Prospect Info: Current #2 overall poll and discussion

[Forge]

"If he is drafted by the Canadians, I will be surprised," Renaud Lavoie told La Dose . This guy did not live up to expectations.

“If the Canadiens draft Shane Wright, I'll be happy for the kid , but I'll be very surprised. I think I would fall out of my chair."

Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley are the other two players still in the hunt for the No. 1 pick.

And according to Renaud Lavoie, there is something important to consider in the case of Slafkovsky.

"He can play in Laval [with the Rocket] next year and the other two can't," he said. That, for me, is a marked advantage.”

 

[Captain3rdLine]

"If he is drafted by the Canadians, I will be surprised," Renaud Lavoie told La Dose . This guy did not live up to expectations.

“If the Canadiens draft Shane Wright, I'll be happy for the kid , but I'll be very surprised. I think I would fall out of my chair."

Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley are the other two players still in the hunt for the No. 1 pick.

And according to Renaud Lavoie, there is something important to consider in the case of Slafkovsky.

"He can play in Laval [with the Rocket] next year and the other two can't," he said. That, for me, is a marked advantage.”

That’s just a really dumb statement all around.
First because he’s acting like it would be a huge surprise if Wright went first which is ridiculous.

And then saying that Slafkovsky being able to play in Laval next year is a big advantage.

That’s just dumb. People and GM’s talk all the time about how you’re not drafting for the best player at 18 or 19 and then this guy is doing even worse than that suggesting Slafkovsky being able to play in the AHL sooner as some advantage.

It’s also just inaccurate. Logan Cooley can absolutely play in the AHL next year and there would be nothing to say he can’t. Wright can’t however. Still would be a dumb thing to even take into consideration at all.

That isn’t even worthy of being posted on these threads. So stupid.

 

[Forge]

That’s just a really dumb statement all around.
First because he’s acting like it would be a huge surprise if Wright went first which is ridiculous.

And then saying that Slafkovsky being able to play in Laval next year is a big advantage.

That’s just dumb. People and GM’s talk all the time about how you’re not drafting for the best player at 18 or 19 and then this guy is doing even worse than that suggesting Slafkovsky being able to play in the AHL sooner as some advantage.

It’s also just inaccurate. Logan Cooley can absolutely play in the AHL next year and there would be nothing to say he can’t. Wright can’t however. Still would be a dumb thing to even take into consideration at all.

That isn’t even worthy of being posted on these threads. So stupid.

The source apparently makes it noteworthy according to habs fans

 

[Captain3rdLine]

The source apparently makes it noteworthy according to habs fans

Meh it’s just a reporter stating his own opinion. Nothing too it really and it looks really dumb to me.

Saying he would fall out of his chair if they took Wright when most of the hockey world thinks he’s the most likely pick, the GM just yesterday said he was 1 of the 3 guys it was coming down to and there have been multiple reports of Canadiens management having recent meetings with him, is just ridiculous.

It clearly shouldn’t be that surprising to anyone. Even Mckagg or whatever his name is isn’t acting like he’d be that suprised.

Reads to me like he doesn’t like Wright or think he’s the right pick so he’s acting like it would be such a surprising pick with how disappointing of a season he had. Or he’s just trying to get clicks and attention which is clearly happening.

 

[Forge]

Meh it’s just a reporter stating his own opinion. Nothing too it really and it looks really dumb to me.

How often do we post and discuss reporters stating their own opinion with nothing to it really?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

How often do we post and discuss reporters stating their own opinion with nothing to it really?

Often. They just usually aren’t that bad and obviously dumb. Like it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.

 

[Forge]

Man, now I'm grossed out thinking about how much actual time of my life has been spent discussing reporters opinions on sports things that will never happen lol

Gotta be months, right?

 

[RJL89]

Hockey Media is extra extra screwy this Draft. Either it's because Montreal & if so, WOW, Montreal Media is trash! If there is no weight to all these Draft Media posts about Montreal unsure about Wright & it is all BS and this is the future that the Media now has a hold on the credible NHL sources to the extent they will lie/manipulate/feed into the flame to create "hype" for draft day I hope everyone is smart enough to just ignore everything.

The ONKY reason I read into Montreal not drafting Wright is from the multiple credible sources acting like the reports are legit.

 

[Eggtimer]

With only a couple of days left before the draft , I am finally and peace with whatever player we get . We shiid t really be in this position to begin with and it’s all gravy.
We are not really that bad of a team , goaltending did a horrific number on us and is picking #2 is almost unfair lol.
Slafkovsky / Wright / Cooley / Jiricek / Nemec , whatever. All appear to be very good prospects and getting any one of those kids is going to make the Devils a better team.
Im also pumped that we will be adding a very good prospect while teams like the Caps / Penguins / Bruins / will still be steadily declining while we add elite talent.

Our time is coming very soon, and hopefully it will last for years.

 

[Guttersniped]

"If he is drafted by the Canadians, I will be surprised," Renaud Lavoie told La Dose . This guy did not live up to expectations.

“If the Canadiens draft Shane Wright, I'll be happy for the kid , but I'll be very surprised. I think I would fall out of my chair."

Forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley are the other two players still in the hunt for the No. 1 pick.

And according to Renaud Lavoie, there is something important to consider in the case of Slafkovsky.

"He can play in Laval [with the Rocket] next year and the other two can't," he said. That, for me, is a marked advantage.”

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Hockey Media is extra extra screwy this Draft. Either it's because Montreal & if so, WOW, Montreal Media is trash! If there is no weight to all these Draft Media posts about Montreal unsure about Wright & it is all BS and this is the future that the Media now has a hold on the credible NHL sources to the extent they will lie/manipulate/feed into the flame to create "hype" for draft day I hope everyone is smart enough to just ignore everything.

The ONKY reason I read into Montreal not drafting Wright is from the multiple credible sources acting like the reports are legit.

But no credible source is saying they are hearing that they won’t.

All we’ve seen is some different people with I guess different levels of credibility offering their own opinions. Not saying they’ve told or heard that Wright isn’t the guy. The guy above is just putting his opinion and it’s a dumb statement all-around based on everything we know. There is absolutely nothing to suggest what he said is anything other than his own weird personal opinion and I’m honestly thinking it’s just for clicks and attention.

Everything legitimate including statements from Montreal themselves and the actual reports on what’s going on (such as on meetings) has pointed to Wright being one of the top if not the top candidate.

 

[Forge]

I love this gif

 

[Bcap88]

Hockey Media is extra extra screwy this Draft. Either it's because Montreal & if so, WOW, Montreal Media is trash! If there is no weight to all these Draft Media posts about Montreal unsure about Wright & it is all BS and this is the future that the Media now has a hold on the credible NHL sources to the extent they will lie/manipulate/feed into the flame to create "hype" for draft day I hope everyone is smart enough to just ignore everything.

The ONKY reason I read into Montreal not drafting Wright is from the multiple credible sources acting like the reports are legit.

Hockey Canada on edge knowing that there may be a chance a Canadian kid will gets passed up for tbe Slovak kid or even worse tbe American center lol. It seems like they are trying to get out in front of the shock factor

 

[Devs3cups]

But no credible source is saying they are hearing that they won’t.

All we’ve seen is some different people with I guess different levels of credibility offering their own opinions. Not saying they’ve told or heard that Wright isn’t the guy. The guy above is just putting his opinion and it’s a dumb statement all-around based on everything we know. There is absolutely nothing to suggest what he said is anything other than his own weird personal opinion and I’m honestly thinking it’s just for clicks and attention.

Everything legitimate including statements from Montreal themselves and the actual reports on what’s going on (such as on meetings) has pointed to Wright being one of the top if not the top candidate.

I guess Renaud Lavoie would be surprised that the only player from the “top 3” that Lecavalier recently interviewed yesterday were drafted by MTL 1st Overall… jesus christ…

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

What does Fitz do if Hughes picks Cooley?

That would be the ultimate troll move.

 

[MauDevils]

He's not wrong about Shane Wright though. His development is not where you want it to be in the OHL. You have to get him out of there.

Which means he's forced to play in the NHL
immediately and what do you do if he's not playing well?

 

[TBF1972]

I do think it's ridiculous that they're still going around saying they don't know who they're going to take yet. They know. They must know.

But I think in previous years, teams picking #1 didn't really trumpet out who they were taking beforehand either. It was just assumed, because there was usually a clear-cut, consensus #1. This year there isn't, so that's why there's more intrigue about it, even though Montreal really isn't doing much different.

if trade is a valid scenario for them, they limit the options and return, if they leak, who they would be picking at 1.

I can’t wait for the draft . I am super anxious and worried that we end up doing something stupid . Panic and try to speed up us contending . Resulting in us being middle of the pack fir a couple years instead of contenders for the next decade if we do things right .
Draft Slafkovsky , stay away from Miller / bloated contracts on anyone 30+ or players with kne or two years before they become UFA and we lose them for nothing or pay out of our asses to keep them and have to trade players we want to keep .
Draft Slafkovsky or Wright . Try to sign Johnny if he hits UFA . Don’t overpay through the nose for Debrincat or Miller

agree

stay away from any players with less than two knees. at least hischier's leg amputation happened below the knee.

 

[TBF1972]

Im fairly confident there isnt a single move Fitzgerald can make this week that would take our future from long-term contender to mediocre for a few seasons

You do realize we only have 24mil on the cap three years from now at the moment? we dont have a single bad contract.

dead wrong

petry, anderson, dvorak and #26 for #2 would do the trick.

 

[TBF1972]

Beyond the contract, you have to be comfortable Miller will hold up for at least the first five years of any extension. Maybe he will, but the odds are against it. In my view, I'd just make the draft pick and be choosy in free agency. I think a number of very good wings will make it to UFA in the next few years. I wouldn't just rush this year if the player and price isn't right. I still think a goalie is way more important and that sorting out the third line properly will do more to help the team win than adding one more scoring wing. Just my thoughts.....

i have stated this in other posts, but i trust jack hughes enough, that you don't add an expensive winger to make him effective. he has the talent to make his wings effective. rango is largely a product of hughes and we have wings in the pipeline with a higher ceiling than rango. i am confident our top line doesn't need an import. hughes' wings might become an export hit.
if the devils can resign bratt and attach him to hischier, you don't need a world class offensive talent as the third wheel on the second line. a two way forward with a good shot and a nose for the net should do the trick.
before we think about loading up on bottom 6 forwards, the devils should make the playoffs first for a year or two.

keep cap room open for opponents cap causalities on the cheap. toews for two late 2nd round picks is an underrated move.

 

[TBF1972]

Fitz's stated that the window is 2-3 years out from here (from an interview with Loughlin). It's unlikely that Miller is this good for that long, let alone beyond that time period.

Hamilton plays a less taxing game while being one of the best transition/shot-generating D at his position. 9M in this salary landscape is absolutely fair for that. Meanwhile Miller's career numbers came at age 28, he's broken 70 pts only twice and, unlike Gaudreau, he is not even in the building of being one of the best forwards in the game. In no way is he equivalent to Hamilton up front. I'm not even on the Gaudreau train but at least he's close to worth his future cap hit.

Right when you need to make the equivalent acquisition of what Chara was to BOS, Hossa to CHI, O'Reilly to STL, McDonagh to TB, etc. you'll be saddled with a declining Miller eating 9-12% of the cap. He is not the same caliber of player as that group. You do not pay a premium for "leadership" if the player cannot back it up on the ice.

I also think fans are not looking at the defense critically enough. I don't think it's good enough even if Luke is a star. Down the line (when the window is open), I think we need to make a bigger move there and you need cap to do it.

hamilton is less of an issue, because
top4 rhd are very rarely available by trade or in free agency and
the devils won't have an internal option for the foreseeable future

 

[oxman44]

That would be the ultimate troll move.

Yes it would be lol. But to the original question, Im still drafting Slaf. I still have have him just above wright overall. I think his ceiling is phenomenal ( albeit a longer way to hit it) and his floor is a lot higher than some people are giving him credit for. His stick handling ability for a guy his size is just very rare. combine that with an advanced knowledge of attacking defensmen by cutting to the slot with the puck protected on his backhand while still having the small area skill to keep defenders from being able to poke check it away is just tantalizing. Throw in strong skating, and the ability to drive a line through transition....hes a beast.

If Fitz went Wright here Im totally fine with that too. If slaf is the frist pick than its a no-brainer wright is the guy. Our Situation might be better for Wright than one might think upon firt glance at our roster construction. He have less pressure playing down the lineup while he acclimates or play wing, trading on and off with center duties like faceoffs and defensive zone starts etc. Wright has a absolutley fantastic shot, I dont know if people talk about it enough. he could absolutley rip tons of goals playing on a guy like Jacks wing if this scenario played out.

 

[TBF1972]

Man, now I'm grossed out thinking about how much actual time of my life has been spent discussing reporters opinions on sports things that will never happen lol

Gotta be months, right?

doesn't matter as long as you got paid for it.

Our time is coming very soon, and hopefully it will last forever.

corrected

 

[AfroThunder396]

Development is a non-factor for MTL. Whoever they select #1 is going to play in the NHL next year no matter what.

 

[My3Sons]

i have stated this in other posts, but i trust jack hughes enough, that you don't add an expensive winger to make him effective. he has the talent to make his wings effective. rango is largely a product of hughes and we have wings in the pipeline with a higher ceiling than rango. i am confident our top line doesn't need an import. hughes' wings might become an export hit.
if the devils can resign bratt and attach him to hischier, you don't need a world class offensive talent as the third wheel on the second line. a two way forward with a good shot and a nose for the net should do the trick.
before we think about loading up on bottom 6 forwards, the devils should make the playoffs first for a year or two.

keep cap room open for opponents cap causalities on the cheap. toews for two late 2nd round picks is an underrated move.

You don’t need to load up and overpay bottom six guys to rebuild thr third line. You can probably play Boquist and Zetterlund on it if you get a good defensive guy to play with them. I just don’t see Tatar working in that role. The fourth line should be fine if Wood is ready to play in the fall.

 

[devilsblood]

i have stated this in other posts, but i trust jack hughes enough, that you don't add an expensive winger to make him effective. he has the talent to make his wings effective. rango is largely a product of hughes and we have wings in the pipeline with a higher ceiling than rango. i am confident our top line doesn't need an import. hughes' wings might become an export hit.
if the devils can resign bratt and attach him to hischier, you don't need a world class offensive talent as the third wheel on the second line. a two way forward with a good shot and a nose for the net should do the trick.
before we think about loading up on bottom 6 forwards, the devils should make the playoffs first for a year or two.

keep cap room open for opponents cap causalities on the cheap. toews for two late 2nd round picks is an underrated move.

I definitely agree with your general sentiment of not needing to add expensive wingers.

But, and I've laid this out before, I'll disagree that Shara is largely a product of Hughes. Remember Shara initially found his footing in the league playing difficult minutes on Zajac's wing, and actually scored more goals (5 to 4) in less minutes (355 to 233) with Zajac then he did with Hughes. Had a significantly better shot rate with Zajac then he did with Hughes as well (10 to 7.4).

And again this year Shara's shot rate with Hughes was below 8. It was high 8's with Mercer(predominantly with Mercer on the far wing) and over 9 with Bratt. In only 100 minutes Shara posted a shot rate in the high 8's playing on McLeod's wing. Could we foresee a time where Shara is on McLeod's wing creating a dangerous defensive matchup line much like we saw when Shara was with Zajac?

Shara with Nico this year posted a paltry 5.18/60 shot rate.