Confirmed with Link: Devils acquire Meier (50% retained) and four others from the Sharks for 2023 1st, conditional 2024 1st, Mukhamadullin, Okhotiuk, Zetterlund & Johnsson

[Bad Goalie]

I don't know if you saw the Fitzgerald press conference tonight but he said he was going to be looking for help for Utica in the next week but it's sometimes hard to get it done

Thank you. I did not see that. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Hatakka is should be good next season in the AHL, he didn’t play this year due to injury. He’s played 9 games in the NHL.

The others look useless and are just to balance the contracts out. They’re on their last year of their ELCs and they won’t be re-signed (obviously).

Not concerned about their futures at the moment, but this deal cut out a huge hole in the Comets lineup and there is no way to fill it with the trash MacKinnon put in Adirondack as emergency call-ups.

I did notice that Harrington spent most of last season in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters and played 5 this season with AHL San Jose. Thus, he must have cleared waivers twice in the last 2 saeasons. Maybe they take a chance on waiving him.

Can you think of any player(s) the Devils might paper down for the playoffs? HA HA! I can't.
Hopefully, if they call guys up after the TDL, they will at least paper them.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Hughes to start I imagine. I think you have to keep the Tatar-Hischier-Mercer line together for now

Shara has been playing with Jack and Bratt right? Meier is a massssssssssssive upgrade to that.

I'd do:

Meier-Nico-Mercer
Palat-Hughes-Bratt

This what I'd do in the playoffs if Tatar disappears again.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Shara has been playing with Jack and Bratt right? Meier is a massssssssssssive upgrade to that.



This what I'd do in the playoffs if Tatar disappears again.

Holtz should be on that line with Jack and Bratt next year but I don't have any faith that Lindy would do it, Brunette might but Lindy won't. And Palat moving up would be mean Sharangovich disappears in the playoffs which is a possibility due to his streaky play style.

Hughes to start I imagine. I think you have to keep the Tatar-Hischier-Mercer line together for now

Either or is fine, I would assume that Timo settles in with Nico but it doesn't matter. He'll flourish with either center

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Holtz should be on that line with Jack and Bratt next year but I don't have any faith that Lindy would do it, Brunette might but Lindy won't. And Palat moving up would be mean Sharangovich disappears in the playoffs which is a possibility due to his streaky play style.

I don't think any coach will put Holtz with Bratt and Jack tbh. They'd probably want someone like Palat or Meier on that line. Could do something like this I guess

Meier-Hischier-Bratt
Palat-Hughes-Holtz

But Holtz has a lot to prove to slot into the top 6 over Mercer at this point. Oh and this would be next season if it were to happen.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Fitz should 100% troll the Rangers and grab Wilson lol

I would love Wilson on this team honestly.

 

[Guttersniped]

 

[britdevil]

Holy f*** it actually happened???

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

At this point, you might just wait for Quinn to become a UFA and pull the reverse Scotty Nieds.

I don't think there's gunna be room for him unless he takes a major discount.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Alright, who do we want next team? Let Fitz know!

Not necessarily this season (cuz i doubt it'd be possible) but Wilson. I think Fitz feels we're pretty set on the core of "skilled" players now and prob will look to add more "toughness" next. Wilson is actually a good player on top of the other stuff he brings. Would be a great add.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Oilers, Rags (they've sucked bad this year and I think a lot has to do with Fox/Kreider), Boston but basically all the top units let their PP1 get the whole time. Devils should be no different.

Tampa as well.

I mean a 2nd unit of

Mercer
Palat
Tatar
Severson
L Hughes

should work this year right?

I seriously think that would be better than some of the 1st pps we've had in the past....LOL

 

[StevenToddIves]

@StevenToddIves will be happy that the Devils 1sts are gone so there won't be so much demand for his Draft/Prospect info.

Have a good rest my sweet draft prince.

I hate losing 1st round picks, but Fitzgerald made a very good deal which should solidify the Devils as true contenders for the foreseeable future.

I'll still try to find time to write up the top guys for the draft and dig up a few sleepers, but we'll see.

 

[ninetyeight]

I've probably over valued draft picks in the past. But that's mostly because the Devils have been out of contention, so I've had to immerse myself into the draft picks and prospects to get some post season entertainment. I'll take a playoff/cup run anyday over some late first round (or worse) picks.

They are basically just lottery tickets. Sure every now and then you hit the jackpot and draft a guy like Pasta, Kucherov, Aho in the late first / second. But most of the time, past the first 20 picks or so, they are nothing special if anything.

We also won't know who we would have drafted, so it doesn't really matter if SJ's picks become stars. I doubt many of us have any ill will against the sharks anyway. We hardly ever play them, so they're a great trading partner as we can continue to root for the guys going the other direction.

 

[Guadana]

This is how it goes.

Shakir is the main piece. He is better prospect than Holtz now. He could be the great third pair defenseman behind Luke and Siegs and start to play second pair role after Siegs leaved. And Bahl isn`t the player to block him. That`s done. If you wanna got great players you should pay by very good prospects.
Zetterlund is a better fit than Holtz and is way more versatile than Yegor. He could easily be third line\second line\first line player who is making every work you are asking from him.
Okhotiuk is better player than Bahl. He made two-three mistakes when he was on the ice this season. Bahl made more. He is more mobile, more explosive than Bahl. More interesting with bigger ceiling.

But everything we paid, bring Meier for us. 30-40+ goal scorer who is 26 yo. We still have Holtz, Gritsyuk and Vilen. Players with NHL potential. It`s hard to watch how the player you watch and like their development, are gone. I don`t care if incompetent writers or fans talk about this trade as cheap and steal. Grier knows what he is doing. But he didn`t get Mercer or Nemec. Without top-assets he got whatever he wanted. But it`s not top-assets. So, say goobye to Timo, Grier, hope next season you will not find a place for Okhotiuk in NHL and we will see "Bastian 2.0" story.

Devils are going for the Stanley Cup.

 

[Clam Jensen]

So it wasn’t a dream. This is the same way I felt when we got Kovy years back, just utter jubilation. Props to Fitz to f***ing going for it.

 

[Venkman]

Saw Meier play for the Mooseheads when visiting Halifax. One of the only prospects I've seen live in person, liked him ever since. Excited to see him in a Jersey jersey.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Good morning everyone

 

[AfroThunder396]

Considering both how late those picks are as well as how stacked our prospect pool currently is, I have absolutely no problem trading them.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Considering both how late those picks are as well as how stacked our prospect pool currently is, I have absolutely no problem trading them.

Yeah, the more I’ve sat on it the more comfortable I am including the ‘24 pick. Our pool is so strong it’s just not an active hindrance in the next two years other than as additional trade capital. With the core we have in place and Hughes/Nemec coming through at this stage we should really just have to add around the edges.

 

[HughesCorporation]

was timo's upper body injury just a ploy to hold him out or was he nicked up? is he ready to play now????

 

[Louskoolaid89]

We are now loaded enough to catch Carolina LFGD!

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

was timo's upper body injury just a ploy to hold him out or was he nicked up? is he ready to play now????

Minor injury

 

[Hisch13r]

I don't think there's gunna be room for him unless he takes a major discount.

We’ll have to see what the numbers look like at that point for stars. Dougie would have one year left at that point. Move him or get Quinn to take a cheaper one year deal and then sign longer when Dougie’s up

 

[MachoDiablo]

Yeah, sleeping on it I'm mostly over the sticker shock. It was a surprise; the vibe a lot of people had was that this was a buyer's market, and seeing so many pieces, albeit not from the very top of the organizational depth, included was more a surprise than anything else.

But again, assuming Timo's extended you really can't be too upset at this, even if losing Mukh and Zetts hurts a good deal.

Part of why I feel better is I don't think Fitz is going to be the GM who goes out and swings deals like this on the regular; he knew had had prospect capital to spend, he saw a guy who was basically the perfect target for the Devils' contention window and on-ice needs, so he spent some of that capital to make it happen. He's not about to pull a Rangers and just empty the coffers every year, and he's shown no indication that he doesn't keep an eye on the big picture when considering the overall health and depth within the organization, so I don't expect that to change. Given that, replacing a lot of what the Devils lost here won't be the hardest thing in the world, and Meier potentially puts them over the top for a championship in the very (how about incredibly) near future.

Basically, Fitz cashed in some chips to make this happen, but he's no degenerate gambler, so no reason not to trust the process and enjoy the ride, which is likely about to get even crazier now.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

Detroit had the Russian 5. We now have the Swiss Army! LFGD.