Confirmed with Link: Coleman to Tampa Bay for 1st and Nolan Foote

[JrFischer54]

Alright it’s been a whirlwind of a day. Thank god I was finally able to see a W live this year, good god.

That return for Blake Coleman is just too good to pass up, but it doesn’t change the fact of how upsetting it is to see him go. Everything you want in a player as a fan, never took a game or even a shift off since he’s been here. He deserves all the success in the world and I wish he could have been one of those guys who was here for the majority of his career.

Really going to miss him, he became such a beloved part of this team. All of that said, grabbing Foote is really impressive and adding another first potentially for this draft gives us a chance to hopefully couple some of our picks for a player we need now.

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like them giving Fitzgerald the ability to make a move like that is a sign they have trust in his vision.

look at it this way. Your having this breakup from him 12 months earlier then you had hoped. It’s for the best though

 

[jkrdevil]

Wasn't this the Shero plan though? I mean he went for it a little with Subban and Goose but those deals aren't going to hamstring us. What the hell happens if Fitz isn't given the position lol. I'm just trying to figure out our "win now" owners.

Perhaps it was Ray who believed a little too much in the core....

 

[Emperoreddy]

But the main reason to be optimistic is that we could not even have these kinds of conversations 5 years ago. Could we have traded every player on the roster 5 years ago and got the returns Hall and Coleman got us?

Nope and that is sad sad sad. There was no core to build around and nothing to sell to get the pieces to create a core.

It’s the definition of starting from scratch. Now we have a foundation to do this right.

 

[beekay414]

I'm still on cloud 9 with this deal. Really rooting for Vancouver to make the playoffs because I want that pick to carry over this year. We could feasibly go into the 2020 draft with 5 1st round picks if we deal Palms and Vatanen. Still would be 4 if we deal only Vatanen. That gives us a lot of ammunition to play with in our attempt to go out and get help on the blue line. Fitzgerald made the right call today. That much is painfully obvious. Blake Coleman is a tenacious player but you simply don't pass up a package with a potential top line scoring power forward, who is perfect for our most recent #1 pick, and a draft choice that should come somewhere in the middle portion of a LOADED draft.

Take the interim tag off of Fitzgerald and go get our damn coach already.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Perhaps it was Ray who believed a little too much in the core....

Except Fitz was Ray’s right hand man. His vision isn’t radically different from Ray’s. He admitted as much tonight.

If they keep him, I don’t expect him to do things wholesale different then Ray was going to. It obviously won’t be exactly the same because they aren’t the same person, but they are on the same wavelength.

Would people really be happy with Fitz if they found out Tampa offered this and he said no? With zero guarantees that Coleman was committed to resigning on the spot on top of it?

Honestly I am circling back that Hynes was Shero’s ultimate undoing.

 

[jkrdevil]

No one on earth would have believed four months ago Coleman could return this. Not a soul.

Foote is not a scrub by any measure either from what I can see. A 1st is a 1st. We haven’t had this many 1sts in one draft since? Idk have we ever?

Unless one of the first gets moved out, this will be the most picks they have had on the 1st round. They have had two picks 4 times:

1998: Mile Van Ryn and Scott Gomez
1991: Scott Niedermayer and Brian Rolston
1989: Bill Guerin and Jason Miller (note they did have 3 picks in the top-31).
1982: Rocky Trottier and Ken Daneyko

 

[JK3]

Except Fitz was Ray’s right hand man. His vision isn’t radically different from Ray’s. He admitted as much tonight.

If they keep him, I don’t expect him to do things wholesale different then Ray was going to. It obviously won’t be exactly the same because they aren’t the same person, but they are on the same wavelength.

Would people really be happy with Fitz if they found out Tampa offered this and he said no? With zero guarantees that Coleman was committed to resigning on the spot on top of it?

Honestly I am circling back that Hynes was Shero’s ultimate undoing.

Shero's closed circle might have done him in, they must have really butted heads on that one especially if the plan remains the same.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Shero's closed circle might have done him in, they must have really butted heads on that one especially if the plan remains the same.

That might be where Fitz has to adapt. Though I hope that means being more open to what analytics and other hockey people have to say and not more open to what ownership has to say.

 

[jkrdevil]

Except Fitz was Ray’s right hand man. His vision isn’t radically different from Ray’s. He admitted as much tonight.

If they keep him, I don’t expect him to do things wholesale different then Ray was going to. It obviously won’t be exactly the same because they aren’t the same person, but they are on the same wavelength.

Would people really be happy with Fitz if they found out Tampa offered this and he said no? With zero guarantees that Coleman was committed to resigning on the spot on top of it?

Honestly I am circling back that Hynes was Shero’s ultimate undoing.

They share philosophies, but they could have came to a different conclusion of where the team stood and next steps at that point. Who knows, we probably won’t know.

Hell maybe it was Marty who pulled off this deal.

It is a great trade, but I don’t think it wins Fitz the job. I think it may come down who he wants as a coach. If he wants to hire another Hynes clone, or someone off that Pittsburgh tree then you move on. Tearing things (even in part) is easier than building back up.

 

[Devils731]

I daresay that Nolan Foote is the BEST Prospect the Devils currently have and that includes Ty Smith.

They were ranked really close by Pronman. Smith at 41 and Foote at 48.

 

[Emperoreddy]

They share philosophies, but they could have came to a different conclusion of where the team stood and next steps at that point. Who knows, we probably won’t know.

Hell maybe it was Marty who pulled off this deal.

It is a great trade, but I don’t think it wins Fitz the job. I think it may come down who he wants as a coach. If he wants to hire another Hynes clone, or someone off that Pittsburgh tree then you move on. Tearing things (even in part) is easier than building back up.

TBF I keep hearing good things about Pitt’s current AHL coach.

Though I agree I much rather we go get an experienced hand to help learn these boys a thing or two. Lots of young kids that need molding.

 

[Emperoreddy]

They were ranked really close by Pronman. Smith at 41 and Foote at 48.

Smith is underrated around here because he didn’t make the team. The kid is still a blue chip prospect.

Seems like he sulked a bit to start his season, but is white hot since WJC.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

Great trade for both teams.

Several posters, including myself, had the same vision as Fitz. The core of our team is built around Jack and Nico, so locking up high priced vets isn't a smart move and cashing in on players like Coleman and Palmieri should be a priority if we want to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If we're taking the other approach, we'd be spinning our wheels in mud.

The package we got for pickles is another grand slam. We've hit two of them so far this year and Palmieri might land us another. If we play our cards right we're walking out of the Bell Center, on day #1 of the draft, with at least 3 and possibly 4 or 5 1st rounders!

That's how you rebuild a sinking ship.

 

[jkrdevil]

TBF I keep hearing good things about Pitt’s current AHL coach.

Though I agree I much rather we go get an experienced hand to help learn these boys a thing or two. Lots of young kids that need molding.

It is more of the Pittsburgh tree from Ray and Fitz’s time there. The coaches who have come from there from that time period have been shitty. Only Reidon has been successful and he spent 4 years as Trotz’s assistant in the interim. And while the Preds record wise have been meh under Hynes, they have taken a step back in every advance metric since he took over for Lavs.

 

[billingtons ghost]

It's hard not to like sell-high moves and the returns we're getting. Sad to see both players go, because on a team with lots of problems, neither of these guys were anything but fantastic for us.

Foote looks great, tho.

 

[glenwo2]

Has anyone else noticed that because of this trade, the Devils now have their very own "Nico AND Nolan"?!! The way Nolan Patrick is going, our Nolan may very well put up higher career numbers.

 

[glenwo2]

They were ranked really close by Pronman. Smith at 41 and Foote at 48.

That's why I used the word "daresay" 'cause I dared to say it.....even though I was just proven to be wrong. lol

 

[NJDevs26]

I honestly just don't get why his new Jersey ties matter, but I guess that is a thing for a lot of people

There's definitely a bigger attachment for fans to Palm than even Blake, in part cause of that and in part cause really he was the first ahem, ray of hope in the new era and Shero's first big move. He's been a big part of the team five years and is still young enough to be one for several more. I'm not going to doubt Fitz being able to max out on value if he does trade K-Palm but man we need to keep SOME people unless we're going full 'the process' mode.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[glenwo2]

Oh yeah...I remember Dano mentioning Todd in the postgame when talking about Foote...that Todd likes him A LOT.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Oh yeah...I remember Dano mentioning Todd in the postgame when talking about Foote...that Todd likes him A LOT.

I didn’t realize Todd works for the Rockets. Him seeing Foote on a regular basis helps his credibility on the topic.

 

[Devils731]

That's why I used the word "daresay" 'cause I dared to say it.....even though I was just proven to be wrong. lol

I was more agreeing with you. They’re both around each other so I’m sure some people have them flip flopped.

 

[Devil X]

But the main reason to be optimistic is that we could not even have these kinds of conversations 5 years ago. Could we have traded every player on the roster 5 years ago and got the returns Hall and Coleman got us?

I’m always optimistic. Even when everyone else isn’t. I’m not at all worried about that. I always find things to be excited about with the Devils. Even when they are playing badly.

Until it happens, I'm not believing either of the Jespers are going anywhere anytime soon.

Besides, why would the Devils trade one of their FIRSTS when they desperately need to Draft more talent?

Unless "one of those firsts" refers to something else and I am totally misunderstanding things here....

My point is mainly that the Devils don’t have the same high end talent on the backend as they do on the front end. It’s been a problem for a bit. So either they draft a stud (which is hard to gage right away) or they come up with a package to get a defenseman that fits the core (if there is such a player out there). I just don’t believe that Smith and/or Bahl are number 1 guys. I think they will be valuable but in different roles.

 

[NJDevs26]

But the main reason to be optimistic is that we could not even have these kinds of conversations 5 years ago. Could we have traded every player on the roster 5 years ago and got the returns Hall and Coleman got us?

Well to be fair Coleman and Greene were both 'Lou players' we managed to get these returns for. So the meme we had nothing left that we could deal for anything has to be adjusted a little.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Hearing something resembling a negative comment from you is surprising.

I love Coleman, but his timeline and the teams timeline just don't match. We are much more than a back up goalie and two D men away from contending. Maybe contending to be a bubble team. Not to be a Cup contender. IMO, we need 3 to 4 D men, and unfortunately we need a 1 and a 2. The 1 and 2 likely aren't coming any other way but the draft. We also need a legitimate top line winger, also probably not coming any other way but the draft. Even if you want to say we are two or three players away, we are two or three star level players away. We might as well be miles away.

I get what you're saying, and you will get no argument out of me. Fitzgerald made a decision to aim for the 2022 playoffs instead of the 2021 playoffs, and as such he received a tremendous return for Coleman and Greene. The Devils have the possibility of 3 top 20 picks in a stocked 2020 draft class.

I agree with you again about drafting defensemen, but I caution you that if the 2020 draft class is lacking anything, it's top pairing defensemen. Drysdale? Certainly. Mukhamadullin has big-time upside but is a very raw project. But most of the top ranked D are either two-way, mid-pairing types (Schneider, Sanderson, Guhle, Barron, Wallinder) or high-risk, high-offensive guys who need to severely improve their defensive-zone play in order to even make the NHL (Poirier, Cormier, Andrae).

The good news is that the Devils will certainly have a shot at Drysdale, and that Ty Smith is on the way and also could blossom into a very good, top-pairing D. The Devils enjoy a ton of defensive depth in the system, which is good -- but most of these prospects are at least two years away, which is not good.

I would like to see the Devils dip into the UFA market next year for a couple stop-gap LD on two-to-four year deals. Dillon would top my list, with Edmundson close behind. Both of these guys are probably realistic possibilities, and either of them would immediately become the top defensive defenseman on the team.