Devils 2020-21 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part VIII

[ETTHAKING67]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

Believe in him, meaning do we think he'll ever live up to his draft slot? Definitely not.

Believe in him, meaning do we think he'll carve out a decent NHL career? Definitely.

Now that the Devils have Hischier and Hughes down the middle, Zacha does not need to be a top 6 center anymore....which is perfect for him. He is a great penalty killer and can play in the bottom 6, though is he not really a great 5 on 5 player.

Would they trade him? If the right deal came along, in a package for a good DMan...sure. Would they trade him for a 2nd round pick or something? Nah, I doubt it.

 

[MartyOwns]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

personally i’d love to trade him

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

He's a decent 3rd line C, good defense. He had good chemistry with Gusev and Bratt last year offensively, I'd be ok with them sticking together at training camp but I imagine they won't.

I don't consider him a core piece anymore. The best case scenario for him is maybe in two years he's like Radek Faksa and the Devils extend him, but I'd be ok trading him if someone paid for his draft position.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

I think he is still capable of becoming a middle-six, two-way "glue guy" type - the likes of which we haven't had since Dainius Zubrus.

I have no interest in trading him.

 

[Forge]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

I'd be fine trading him, but has to make sense. He's an NHLer, and not a "bad" one. I'm not trading him for futures.

 

[Omar Little]

Would people want to do a trade of Sutter + Juolevi for McLeod.

We could then either hold onto Sutter and ultimately flip him at the deadline or immediately flip him with retained salary to a team looking for cheap depth.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I'm actually still of the hope Zacha will turn a Coutourier - as that guy only had 30-something points for his 18-24 years and then broke out when he was 24-25. Coleman started coming to play when he was 25 too -

It's an utter pipe dream to think he'll put up 76 points - but I think he's shown flashes of being a better player than he's been... and I know this is the same drum we've been beating for a while - but... he's *23*. I don't see any reason why he couldn't surpass Zajac numbers, putting up 20 goals and 25 assists a year.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

The Devils had also just lost Parise and Clarkson to their hometown teams, and the NHL had just expanded to pending-free-agent Zajac's hometown in Winnipeg.

Questioning the merits of giving Zajac that contract is peak hindsight bias.

Contract was high even at the time and the killer was the NMC he is not the type of player you give a full NMC to even in 2013....Was a bad year for the Devils lot happened that put them back that's for sure.

 

[Oneiro]

I think Juolevi is a non factor. We take on any salary in this year, we need to extract something serious.

And Zajac’s deal was a mild overpay. He would’ve gotten the same thing in free agency.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Would people want to do a trade of Sutter + Juolevi for McLeod.

We could then either hold onto Sutter and ultimately flip him at the deadline or immediately flip him with retained salary to a team looking for cheap depth.

no thanks

I'd look to aim higher than Juolevi

 

[Omar Little]

no thanks

I'd look to aim higher than Juolevi

That's fair

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

I'm actually still of the hope Zacha will turn a Coutourier - as that guy only had 30-something points for his 18-24 years and then broke out when he was 24-25. Coleman started coming to play when he was 25 too -

It's an utter pipe dream to think he'll put up 76 points - but I think he's shown flashes of being a better player than he's been... and I know this is the same drum we've been beating for a while - but... he's *23*. I don't see any reason why he couldn't surpass Zajac numbers, putting up 20 goals and 25 assists a year.

I think Pavel breaks 50 before 2022

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

I also may be crazy - but I think Jack will end up the best skater in the league not named Connor McDavid

That is the best asset you can have for todays NHL IMO

 

[MichaelJ]

no thanks

I'd look to aim higher than Juolevi

Woo

 

[SJinNewJersey]

Well, we have two years with left with Subban and Crawford's hits. If next season he wants to come back on a cheap one year and no one emerges as a solid defensive 3/4c who can take his spot on the PK while also finding more to add to it. It would be silly not to take him back for a year. Beyond that, it would be silly to commit.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Avs and hockey fan in general and I would like to know what is the Devils fans opinion on Zacha ? Do you still believe in him (still23) or do you want to trade him ?

I know it's pretty much a meme on these boards to keep saying "let's see how he does this year" for Zacha, but I'd really like to see how he does under Ruff first. Obviously I'm a big Zacha fan but I think he does just objectively have a lot of skills that lend itself to being a strong middle six player that maybe puts up 40-50 points a year which would be just fine behind Nico and Hughes.

 

[TrufleShufle]

As much as I want this to be true, even if Zacha turns into the next Bergeron overnight, he is still one of the only two main pieces on the PK right now. The other one being Zajac.

 

[MachoDiablo]

I know it's pretty much a meme on these boards to keep saying "let's see how he does this year" for Zacha, but I'd really like to see how he does under Ruff first. Obviously I'm a big Zacha fan but I think he does just objectively have a lot of skills that lend itself to being a strong middle six player that maybe puts up 40-50 points a year which would be just fine behind Nico and Hughes.

You're making me realize I haven't thought enough this offseason about the impact Ruff could end up having on some of the young forwards; if nothing else, Ruff's got a history of getting the most out of his younger guys on offense, and Pavel's a kid who could really use a steady spot, room to grow, and some help overcoming what sometimes feel like his own mental hangups on the ice (e.g. few other Devils elicit more cries of "SHOOT THE DAMN THING" from the viewing audience).

I don't know what my view is on Zacha's upside, but a strong guy centering a third line with legitimate talent on his wings and getting in that 40-50 point range doesn't seem completely outside the realm of reality; he just needs to grow, something a coach like Ruff can certainly help with...and yeah, he is just 23, cliche as that is.

 

[Rhodes 81]

I've always believed Zacha is going to have one season where he scores 65 points. He's the kind of player that's just so dependant on his linemates being good to score. He does everything right but doesn't have the raw skill to do it all himself sometimes. As the Devils' depth improves, so will Zacha.

 

[Oneiro]

I also may be crazy - but I think Jack will end up the best skater in the league not named Connor McDavid

That is the best asset you can have for todays NHL IMO

I think the ability to make plays in all directions is still one of the most undervalued skill sets in hockey. Niedermayer without the leash was a major asset, ditto for Patrick Kane and McDavid. And I agree - Jack is in that category of being a totally unbounded playmaker.

I also think people really misinterpret what this truly means - most players are actually very straight line by nature. They go East-west really only so they can find a soft spot to go north-south, if that makes sense.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

Woo

'Go ahead and shake the room, how bout I shake the room' - Pop Smoke

 

[Devils731]

Remember when he was going to be really good?

 

[My3Sons]

I've always believed Zacha is going to have one season where he scores 65 points. He's the kind of player that's just so dependant on his linemates being good to score. He does everything right but doesn't have the raw skill to do it all himself sometimes. As the Devils' depth improves, so will Zacha.

I think Zacha has plenty of skill, both raw and cooked. I think he plays hockey because he is big and strong and good at it. I'm skeptical he loves it all that much. The trick to making Zacha better, were I his coach, would be trying to make it less of a chore for him and a bit more fun.

 

[Oneiro]

Yeah. Meh.

Hope there’s something else going on because I’m still not feeling that defense.