He is grossly overpaid for a third line player.
Prospect Info: 2024 NHL Draft Thread
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evnted
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- Apr 14, 2016
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2024 Draft Profile:
C Aatos Koivu, TPS U20 SM-sarja
Son of Saku. Feel old. While he's nowhere near a big name prospect, Koivu did have a relatively sharp development curve this year, going from "Oh, that's his kid?" to being a legitimate option for Finland's U18 squad. He's generally regarded as a mid/late round option, although Bob's list just barely has him in the 2nd round, which is probably bloodline related. Either way, he brings some interesting qualities albeit in a very unrefined package.
Intensity is the name of the game for Koivu. He's consistently moving on the ice and willing to compete in all three zones as well as battle in middle ice. He forechecks hard and while he's not overtly physical, he does play with a bit of an edge. Koivu is also effective in transition. He's a pretty straightforward N-S option off the rush, but that's not to say he lacks evasion or won't challenge defenders. He's also more than willing to chip and chase and fight for pucks down low. Regardless of what he's doing, Koivu is bringing a direct and energetic approach to the attack. He also has some impressive scoring upside. There's a bit of projection concern regarding a lack of deception and a need for space to really open up (which is why there seems to be a disparity between his 5v5 and PP impact), but he has great accuracy, a lot of power, and can get off one-timers with ease.
Most of the rest of Koivu's game is not really there. While he brings great pace, his skating in and of itself isn't anything special. There's really not much playmaking vision or ability, and even if there was, it's not like he'd be using it anyway; in the offensive zone, he really just likes to set up for shot attempts. Koivu, while certainly not lacking hockey sense, doesn't flash anything that high end either. The decisions are fine, the off puck support is fine, the anticipation isn't really anything to write about. I don't typically like to call out strength as a concern (that's boring to me and oftentimes fixable), but in this case, there's legitimate concern that his intense forechecking and ability to play through traffic won't translate unless he really builds up some muscle. Sometimes we like to bias summer birthdays because they generally indicate a bit more room for growth, but in the case of Koivu, there isn't that much of a framework to go off of to expect that his passing game or vision will progress to a significant degree.
So, as you've probably read on repeat now, he's a pretty simple player. There's an interesting checking line option here with tangible scoring upside, but a good chunk of his game will need to round out to get that type of deployment. I thought he had a chance to really bolster his stock in the U18 tournament, and he basically did the opposite. Lots of poor decisions, and lots of inability to generate offense. This is a player I would enertain in the later rounds largely in part due to his season-long progression, though I do wonder if Montreal gets tempted to go early on him.
C Aatos Koivu, TPS U20 SM-sarja
Son of Saku. Feel old. While he's nowhere near a big name prospect, Koivu did have a relatively sharp development curve this year, going from "Oh, that's his kid?" to being a legitimate option for Finland's U18 squad. He's generally regarded as a mid/late round option, although Bob's list just barely has him in the 2nd round, which is probably bloodline related. Either way, he brings some interesting qualities albeit in a very unrefined package.
Intensity is the name of the game for Koivu. He's consistently moving on the ice and willing to compete in all three zones as well as battle in middle ice. He forechecks hard and while he's not overtly physical, he does play with a bit of an edge. Koivu is also effective in transition. He's a pretty straightforward N-S option off the rush, but that's not to say he lacks evasion or won't challenge defenders. He's also more than willing to chip and chase and fight for pucks down low. Regardless of what he's doing, Koivu is bringing a direct and energetic approach to the attack. He also has some impressive scoring upside. There's a bit of projection concern regarding a lack of deception and a need for space to really open up (which is why there seems to be a disparity between his 5v5 and PP impact), but he has great accuracy, a lot of power, and can get off one-timers with ease.
Most of the rest of Koivu's game is not really there. While he brings great pace, his skating in and of itself isn't anything special. There's really not much playmaking vision or ability, and even if there was, it's not like he'd be using it anyway; in the offensive zone, he really just likes to set up for shot attempts. Koivu, while certainly not lacking hockey sense, doesn't flash anything that high end either. The decisions are fine, the off puck support is fine, the anticipation isn't really anything to write about. I don't typically like to call out strength as a concern (that's boring to me and oftentimes fixable), but in this case, there's legitimate concern that his intense forechecking and ability to play through traffic won't translate unless he really builds up some muscle. Sometimes we like to bias summer birthdays because they generally indicate a bit more room for growth, but in the case of Koivu, there isn't that much of a framework to go off of to expect that his passing game or vision will progress to a significant degree.
So, as you've probably read on repeat now, he's a pretty simple player. There's an interesting checking line option here with tangible scoring upside, but a good chunk of his game will need to round out to get that type of deployment. I thought he had a chance to really bolster his stock in the U18 tournament, and he basically did the opposite. Lots of poor decisions, and lots of inability to generate offense. This is a player I would enertain in the later rounds largely in part due to his season-long progression, though I do wonder if Montreal gets tempted to go early on him.
CalamityX23
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- May 2, 2023
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Jesus how many legacy prospects are in this draft??? Lol
Stephen Gionta
Boston College > Boston University
evnted
Registered User
- Apr 14, 2016
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2024 Draft Profile:
LD Gabriel Eliasson, HV71 J20 Nationell
It is probably generous to refer to this 6'6" 205lb beast as a hockey player, but for the purpose of this profile I will. He hits. A lot. Or perhaps more accurately, exclusively. Eliasson is an all day goon who probably wakes up every morning thanking Matt Rempe for legitimizing his long term projection. There are a couple aspects to his outlook genuinely worth discussion, but you know exactly what you're getting here.
Eliasson does not hit to make plays, he hits to cause pain. Every single shift he takes, he is actively seeking out ways to crunch the opposition. His stick is not a tool, but a weapon. His entire presence on the ice is built off intimidation. I have seen him, on more than one occasion, get sent out specifically to cause an issue, like final seconds of the game go beat someone up type shift. This current US age group probably has a more intense rivalry with their Swedish counterparts, rather than Canadian, due in no small part to Eliasson's antics. One positive worth mentioning, that isn't directly related to his size/physicality, is his mobility. I'm not saying it's great or anything, but he can get around pretty well for a big guy. He'll still probably get caught flat footed half the time, but he does have some recoverability.
Where do I even start with his drawbacks. First and foremost, he's just bad at hockey, there's no other way to put. He doesn't read the position well, he struggles to maintain his gaps despite an enormous reach advantage, he lacks any sort of puck skill or offensive tools. I almost feel bad if I keep going. The one thing that really should be highlighted as a negative is his discipline. He takes many penalties, and a huge majority of them are totally unnecessary. If we put all the talent stuff aside and just project him as a goon, that will still hold him back. If he's bringing this game, he needs to be semi-competent defensively and not actively throw his team on the penalty kill every time he's out there, and both of these things he currently struggles with.
I repeat, you know exactly what you're getting in this player. He is being drafted not to be good at hockey, but to be intimidating and painful to play against. There are two caveats I'll add, and they are of legitimate interest. First, Eliasson is so young that he's nearly 2025 eligible. While he's got a long way to go, you do have a ton of runway to work with. Second, he'll be coming to North America soon, and in fact is committed to, of all places, the University of Michigan for 25-26. That's a good program for defenders, as I'm sure we all know by now, so perhaps they find a way to cultivate any sort of game in him and he wind up a decent enforcer 6/7D. Based exclusively off size and physicality, he probably is a better bet than most mid/late round options, so I wouldn't turn my nose up at him, but this isn't really my type of player.
LD Gabriel Eliasson, HV71 J20 Nationell
It is probably generous to refer to this 6'6" 205lb beast as a hockey player, but for the purpose of this profile I will. He hits. A lot. Or perhaps more accurately, exclusively. Eliasson is an all day goon who probably wakes up every morning thanking Matt Rempe for legitimizing his long term projection. There are a couple aspects to his outlook genuinely worth discussion, but you know exactly what you're getting here.
Eliasson does not hit to make plays, he hits to cause pain. Every single shift he takes, he is actively seeking out ways to crunch the opposition. His stick is not a tool, but a weapon. His entire presence on the ice is built off intimidation. I have seen him, on more than one occasion, get sent out specifically to cause an issue, like final seconds of the game go beat someone up type shift. This current US age group probably has a more intense rivalry with their Swedish counterparts, rather than Canadian, due in no small part to Eliasson's antics. One positive worth mentioning, that isn't directly related to his size/physicality, is his mobility. I'm not saying it's great or anything, but he can get around pretty well for a big guy. He'll still probably get caught flat footed half the time, but he does have some recoverability.
Where do I even start with his drawbacks. First and foremost, he's just bad at hockey, there's no other way to put. He doesn't read the position well, he struggles to maintain his gaps despite an enormous reach advantage, he lacks any sort of puck skill or offensive tools. I almost feel bad if I keep going. The one thing that really should be highlighted as a negative is his discipline. He takes many penalties, and a huge majority of them are totally unnecessary. If we put all the talent stuff aside and just project him as a goon, that will still hold him back. If he's bringing this game, he needs to be semi-competent defensively and not actively throw his team on the penalty kill every time he's out there, and both of these things he currently struggles with.
I repeat, you know exactly what you're getting in this player. He is being drafted not to be good at hockey, but to be intimidating and painful to play against. There are two caveats I'll add, and they are of legitimate interest. First, Eliasson is so young that he's nearly 2025 eligible. While he's got a long way to go, you do have a ton of runway to work with. Second, he'll be coming to North America soon, and in fact is committed to, of all places, the University of Michigan for 25-26. That's a good program for defenders, as I'm sure we all know by now, so perhaps they find a way to cultivate any sort of game in him and he wind up a decent enforcer 6/7D. Based exclusively off size and physicality, he probably is a better bet than most mid/late round options, so I wouldn't turn my nose up at him, but this isn't really my type of player.
Saros is worth it but I'd pass
Swayman would be the choice
Markstrom hell no at 10
Ullmark- even Bruins fans think it's a 25 1st × small add
Enough crazy talk
I wouldn't move it at all
Move next yrs. draft a kid on the cheap @ 10
W4ere going to need it soon enough
evnted
Registered User
- Apr 14, 2016
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2024 Draft Profile:
LW Oskar Vuollet, Skelleftea AIK J20 Nationell
This is the type of player you basically cross your fingers on and hope he becomes something 5 years down the road, but there is a solid template to build off of. Vuollet has received very little attention this year despite posting near league-leading numbers in the J20 Nationell and even seeing 15 (albeit uneventful) SHL games. I think the player is worth discussing as a later round target.
Vuollet is an extremely crafty player. He displays elite level poise on the puck, enabling him to make lots of quick, accurate reads on defenders as well as plenty of subtle manipulations to shake them. He's the type of player who you see him streak in for a scoring chance and say "Oh, look at how easily he gained those lanes" without really appreciating everything that went into his timing, decision making, and fakes. Although he does lean shooter, he displays impressive dual-threat offensive upside. His playmaking game is based on high level anticipation and a lot of ingenuity with the puck, while his scoring is attributed to a great ability to find soft spots in coverage and a lightning quick release.
His skating is not quite high end per se, but he has great quick burst acceleration and offers a lot of fluidity that complements his excellent spatial awareness and savvy one-on-one play to get through defenders. Most impressively, although not consistently, Vuollet is a competitive backchecker. There are plenty of instances of him applying his great timing with some crafty stickchecking to seamlessly strip a defender of the puck and quickly get a counter attack going. This player's relentess attack mentality and just overall presence on the puck makes him deadly at lower levels.
One of the main areas Vuollet lacks in, unsurprisingly, is his tools. He's a 5'11" 180lb skill winger who plays even smaller than that, I was actually surprised the first time I saw his measurements. He can be pushed to the outside and struggle under contact to the point that it affects his game when he more selectively pick his spots. For as much as I like his offensive generation, and really do trust that he can scale it to a degree, I wouldn't say anyone's betting on ++ tools here. I also find his pace to be inconsistent. I'll make sure to note that I don't think it's a compete issue, he's always ready to make a play, but there's no denying he'll slow down over the course of his shift, get a bit casual with what he challenges, and overall show some complacency with letting opportunities come to him. None of these issues stand out as more than just poor junior tendencies to me, but when forecasting a player who's predominantely built on smarts and reads and seeing most of his success at a junior European level, it's of concern, and historically will make him drop.
At the end of the day, all this offense has to be coming from somewhere, and it's certainly not some major tool advantage he's using to dominate lower levels; it's how he's processing the game and applying it to an attack-first mentality. That's more translatable to me, especially with any sort of skating advancement or greater willingness to play into contact. He didn't get those 15 SHL games as an act of charity either, it's because the parent team liked what they were seeing. I'm not saying he's a top of the draft option or anything, but I do think he's slipping a bit under the radar and I don't know if I can quite say why. There's good skill, great brains, and at least a framework of a game that you could feel comfortable slotting in your top 9. I think there's some solid value in picking him as the draft goes on.
LW Oskar Vuollet, Skelleftea AIK J20 Nationell
This is the type of player you basically cross your fingers on and hope he becomes something 5 years down the road, but there is a solid template to build off of. Vuollet has received very little attention this year despite posting near league-leading numbers in the J20 Nationell and even seeing 15 (albeit uneventful) SHL games. I think the player is worth discussing as a later round target.
Vuollet is an extremely crafty player. He displays elite level poise on the puck, enabling him to make lots of quick, accurate reads on defenders as well as plenty of subtle manipulations to shake them. He's the type of player who you see him streak in for a scoring chance and say "Oh, look at how easily he gained those lanes" without really appreciating everything that went into his timing, decision making, and fakes. Although he does lean shooter, he displays impressive dual-threat offensive upside. His playmaking game is based on high level anticipation and a lot of ingenuity with the puck, while his scoring is attributed to a great ability to find soft spots in coverage and a lightning quick release.
His skating is not quite high end per se, but he has great quick burst acceleration and offers a lot of fluidity that complements his excellent spatial awareness and savvy one-on-one play to get through defenders. Most impressively, although not consistently, Vuollet is a competitive backchecker. There are plenty of instances of him applying his great timing with some crafty stickchecking to seamlessly strip a defender of the puck and quickly get a counter attack going. This player's relentess attack mentality and just overall presence on the puck makes him deadly at lower levels.
One of the main areas Vuollet lacks in, unsurprisingly, is his tools. He's a 5'11" 180lb skill winger who plays even smaller than that, I was actually surprised the first time I saw his measurements. He can be pushed to the outside and struggle under contact to the point that it affects his game when he more selectively pick his spots. For as much as I like his offensive generation, and really do trust that he can scale it to a degree, I wouldn't say anyone's betting on ++ tools here. I also find his pace to be inconsistent. I'll make sure to note that I don't think it's a compete issue, he's always ready to make a play, but there's no denying he'll slow down over the course of his shift, get a bit casual with what he challenges, and overall show some complacency with letting opportunities come to him. None of these issues stand out as more than just poor junior tendencies to me, but when forecasting a player who's predominantely built on smarts and reads and seeing most of his success at a junior European level, it's of concern, and historically will make him drop.
At the end of the day, all this offense has to be coming from somewhere, and it's certainly not some major tool advantage he's using to dominate lower levels; it's how he's processing the game and applying it to an attack-first mentality. That's more translatable to me, especially with any sort of skating advancement or greater willingness to play into contact. He didn't get those 15 SHL games as an act of charity either, it's because the parent team liked what they were seeing. I'm not saying he's a top of the draft option or anything, but I do think he's slipping a bit under the radar and I don't know if I can quite say why. There's good skill, great brains, and at least a framework of a game that you could feel comfortable slotting in your top 9. I think there's some solid value in picking him as the draft goes on.
- Dec 20, 2018
- 22,526
- 50,021
Some are a bit fringy:
Derek Plante C > Max Plante C
Christian Berglund LW > Jack Berglund C/LW
Miroslav Satan LW > Miroslav Satan Jr C
Jiri Fischer LHD > Lukas Fischer LHD
Ilya Bryzgalov G > Vladislav Bryzgalov G
Martin Lapointe RW > Noah Lapointe LHD
Lance Ward LHD > Landen Ward F
Coming in 2025:
Josef Boumedienne LHD > Sascha Boumedienne LHD
Shawn Horcoff C > William Horcoff C
2026:
Brad Stuart LHD > Logan Stuart F
Bryan Trottier C > Parker Trottier F (grand son)
Call Me Al
Registered User
- Aug 28, 2017
- 5,641
- 7,142
i know this is an oversimplification but if we make the trade for a piece that helps us win even 1 cup then we win the trade, even if the player picked that we give up has a long successful career.
While I don’t disagree with your thought in thr absfract, NJ is picking tenth in the draft. It’s hard for me to see a cup win right now. Maybe if the team has a few playoff runs first I can speculate reasonably about that. I just think it’s way too premature to see one player as the final piece in the puzzle right now.
Guadana
Registered User
Survivor's mistake. We need a lot of different pieces. One could be traded for reasonable price or for unreasonable price. Or signed as free agent. top-6/top-4 potential prospect with top-3/top-pair ceiling (Nygard, Catton, Dickinson, Buium etc all have top line ceiling) on ELC is a huge need for any contending team. This is exactly how Dallas get Johnston and Stankoven for this play off. Or Florida got Lundell the same way.
There will be better prospects than Lundell to draft in top-10 this year. Its plain and simple. Trading pick not for top line player under control is a very bad management. Askarov, Wallstedt and Swayman are good to be traded for 10 pick(because younger goalies are very good, more proven, more ready for NHL, Swayman is proven on NHL level), but no one will trade them.
Pronman Mock Draft 2.0
www.nytimes.com
1. Celebrini
2. Levshunov
3. Silayev
4. Lindstrom
5. Demidov
6. Dickinson
7. Yakemchuk
8. Buium
9. Catton
11. Iginla
12. Helenius
13. Parekh
14. Jiricek
15. Brandsegg-Nygard
16. Solberg
17. Eiserman
NHL Mock Draft 2.0: Celebrini, Levshunov lead Pronman's latest projection
Corey Pronman makes his second attempt at projecting the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
www.nytimes.com
1. Celebrini
2. Levshunov
3. Silayev
4. Lindstrom
5. Demidov
6. Dickinson
7. Yakemchuk
8. Buium
9. Catton
11. Iginla
12. Helenius
13. Parekh
14. Jiricek
15. Brandsegg-Nygard
16. Solberg
17. Eiserman
Guadana
Registered User
3 players to make a better draft choice for the Devils in the next 5.Pronman Mock Draft 2.0
NHL Mock Draft 2.0: Celebrini, Levshunov lead Pronman's latest projection
Corey Pronman makes his second attempt at projecting the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
1. Celebrini
2. Levshunov
3. Silayev
4. Lindstrom
5. Demidov
6. Dickinson
7. Yakemchuk
8. Buium
9. Catton
View attachment 879679
11. Iginla
12. Helenius
13. Parekh
14. Jiricek
15. Brandsegg-Nygard
16. Solberg
17. Eiserman
MartyOwns
thank you shero
- Apr 1, 2007
- 24,580
- 19,092
i was going to respond thoughtfully until i read this lol. just an awful take. let's see if the rangers trade igor in the name of depth, as if having a good goalie and depth are mutually exclusive. yikes.
go post it and i'll show you
Stephen Gionta
Boston College > Boston University
Guadana
Registered User
You are not the man who can talk about bad takes. Its not me who dont see the difference between sign older free agent from the market for money or wasting top-10 pick for aged goalie and pay him top market price.
I talked about Devils, not about Rangers. And I didn't say Rangers should trade Shestyorkin. Its your imagination. Rangers btw didn't won something with Igor who has 5 mil under the cap. Because their defense svck vss. If you think that 8 mil 30-32yo Ullmark and Saros will be better or at the same level for enough time period - again its you who is making bad takes after bad takes. What's about trading Nemec for Saros? Or for Ullmark? He is raw young player, may be will never be a solid top pair. Saros or Ullmark will make bigger impact next year. Absolutely more important players next season than Nemec. Or our 10OA pick. Why we should wait?
Again my take ui perfect because its fact. Shestyorkin and Hellebyuck won nothing. As Sorokin, as Saros. As Ullmark who wasn't even starter this year. Bennington, Hill, Kuemper are SC champions. Its fact. Go and live with it. This playoff is showing how impactful goalies are. Skinner was top-5 Bleedred goalie after Blackwood, Vanecek, Gibson and Korpisalo. And look at him. Freaking final of the Stanley Cup.
Shestyorkin is a great goalie, better than your takes in million times, better than my takes in thousands times. But still can't save them against Florida. When they will fix their problems - may be. But again - it would be on the team shoulders.
Always welcome. From Guadana with love.
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You are right about one thing, he is not the man who can talk about bad takes. That would be me.
I'm just going to say -- and thanks for posting it -- this is awful.Pronman Mock Draft 2.0
NHL Mock Draft 2.0: Celebrini, Levshunov lead Pronman's latest projection
Corey Pronman makes his second attempt at projecting the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
1. Celebrini
2. Levshunov
3. Silayev
4. Lindstrom
5. Demidov
6. Dickinson
7. Yakemchuk
8. Buium
9. Catton
View attachment 879679
11. Iginla
12. Helenius
13. Parekh
14. Jiricek
15. Brandsegg-Nygard
16. Solberg
17. Eiserman
Will Demidov fall to #5? I mean, you'd have to say it's doubtful. But Pronman is not really doing draft projections here, rather he's projecting his opinions onto NHL teams. Pronman has Demidov ranked I think #8, which is patently absurd.
Would Calgary pass on Tij Iginla for a player at the same position who is not appreciably better? I mean, we need to realize that this just is not a possibility. Could you imagine a GM trying to keep his job there in 3 years if Iginla is scoring bushels of goals for some other team and Catton, following the path of his closest comparable in Cole Perfetti, is struggling to top 30 points as a middle six LW?
Iginla is a risk-free pick for the Calgary scouting staff. Even if he just becomes a solid middle-6 F himself, no one in Alberta is ever ever ever going to blame the braintrust who picked him. If you pass him up and it doesn't work out, however? You're cooked.
Lastly, let's talk NJ Devils. I get that Pronman loves Sennecke and Sennecke had a good CHL playoff. But he makes no sense in NJ except to be another guy who is not as high-upside as the guys (Bratt, Meier) the Devils already have signed for a very long time. He doesn't improve team speed, he doesn't make the Devils tougher to defend in the interior and down low, he's a playmaker not a pure scorer, he doesn't play C, he doesn't play LD.
All of the types of players the Devils actually need more of Pronman has going in the ensuing group of picks because, simply, Pronman likes Sennecke. Iginla would give the Devils a pure goal-scorer who is willing to go to the interior. Helenius would give the Devils a two-way 3C capable of slotting up. Nygard would give the Devils huge boosts in team speed, pure shooting ability, interior play and physicality. Solberg would give the Devils an incredibly fast and physical, near-NHL ready two-way LD defenseman who could be paired with Nemec or Hamilton for seasons to come. Even Eiserman -- and I'm not the biggest fan, obviously -- gives NJ a pure goal-scorer capable of, at the very least, making the Devils much more dangerous on the PP.
Sennecke is very talented, there's no doubt. But do the Devils need a foward whose foremost strengths are puck-handling and playmaking in space and along the perimeter? Sennecke's ultimate potential is probably to be a flashier Bratt but without the high-end speed and shot. This is fine, but when Pronman says "Sennecke becomes the clear best option for them [NJ]" it's just absurd to me. There's no world in which Sennecke is the "clear" BPA at #10, and it's tough to find a world in which the Devils, with a whole ton of needs, feel the need to use a top 10 pick on a lesser version of what they already have (Bratt).
Guadana
Registered User
When? Your top-3 takes about Lovejoy, third line center Hischier and every take about Hutson are always perfect. Hundred times worser than Shestyorkin but still more solid than average hfboard poster can make. I would pick Igor by 1OA but I would pick your takes by second, may be third(Hutson is still exist). 10OA? It’s not a question.
MartyOwns
thank you shero
- Apr 1, 2007
- 24,580
- 19,092
> mentions skinner making it to the scf
> doesn't mention bob making it to the scf
bleedred also said quick was finished, why are you mentioning his opinions at all?
when you say 'signing an older free agent for money' (which is a novel idea, i was thinking we'd sign one for wampum) what goalie are you even talking about? another mystery box, i'm guessing? you don't know who the return would be, what the price would be, who we would draft and whether they would even pan out, yet it's critical that we use our #10 pick instead of filling an immediate need that we've had for literally ten years.
also, you did mention the rangers, i didn't. again, i'm not saying to trade away our core to acquire a goalie, that's a false choice to support your narrative (and nestles in snugly with your strawman arguments, for example the idiotic nemec comment you made). i'll be THRILLED with the amount of time i've spent here if you concede that it is possible to have an above average goalie alongside depth. you keep treating it like it's one or the other- it's not.
probably the most hilarious part of this is you shitting all over every goalie you imagine the return for 10 would be, while at the same time saying we shouldn't get a "top level goalie". it's also pretty funny that you think that if we were to sign this ancient goalie you've imagined to a huge contract, we wouldn't be able to get out of it if/when we needed to.
i don't spend months jerking off over the next year's draft prospects, but everything i've read makes it seem like there's a very small upper tier and then an enormous decent tier, so you can stop making it seem like we're missing out on the next mcdavid. we have guys entering their prime, we have guys on very team friendly contracts, it's time to shift our focus from looking for a savior to addressing the biggest holes we have, coaching and goaltending, and filling in what we need (bottom 6 guys and a defenseman) through free agency. if fitz had your mentality, we'd continue spinning our wheels for the foreseeable future. thankfully, he seems to be intelligent enough to realize we need a goalie and is willing to spend one of our best assets, a top ten pick, to get one.
If Saros doesn't hit the trade market, I honestly don't think there is a goalie available who is appreciably better than Jake Allen.
The best goalies likely available in the trade market are Ulmark and Markstrom. Either can likely be had for one of the Devils two 3rd round picks. Neither is appreciably better than Allen and both are entering UFA seasons.
Fitzgerald is literally saying he's willing to trade #10 overall for a goalie to quiet the complaining of a specific contingent of the fan base. You don't "shop" a pick -- it's what other teams ask for in return for specific players. There's no goalie available worth more than Jake Allen, much less #10 overall when your prospect pool has slipped into the bottom 10 of the league. Fitzgerald also said he was willing to trade the 1st round pick in 2022 and 2021 for "help now". He didn't do this until Timo Meier was made available in 2023.
I'm quite confident Ulmark is going to be in high demand and fetch well more than a 3rd round pick. Also, we're not talking about replacing Allen, but creating a 1a/1b option at worst.
Frankly, I'm not sure Ulmark is much better than Allen. He benefited from playing behind a strong, structured defense, and I'm not sure how well he'd do behind a more chaotic system.
Helenius shows confidence at combine, ‘very close’ to playing in NHL | NHL.com
Niagara forward He has potential to become 2nd China-born player taken in draft; Becher may be surprise pick
www.nhl.com
I have a strong sense that if Helenius is available at 10OA, Fitz is going to draft him. He fills a need and isn’t far off from being NHL ready. Since we are in “win now” mode with Fitz probably feeling his seat is warming up, it makes perfect sense.
Ulmark's an injury concern entering a UFA season. The value is really not going to be especially high. And I agree he's not appreciably better than Allen, so why even make the deal if you're NJ?
I'd prefer to see the Devils try to sign a G out of the KHL or SHL or Finland or Czechia than give up prime assets to have another year of "just a guy in net".
But seeing as this is a draft page and there's no goalie available even close to worth the #10 overall pick, I should probably move this conversation elsewhere. Just tag me on the main boards and I'd be glad to discuss it more over there.
I agree. I think the return on Ullmark will be considerably better than a 3rd round pick. Teams in the market for goalie help include us, Los Angeles, Detroit, Ottawa and possibly Toronto/Philadelphia. Supply and demand. If Ullmark doesn’t fetch a late round first, I have to believe he’ll bring back a 2nd. People also tend to forget Ullmark was pretty damn good on Buffalo.
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