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Making something out of nothing |
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October 3rd, 2015. That was the day Lee Stempniak put pen to paper on a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils.
Any team in the NHL could have signed Stempniak for pennies months earlier -- he only fetched $850,000 on his deal with the Devils -- but, for whatever reason, teams took a pass despite Stempniak providing solid production in the middle-6 wherever he has played.
Four months after signing Stempniak, Devils GM Ray Shero shipped him to a Boston Bruins team looking for a boost offensively. In exchange for Stempniak, a guy any team in the league could have had for nothing, the Devils fetched a 2nd and a 4th round pick.
Fast forward to September 28, 2016. Shero decided it was in his best interest to shore up the blue line and he did that by signing Kyle Quincey to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million.
Quincey has averaged well over 18 minutes per game and is on pace for almost 20 points. As a result of his play, he is drawing plenty of interest leading up to the deadline and will undoubtedly be able to fetch the Devils an asset to help their rebuild.
Ron Hainsey landed the Hurricanes a 2nd round pick from Pittsburgh. Michael Stone landed the Coyotes a 3rd and (conditional) 5th from Calgary.
Given Quincey has matched their production, has better relative possession numbers and carries a lesser cap hit, it's certainly not unreasonable to suggest the Devils could walk away with a 3rd round pick for Quincey.
Even if the return falls below that, which seems unlikely, the Devils are once again going to acquire a useful asset in exchange for a player nobody in the league wanted a few months earlier.
Well done, Ray Shero.
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