Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2026-27 offseason part III

[Devils Trap]

I’ve mentioned him before but I would go after McCann on Seattle, contingent upon extending him. He has one more year left at just 5m AAV. The player can slot right into the top six and has the versatility to play center at a solid level (unlike Mercer). McCann scores goals and is also good on the PK. It may not be a sexy move but it’s a savvy one. Seattle brass doesn’t exactly have a history of smart decision making so the acquisition cost shouldn’t be outlandish…one would think.

Id love him, great fit next to Nico on the Top 6 IMO. Havent seen many rumors of him being available anymore though

 

[Devs3cups]

This roster can be great, just need some side pieces. Would like a Top 6 piece but not at the expense of a bad deal or contract.

If the tops 6 is Grits - Nico - Timo
Jesper - Jack - Brown

So be it, I think they can do pretty well with that. We still have Nico, Timo, Jack and Jesper.

Depth is so easy to acquire and cheaply, we will find players there

Yeah I was mostly talking about the bottom of the lineup that needs a real revamp imo. Didn't word it correctly. I have no issue with the top guys.

 

[Devils Trap]

Yeah I was mostly talking about the bottom of the lineup that needs a real revamp imo. Didn't word it correctly. I have no issue with the top guys.

FLA rebuilt their 4th line / 3rd pair every year. I know Sunny can do that. We def need to spend to get a better 3rd line but those guys also shouldnt be incredible expensive to acquire

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

You can't just assume a team is going to find depth, it's going on what year 4-5 that we're making the wrong moves in the bottom 6? Glass and Brown are the only good bottom 6ers we found in 4-5 year span, granted Fitz was a complete moron in that regard, we still have to see if Sunny is good at acquiring talent in that area

 

[longislanddevil]

I suspect folks will disagree but I wouldn’t mind taking a chance on Laine. He can’t command much more than the league minimum at this point. If only he could stay healthy….

If Florida winds up landing Hellebuyck, they’ll have to shed more salary. I wonder if Verhaeghe could be available at 7m AAV. Of course there’s the Sunny connection with Zito….

 

[TrufleShufle]

You can't just assume a team is going to find depth, it's going on what year 4-5 that we're making the wrong moves in the bottom 6? Glass and Brown are the only good bottom 6ers we found in 4-5 year span, granted Fitz was a complete moron in that regard, we still have to see if Sunny is good at acquiring talent in that area

"Those guys can be had through FA or the deadline, plenty of them every year."

 

[Devils Trap]

I suspect folks will disagree but I wouldn’t mind taking a chance on Laine. He can’t command much more than the league minimum at this point. If only he could stay healthy….

If Florida winds up landing Hellebuyck, they’ll have to shed more salary. I wonder if Verhaeghe could be available at 7m AAV. Of course there’s the Sunny connection with Zito….

Ive heard Verhaeghe name is available but on a full NMC I doubt he would waive

I would absolutely buy low on Laine

 

[Homedresser]

dont remember them doing something like this before, interesting spin on dev camp. also explains why silayevs agent wouldve thought we werent having one lol

Guess they are trying to legitimize it. It came to be known as the "Friends & Family" camp.

 

[Devils Trap]

You can't just assume a team is going to find depth, it's going on what year 4-5 that we're making the wrong moves in the bottom 6? Glass and Brown are the only good bottom 6ers we found in 4-5 year span, granted Fitz was a complete moron in that regard, we still have to see if Sunny is good at acquiring talent in that area

Yea Fitz sucked at it cause he thought they all had to be tough guys. He somewhat figured it out last year when he started going for Glass / brown etc.

Florida has legit spit out and down depth guys every year. Then lets them go when they want money. I have ZERO doubt in Sunny's ability to find these

 

[longislanddevil]

Ive heard Verhaeghe name is available but on a full NMC I doubt he would waive

I would absolutely buy low on Laine

I forget who it was (maybe Zach Berman from “Locked On Devils”) but I heard another Devils insider mention Verhaeghe’s name as a possibility.

 

[Devils Trap]

I forget who it was (maybe Zach Berman from “Locked On Devils”) but I heard another Devils insider mention Verhaeghe’s name as a possibility.

Im skeptical he would ever waive to leave FLA. Obviously would take him but idk

 

[Triumph]

I suspect folks will disagree but I wouldn’t mind taking a chance on Laine. He can’t command much more than the league minimum at this point. If only he could stay healthy….

If Florida winds up landing Hellebuyck, they’ll have to shed more salary. I wonder if Verhaeghe could be available at 7m AAV. Of course there’s the Sunny connection with Zito….

If Laine takes the league minimum it's because he wants to play in a specific place. Teams are absolutely flush with space, someone out there will give him $2M per plus bonuses.

 

[Devils Trap]

If Laine takes the league minimum it's because he wants to play in a specific place. Teams are absolutely flush with space, someone out there will give him $2M per plus bonuses.

I would just load him up with bonuses. Give him 1.5m + like 3.5m in goal bonuses

 

[Triumph]

I would just load him up with bonuses. Give him 1.5m + like 3.5m in goal bonuses

Someone will offer more than this, and this is just a terrible idea. Laine goals are worse less than any other player's goals because he is so awful at everything else besides scoring goals. Games played bonuses would be much better because at this stage he may not be worth dressing.

 

[Devs3cups]

Absolutely 0 interest in Laine, and I doubt Sunny would too. Absolutely brutal numbers and underlyings, and apparently attitude.

At 5v5 since 2023-2024: 6 goals, 40.40% xGF%, 41.54% SCF%, 38.68% HDCF%.

Absolutely no need.

 

[Devs3cups]

Someone will offer more than this, and this is just a terrible idea. Laine goals are worse less than any other player's goals because he is so awful at everything else besides scoring goals. Games played bonuses would be much better because at this stage he may not be worth dressing.

He also doesn't do anything at 5v5. A liability even. No need for a player like that.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Yea Fitz sucked at it cause he thought they all had to be tough guys. He somewhat figured it out last year when he started going for Glass / brown etc.

Florida has legit spit out and down depth guys every year. Then lets them go when they want money. I have ZERO doubt in Sunny's ability to find these

Yet it's still a wait and see with him doing it as the main guy, Zito is clearly the best GM in the sport so we still have to see how Sunny is away from him. Sunny has a blank slate in terms of everything, his first move with Nemec was an A+ imo. Just keep improving and he'll be in the upper echelon of GM's but it still has to earn that respect and not automatically given

 

[Xirik]

Don't worry bout Sunny making trades lads. He's an expert at the game of knifey spoony.

 

[njdevils1982]

Don't worry bout Sunny making trades lads. He's an expert at the game of knifey spoony.

ah i see youve played knifey spoony before

 

[Satans Hockey]

Pre-season schedule is weird, anyone see why they are playing at the practice facility and if it's going to be open to the fans? I guess with the extra home regular season game and the 2 home pre-season games hits the normal 44 home games.

 

[Devils Trap]

The Leafs ask for Knies was Frondell + 4th OA from CHI - Yea thats not happening

TOR arent seriously trading him, just trying to rip off some GM

 

[dgibb10]

The Leafs ask for Knies was Frondell + 4th OA from CHI - Yea thats not happening

TOR arent seriously trading him, just trying to rip off some GM

They got too greedy.

Davidson was just ITCHING to give that pick away for something stupid

 

[My3Sons]

You can't just assume a team is going to find depth, it's going on what year 4-5 that we're making the wrong moves in the bottom 6? Glass and Brown are the only good bottom 6ers we found in 4-5 year span, granted Fitz was a complete moron in that regard, we still have to see if Sunny is good at acquiring talent in that area

What do you mean “we”? You mean “Fitz”. Let’s see what Mehta can do once he cleans up the current mess. I think he preferred the future picks for Nemec since he has more time to use them. This season will be sorting out the roster and locker room it seems. You can send Dillon Noesen Bjugstad and probably Markstrom out after this season. If Casey can carve out a spot that will help as well.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Pre-season schedule is weird, anyone see why they are playing at the practice facility and if it's going to be open to the fans? I guess with the extra home regular season game and the 2 home pre-season games hits the normal 44 home games.

The first two preseason games vs the Islanders are prospect games. Devils aren't going up to Buffalo this year.

 

[Zacha37]

The Leafs ask for Knies was Frondell + 4th OA from CHI - Yea thats not happening

TOR arent seriously trading him, just trying to rip off some GM

So basically we are f***ed on trades