Around the NHL 2023-24 - offseason part II

[Guadana]

I believe he will save his job.

Grier did a good job rebuilding somewhat quickly. They've got a lot of high end prospects and whoever takes over for him will have a good club.

He acquired Mukhamadullin, Musty, Celebrini, Smith, Dickinson, Askarov, Chernyshov, (and Bystedt, Lund, Havelid, Haltunen are promising on different levels) in a short term. I believe owners have patience and I believe a lot of coaches will want to work with Celebrini and Co.
Everything he needs is continue to find more defensive pieces. He needs one-two more pieces and its not like their rebuild is done - they have draft or two for high picks. Devils had best season year ago and still drafted Silayev this year.

 

[Devs3cups]

We would've had to include something painful to top this deal.

Would've done Casey, Daws + 2nd/3rd. Would've stung as I love Casey as a prospect.

 

[HBK27]

Probably would've been comfortable with Casey + Daws + 2nd or 3rd, but Mercer would probably be too much. I feel like he's getting very underrated around here and I'm pretty sure he'll bounce back as soon as next year and be an extremely valuable 30-30 type player for us.

As much as a prospect of Askarov's quality is a very nice add, I still feel there's a lot of uncertainty with top goalie prospects.

I would've been comfortable with that deal as well, but I think San Jose's offer still tops that.

Preds also got Chrona in the deal who is probably not that far off from Daws in value (little) and is only a few months older.

A 1st round pick and recent 1st round pick tops Casey and a 2nd/3rd rounder.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Grier has been doing fine as GM and gets too much hate, IMO. Don't understand why people criticize his NHL roster moves when they're clearly neck-deep in a rebuild.

They were a barren wasteland with absolutely nothing good going on when he took over. Now they have a pretty nice nucleus of quality prospects to start building around.

The folks in the media talking about SJ's NHL squad are hilariously off-base to me. Who gives a shit whether they win 19 games or 23 games? They are no where close to competing by design and that's the way it should be.

He doesn't seem interested in squeezing teams up against the cap looking to dump a vet and will just do a trade if it's to get a vet he wants (Goodrow, Vanecek, Ceci etc). That makes fans of other teams very mad (or relieved in the case of us and Vanecek last deadline). Maybe he could have squeezed out some more futures being a hard ass in those trades but not a big deal imo, the team is well set up for the future today.

The only move of his I thought he might have messed up on was the Burns trade, but he had a NTC and IDK what the options were so...

 

[JrFischer54]

I certainly hope us not wanting to give up the 26 first wasn't the sticking point. easily would've given that up casey and another piece non mercer to get the job done. heck give them a 26 2nd and another prospect. that really would've set this franchise window perfectly with a goalie who in theory would be a stud.

He doesn't seem interested in squeezing teams up against the cap looking to dump a vet and will just do a trade if it's to get a vet he wants (Goodrow, Vanecek, Ceci etc). That makes fans of other teams very mad (or relieved in the case of us and Vanecek last deadline). Maybe he could have squeezed out some more futures being a hard ass in those trades but not a big deal imo, the team is well set up for the future today.

The only move of his I thought he might have messed up on was the Burns trade, but he had a NTC and IDK what the options were so...

to be fair no teams really "squeeze" other teams for cap dumps. you hardly ever get more then a 3rd

 

[Saugus]

Does anyone else think this feels a little like a f*** you to Askarov from Nashville?

"You got your wish kid, enjoy the basement!"

 

[JrFischer54]

Would've done Casey, Daws + 2nd/3rd. Would've stung as I love Casey as a prospect.

100000000000000% would've done that even throw in the 26 first

are the sharks prospects going back any good?

 

[HBK27]

Does anyone else think this feels a little like a f*** you to Askarov from Nashville?

"You got your wish kid, enjoy the basement!"

Not really - they got a solid return out of the deal and it made the most sense for a bottom feeder to go after him.

Probably better career-wise to go to a team like the Sharks now that can be really good when Askarov hits his peak versus going to a team that's not getting high-end future talent like the Sharks.

 

[Guadana]

Does anyone else think this feels a little like a f*** you to Askarov from Nashville?

"You got your wish kid, enjoy the basement!"

Why? He is in perfect organisation for him. Tonns of talents, no pressure.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Does anyone else think this feels a little like a f*** you to Askarov from Nashville?

"You got your wish kid, enjoy the basement!"

Sharks have a better chance of path to a Cup sooner than the Preds. Preds are toiling mediocrity

 

[Bleedred]

He should be able to pass at least one of the two worthless shitbag goalies they have signed this year and get an NHL job.

 

[Nubmer6]

Probably would've been comfortable with Casey + Daws + 2nd or 3rd, but Mercer would probably be too much. I feel like he's getting very underrated around here because of last season and I'm pretty sure he'll bounce back as soon as next year and be an extremely valuable 30-30 type player for us.

As much as a prospect of Askarov's quality is a very nice add, I still feel there's a lot of uncertainty with top goalie prospects.

Since day 1 I have seen Mercer as a 2nd line wing or 3c, either of which I'd be willing to trade for a highly rated potential starting goalie just about entering his prime.

 

[NJDevs26]

I certainly hope us not wanting to give up the 26 first wasn't the sticking point. easily would've given that up casey and another piece non mercer to get the job done. heck give them a 26 2nd and another prospect. that really would've set this franchise window perfectly with a goalie who in theory would be a stud.



to be fair no teams really "squeeze" other teams for cap dumps. you hardly ever get more then a 3rd

More like you have to give up more than just a 26 1st to make up for the fact it isn’t a 25 1st, probably another high pick or prospect in addition to the rest of the deal.

I get the whole trade picks for win now mindset but the Devils aren’t in a position to burn prospect capital for one prospect goalie who might not even be better than the young guys we still have.

 

[Bleedred]

Sharks have a better chance of path to a Cup sooner than the Preds. Preds are toiling mediocrity

Half agree.

I agree the Preds are toiling in mediocrity, but the Sharks are still in worse shape than we were in 2017. They were in even worse shape when Grier took over than what we were when Shero took over.

Celebrini helps, but there's still a lot of old deadweight still under contract. The Sharks got a longggggg way to go, just like we did.

What the Predators did this summer reminds me of something the Rangers were doing in the early 00s though.

 

[JrFischer54]

More like you have to give up more than just a 26 1st to make up for the fact it isn’t a 25 1st

thats fine by me i would give up more to have a goalie lined up for this core entering their prime? that would easily be worth it. now will he pan out? i dunno maybe maybe not but it would definitely be worth it since that is the last missing piece on this team long term wise. even the starting goalie age/contract falls in line for askarov to step in

either way i'm still super stoked with the two guys we have would've been good but not going to hurt not having him

Sharks have a better chance of path to a Cup sooner than the Preds. Preds are toiling mediocrity

every year teams and their drafts and prospects get hyped up. until they actually step up and produce then the preds definitely have a better shot i dont think having 99pt seasons is toiling in mediocrity

preds last 3 seasons 99pts 92pts 97pts thats not really mediocre if it is? then i hope the devils are absolutely mediocre this year

 

[Guadana]

I agree the Preds are toiling in mediocrity, but the Sharks are still in worse shape than we were in 2017. They were in even worse shape when Grier took over than what we were when Shero took over.

Please, check their prospect list, where they were drafted, what kind of role they are playing, what kind of skill they bring and how they are performing. You was misinformed.

They are in a great shape for rebuilding team. They will have much shorter path to regular play off.

 

[HBK27]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1827081841146499480

 

[Bleedred]

Please, check their prospect list, where they were drafted, what kind of role they are playing, what kind of skill they bring and how they are performing. You was misinformed.

They are in a great shape for rebuilding team. They will have much shorter path to regular play off.

They still have a while before they're a consistent playoff team and even longer for a contender.

Give me an example of a team that came back from the dead that fast. Maybe I just can't think of any. Not in any kind of recent history.

I think they probably have another at least 5 years before they're really a consistent playoff team if all goes well.

I'm not saying they can't make the playoffs once before 5 years, but I don't think they will consistently.

They have about a half a decade left before there's sustainable success there. Maybe they can reach some attainable success before that, like the 2018 Devils playoff year/Hall MVP year, but it's unrealistic to think they're closer than 5 years away from being a consistent playoff team.

Maybe if Askarov really is that good he can speed up that process though.

They definitely need all the old clunkers out of there first. The Vlasic's and Couture's particularly. I'm shocked they didn't buy out Vlasic this offseason. He's been shot for many years now. Couture will probably end up on the IR for turf toe at some point this season. If he's even ready to go for the start of the season, which I'm more than mildly skeptical of.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Kudos to Askarov for getting his trade and not having to rot in the minors for another year.

You can’t weigh this fully until we see what Askarov ends up becoming. If he becomes a dominant goal tender in the league, it will appear that Trotz mismanaged the situation by paying the veteran and dealing the kid. Since Trotz is not usually thought to be a fool, it may well be that they don’t see Askarov developing into quite so exceptional a player.

 

[Andre Palot]

In before the

wHy DiDn’T FitZ gEt Him

posts

I have on good authority that @Dylan9z9 is upset we didn't acquire him for THE GREAT ANDRE PALOT* , a 7th round pick and a half eaten Taylor ham and cheese sandwich

 

[MartyOwns]

good move for the sharks, and it keeps us far away from him. not a good look for nashville though

 

[Andre Palot]

Kudos to Askarov for getting his trade and not having to rot in the minors for another year.

You can’t weigh this fully until we see what Askarov ends up becoming. If he becomes a dominant goal tender in the league, it will appear that Trotz mismanaged the situation by paying the veteran and dealing the kid. Since Trotz is not usually thought to be a fool, it may well be that they don’t see Askarov developing into quite so exceptional a player.

He's playing on San Jose. That's basically the minors for at least the next half decade.

 

[TrufleShufle]

The problem here is that you've conflated my opinion with that of other people. I never said Duclair shouldn't cut his hair - those are the rules, he knows the rules. He should be sad about it because it's a stupid rule. It's fine for him to be sad about it.

I just don't believe this kind of rule does anything for anybody. It is a way to micromanage people. Plenty of other organizations focus on the little details and have players playing above what their skill level says without having to control their hair length or whether or not they grow a beard. And again, Lou has walked back lots of his little rules over the years, so which of those rules leads to success and which ones don't?

And don't get me started on the actual Islanders, a team that merely scrapes into the playoffs even though they have traded their 1st round pick in each of the previous 4 drafts and has an All-Star level goalie not drafted by Lou. It's a sad state of affairs over there on the Island overall. Lou did the most with what he had, and it's remarkable that that team won as many rounds of the playoffs as they did. That's probably all done now.

I get what you are saying but I don't think it's being done for the sake of micromanagement. Its a rule in place, along with all the other silly ones, all having the same theme of nobody being a standout. The team as a whole is all the matters, no one person is more important than anyone else, all in this together, mentality.

Does it work? Who knows, but I'm sure it helps in some ways to build locker room strength. Not just cutting hair but the entire mentality he's trying to push.

You can think it's all stupid and pointless, and that's fair, but I wouldn't look at it like someone just being a control freak for the sake of it.

The story going kinda the other way about how he ran things was when the Devils had their AHL team in Albany the second time, they were losing a lot of money, for a number of IMO wrong decisions made when putting them back there. But Lou didn't care because they had nice locker rooms and facilities, about as close as you could come to the NHL while playing in the A. He wanted all the players there to feel as close to how his NHL team did as possible, again to keep everyone on the same level, even between teams.

So again, right or wrong, helpful or not, that's just his mentality and I don't think it's actually that terrible.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

every year teams and their drafts and prospects get hyped up. until they actually step up and produce then the preds definitely have a better shot i dont think having 99pt seasons is toiling in mediocrity

preds last 3 seasons 99pts 92pts 97pts thats not really mediocre if it is? then i hope the devils are absolutely mediocre this year

The Sharks have more high talent coming through their pipeline than Nashville does. Nashville has 33 year old ROR as their 1C in the Central. The Stars/Avs are going to boat race them every year in the first round even if they make the playoffs. Also sure, the Devils have had 1 playoff run with this core, we all would take auto playoffs with this core but the Predators have hit a wall where they have to do something with their current core or else the rebuild they're gonna have is on par with SJ has had.

 

[Dylan9z9]

I have on good authority that @Dylan9z9 is upset we didn't acquire him for THE GREAT ANDRE PALOT* , a 7th round pick and a half eaten Taylor ham and cheese sandwich

That guy will be the next Igor Shesterkin.... smh