diff --git a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/device/impl/GossipDeviceStore.java b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/device/impl/GossipDeviceStore.java
index ded0f31..7c23823 100644
--- a/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/device/impl/GossipDeviceStore.java
+++ b/core/store/dist/src/main/java/org/onosproject/store/device/impl/GossipDeviceStore.java
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@
                                                        DeviceId deviceId) {
         Map<ProviderId, DeviceDescriptions> descs = this.deviceDescs.get(deviceId);
         if (descs == null) {
-            return null;
+            return Stream.empty();
         }
         // inner-Map(=descs) is HashMap, thus requires synchronization even for reads
         final Optional<DeviceDescriptions> devDescs;