On Wednesday the New Jersey Devils made a couple of trades in advance of the 3 p.m. trade deadline.
They sent veteran defenseman Kyle Quincey to Columbus in exchange for 26-year-old blueliner Dalton Prout. The Devils then hooked up with the Predators yet again (they combined on a Vern Fiddler trade earlier this year) by dealing P.A. Parenteau for a 6th round pick in 2017.
On the Quincey trade
I am not in love with this deal at all. Quincey was a good soldier for the Devils this season and, while far from perfect, he was able to help stabilize their defense a little bit, particularly of late while playing with Damon Severson.
Considering some of the returns other rental defensemen fetched (Ron Hainsey for a 2nd, Michael Stone for a 3rd and 5th, etc.) I figured Quincey would be able to land a mid round pick but I guess he doesn't have the same name value.
I know Quincey is nothing special -- they were never going to land anything of significance for him -- but Prout isn't exactly the most enticing return. He is a big, strong guy but he is not a good skater, puck mover, or point producer (his career high is nine points). In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Seth Helgeson. Basically, the Devils traded for something they already had.
The Devils can use him for exposure in the expansion draft but they already had enough defensemen to meet the criteria. I'm not sure what the Devils want or think they're getting, in Prout.
On the Parenteau trade
Again, the return is disappointing relative to what some other rentals brought in. Viktor Stalberg, for example, has fewer points than Parenteau has goals but still netted the Hurricanes a 3rd.
In saying that, the Devils landed an asset -- albeit not a great one -- for a guy they claimed off waivers months earlier. Any team in the NHL could have had him for nothing. The Devils snatched Parenteau up, he helped them stay in the playoff race for a while and then netted them yet another draft pick.
On top of that, replacing Parenteau and Quincey with Kevin Rooney (recently recalled) and Prout makes the Devils a worse team. Losing more will help their draft pick so the two trades were addition by subtraction.
Conclusion
Ray Shero did the best he could. While the returns were nothing to write home about, something is better than nothing.
Maybe Prout can somehow turn into a decent depth option. Maybe the Devils will win the lottery and hit on a 6th round pick. Maybe the trades will get the Devils one or two extra losses and be the difference in picking 3rd and, say, 6th.
There are a lot of maybes, sure, but those maybes offer the organization more than a couple of old players on expiring contracts.