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Devils' Lamoriello on quiet deadline day: 'We're here to win right now'

Eduardo Munoz / USA Today

New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was of two minds at the trade deadline.

On the one hand, he wanted to maximize assets like veterans on expiring contracts, but he still believes the Devils have a chance to make the playoffs, which limited who he was willing to deal.

"We certainly tried to do some things that could have made us better with reference to some of the players that you can move laterally or use some of your picks," Lamoriello told reporters. "Some people were a little hesitant to make some decisions in certain ways. But, yes, we did try to do several things."

New Jersey's biggest deal occurred days earlier when the team shipped Jaromir Jagr to the Florida Panthers for a pair of draft picks. Lamoriello's only deadline deal was trading veteran defenseman Marek Zidlicky to the Detroit Red Wings for more picks, but he stressed there could have been much more activity if he saw the Devils as sellers.

Lamoriello felt comfortable trading Zidlicky because he believes in the abilities of rookie defenseman Damon Severson. Zidlicky's no-trade clause prevented the Devils from getting the best deal for his services, but that didn't bother Lamoriello, who called the 38-year-old a warrior.

Despite dealing Jagr and Zidlicky, Lamoriello still believes the Devils have a winning roster.

"We're here to win right now and anybody who feels other than that, I can't help their thoughts," Lamoriello said. New Jersey has a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Sports Club Stats.

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