Will the Devils Keep Selling? 2015 NHL Trade Deadline Discussion Post

Twenty four hours from now, the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline will be in effect. As of 3 PM Eastern Standard Time tomorrow, no more trades can be made within the NHL.  Roster limits will be removed, though the salary cap will still be in effect.  Tomorrow is the final day for teams to add that missing piece or pieces to their roster to go for a playoff run and for teams to move other assets that they cannot keep or for a more favorable package.  A lot of tough decisions will be made tomorrow.

In fact, a lot of these tough decisions have been made already.  Many of those rumored to be moved by March 2 have already been moved. Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli are in Nashville now. Daniel Winnik is now a Penguin.  Andrej Sekera is with the Kings.  Antoine Vermette has been sent to Chicago.  Curtis Glencross has just been shipped to Washington for two picks a few hours ago.   Even the New Jersey Devils made their first move already when they sent Jaromir Jagr to Florida for a second rounder in this year's draft and a conditional third round pick in 2016. While some may fear this could lead to a more muted trade deadline day, I wouldn't expect total silence.   So far, some real stunning trades have already been made and more could come.  Who could've seen Toronto moving David Clarkson's contract anywhere, nevermind for Nathan Horton's LTIR deal?  Or Kimmo Timonen getting sent to Chicago before he even played a game after being out with blood clots?

For the Devils, the real question is how much will they sell.   Jagr has already been moved; Alex appropriately said goodbye to him as have many fans. I doubt anyone will boo #68.   But there could be further picks and other prospects and players picked up.  That possibility is there as the Devils have plenty of space for contracts (they have 46 now) and the salary cap ($3.725 million per NHL Numbers). They have other players that fans want to see moved (e.g. Marek Zidlicky, Michael Ryder) and maybe some other players that teams may want that fans don't want to see moved (the intrigue of deadline day!).  Over here, we've hit on the subject quite a bit.  Mike believes they need to keep selling. Gerard wondered whether the team should clear house. I've had a number of posts on the subject: this one emphasizing that a full-on fire sale isn't easy, this one emphasizing the importance of getting a good return, this one emphasizing the importance of the trade market's cap and roster situations, and this one emphasizing that for the Devils to transition properly, they'll have to evaluate everyone and that could mean moving someone who isn't old and is a pending unrestricted free agent for this summer.   It's a lot to take in and it pales in comparison to what Lou and his team must deal with by 3 PM tomorrow.

This post will serve as an open discussion post for any and all trade-related activity for this Trade Deadline Eve and the Trade Deadline itself.  This can include re-signings, rumors from credible sources (not an "insiderr," not an "Eklund," I mean from legitimate reporters - this SBN hub is a good collection of what's out there), and reactions to trades that other teams have made.  Please link to all news reports or tweets from newspeople about what has happened, so we know where you're coming from with the news.  I remind you all that Lou Lamoriello and leaks do not go together. So any rumor involving the Devils should be taken with little more than a grain of salt.  And anything straight-up made up will not be tolerated. There will be a lot of action today, no one needs or wants the silliness.  All other rules apply for commenting (no cursing, no personal attacks, no trolling, etc.) as they would for any other post.

I will be around throughout Monday.  Any trades involving the Devils will get their own separate post for discussion and analysis, though that is certainly allowed here.  From about four PM or so, well after the trade deadline has closed, I will put together a summary of all of the Devils' moves.  Somewhere during the day, I'll have the month in review for February so those of you who want something other than deadline-day stuff can have that to read as well.  And business-as-usual will return on Tuesday with the Nashville game.  Thank you for reading and please try to enjoy the night before and the final day of trades for the 2014-15 NHL Regular Season.