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

[devilsblood]

What about Jordan Kyrou?

"2. Jordan Kyrou
Right Wing, St. Louis Blues
Age: 27
Stats: 82 GP, 36 G, 34 A, 70 Pts
Contract: 6 years remaining, $8.125 million AAV

Scoop: Kyrou joins the board as a player just days away from his full ‘no-trade’ clause kicking in on July 1. He’s been a very productive player, averaging 35 goals and 71 points over the last three seasons. So why would the Blues move him? That’s a big commitment remaining. Plus the calculus that rival teams have made is that GM Doug Armstrong will see rookie Jimmy Snuggerud as a player who can effectively soon replace Kyrou. The Blues are a middling team that aren’t young, and this may be one way to continue to turn over the roster."

I can't see Blues trading him. He's 27, doesn't miss games, scores 30 every year, and signed for 6 more years at what will likely look like a huge bargain in 2 years.

Geezus, scored 25 5v5 goals this year and 20+ the last 4.

In the unlikely scenario he is on the trade market, we would have to be interested. Would likely take a huge return including Mercer and one of Nemec/Silayev plus picks.

 

[devsfan8]

I can't see Blues trading him. He's 27, doesn't miss games, scores 30 every year, and signed for 6 more years at what will likely look like a huge bargain in 2 years.

Geezus, scored 25 5v5 goals this year and 20+ the last 4.

In the unlikely scenario he is on the trade market, we would have to be interested. Would likely take a huge return including Mercer and one of Nemec/Silayev plus picks.

Their needs are a #2 RD and a 2 or 3C. If they value Mercer as a Center then

Hamilton
Mercer
26 1st
Casey

For

Kyrou?

 

[McDuffz88]

You can, but if we try to roll a defensive oriented 3rd line, and a lot of people want to see that so as to take some of the workload off Nico, then Grits, especially in year 1, probably doesn't fit.

Tbh I would rather roll 3 lines that can score. A defensively responsible 3rd line center who is great on faceoffs would be ideal to take pressure off Nico for defensive minutes. We don't need the whole line to play defense. We need more depth scoring if anything.

Would depend upon the center acquisition, as well as a potential winger acquisition.

But Bratt, Meier and Mercer are all guys who could handle defensive responsibilities.

I'd say Palat could too, but that is probably stretching the facts.

Neither Bratt or Meier should be used for defensive responsibilities on the 3rd line. We need more offense from them. If either 1 is put on the 3rd line it's to create a scoring 3rd line.

 

[devilsblood]

Tbh I would rather roll 3 lines that can score. A defensively responsible 3rd line center who is great on faceoffs would be ideal to take pressure off Nico for defensive minutes. We don't need the whole line to play defense. We need more depth scoring if anything.

You don't need a whole line of defensive studs, but you are not going to put a weak defensive winger(which I feel Grits is until proven otherwise) on a line that handles such duties.

Neither Bratt or Meier should be used for defensive responsibilities on the 3rd line. We need more offense from them. If either 1 is put on the 3rd line it's to create a scoring 3rd line.

Of course you want those guys to bring offense, same as when either plays with Nico. All the defensive responsibilities but they still bring offense. If you can get similar out of the 3rd line that would be great.

Jack's line is going to be tilted heavy towards offense.

If you can get legit 2 way play out of the 3rd line, that allows Nico's line to also be more 2 way oriented and not so heavy defensively as he was this past year.

I think we would also like our 4th line to handle some defensive duties as well.

 

[theoptimist]

32 years old in a couple weeks. Shot and point rate have dropped significantly the last couple years. Doesn't play defensive minutes.

Not a guy I would be targeting.

Will probably have a down year playing on a low testosterone Devils team

 

[devilsblood]

Their needs are a #2 RD and a 2 or 3C. If they value Mercer as a Center then

Hamilton
Mercer
26 1st
Casey

For

Kyrou?

This looks like a Devils fan Fantasy but it does raise the question of how valued is Hamilton around the league. Because of his contract and our glut of RHD we(or at least some of us) see him as negative value. But do other teams look at Hamilton and say "hey this guys is still really good and we have a big positive impact on our team"?

Still if Stl is trading Kyrou I doubt they are bringing back a 30 something year old as a main part of the package.

I'd think one of Silayev or Nemec goes the other way. Lenni Ham's too. They'd probably want our Russian Goalie.

 

[Call Me Al]

This looks like a Devils fan Fantasy but it does raise the question of how valued is Hamilton around the league. Because of his contract and our glut of RHD we(or at least some of us) see him as negative value. But do other teams look at Hamilton and say "hey this guys is still really good and we have a big positive impact on our team"?

Still if Stl is trading Kyrou I doubt they are bringing back a 30 something year old as a main part of the package.

I'd think one of Silayev or Nemec goes the other way. Lenni Ham's too. They'd probably want our Russian Goalie.

if seth jones and trouba can get moved then i think dougie will be able to get moved, we just may have to retain and/or sweeten it

 

[thebeernerd]

if seth jones and trouba can get moved then i think dougie will be able to get moved, we just may have to retain and/or sweeten it

Apparently Dougie is only owed $1 million after July 1. But waiting to trade him is a gamble in and of itself because you may end up with nothing to trade for.

 

[Smitty426]

Just the concept. It would also depend if there is a bidding war. But its the concept of getting Colton for no roster players all picks and prospects that would be good for this roster.

Agreed

This looks like a Devils fan Fantasy but it does raise the question of how valued is Hamilton around the league. Because of his contract and our glut of RHD we(or at least some of us) see him as negative value. But do other teams look at Hamilton and say "hey this guys is still really good and we have a big positive impact on our team"?

Still if Stl is trading Kyrou I doubt they are bringing back a 30 something year old as a main part of the package.

I'd think one of Silayev or Nemec goes the other way. Lenni Ham's too. They'd probably want our Russian Goalie.

Then I say move on

 

[Andre Palot]

Smells like Gusev

enjoy the one year of decent play then a clear decline

 

[Forge]

Apparently Dougie is only owed $1 million after July 1. But waiting to trade him is a gamble in and of itself because you may end up with nothing to trade for.

It's also typically not something that ownership is going to love. Often there are internal cash budgets for these sort of things. Paying Dougie 10 million to go play somewhere and then having to pay someone else a bunch of money to come in and replace him on the roster is a tough ask. Wouldn't surprise me if higher ups have no interest in that whatsoever.

 

[RobertCalifornia]

Apparently Dougie is only owed $1 million after July 1. But waiting to trade him is a gamble in and of itself because you may end up with nothing to trade for.

No ownership group of another team is going to let their GM trade for Dougie Hamilton before July 1.

I am expecting a Dougie Hamilton trade to go down this summer - I think it is more likely than not - however if/when it happens, it'll be after July 1st.

 

[Edmonton East]

Impossible to speculate on Hamilton's value from July 1st onward without knowing what his 10 team trade list looks like. That list could easily be used to effectively make it a NMC if he doesn't want to be moved. If we want to pretend that isn't a factor, then the only way Hamilton definitely has decent value is if the Devs retain $2-3m anyway (considering injury risk / skating decline). And it's very debatable if it's even worth moving him at that point and potentially having to roll with Pesce, Nemec, Casey, random vet for a lengthy period of time before Kovacevic returns (...hopefully at full strength). For those reasons, I still think Hamilton stays. Instead, they more than likely need to drug Palat and a GM to somehow get that contract moved to even have a chance at making this team an actual contender. Keeping Hughes, losing Allen (cap), and adding 1 3rd liner (in addition to whoever replaces Haula) and a 4th doesn't get this team to contender status....but might be the most likely outcome.

 

[Dylan9z9]

A trade involving us would be pretty cool, though! My gut instinct is that it’s going to probably be before or during the draft, not today or tomorrow. Come on Fitz, throw us some meat!

More like Fitz is playing with his meat

 

[thebeernerd]

More like Fitz is playing with his meat

Ew.

 

[bc]

I can totally see the goalie position going belly up again.

Markstrom is another year older and missed a decent stretch last year.

Nico Daws has proven not to be good at the NHL level, save for 5 NHL games last year. Much like Scott Wedgewood’s 2015-2016 and Scott Clemmensen’s 2003-2004.

The best thing I can say for Nico Daws is it feels like he has more shootout wins than any other Devils goalie over the last 4 seasons lol.

This gets me every single time it's mentioned. Why does everyone keep saying Daws will be an awful backup goalie, isn't proven and won't be able to do it?

Take a look at his stats/start, they indicate he will be more than adequate backup goalie. His numbers only dip the more games in a row he has to play (his role this season it so be a backup goalie, not a starter! - the hope is he only needs to play one game here and there).

Look at his numbers based off off games in a stretch played (sorry not exactly sure how to word this), they look like:

1st game in a streak - 2.4 GAA - .911 SV% - above average
2nd game in a streak - 2.7 GAA - .900 SV% - basically Average
3rd game or more - -3.0 GAA - 0.86 SV% - Below average

I used Chat GPT for the stats so they may be rounded and not 100% accurate.
Also, his stat line all of last season (yes ONLY 5 games) was 1.6 GAA and .939 SV%. On top of his career starts, keep in mind, his first season he was basically thrown into the fire fresh off a hip surgery, used as a starter for the last half of the season.

Career 52 games... so I understand wanting another guy with more experience as a #3 (or competition for #2) just incase things don't work, but why does everyone think Daws CAN NOT do it?

 

[Zippy316]

This gets me every single time it's mentioned. Why does everyone keep saying Daws will be an awful backup goalie, isn't proven and won't be able to do it?

Take a look at his stats/start, they indicate he will be more than adequate backup goalie. His numbers only dip the more games in a row he has to play (his role this season it so be a backup goalie, not a starter! - the hope is he only needs to play one game here and there).

Look at his numbers based off off games in a stretch played (sorry not exactly sure how to word this), they look like:

1st game in a streak - 2.4 GAA - .911 SV% - above average
2nd game in a streak - 2.7 GAA - .900 SV% - basically Average
3rd game or more - -3.0 GAA - 0.86 SV% - Below average

I used Chat GPT for the stats so they may be rounded and not 100% accurate.
Also, his stat line all of last season (yes ONLY 5 games) was 1.6 GAA and .939 SV%. On top of his career starts, keep in mind, his first season he was basically thrown into the fire fresh off a hip surgery, used as a starter for the last half of the season.

Career 52 games... so I understand wanting another guy with more experience as a #3 (or competition for #2) just incase things don't work, but why does everyone think Daws CAN NOT do it?

We had an entire season sunk partially because Vanecek fell apart and the young promising goalie in Schmid wasn’t ready. Plus the years before 2022-23 where poor goaltending absolutely demoralized some of those teams.

No shade to Daws, but he just hasn’t put up good enough numbers across his NHL/AHL career to date to take that risk. Likewise, I don’t think Fitzgerald is going to risk his job on Daws if Markstrom goes down with an injury.

At the very least, Fitzgerald is going to add a tweener goalie to compete with Daws for the backup spot just to be safe. Odds are he probably adds someone a notch above Daws he would be willing to stake his job on.

 

[NJDevs26]

If 'backup goalie' is the biggest problem the Devils have then they're doing pretty well...you gotta take a risk there to fix some of the other pressing issues on the team, and if Markstrom goes down what adequate insurance really exists for him that's easily attainable? It took us like a year and a half just to get Markstrom, at some point the Devils have to trust a young goalie with at least a #2 role, or they're just wasting draft picks on them.

Good teams do generally let their young goalies have the #2 role, the Devils' problem is guys like Blackwood had the #1 role before he was ready, and Daws played nine million games in a row way before he was ready.

 

[Dylan9z9]

Their needs are a #2 RD and a 2 or 3C. If they value Mercer as a Center then

Hamilton
Mercer
26 1st
Casey

For

Kyrou?

Too much, take Casey or a first out of that equation please .... thank you

 

[Edmonton East]

There remains a serious disconnect between what some folks think the Devs cap situation is vs reality. Maybe have $5m to add 2 top 9 players as is (yikes). They can't even afford a cheap vet/tweener backup for $2m+ (and one that would def be able to fill in for Markstrom would cost above that anyway). It has to be Daws considering the other holes on the roster. Then maybe a flier on someone cheap that is mighty inconsistent but has shown flashes....like an Akira Schmid. Is it ideal? No. But it is what it is. Plus, this would be a good time to figure out if Daws is NHL quality or not. If he falls on his face, figure it out during the season while Fitz is on his usual vacation.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

It is kind of funny to see both Daws and Schmid have amazing numbers in the 5-6 games they played in the NHL this year while having some really bad numbers in the AHL (worse than the other goalies on their AHL teams).

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Also you guys are just drumming hope with these guys on the block where the Devils have to get absurdly creative which I can’t see happening. Give me some good depth in the B6/ good back up / Luke extension and I’ll be fine. They’re probably kicking the big forward to the 2026 trade deadline like they did with Timo in 2023 if the team is elite

 

[NJDevs26]

I think people are more assuming Fitz will clear cap space at some point than are actually assuming he has it already tbh, I mean even if the cap didn’t exist Palat is making too much money to be a fourth liner who gets padded top six minutes and Dougie well, we know how Fitz boxed himself in at RD the minute he resigned Kovacevic and to be fair Dougie is not the same player he was two years ago. If you don’t think Fitz will be able to do either or both that’s valid but we see bad contracts get moved weekly so…up to him to figure that one out.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Who's giving us a 3rd for a slightly used, but proven winner, Andre Paloot

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I think people are more assuming Fitz will clear cap space at some point than are actually assuming he has it already tbh, I mean even if the cap didn’t exist Palat is making too much money to be a fourth liner who gets padded top six minutes and Dougie well, we know how Fitz boxed himself in at RD the minute he resigned Kovacevic and to be fair Dougie is not the same player he was two years ago. If you don’t think Fitz will be able to do either or both that’s valid but we see bad contracts get moved weekly so…up to him to figure that one out.

I think they want to keep Hamilton more than we do but it’s also evident that the cliff is coming for Dougie, better to get him off the roster one year too early than one year too late even though you can make the argument he’s already slightly cooked.