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

[Mgd31]

Free agency is coming. You can feel it? I can feel it.

The fear. The chaos. The smell of desperation from 28 other GMs scrambling to throw $6 million at someone who’s scored 11 goals since 2021.

I predict by July 2nd he will have signed two killers, fleeced someone’s middle six, and walked away with enough depth to drown the Metro.

Mark my words. When the dust settles and the rest of the league is reeling from overpays and panic moves, Tom Fitzgerald will be standing alone with his arms crossed, smirking, already planning October.

You don’t need faith. You need Fitz.

Agreed

 

[Triumph]

Not being difficult here, I just don't understand your point with the 8% of the Cap comment?

Wouldn't that make replacing his production even more difficult dollar for dollar? I mean we're already pretty tight against the cap with a very mediocre team. And our 8% guy is a very significant portion of the offense.

We have a very mediocre offense with Jack and we already need to bolster the firepower assuming he's part of the solution. Without him, things would look pretty bleak...and on top of that not a whole helluva lot of money to do anything substantial?

If Jack became unavailable for us I do think the organization would have to rethink what has currently been built.

The Devils are not tight against the cap. They are tight against the cap this season but everyone is imagining that Luke Hughes signs a long-term deal. That takes care of him. The only major RFAs at the end of next season are Gritsyuk and Nemec, neither of whom should be expensive, and they'll need to sign a goalie or two, but otherwise the big cap increase will be theirs alone. Buying out Dillon and putting Silyaev on the roster would also save $1.8m.

Long-term, which is the span at which this is being talked about, the Devils have tons of cap space - Hamilton is eminently movable, even if the Devils have to eat a third of that, that's $6M. Palat's deal ends in 2027 just in time for Nico's to expire, so you just give most of his deal to Palat, and you still have the cap increase to take care of. If you can talk Nico into taking $11M or something like that it'd be huge. They have to figure out the forwards and the goaltending but the defense is extremely inexpensive for what it should be for the next 3 seasons. If you assume Luke at $8M, you would have Luke, Pesce, Siegenthaler, and Kovacevic signed for 2027-28 at $21M. Putting Nico at 11.5M (optimistic but hey), that's $28M for Nico, Timo, and Bratt, so that's $49M for 3 top line forwards, 4 solid D, and that leaves $64M for the rest of the team. Hopefully Hameenaho and Silayev are on the team, that's $62M for 9 forwards, 2 D, and 2 goalies. That's an average of nearly $5M per player to fill out the team.

The Devils have a lot of cap space and good young players, and crucially nobody but the goaltender is extremely old, and they'll have the money to find average goaltending. The notion of them rebuilding in the near future, even if Jack is out of commission, is ludicrous. They would have the cap room to pursue the biggest UFAs in an attempt to replace Jack.

 

[devilsblood]

Good points both of you and quite helpful to me too.

I suppose a shrink would say focusing on the Devils absolute worse case scenario was like projecting the existential fears of the day onto the Devils future discussion. Not sure why I went there today.

This season will tell us where Jack is. In that context yep Palat and Hemilton are indeed the two major pieces to consider. And as everyone points out, the pressing need for a third truly strong center ice player.

Don't let these guys bully you.

Jack's been hurt 4 straight seasons. It's a worthy discussion. (though as noted by beernerd not exactly an uplifting one lol).

 

[Triumph]

Shifting away from this awful topic, T.J. Brodie wouldn't be the worst addition as a 7th D, he can play both sides.

 

[devilsblood]

The Devils are not tight against the cap.

Oh good, I thought we were.

They are tight against the cap

I knew it.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[devilsblood]

Shifting away from this awful topic, T.J. Brodie wouldn't be the worst addition as a 7th D, he can play both sides.

Still has a year left. Could this be a Palat+ for depth D type trade I mentioned earlier?

But even if he can play both sides, as a lefty, are we comfortable starting the season with him as a #3 rhd(assuming Dougie is traded).

 

[Ripshot 43]

I love you all… well most of you… well some of you…

 

[Triumph]

Still has a year left. Could this be a Palat+ for depth D type trade I mentioned earlier?

But even if he can play both sides, as a lefty, are we comfortable starting the season with him as a #3 rhd(assuming Dougie is traded).

Maybe you missed it in the flurry of responding to every single post I write, but T.J. Brodie was bought out by the Blackhawks, so he doesn't have a year left.

And yes, I am comfortable with him starting as the #3 rhd.

 

[devilsblood]

Maybe you missed it in the flurry of responding to every single post I write, but T.J. Brodie was bought out by the Blackhawks, so he doesn't have a year left.

And yes, I am comfortable with him starting as the #3 rhd.

There's a few out there I didn't respond to.

 

[Nubmer6]

I love you all… well most of you… well some of you…

View attachment 1053793

I hate you all.

It's much easier than selecting which posters to like.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

The vibe in here the last few days

 

[njdevils1982]

I hate you all.

It's much easier than selecting which posters to like.

 

[JK3]

Oh man another week of this.

 

[tailfins]

For a team that has had multiple seasons where 4 goalies have been used under the tenure of this GM, trading Daws would be idiotic. He is at least a #3, Malek has no North American experience, and I don't think there's any faith in Poulter as a #3, he has not played in the NHL yet.

Daws has no value, either. Nobody's trading for him to make him their backup. I'd rather risk him on waivers than take a 5th round pick in 2026 or whatever someone is going to trade for him.

The Devils aren't looking for a third goalie. They need a long term solution in net.

The Devils have options for a third goalie. From that perspective, there's no material difference between Daws and Poulter - other than Poulter took longer to arrive (in large part because he's an undrafted player vs Daws being a third rounder). Malek could also challenge for the third goalie given his performance in Liiga.

Where the Devils don't have many options at the moment is on the NHL squad. You're correct that Poulter and Malek are big question marks if the Devils end up needing them to play major roles in the NHL. The Devils have had a long look at Daws. Either they seem him being part of the future (next couple of years) with the Devils and want him to be the NHL back-up this year, or they should move him out of the organization and sign someone else as a back-up. They can then give Poulter / Malek some spot duty in the NHL - this would be a lot more useful than keeping Daws in that role as they can at least they can see if Poulter / Malek could be more than a third goalie.

 

[devilsblood]

Found this on Brodie:

"Brodie has struggled to maintain defensive coverage, keep tight gaps, clear pucks out of the crease and win battles along the boards, but those weaknesses only have been half as glaring as his propensity to turn over the puck in the defensive zone.

Those turnovers typically have stemmed from errant or ill-advised passes to teammates that opponents have picked off. Assistant coach Kevin Dean noted earlier in the season that backhanded passes were especially causing Brodie trouble. A few times Monday, however, he didn’t even get a pass off before getting stripped of the puck."

https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2025/01/24/blackhawks-tj-brodie-buyout-youth-takeover-nhl-defense

35 years old, you wonder if he is shot. Also not a great report on someone you might have playing his off hand.

 

[BostonDevil]

Shifting away from this awful topic, T.J. Brodie wouldn't be the worst addition as a 7th D, he can play both sides.

I would sign 8 forwards before I even looked at a defenseman.

Unless you're using the defensive depth to obtain forwards, no need to spend a dime on the blue line

 

[Edmonton East]

Probably the Devs most interesting setup heading into July 1st in a while. They have limited cap and 1 all situation C in the org.....and that C is the only NHL caliber C at the dot as well. Hischier and Crosby took 200 more faceoffs than the next closest guys in the league as a result. Hischier took 400 more faceoffs under Keefe than the prior season (call it 350 adj for GP). Again, this impacts line deployment, usage, matchups, etc. Really hurts your versatility and virtually NO team rolls like this and goes deep in the playoffs. Just an FYI. Blah blah blah faceoffs don't matter even though Hischier blatantly had the toughest deployments of any top 6 in the league by a mile all season. Gives opposing coaches/teams a huge edge...especially in a playoff series. Also sucks to be Hischier.

So, the Devs moved Haula already. He was the Devs #2 faceoff man and used on the PK. They are also not going to qualify Glass allegedly, which is the right move imo considering $$$, play style, and cap. Here's the rub though. I assumed once they moved Haula pre-UFA and were already short Cs, that meant Glass was def getting signed. Went into the offseason the most C needy competitive team in the league and now no Haula or Glass. What does the brain trust of Fitz and Co have planned here? You need a STRONG 3C+ at this point or this isn't even a playoff team....okay, maybe they scrape out a worthless bid in the weak Metro, but still. Can't afford Bennett (prob re-signs anyway) or Tavares (don't like fit at rumored cost). Then out of the rest, only Roslovic really makes sense, but the Canes have a mountain of cap space. Sooo that leaves a big shakeup trade in the works OR Mercer as 3C and add a couple bottom line Cs and pray OR pull a Palat 2.0 and laughably panic overpay some depth player after realizing you are screwed late in UFA.

TL;DR: Considering the horrid C depth, idk how a front office moves Haula before ensuring they can add a quality C. They don't even have a second player in the entire org to deploy at C on the PK and PP. Even though I think this front office is inept and Fitz is a certified moron, I still assume there has to already be something in place behind the scenes......just desperately relying on UFA would be an insane approach given their cap/moveable contracts....but who knows.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Not qualifying Glass does not mean they aren't signing Glass. The two things are not the same.

thank you for posting the Devils centers though, very helpful!

 

[theoptimist]

Probably the Devs most interesting setup heading into July 1st in a while. They have limited cap and 1 all situation C in the org.....and that C is the only NHL caliber C at the dot as well. Hischier and Crosby took 200 more faceoffs than the next closest guys in the league as a result. Hischier took 400 more faceoffs under Keefe than the prior season (call it 350 adj for GP). Again, this impacts line deployment, usage, matchups, etc. Really hurts your versatility and virtually NO team rolls like this and goes deep in the playoffs. Just an FYI. Blah blah blah faceoffs don't matter even though Hischier blatantly had the toughest deployments of any top 6 in the league by a mile all season. Gives opposing coaches/teams a huge edge...especially in a playoff series. Also sucks to be Hischier.

So, the Devs moved Haula already. He was the Devs #2 faceoff man and used on the PK. They are also not going to qualify Glass allegedly, which is the right move imo considering $$$, play style, and cap. Here's the rub though. I assumed once they moved Haula pre-UFA and were already short Cs, that meant Glass was def getting signed. Went into the offseason the most C needy competitive team in the league and now no Haula or Glass. What does the brain trust of Fitz and Co have planned here? You need a STRONG 3C+ at this point or this isn't even a playoff team....okay, maybe they scrape out a worthless bid in the weak Metro, but still. Can't afford Bennett (prob re-signs anyway) or Tavares (don't like fit at rumored cost). Then out of the rest, only Roslovic really makes sense, but the Canes have a mountain of cap space. Sooo that leaves a big shakeup trade in the works OR Mercer as 3C and add a couple bottom line Cs and pray OR pull a Palat 2.0 and laughably panic overpay some depth player after realizing you are screwed late in UFA.

TL;DR: Considering the horrid C depth, idk how a front office moves Haula before ensuring they can add a quality C. They don't even have a second player in the entire org to deploy at C on the PK and PP. Even though I think this front office is inept and Fitz is a certified moron, I still assume there has to already be something in place behind the scenes......just desperately relying on UFA would be an insane approach given their cap/moveable contracts....but who knows.

View attachment 1053859

You're 100% right. We disagree but we could have just signed Chandler Stephenson last offseason without having to double down on the defense. Anyway, we're here now. Fitz will need to have another 'Summer of Fitz' -- his choice.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

bro ENOUGH with Chandler Stephenson already, good grief. Shit player with a shit contract. Move on. Get a new slant.

 

[Devils Trap]

bro ENOUGH with Chandler Stephenson already, good grief. Shit player with a shit contract. Move on. Get a new slant.

Imagine having a shit take, the player underperforms and plays even worse then anyone expected and then tripling down on what is the the worst contract in hockey

 

[SolidusAKA]

Hi guys, Dallas fan here, saw the Mercer+Nemec+1st for Robertson on the trade board a while back and it didn't get an overly bad response. Just wanted to see what actual njd fans thought about that deal. Is it too much on the njd side?

 

[Triumph]

Found this on Brodie:

"Brodie has struggled to maintain defensive coverage, keep tight gaps, clear pucks out of the crease and win battles along the boards, but those weaknesses only have been half as glaring as his propensity to turn over the puck in the defensive zone.

Those turnovers typically have stemmed from errant or ill-advised passes to teammates that opponents have picked off. Assistant coach Kevin Dean noted earlier in the season that backhanded passes were especially causing Brodie trouble. A few times Monday, however, he didn’t even get a pass off before getting stripped of the puck."

https://chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2025/01/24/blackhawks-tj-brodie-buyout-youth-takeover-nhl-defense

35 years old, you wonder if he is shot. Also not a great report on someone you might have playing his off hand.

Huh, weird - you mean to tell me that the guy Chicago bought out wasn't doing well? Well, I guess the Devils will find a good defenseman to be their 7th D, that's normally what happens when you have no money to spend on the position.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Hi guys, Dallas fan here, saw the Mercer+Nemec+1st for Robertson on the trade board a while back and it didn't get an overly bad response. Just wanted to see what actual njd fans thought about that deal. Is it too much on the njd side?

After the playoffs that Nemec had, I'm not sure we should be making a deal like that. I do like Robertson, but his skating does concern me a bit.

Not saying it isn't fair value though.

 

[Guadana]

Hi guys, Dallas fan here, saw the Mercer+Nemec+1st for Robertson on the trade board a while back and it didn't get an overly bad response. Just wanted to see what actual njd fans thought about that deal. Is it too much on the njd side?

Nemec had strong playoff, strong 18yo AHL season and 19 yo NHL season. Wasn't good this season after injury but rebuild his game in play off. I like Nemec but I would not be against this type of a deal.