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

[beekay414]

His physical game was something I had not heard anything about, and it's been so refreshing to see someone throwing hits out there.

Might explain why he hasn't been healthy much as a prospect!

 

[Blackjack]

Might explain why he hasn't been healthy much as a prospect!

I know, right? It's like you see this little guy barrelling into defensemen and you're like "uhh, wait, isn't that the guy that's always injured?"

 

[beekay414]

I know, right? It's like you see this little guy barrelling into defensemen and you're like "uhh, wait, isn't that the guy that's always injured?"

Adding on to this...

I never really took the time to look at Nick Merkley's AHL and Junior stats but, man, we could've done A LOT worse for the 3rd piece in that deal (if you don't want to consider the 2021 1st/2nd/3rd the 3rd piece...if you do...even better lol). He was a PPG guy almost his entire Jr career, including the playoffs. He was a PPG guy his first year in the AHL and is a 0.82 PPG guy in the AHL overall. He's a damn good hockey player and it's obvious that injuries are the only reason why his expectations were tempered because it's certainly not the production.

Ray Shero left us one hell of a parting gift with the Hall trade.

 

[Maine Fan]

Simply put, Coleman a mistake. Greene, great move to get of him.

 

[ninetyeight]

I like the return but I hate this deal. Coleman is the type of guy u want around for a while. Stupid ****ing move.

I would have been all for putting a C on him and throwing a 6-year contract for him. But whose to say he even wanted to sign here? Maybe we don’t trade him, watch him play next season (while the team still sucks) and he bolts to Dallas after that.

Also the fact is Coleman’s prime years are probably the next 3-4, and our team is about the same away from competing. So we’d be basically wasting him here.

In the end it was the right call to make.

 

[MadDevil]

I like Coleman and would have liked to keep him, but after we just went through the Hall drama I'm not going to say it was a mistake to move him while his value was at it's highest. You need to give to get, and Coleman was probably one of our more valuable pieces (without moving one of our better kids) given his production, the type of player he is, and his contract. You're probably not getting that return for a pending UFA like Vatanen, or even Palmieri (unless we retain some salary).

 

[MachoDiablo]

I like Coleman and would have liked to keep him, but after we just went through the Hall drama I'm not going to say it was a mistake to move him while his value was at it's highest. You need to give to get, and Coleman was probably one of our more valuable pieces (without moving one of our better kids) given his production, the type of player he is, and his contract. You're probably not getting that return for a pending UFA like Vatanen, or even Palmieri (unless we retain some salary).

You beat me to it: it'd be great if we could just move our older, more disposable players to get high draft picks, but that's just not how the league rolls anymore, you have to be willing to part with someone of value.

Even with Coleman around, the Devils currently don't have enough high-end talent on hand to internally piece together a team that could legitimately contend for a Cup any time in the immediate future. If you kept Coleman and only traded away Green/Vats/Simmonds, that likely doesn't change very much; in fact, it's a big part of why the club is where it currently is, years of having older players who, when dealt at the deadline, can't bring much of value back, something that isn't going to work for a team that's been in need of a legitimate rebuild for a good while now. And while the youth has gotten better around here in the last couple of years, there's not enough of it on hand to feel really comfortable with throwing any of them around in trades for established talent right now.

There's no guarantee that anyone the Devil draft will automatically turn out great or hit their best projections at all, but I feel like what this move indicates is that the team is willing to give itself more chances to add high impact talent from within, and give itself better odds of having a legitimately strong internal core instead of one that's just "good enough" in a few years.

 

[Better Call Sal]

 

[RandoDoomer]

I guess the returns on these trades was good, but it's hard to get all that excited about another 4-5 years or bad hockey before the window opens. They better hit on most/all these picks they've been collecting.

 

[tr83]

I'm happy for Coleman in that he's going to pile on the points playing for TB. He's going to get paid when he gets to UFA and with the deal he signed last time, he absolutely deserves to be overpaid.

 

[MadDevil]

I guess the returns on these trades was good, but it's hard to get all that excited about another 4-5 years or bad hockey before the window opens. They better hit on most/all these picks they've been collecting.

It's kind of ironic that the first time we've actually had extra 1st round picks is the first draft after Shero gets fired.

 

[MachoDiablo]

I guess the returns on these trades was good, but it's hard to get all that excited about another 4-5 years or bad hockey before the window opens. They better hit on most/all these picks they've been collecting.

Can't say it isn't possible that happens, but the nice part about relying on younger talent is that, year by year, it's more likely to improve instead of regress. Given that there's already some nice young players here, it's not unrealistic that a few of the core guys take steps forward and the club can augment a bit around them to put a watchable product on the ice while we wait for last year's and now this year's draft class, et. al., to pan out.

Basically, while the worst can always happen (I mean, just look at the past decade or so), I don't think it has to be 4-5 years of garbage time, there's a chance that timeframe could be nicely reduced by using this chance to stockpile young talent.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

Can't say it isn't possible that happens, but the nice part about relying on younger talent is that, year by year, it's more likely to improve instead of regress. Given that there's already some nice young players here, it's not unrealistic that a few of the core guys take steps forward and the club can augment a bit around them to put a watchable product on the ice while we wait for last year's and now this year's draft class, et. al., to pan out.

Basically, while the worst can always happen (I mean, just look at the past decade or so), I don't think it has to be 4-5 years of garbage time, there's a chance that timeframe could be nicely reduced by using this chance to stockpile young talent.

You need to post more often - you made some great posts today.

I would also mention the Devils have gotten a point in every game Blackwood has played since the break, Obviously he has played some outstanding games recently, but if we get a backup goalie who can win some games and Blackwood is more consistent as you would expect given his age, the team will be competitive. I have enjoyed watching every game Blackwood has played since the break,

 

[AfroThunder396]

It's not going to take 4-5 years. This team would have been a bubble team this year if not for goaltending and that's largely been solved.

Externally, we need a good coach, one very good roster defenseman (easier said than done), 1-2 roster forwards, and backup goalie. The rest of the pieces we have/will have internally.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

It's not going to take 4-5 years. This team would have been a bubble team this year if not for goaltending and that's largely been solved.

Externally, we need a good coach, one very good roster defenseman (easier said than done), 1-2 roster forwards, and backup goalie. The rest of the pieces we have/will have internally.

What we really need is Jack to be a star. Not kinda good or a borderline 1st liner. We need a franchise player.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

Yeah, too much to ask Merkley to pick up that mantle, but I really like what I've seen so far. It would be amazing if he became a valuable piece after being seen as a throw-in in the Hall deal.

I think each of the following players has a decent shot of being full time NHL players next year (obviously they won't all be)

Foote
Merkley
Anderson
Thompson
2020 NJD 1st round pick
McLeod
Seney (yes, really)
Zetterlund

That is one of the reasons I think I am really going to like next years team. Everyone likes how Coleman played hard every shift. Whoever wins the jobs open at forward next year are going to be playing like that because they will know there is someone at Bing who will come up and play hard. I will enjoy that a lot more than Taylor Hall moping, complaining about the fans and how the team needs more talent around him while he is shooting 5%.

 

[Zippy316]

Realistically, Coleman's best years are right now. Devils would just waste them on a team going nowhere.

Best to just get assets right now and if the stars align, revisit when he's a UFA and maybe you sign him then.

Sucks to see him go. Hopefully Devils fans give him one hell of an applause when he returns to play in NJ next season because he deserves it.

 

[billingtons ghost]

well also to be fair you need Lou on another team to get that return for Greene.

Greene was a great great player for this team, but he is out of gas. Lou is the only one making that move.

Lou and Castron would never have dreamed Coleman could net this on that draft day. Not in their dizziest day dream. He is the most valuable thing they left on this team.

I don't think this is true at all for a steady defenseman at this time of year. I was actually thinking we could fleece someone for Andy Greene as teams got desperate closer to the deadline - and although the Isles overpaid, it wasn't by much.

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

Coleman was being totally wasted here. The team can and will suck just the same without him. It stinks to lose a player like Blake and he’ll be missed but this trade absolutely had to be made and the fact that Fitzgerald was willing to do it is a good sign imho. Personally, with everything that has gone down the last few months, it was difficult not to be concerned with management, etc. It’s just good to see that what needed to be done, was done. The team is healthier today than it was at this time yesterday.

 

[I Hate Tie DOMI]

Watching Nolan Foote highlights this morning and I have to say the Kelowna Rockets play-by-play guy might be more annoying than Rick Jeanneret and I didn't think it was possible. I was almost hoping that no goal was scored so I didn't have to hear his SCOOOOAAAARRRREEEE voice that he totally is forcing out because he knows how annoying he is and doesn't care. It's going to haunt my nightmares.

 

[billingtons ghost]

It's not going to take 4-5 years. This team would have been a bubble team this year if not for goaltending and that's largely been solved.

Externally, we need a good coach, one very good roster defenseman (easier said than done), 1-2 roster forwards, and backup goalie. The rest of the pieces we have/will have internally.

I find it hard to believe this. I'll agree that the coaching held them back, but this pile of garbage is miles and miles away from being a complete team, much less even being a legit playoff team.

To say 'goaltending' when MB29 has been truly exceptional this season is pretty ridiculous -

I understand we have some talent and pieces on defense, and that a large amount of our troubles were systemic, but the whole defense needs a complete refactor. The left side just lost its only stable piece in a trade, and the ride side is as schizophrenic as any defense in the league. All three of our RHD are insanely inconsistent.

The future is bright up front, but folks are putting a whole lot of weight on Smith and Bahl - a couple of guys who haven't even laced them up yet... and although I'm not worried about Nico or Jack - the rest of the entire forward corps (if Palms leaves) are really just question marks. We don't really know about Zacha, we don't know if Bratt can stay healthy and bulk up, we don't know if Wood has a brain, etc etc.

Yes, Anderson, Merkeley and Rooney are fun - but are they 4th line on a 70-point team fun or are they anything more?

To compete for a cup, you've got to erase question marks next to nearly every slot - and right now, outside of Nico as 2C we have literally zero guarantees.

 

[JrFischer54]

By that Zacha standard Blackwood is a "Lou guy" too.

i wouldn't say that. if you come into a situation you are going to listen to the scouting department on the 1st round pick no doubt about it since it has to be a home run. the 2nd round the stakes aren't as high and you have some more flexibility to "take shots". Also I thought the devils traded up to get blackwood or they traded back to get blackwood?

 

[JrFischer54]

For record, and ppl will disagree, but I think we'll all see Coleman's true potential in tb

I think he can crack 50 per season

that doesn't mean much since he never would've been able to reach that here

 

[Better Call Sal]

I find it hard to believe this. I'll agree that the coaching held them back, but this pile of garbage is miles and miles away from being a complete team, much less even being a legit playoff team.

To say 'goaltending' when MB29 has been truly exceptional this season is pretty ridiculous -

I understand we have some talent and pieces on defense, and that a large amount of our troubles were systemic, but the whole defense needs a complete refactor. The left side just lost its only stable piece in a trade, and the ride side is as schizophrenic as any defense in the league. All three of our RHD are insanely inconsistent.

The future is bright up front, but folks are putting a whole lot of weight on Smith and Bahl - a couple of guys who haven't even laced them up yet... and although I'm not worried about Nico or Jack - the rest of the entire forward corps (if Palms leaves) are really just question marks. We don't really know about Zacha, we don't know if Bratt can stay healthy and bulk up, we don't know if Wood has a brain, etc etc.

Yes, Anderson, Merkeley and Rooney are fun - but are they 4th line on a 70-point team fun or are they anything more?

To compete for a cup, you've got to erase question marks next to nearly every slot - and right now, outside of Nico as 2C we have literally zero guarantees.

It's pretty well documented how atrocious our goaltending has been since Blackwood came on last year. Having even a halfway decent backup likely has us closer to the playoff bubble. Doesn't mean we'd be contending, but we wouldn't be nearly as far out as we are.

 

[JrFischer54]

It's kind of ironic that the first time we've actually had extra 1st round picks is the first draft after Shero gets fired.

goes to show you how empty the talent pool on this roster was when shero took over.

considering if they trade vats it will probably bring back another 1st (shero trade)
hall got a first (shero trade)
coleman got a first while not a shero pick/trade i do think shero put him in a position (hynes) to succeed and make the most of his time here. that might be a reach but still under lou the devils would've held onto coleman and dealt him next year for a 2nd round pick