Hey, everyone!
GREAT TO BE BACK
It’s great to be finally back covering games on MSG after National TV took the last four away from us! And yes, while it was a painful loss to watch on Sunday vs. DET, the good news is that the Devils started to gain some traction here while our crew was watching from home, winning four of the last five.
Playoffs are still next to impossible, but I’m hoping the DET game is a one-off, and we see the same mindset from the four-game win streak carry over into the remainder of the season coming out of this three-day break. Every guy needs to finish the season playing at their highest standard, and if they can pull off a miracle and make the playoffs, great. But as Jack said, all you can control is living in the present each day. It will be important for this team to learn from all the painful stretches this season, so it stays in the past heading into a potentially long offseason.
SILENT DEADLINE
The Devils not making any significant trades before this year’s trade deadline might have come across as surprising to some, but for me, it was the organization’s way of recognizing that this team is more than likely not going to make the playoffs, and that it isn't worth it to force a trade just for the sake of making a trade.
There is a lot of careful planning that needs to happen, seeing that many players have clauses around “no movement/trades/team limits,” and to make a big move, especially given that Pesce got hurt before the deadline, would not have been easy to pull off without potentially blowing up your core group.
Lastly, we have to remember that two new CBA rules came into effect this season that I believe prevented teams from making trades. Playoff LTIR was the first, as all teams’ lineups now must be cap-compliant in the playoffs (can’t believe this didn’t happen after Chicago used this loophole in 2015 with Patrick Kane). Second, double retention on contracts is no longer allowed in three-way trades, as the Bruins and Devils did last season to facilitate the Trent Frederic-to-EDM trade from BOS, in which the Devils were compensated with Shane Lachance. (In that deal, the Bruins retained 50% of Trent’s salary, the maximum allowable for the trading team, and the Devils retained an additional 25% as the third-party facilitator to ultimately send him to EDM with 75% retention).
Long story short, the offseason is really the only option a team like the Devils has if you are looking to make “hockey trades” and not just dumping players for picks. And Fitzy’s comments after the trade deadline confirm my thinking that the organization is looking to this offseason to reevaluate and reset fully as needed.
JACK
If you were on the fence about whether or not Jack would get his swagger back after scoring the golden goal, now you are not! Between his hatty and cellys against NYR on Saturday, the way he’s handled all his interactions with the media and fans, and now Sheldon coming out and saying he’s been more vocal in the room and on the bench, I can’t refer to this version of Jack as “Vintage Jack” as I normally would. This is… “Golden Jack?”
We could be witnessing Jack unlock another level to his game, and I’m excited to have front-row seats! 🍿
MARKY
This recent body of work in the graphic below is what I am going to start referring to as “The Marky Standard.” I talked a lot about my hopes that Marky making Team Sweden and playing well in the Olympics would finally be the catalyst he’s been needing to find his form again, and boy, has he ever delivered! (...and run away with the net in the process, having started each of the Devils’ last 6 games, including all 4 games in the two B2B sets last week! 😳)
CHATTIN' w/ LENNI
Looking forward to catching up with #NJDevils rookie Lenni Hameenaho before tonight’s game vs. CGY, which happens to be the team he played his first career game against back in January!
— Bryce Salvador (@brycesalvador) March 12, 2026
Catch the interview live on our @DevilsMSGN Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m.! pic.twitter.com/6HQM3z5WSK
After I chat with Lenni, Cory, Rachel, and I will break down the state of the metro, why the Devils didn't make a trade, some notable trades around the league, and our keys to beating CGY on home ice tonight. LGD!
-Sal
