Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason edition

[devilsblood]

Yes, but why would Anaheim?

• They get worse and older at forward.
• They get a dynamic defenseman who may not defend well at the NHL level.
• They get a draft pick that has a low chance of ever mattering.

That’s a pretty easy no from me if I’m Anaheim.

Decent production. But some bad on ice numbers. If Anaheim is looking to trade him it's probably because he's not that good.

Just seems unlikely.

 

[devsfan8]

Decent production. But some bad on ice numbers. If Anaheim is looking to trade him it's probably because he's not that good.

Just seems unlikely.

He is an RFA and eligible for an offer sheet also... he is a perfect fit for the top LW.

Another guy I like with term who had a bad year is Lawson Crouse. These are the type of guys we need. Big scoring forwards.

 

[Guadana]

What if my 2nd becomes a 1st.

Mercer, 1st in 26 and Casey

McTavish has bad numbers but from top-5 Ducks perspective they are on okay level. I believe he is much better player but I think Ducks understand it too. They liked him, he has decent production, he just need time and better partners. Its a big price for him with 1st round pick, but I think Ducks will not do it because they Like how big McTavish is and they have other young defensemen for PP. Mintyukov and Zellweger potentially should play this role. Lacombe and Luneau has potential too. So I guess they have no need in Casey.

 

[thebeernerd]

He is an RFA and eligible for an offer sheet also... he is a perfect fit for the top LW.

Another guy I like with term who had a bad year is Lawson Crouse. These are the type of guys we need. Big scoring forwards.

Trying to offer sheet someone from Utah seems like a fool's errand. They've got money to spare and an owner who wants to make a splash.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

What if my 2nd becomes a 1st.

Mercer, 1st in 26 and Casey

If I am trading that much I want something better coming back

 

[devsfan8]

Trying to offer sheet someone from Utah seems like a fool's errand. They've got money to spare and an owner who wants to make a splash.

McTavish can be offer sheeted. Crouse is under contract for 3 more seasons. It would have to be a trade in his case.

 

[thebeernerd]

McTavish can be offer sheeted. Crouse is under contract for 3 more seasons. It would have to be a trade in his case.

My bad- I got the wires crossed.

 

[BostonDevil]

dont think another slight of frame smol boi is what we need up front.

I disagree - We are more successful playing a speed/skill game. Fitz overloaded on talentless grinders. When Jack went down (even a little before) we could not generate any offense.

If you can find a big body with skills, I'm all for it. I'm just done with lumbering oafs taking up space because they are "hard to play against".

 

[devilsblood]

McTavish can be offer sheeted. Crouse is under contract for 3 more seasons. It would have to be a trade in his case.

Looks like 2 more years on Crouse.

Why were his numbers off so much? 6 assists in 81 games?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

With that being said, I think we should definitely look to be in the offer sheet business to get creative this offseason.

(Remember, offer sheets would be 2026 picks since free agency starts after the draft)

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I disagree - We are more successful playing a speed/skill game. Fitz overloaded on talentless grinders. When Jack went down (even a little before) we could not generate any offense.

If you can find a big body with skills, I'm all for it. I'm just done with lumbering oafs taking up space because they are "hard to play against".

I don't disagree, and I am not saying we just need to get more big bois, but I just think Zegras is not the way to go. He is smaller than Hughes is, and also has been injury prone in his career.

 

[devilsblood]

I don't disagree, and I am not saying we just need to get more big bois, but I just think Zegras is not the way to go. He is smaller than Hughes is, and also has been injury prone in his career.

He also seems flaky as hell.

 

[Clam Jensen]

Would any of you make this trade:

To NJ:

Mason McTavish

to Anaheim

Mercer
Casey
25 2nd

For me it is a no brainer. A big scoring 22 year old LW for Hughes and Bratt. I love Mercer, but here is an example I would let him go.

Yea for sure, but Casey is redundant on Anaheim and Mercer is a huge long term downgrade from McTavish.

 

[McDuffz88]

Looks like 2 more years on Crouse.

Why were his numbers off so much? 6 assists in 81 games?

Idk but I think he's worthy to gamble on in the hopes that you're buying low & he returns to form. This is a player we were begging for last year before his play fell off.

 

[BostonDevil]

I don't disagree, and I am not saying we just need to get more big bois, but I just think Zegras is not the way to go. He is smaller than Hughes is, and also has been injury prone in his career.

He also seems flaky as hell.

Agree with you guys and it has a 95% chance of failure but for one season at $5M, I'd give it a shot.

 

[devsfan8]

Looks like 2 more years on Crouse.

Why were his numbers off so much? 6 assists in 81 games?

I did not watch them much this season to pinpoint the reason. With Hayden and Keller, I wonder if Utah would bite on a trade offer for Crouse.

 

[thebeernerd]

Agree with you guys and it has a 95% chance of failure but for one season at $5M, I'd give it a shot.

Not for nothing but he's good friends with Jack. That's a good way to get him to take things seriously.

 

[Devils731]

Crouse seems sort of like a rich man’s Noesen. He can finish and has size but he’s not very active around the rink.

It would worry me a bit adding another guy who likely will often be trailing the puck rather than over the puck.

We saw how often this year the Devils wants to grind the puck down low and the quicker guys on the team would move the puck so quickly that the Devils bigger guys never got to effectively engage.

————-

So I’d be a little worry the team becomes even more one dimensional in style by adding Crouse, slower/physical/behind the play, and it’s the dimension that I don’t think the Devils were effective at implementing.

 

[Zacha37]

Any talk of Isaac Howard in here? Think a swap involving one of your young defensemen would make sense.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I think NJ is gonna have to add a W/C tweener and hope one of Haula/Mercer/Glass/Addition can handle 3C duties. The Glass trade as well as how Colorado has strip-mined their team trying to find a a center gives us some insight into the pure C trade market: it's horrendously expensive with inadequate solutions.

 

[HoliksGhost]

 

[devsfan8]

I think NJ is gonna have to add a W/C tweener and hope one of Haula/Mercer/Glass/Addition can handle 3C duties. The Glass trade as well as how Colorado has strip-mined their team trying to find a a center gives us some insight into the pure C trade market: it's horrendously expensive with inadequate solutions.

If Glass is our 3C, then we need a 4C. I think Glass makes a better 4C.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

if Glass is the 3C for the entire year next year, might as well just start talking about 26-27. That cannot happen.

 

[tailfins]

I disagree - We are more successful playing a speed/skill game. Fitz overloaded on talentless grinders. When Jack went down (even a little before) we could not generate any offense.

If you can find a big body with skills, I'm all for it. I'm just done with lumbering oafs taking up space because they are "hard to play against".

I'm confused by people saying this about our forward group.

IMO, the Devils relied on Jack, Bratt, Nico, McLeod, and the D to move the puck through the neutral zone in 2022-2023.

Everything but McLeod is pretty much the same with the forwards. On D, though, the right side went from Hamilton, Marino, Severson to Hamilton, Pesce, Kovacevic: we got bigger and tougher, but lost a lot of mobility / offense.

The Devils either need to add mobility back to the D, or they need to add new puck transporters up front. But, adding up front (other than replacing McLeod) is really more of a change than reverting back to the past.

 

[thebeernerd]

View attachment 1035565

Week old article and I can't even read it because it's behind a paywall for a publication that isn't fit to wipe my ass with. But I dread to see what demented deals Larry would have us do.