On Sunday afternoon, the New Jersey Devils made the decision to keep alternate captain Kyle Palmieri from the lineup for precautionary reasons. This is, of course, coach-speak for “we don’t want him to pull his ACL before we can get a draft pick for him.”

This marked the end of a stretch of uncertainty concerning his future; until this decision, it seemed as though there was still a non-zero chance that Palmieri, who joined the Devils via trade at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, might sign an extension prior to April 12, one that would obviously take him off the market.

Considering their ongoing rebuild, letting Palmieri go and recouping some assets in the meantime is the prudent decision, but this probably isn’t the trade market the Devils envisioned. Not only is it an uphill battle to get proper