene or Arnott, which is unlikely to happen. There's no reason to mess with a good thing -- nay -- a great thing. The Devils have completely turned their season around and while it may be too little too late, if you believe that this is a sign of things to come and not a fluke, the summer will be a time to reload and not a time to rebuild.