Devils 2015-16 team discussion (player news & notes) Offseason version ‎III

[Triumph]

And then there is still Wood, Kalinin, Quenneville, Pietila and Coleman. Hell you might even though Josefson into the mix as he is also potentially LW as well.

I think at this very moment Quenneville, Wood, Blandisi, Boucher are all reasonable candidates for 3rd line LW...

Wood and Quenneville will be starting in Albany no matter what because of this situation and that kind of stinks Because no matter how good of a camp and preseason they have there is almost no chance of them getting a spot... probably same is true for Blandisi.

Wow, imagine having so much talent that there are actually talented players in the minor leagues capable of playing in the NHL. I know the Devils haven't been in this spot in, oh, almost 20 years, but this is actually a good thing.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

except that talent is 3rd line talent.

but im nitpicking and agree for the most part

 

[JimEIV]

Wow, imagine having so much talent that there are actually talented players in the minor leagues capable of playing in the NHL. I know the Devils haven't been in this spot in, oh, almost 20 years, but this is actually a good thing.

Not saying it isn't a good thing, it just stinks that someone who might be good enough won't get a chance.

But really my initial point was if I were Vesey, I wouldn't like NJ's LW situation.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Glad to see people defending our lovely state in that teash of a Vesey thread on the main boards!

 

[Nubmer6]

he signed it two months after Larsson signed his, fwiw

Hmm... good point. This off-season's felt so long already, I forgot we re-signed Larsson so recently.

It's still probably unlikely they trade him to open cap space, since they must have known the cap situation they were getting themselves into.

 

[Triumph]

except that talent is 3rd line talent.

but im nitpicking and agree for the most part

I wasn't saying otherwise. Regardless, I don't really think I need to list off the players who've gotten way too much ice time here over the last 10+ years because of an insufficent amount of 3rd line talent.

 

[Emperoreddy]

It also really helps when you have a Taylor Hall at the top of the line up. It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the LW prospects, while also breeding more competition.

 

[Zippy316]

Hmm... good point. This off-season's felt so long already, I forgot we re-signed Larsson so recently.

It's still probably unlikely they trade him to open cap space, since they must have known the cap situation they were getting themselves into.

It's not necessarily a cap situation as much as it's a numbers game. For their LD, they have Fowler, Despres, Lindholm, and Bieksa. For RD, they have Vatanen, Manson, Montour, and Holzer. It's likely one LD can shift over which I believe Bieksa does, but that is still a ~8 million third pairing no matter how you slice it.

Somebody has to go on the LD side and they can't protect them all come expansion. As far as cap hits go, they have Fowler at 4.00, Bieksa at 4.00, Despres at 3.7, and likely Lindholm will be making near 5.00. Something has to give there as they have way too much cap tied up in those players AND not enough spots for them to play. That isn't considering giving Theodore the opportunity to make the team.

Bieksa is practically immovable at this point with an NMC and the upcoming expansion draft, Fowler seems to be too important to the team, and Lindholm is one of the best young defenders in the game today. Despres seems like a logical choice out and looking at his possession numbers and production, it seems like he has struggled since getting to Anaheim.

 

[Triumph]

It's not necessarily a cap situation as much as it's a numbers game. For their LD, they have Fowler, Despres, Lindholm, and Bieksa. For RD, they have Vatanen, Manson, Montour, and Holzer. It's likely one LD can shift over which I believe Bieksa does, but that is still a ~8 million third pairing no matter how you slice it.

Somebody has to go on the LD side and they can't protect them all come expansion. As far as cap hits go, they have Fowler at 4.00, Bieksa at 4.00, Despres at 3.7, and likely Lindholm will be making near 5.00. Something has to give there as they have way too much cap tied up in those players AND not enough spots for them to play. That isn't considering giving Theodore the opportunity to make the team.

Bieksa is practically immovable at this point with an NMC and the upcoming expansion draft, Fowler seems to be too important to the team, and Lindholm is one of the best young defenders in the game today. Despres seems like a logical choice out and looking at his possession numbers and production, it seems like he has struggled since getting to Anaheim.

Bieksa is an RD. Regardless, given how this expansion draft works, it doesn't make any sense to trade from a position of strength if that position is still going to be strong anyway, because now you are out 2 players if the expansion team takes from that position. The only way it makes sense to trade a D for Anaheim is if they are getting a non-expansion worthy D in return (or a pick they can move for that, but that's dicier).

Despres struggled territorially because he almost never got to play with Hampus Lindholm, and Lindholm was one of those guys who basically turned a 50% team into a 57% team when he was on the ice.

I would take Despres, but I don't see why Anaheim would be all that eager to deal him. To me it would make much more sense for them to deal Fowler.

 

[mike30]

just seeing the devils there makes me happy.

work your magic shero

 

[Zippy316]

Bieksa is an RD. Regardless, given how this expansion draft works, it doesn't make any sense to trade from a position of strength if that position is still going to be strong anyway, because now you are out 2 players if the expansion team takes from that position. The only way it makes sense to trade a D for Anaheim is if they are getting a non-expansion worthy D in return (or a pick they can move for that, but that's dicier).

Despres struggled territorially because he almost never got to play with Hampus Lindholm, and Lindholm was one of those guys who basically turned a 50% team into a 57% team when he was on the ice.

I would take Despres, but I don't see why Anaheim would be all that eager to deal him. To me it would make much more sense for them to deal Fowler.

As long as they can stay under the cap, I could see it being a training camp move like how Leddy and Boychuk were dealt. Anaheim will likely see how Theodore looks and how the rest of their defense looks and could go from there.

The other big thing is Anaheim has very little depth offensively and the LW side looks very mediocre. A cheap option like Boucher could work for them especially if they feel they need to move cap space now.

 

[njdevils1982]

just seeing the devils there makes me happy.

work your magic shero

go take a cold shower……if it happens, cool……if not, who cares…….

the team moves on.

(sorry, im just tired of all the blah blah blah and rumor this and that garbage hyping up an unknown)

nothing personal……just sick of hearing this as 'news' in the hockey world

 

[Bcap88]

still think we need a RW since Bennett will play all of 23 games

 

[njdevils1982]

still think we need a RW since Bennett will play all of 23 games

cmon, BCHL alum….scored at a zajac pace there

 

[AfroThunder396]

wtf it's been 18 minutes and he hasn't signed yet?

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Mike Johnson was just talking up the Devils as a great fit for Vesey on NHL network

 

[Bleedred]

wtf it's been 18 minutes and he hasn't signed yet?

It will be investigated for tampering if he signs so soon!

 

[mike30]

wtf it's been 18 minutes and he hasn't signed yet?

saw somewhere that his agent stated he wont sign until thursday/friday

 

[Brooklyndevil]

If his father is sick as posted, I would think he signs with Boston.

 

[MadDevil]

I would be pleasantly surprised if he signs with us. If not, oh well.

 

[njdevil26]

Not sure if true... but I saw on Twitter last night that his agent was saying he won't sign before Friday.

 

[Offseason Champs]

I don't really think that Vesey is anything that the organization really needs. Don't we have enough unproven left wingers in Boucher, Blandisi, Wood, and possibly Zacha if they move him to the wing? Throw in Hall as our 1LW and Cammy right now as 2LW for this year +2 more and I just don't really know where he fits unless you push some of those guys to RW or keep Zacha as a 2C behind Henrique eventually and bumping Zajac down. So many unproven wingers on this team. Odds are one of them will pan out, right? Right?

 

[Classic Devil]

I don't really think that Vesey is anything that the organization really needs. Don't we have enough unproven left wingers in Boucher, Blandisi, Wood, and possibly Zacha if they move him to the wing? Throw in Hall as our 1LW and Cammy right now as 2LW for this year +2 more and I just don't really know where he fits unless you push some of those guys to RW or keep Zacha as a 2C behind Henrique eventually and bumping Zajac down. So many unproven wingers on this team. Odds are one of them will pan out, right? Right?

He's not a need but he is a free asset. With Vesey we can potentially move one of the other LWs to shore up the defense.

 

[JimEIV]

Mike Johnson was just talking up the Devils as a great fit for Vesey on NHL network

Can you tell me what some of his points were that makes makes him think Vesey is a great fit here? I'm curious?


It doesn't seem like a good fit at all to me but maybe I am missing something?

Hall is going to be a staple LW here for years, Cammalleri still has 3 years on his contract, We have a half dozen guys vying for a LW spot and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to see Henrique eventually slot back to LW at some point with all the people we have that are C/LW's

Potential LW's for 2016/17
Hall LW
Cammallari LW
Boucher LW
Zacha C/LW
Blandisi C/LW
Kalinin C/LW
Josefson C/LW
Farnham LW
Wood LW
Quenneville C/LW
Pietila C/LW
Coleman C/LW

Not seeing "a good fit" at all. Every single one of these guys is a Left handed shot.
Even without Vesey, Shero is going to have to clear some room soon I think.

 

[devils55]

Can you tell me what some of his points were that makes makes him think Vesey is a great fit here? I'm curious?


It doesn't seem like a good fit at all to me but maybe I am missing something?

Hall is going to be a staple LW here for years, Cammalleri still has 3 years on his contract, We have a half dozen guys vying for a LW spot and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to see Henrique eventually slot back to LW at some point with all the people we have that are C/LW's

Potential LW's for 2016/17
Hall LW
Cammallari LW
Boucher LW
Zacha C/LW
Blandisi C/LW
Kalinin C/LW
Josefson C/LW
Farnham LW
Wood LW
Quenneville C/LW
Pietila C/LW
Coleman C/LW

Not seeing "a good fit" at all. Every single one of these guys is a Left handed shot.
Even without Vesey, Shero is going to have to clear some room soon I think.

He just won the Hobey Baker..... he's a good fit on any team