Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - draft and FA edition

[bc]

Discontinue the lithium.

Like I said... big moves and very very unlikely.

The Canucks look like they’re pushing all their chips on the table during this offseason. They’re not trading Quinn if that’s true.

Thanks for the big swinging trade proposal though! See you next year!

Just having a little fun. I realize it's highly unlikely (as mentioned).

If I'm the Canuks GM I am trading Hughes next offseason or trade deadline to the highest bidder. I agree with them pushing all their chips in this offseason 100% because of the spot they are in, but I also don't see it happening/working. That place is a write off right now.

As a devils fan, if (!!!) you have a chance to trade for someone like Quinn right now, you do it. Under zero circumstance you wait 2 years until he might be a free agent. You don't know what next year looks like let alone 2 years from now. And it won't be cheap, which is how I got to the Anaheim part lol. I don't think Mercer should be traded, but if he is, an upgrade needs to be happening somewhere.

Anyways, excited to see what Fitz is able to do, clearly some changes are coming.

 

[R8Devs]

Stars aren’t trading for a worse player just to get a measly 1.75m in cap space.

It’s been reported that any trades will be for cap space and “draft capital”, and they need a ton of the former.

We aren’t a potential trade partner for them unless another team is somehow involved.

I don't think it'll happen but even if they trade Marchment to just clear cap space they'll still need to get some wings and that will probably end up costing at least around Noesen's cap and if it doesn't it'll probably be for inferior players than Noesen himself.

 

[bc]

My thought has been Silayev going to Van.

I could definitely see that, and I don't necessarily disagree either. My thinking is Nemec jumps into your lineup right now and you know he can play in the league while also having the potential to be very good. Silayev should be very good, but is what, 2-3 years away at the earliest? Maybe that doesn't matter.

 

[Goptor]

This might be a stretch, but I think I agree with the overall point that he's sacrificed some offense for defense.

I don't think he ever really showed the high offensive talent to be sacrificed. He was EVERYWHERE those first 2 seasons. In players face, goalies face, fighting for pucks, etc. His points were all off high effort and not so much talent. He also completely fell off the face of the earth later in the season. We saw it with Cotter this year as well, I don't think its possible to maintain that style of play through a full season.

That is where I think the offense went. He's not the puck hound he was those first 2 seasons. Its probably intentional, so he can be consistent all season.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

No, but I can't remember when the floor was this high either, and there's also fewer totally dead money contracts sloshing around, plus the teams that have them aren't willing to pay to get rid of them anymore. Philadelphia's not paying anybody to take Ryan Ellis. So if you can get substantial picks for acting as a go-between, maybe it's worth it, especially if the alternatives are acquiring a cap dump player you don't want or signing a UFA you don't necessarily want.



Obviously this to me is a more likely stumbling block than no one wants to act as an intermediary for 2 years just for some picks - there isn't a great reason for Tampa to want Palat back, but nostalgia's a hell of a drug and they haven't gone anywhere in the playoffs the last 2 years. I just feel like they'd be the most likely team to want him since they remember when he was good.

The crazy thing with Tampa Bay is that their roster is pretty good but their top stars after the Cup wins have done nothing and Vasy looks done after his back surgery in the playoffs. Chances are they're also gonna be the 3rd best team in the Atlantic from here on out. Palat seems like the complete opposite move they'd make at this juncture.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I'm very interested in seeing what Philly thinks of Couturier, if that thing was just a spat with Tortorella or if they're actually moving him. He could be the long-term defensive 3C to take some weight off Nico. 5 years kind of scares me with his injury history, but I think being a center and our biggest position of need I'm fine with it (can always LTIR if necessary). 7M cap hit is going to not be a huge problem with the exploding cap and I can't imagine he wants to stay around in PHI for the rebuild.

If you could find someway to make a Hamilton+/Couturier+ deal work I'd do backflips. PHI gets out of a lot of term by absorbing a bit more short term cap, which they don't really care about, and get a guy they can flip for picks in a year or two at the deadline. Their defense sucks balls and if we wait until after July 1st when we pay his bonus then Philly is only has to pay him ~14.5M in actual salary over the duration of his last three years.

IDK if he'd waive for Philly but bad contract swaps happen all the time and think there's reasons both teams might be interested in this. Also the Flyers organization is just dumb as a general rule so even if they're not interested they might just do it anyway.

 

[Guttersniped]

No, but I can't remember when the floor was this high either, and there's also fewer totally dead money contracts sloshing around, plus the teams that have them aren't willing to pay to get rid of them anymore. Philadelphia's not paying anybody to take Ryan Ellis. So if you can get substantial picks for acting as a go-between, maybe it's worth it, especially if the alternatives are acquiring a cap dump player you don't want or signing a UFA you don't necessarily want.

What does Philly being stuck with a LTIR Ellis have to do with anything?

The Marleau trade/buyout got the Canes a 1st. (They had to pay the signing bonus.)


If by “substantial picks” you mean a 1st? Still don’t see where he goes.

I think we’re f***ed.

Maybe we buy out Palat.

Maybe we’ll see a terrible Mercer trade (two 2nds, warm body, b prospect) in order to afford our wildly expensive defense.

Add in different bottom six forwards who won’t improve our 5v5 offense in any material way.

My expectations are very low at this point but I obviously would love to be proven wrong.

Edit: I will add that I’ve been fighting the flu for most of the week so my mood ain’t great lol. Lot of “I’m tired boss” energy right now.

 

[Ripshot 43]

I'm very interested in seeing what Philly thinks of Couturier, if that thing was just a spat with Tortorella or if they're actually moving him. He could be the long-term defensive 3C to take some weight off Nico. 5 years kind of scares me with his injury history, but I think being a center and our biggest position of need I'm fine with it (can always LTIR if necessary). 7M cap hit is going to not be a huge problem with the exploding cap and I can't imagine he wants to stay around in PHI for the rebuild.

If you could find someway to make a Hamilton+/Couturier+ deal work I'd do backflips. PHI gets out of a lot of term by absorbing a bit more short term cap, which they don't really care about, and get a guy they can flip for picks in a year or two at the deadline. Their defense sucks balls and if we wait until after July 1st when we pay his bonus then Philly is only has to pay him ~14.5M in actual salary over the duration of his last three years.

IDK if he'd waive for Philly but bad contract swaps happen all the time and think there's reasons both teams might be interested in this. Also the Flyers organization is just dumb as a general rule so even if they're not interested they might just do it anyway.

I’m down with clearing up the Cap space and all but I don’t know if I could do that to Hamilton.

 

[Bcap88]

What does Philly being stuck with a LTIR Ellis have to do with anything?

The Marleau trade/buyout got the Canes a 1st. (They had to pay the signing bonus.)
View attachment 1052700

If by “substantial picks” you mean a 1st? Still don’t see where he goes.

I think we’re f***ed.

Maybe we buy out Palat.

Maybe we’ll see a terrible Mercer trade (two 2nds, warm body, b prospect) in order to afford our wildly expensive defense.

Add in different bottom six forwards who won’t improve our 5v5 offense in any material way.

My expectations are very low at this point but I obviously would love to be proven wrong.

Edit: I will add that I’ve been fighting the flu for most of the week so my mood ain’t great lol. Lot of “I’m tired boss” energy right now.

To be fair the marleau trade was during the Covid flat cap where no one really had any cap space

Different scenario here

 

[Forge]

What does Philly being stuck with a LTIR Ellis have to do with anything?

The Marleau trade/buyout got the Canes a 1st. (They had to pay the signing bonus.)
View attachment 1052700

If by “substantial picks” you mean a 1st? Still don’t see where he goes.

I think we’re f***ed.

Maybe we buy out Palat.

Maybe we’ll see a terrible Mercer trade (two 2nds, warm body, b prospect) in order to afford our wildly expensive defense.

Add in different bottom six forwards who won’t improve our 5v5 offense in any material way.

My expectations are very low at this point but I obviously would love to be proven wrong.

Edit: I will add that I’ve been fighting the flu for most of the week so my mood ain’t great lol. Lot of “I’m tired boss” energy right now.

If he can't move Palat, and they don't want to move Dougie, would not surprise me if the move is bridging Luke.

I think it's a bad idea, but if he really thinks the forward group needs to be better and he can't clear up space another way, that's probably the option.

 

[Killing Joke]

People really wanna move Dougie when the issue with the defense is 3/4 of it can't move the f***ing puck which is an issue and why we weren't generating 5 on 5 even when healthy.

Sieg - Grenade handler black hole offensively
Kovy - Grenade handler carried heavy by Siegs, could be another god awful contract we should've never given out in the first place. black hole offensively even when playing good d
Dillon - Grenande handler and just bad all around, horrible contract
Nemec - too inconsistent to tell what he is and is looking like a bust
Luke - has the talent, fell off hard for 2 months.
Casey - overwhelmed when ever he played
Dougie - our best offensive weapon on the back end from shooting to breakouts and offensive generation.
Pesce - good defensively, was not great offensively, super slow.

 

[TrufleShufle]

As much as clearing cap space is nice, what assets do we have to fill the space if we keep going. For argument sake, say we also got rid of Palat and Hamilton. Both free, or what we pay/gain is a wash. Whatever just to say they are both off the team.

What assets do we have or is everyone ok with giving up to improve the roster? FA is an option, but it's pretty agreed upon that it's not great this year, so most likely it would need to be through trades. What do the Devils have on the table?

 

[Killing Joke]

As much as clearing cap space is nice, what assets do we have to fill the space if we keep going. For argument sake, say we also got rid of Palat and Hamilton. Both free, or what we pay/gain is a wash. Whatever just to say they are both off the team.

What assets do we have or is everyone ok with giving up to improve the roster? FA is an option, but it's pretty agreed upon that it's not great this year, so most likely it would need to be through trades. What do the Devils have on the table?

Nemec, Casey, Mercer, Silayev

None of these guys are worth keeping. None. Especially if we are trying to get Quinn over the next few years and if he becomes a free agent.

They should be used to get help. A few of them combined could be used in a package to try and see if Vancouver will part with Quinn early.

 

[devsfan8]

Not even for a 2nd? I believe we have 2 this year. I gladly would trade a 2nd to shed that money.

Or we can trade him and retain 2 to 2.5 mill for the next two seasons. Its better then 6

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

As much as clearing cap space is nice, what assets do we have to fill the space if we keep going. For argument sake, say we also got rid of Palat and Hamilton. Both free, or what we pay/gain is a wash. Whatever just to say they are both off the team.

What assets do we have or is everyone ok with giving up to improve the roster? FA is an option, but it's pretty agreed upon that it's not great this year, so most likely it would need to be through trades. What do the Devils have on the table?

I think Mercer, next year’s 1st, or our 2nds this year are the main pieces. Casey probably doesn’t have too much value to other organizations. And if Dougie is going, I don’t see Nemec being on the table.

There could be cap casualties that won’t be that expensive (maybe Colton?).

 

[Bcap88]

Nemec, Casey, Mercer, Silayev

None of these guys are worth keeping. None. Especially if we are trying to get Quinn over the next few years and if he becomes a free agent.

They should be used to get help. A few of them combined could be used in a package to try and see if Vancouver will part with Quinn early.

I mean you just can’t bank on Quinn coming here he could in fact go somewhere else

Trading all 4 of them before Quinn (hypotheticslly) steps foot here would be terrible asset management

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Nemec, Casey, Mercer, Silayev

None of these guys are worth keeping. None. Especially if we are trying to get Quinn over the next few years and if he becomes a free agent.

They should be used to get help. A few of them combined could be used in a package to try and see if Vancouver will part with Quinn early.

this is crazy and I don't even like Mercer

 

[Bad Goalie]

he'd have to pass through waivers. Thought is either he is 2nd goalie, or he is traded.

Would Devils be confident with Poulter as 3rd goalie?

It would be between Poulter or Malek. Poulter was better than Daws in Utica and Malek was the top guy on his team in the best pro league Finland has to offer. I think NJ has been high on him, but instead of creating a goalie overload in Utica they let him cook another season in Finland.

 

[Emperoreddy]

he'd have to pass through waivers. Thought is either he is 2nd goalie, or he is traded.

Would Devils be confident with Poulter as 3rd goalie?

He will pass through waivers.

 

[Emperoreddy]

No team is taking on his contract for just a 2nd round pick, they’d have to give up at least their 2026 1st rounder at minimum.

It is not going to cost a 1st round pick to get rid of Palat.

 

[Better Call Sal]

 

[Guadana]

Even artists understand everything about Devils this season.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

What does Philly being stuck with a LTIR Ellis have to do with anything?

The Marleau trade/buyout got the Canes a 1st. (They had to pay the signing bonus.)
View attachment 1052700

If by “substantial picks” you mean a 1st? Still don’t see where he goes.

I think we’re f***ed.

Maybe we buy out Palat.

Maybe we’ll see a terrible Mercer trade (two 2nds, warm body, b prospect) in order to afford our wildly expensive defense.

Add in different bottom six forwards who won’t improve our 5v5 offense in any material way.

My expectations are very low at this point but I obviously would love to be proven wrong.

Edit: I will add that I’ve been fighting the flu for most of the week so my mood ain’t great lol. Lot of “I’m tired boss” energy right now.

Have been fighting the stomach flu myself and it's kinda good cause I hate the summer weather cause of oppressive it gets sometimes in NY so I can just rest and take it easy inside my AC filled house . But feel better soon!

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

People have mentioned Pageau in passing before, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the move for 3C. He's a playoff riser too from his Sens/Isles days.

 

[devilsblood]

It would be between Poulter or Malek. Poulter was better than Daws in Utica and Malek was the top guy on his team in the best pro league Finland has to offer. I think NJ has been high on him, but instead of creating a goalie overload in Utica they let him cook another season in Finland.

I'm giving Poulter the upper hand because he's been in the AHL for a couple years. Malek may be the better guy, but I'm not confident in a 23 year fresh in the US goalie as the #3 right out of the gate.

He will pass through waivers.

There was some talk here that he would be claimed, or maybe the risk isn't worth it, but depending upon what we could possibly get back, (could we get more then a 4th?) maybe it's worth trying to sneak him through. Assuming we bring in a vet #2.