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

[devsfan8]

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.

I don't believe this for a heartbeat second. Shea weber contract was traded. Palat is not useless. He is just overpaid. A trade to a young team that needs some veteran leadership might be interested.

Again though that is IF Fitz does not consider him part of the plans next season. If Dougie is moved, I'd think its possible. Palat sticks around for depth

 

[devsfan8]

I dont think any contract is impossible to move.

 

[Nubmer6]

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.

I disagree. The price for taking on bad contracts seems to have come down significantly over the last few years. I can easily see him being moved for a 2nd.

 

[devsfan8]

I disagree. The price for taking on bad contracts seems to have come down significantly over the last few years. I can easily see him being moved for a 2nd.

I cam see him being moved even without a second! That would be a worse case scenario.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I don't believe this for a heartbeat second. Shea weber contract was traded. Palat is not useless. He is just overpaid. A trade to a young team that needs some veteran leadership might be interested.

Again though that is IF Fitz does not consider him part of the plans next season. If Dougie is moved, I'd think its possible. Palat sticks around for depth

Shea Weber was traded due to LTIR and cap loopholes, not at all comparable to this situation.

Nobody is taking on Palat’s contract without being heavily incentivized to do so and the only reason he’ll likely be on the team next season is because he’ll be too hard to move, not because Fitz thinks getting mediocre play for $6M is actually worth keeping him around.

 

[devsfan8]

Shea Weber was traded due to LTIR and cap loopholes, not at all comparable to this situation.

Nobody is taking on Palat’s contract without being heavily incentivized to do so and the only reason he’ll likely be on the team next season is because he’ll be too hard to move, not because Fitz thinks getting mediocre play for $6M is actually worth keeping him around.

I hear this every year about bad contracts. Add on an asset and he will be gone. Palat is fine as a 3rd line LW if space permitted and other moves were possible.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I disagree. The price for taking on bad contracts seems to have come down significantly over the last few years. I can easily see him being moved for a 2nd.

Zero shot anybody is taking that contract off our hands for just a 2nd round pick.

He’s a mediocre 5v5 winger with no special teams value and no standout trait that has put up sub 35 points season in 3 straight years despite getting put in the top 6 constantly.

 

[devilsblood]

I didnt say spmething about his 5 on 5 performance past season.

. We should worry about who will replace him in middle six role.

Maybe some translations issue here, but if the idea is, we need to improve the middle 6, then I agree.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I hear this every year about bad contracts. Add on an asset and he will be gone. Palat is fine as a 3rd line LW if space permitted and other moves were possible.

Which contracts? Trouba who is a big, physical RD that PKs and was only 30 years old when traded? Kreider who had put up 35+ goals in 3 straight seasons prior to this season and has value on the PK and PP while willing to play a physical style?

while I disagree with those trades you can at least see the logic why the Ducks went that route, I can’t see any logic why a team would be looking to acquire Palat with his contract.

 

[woody footbreaker]

Dougie is only worth moving if we are getting Quinn Hughes.

respectully disagree. our assets should be used for fwd right now.

We have no one that can generate offense like him.

upgrading the fwd group would more then likely make up dougies offense at this point. the whole d corps would profit as well.
our young d need opportunity to grow. luke is gonna get paid and will get some of dougies point by simply taking over pp1.
if you watched the playoffs, its hard not think dougie gets smoked with the lack of acceleration.

Palat and Mercer should really be the next to go.

after haula traded, i think mercer stays and i am happy about it. pretty annoyed at people that want him to be traded just for the sake of it. you guys hold his versatility against him. he was not put on the 3rd line cause of lack of production. we were going pretty good at the time. he was put there cause haula next to noesen and their lack of speed was a problem. we cant have all guys in top6 making 6m or more. and need to bring 3 guys minus palat in our middle 6, trading mercer would add to that. you dont trade a young guy on a good contract while missing several pieces.

 

[Devil X]

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.

Ahh I get it, set this expectation so that when it doesn’t happen and it’s much less you can swing the “Fitz is amazing!” Smart plan.

 

[devsfan8]

Which contracts? Trouba who is a big, physical RD that PKs and was only 30 years old when traded? Kreider who had put up 35+ goals in 3 straight seasons prior to this season and has value on the PK and PP while willing to play a physical style?

while I disagree with those trades you can at least see the logic why the Ducks went that route, I can’t see any logic why a team would be looking to acquire Palat with his contract.

How's about 2 cups, 50 playoff goals, and the ability to win board battles so well and score 15 still? You are confusing him being overpaid with him being useless. Paalt at 4 mill is different then Palat at 6 mill if we can retain a couple of mill.

Maybe SJ would be interested to name a few. Im not saying it would happen wothijt retention or attaching assets. But it's definitely possible.

 

[Bcap88]

There are 15 teams with over 20 mil in space this shouldn’t be hard lol

 

[Lou Bloom]

How's about 2 cups, 50 playoff goals, and the ability to win board battles so well and score 15 still? You are confusing him being overpaid with him being useless. Paalt at 4 mill is different then Palat at 6 mill if we can retain a couple of mill.

Maybe SJ would be interested to name a few. Im not saying it would happen wothijt retention or attaching assets. But it's definitely possible.

We’re talking about Palat from nearly 4 years ago when he was contributing to Stanley Cups, teams aren’t going to ignore 3 seasons of sample size in favor of what he did 4+ years ago.

The only reason he’s even capable of hitting 15 goals is because he’s still being put in our top 6 for large portions of the season, if he was stapled to a bottom 6 role he might not even crack 10 goals or 20 points in a season, there’s very little on ice value at this point with Palat.

 

[Lou Bloom]

There are 15 teams with over 20 mil in space this shouldn’t be hard lol

So teams are going to take on Palat’s contract for two seasons without necessary compensation because they have cap space? As if they are forced to use it or can’t find better ways to allocate that space then take on Palat’s deal.

 

[devilsblood]

after haula traded, i think mercer stays and i am happy about it. pretty annoyed at people that want him to be traded just for the sake of it. you guys hold his versatility against him. he was not put on the 3rd line cause of lack of production. we were going pretty good at the time. he was put there cause haula next to noesen and their lack of speed was a problem. we cant have all guys in top6 making 6m or more. and need to bring 3 guys minus palat in our middle 6, trading mercer would add to that. you dont trade a young guy on a good contract while missing several pieces.

People include Mercer in the "underperform" category. And offensively he did, but we do need to acknowledge that he played minutes that were tilted pretty heavily defensively......and he still scored 19 goals.

I do think Mercer might be a guy Fitz and Keefe are grooming towards that more defensively oriented fwd, and while this year was meh, we may see better results going fwd as he grows into the role. To me he was a clear target for Fitz last offseason saying guys need to get into the gym, and it does take time to put on productive weight and strength.

If Mercer pots 20 and ups the assists so as to be a mid 40 point player again, and doing so while playing defensive minutes, I'd say that's a bargain at $4 mil.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Get Marchment out of Dallas with their cap crunch

 

[Goptor]

People include Mercer in the "underperform" category. And offensively he did, but we do need to acknowledge that he played minutes that were tilted pretty heavily defensively......and he still scored 19 goals.

I do think Mercer might be a guy Fitz and Keefe are grooming towards that more defensively oriented fwd, and while this year was meh, we may see better results going fwd as he grows into the role. To me he was a clear target for Fitz last offseason saying guys need to get into the gym, and it does take time to put on productive weight and strength.

If Mercer pots 20 and ups the assists so as to be a mid 40 point player again, and doing so while playing defensive minutes, I'd say that's a bargain at $4 mil.

Its a stupid concept because he played all out with full energy for 60 games and then was gassed for the last 20 in his first 2 seasons. People want him to repeat that style despite it being the worst thing for the playoffs.

Mercer has improved a ton defensively every year. He's a much better player this season than he was when he put up 56.

 

[Bcap88]

So teams are going to take on Palat’s contract for two seasons without necessary compensation because they have cap space? As if they are forced to use it or can’t find better ways to allocate that space then take on Palat’s deal.

Some teams do in fact have to use the cap space because there’s this thing called a salary cap floor that is required to be met

 

[bc]

Thoughts on going big game hunting with something like this (this is a rough idea!!!)

To Anaheim
- Hamilton (9m)
- Palat (5m)
- 2nd rounder
- Lenni Hameenaho

To NJ
- Mason McTavish (new 6-7m contract??)

then

To Vancouver
- Nemec (.92m)
- Mercer (4m)
- 2026 First

To NJ
- Quinn Hughes (7.85m)

Sign
- Nikolaj Ehlers (for argument sake, say 9m)
- Resign Sprong (1.5m??)
- Resign Glass (1.5m??)
- Extend Luke Hughes (8m?)


Meier (8.8m) - Hughes (8m) - Sprong (1.5m)
Ehlers (9m) - Hichier (7.9m) - Bratt (7.9m)
Gritsyuk (.93m) - McTavish (6-7m?) - Noesen (2.8m)
Cotter (.8m) - Glass (1.5m) - Foote (.8m) (or the new guy)

Hughes (7.9m) - Siegenthaler (3.4m)
Hughes (8m) - Pesce (5.5m)
Dillon (3m) - Kovacevic (4m)

Markstrom (4.2m)
Dawes (.8m)

Rounding a couple numbers that 94m ish

Obviously that's a lot of big moves, very very unlikely. But one can dream right???

Personally,
- I think Hamilton is worth more than most seem to think on here, even with his cap hit.
- Dawes is more than okay as a backup (his numbers only get bad once he has to play 2-3+ games in a row). If he only needs to spot start here and there, his numbers (NHL) the past 2 seasons are good

 

[devilsblood]

Its a stupid concept because he played all out with full energy for 60 games and then was gassed for the last 20 in his first 2 seasons. People want him to repeat that style despite it being the worst thing for the playoffs.

Mercer has improved a ton defensively every year. He's a much better player this season than he was when he put up 56.

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

 

[devilsblood]

Thoughts on going big game hunting with something like this (this is a rough idea!!!)

To Anaheim
- Hamilton (9m)
- Palat (5m)
- 2nd rounder
- Lenni Hameenaho

To NJ
- Mason McTavish (new 6-7m contract??)

then

To Vancouver
- Nemec (.92m)
- Mercer (4m)
- 2026 First

To NJ
- Quinn Hughes (7.85m)

Sign
- Nikolaj Ehlers (for argument sake, say 9m)
- Resign Sprong (1.5m??)
- Resign Glass (1.5m??)
- Extend Luke Hughes (8m?)


Meier (8.8m) - Hughes (8m) - Sprong (1.5m)
Ehlers (9m) - Hichier (7.9m) - Bratt (7.9m)
Gritsyuk (.93m) - McTavish (6-7m?) - Noesen (2.8m)
Cotter (.8m) - Glass (1.5m) - Foote (.8m) (or the new guy)

Hughes (7.9m) - Siegenthaler (3.4m)
Hughes (8m) - Pesce (5.5m)
Dillon (3m) - Kovacevic (4m)

Markstrom (4.2m)
Dawes (.8m)

Rounding a couple numbers that 94m ish

Obviously that's a lot of big moves, very very unlikely. But one can dream right???

Personally,
- I think Hamilton is worth more than most seem to think on here, even with his cap hit.
- Dawes is more than okay as a backup (his numbers only get bad once he has to play 2-3+ games in a row). If he only needs to spot start here and there, his numbers (NHL) the past 2 seasons are good

2nd post ever on HF? bc is coming in heavy.

I tend not to get to into mega move type discussions, but one issue I see here is moving both Hamilton and Nemec. No way that happens.

 

[Zacha37]

Get Marchment out of Dallas with their cap crunch

Should be one of our top targets, especially if we can move Palat. Manageable cap hit and significantly more production than Palat. Could play up and down the lineup too.

 

[Forge]

10. Patrik Elias
Year of Eligibility: 7th
Claim to Fame: All-around threat led two Devils’ Cup-winning teams in scoring

The Case: Those who know, know. Elias is the poster boy for being forgotten as an NHL superstar. Thriving as the top scorer of the league’s most defensively conscious team in its most offensively suppressed era of the last 70 years is a recipe for neglect. But Elias was a weapon. PPS, my Hall of Fame worthiness metric, gives him a score of 247 vs. the modern forward standard of 219. Elias grades similarly to future first-ballot lock Jonathan Toews. Elias was a central figure on four Stanley Cup finalists, and New Jersey qualified for the postseason each of his first 13 seasons.

Will He Ever Be Inducted?: No. Unless the Committee has a renaissance like the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s electorate when it comes to equitably comparing eras, Elias feels destined to remain a fringe candidate

Makes me sad that pidutti has changed his tune on him and thinks he won't get in now

 

[bc]

2nd post ever on HF? bc is coming in heavy.

I tend not to get to into mega move type discussions, but one issue I see here is moving both Hamilton and Nemec. No way that happens.

My yearly post - done

At first I thought the same... I'm high on Nemec, but having both Hughes long term (assumed), Pesce another 5 years, and high hopes for Casey and Silayev as well as the other under contract at the moment, I don't think it hurts as much.
Obviously if you can do it without Nemec even better, but I would assume for Vancouver sake if they are losing Quinn then Nemec is a must in the deal. But.... surprise surprise, I am no NHL GM