Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason part II

[Guadana]

NJDevs26

It will hurt us if Daws and Schmidt don't improve to be able to take over at the end of 25-26. Allen and Markstrom will need new contracts if any team (NJ) wants one or two 35 yrs old goalies at $4 to 10 M total per year. It is what it is. I just hope that we get two good seasons from Allen and Markstrom regardless of the cost. We are wasting good offensive and some defensive talent without goaltending and defense and not making the playoffs.

I have faith in Fitz to get the right mix, he knows it is his job.

I have a feeling Fitz can sign big free agent goalie next summer after Allen deal will expire. Core is still there, if he will not waste this year pick, we will have a lot of long term pieces. Depth is problem, but cheap deals of all of our core players will help to fix it.

 

[Mgd31]

I’m all for bringing in more Italians but there’s no room for Pesce. We’d have to trade Marino, another Italian

 

[Cheddabombs]

Per my sources the Pesce signing is “very likely”

 

[Devs3cups]

Nico, Devil for live.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I think you're overvaluing this pick... Go look at the last 10, 10th overall picks. Not a brilliant list.

I mean arguably teams have done better with the picks around 10 due to pure randomness. You can get a star there if you make the right pick.

10th overall picks: Rantanen, Bouchard, Mintyukov, Tippett. We’ll see how some of the more recent ones in Dvorsky and Perfetti turn out.

9th overall: Ehlers, Meier, Sergachev, Zegras
And then again we’ll see how some more recent ones such as Rossi, Guenther, Savoie and Danielson turn out. If you went back another 3 years you could add Hamilton, Horvat, and Trouba to that list.

11th: Fiala, Vilardi, Wahlstrom, Crouse, Askarov, and again there’s some great players such as Forsberg a couple years back.

12th: Necas, Dobson, Boldy, Lundell,

13th: Jarvis, Benson, Suzuki, Vrana, Morrisey

Some really good players there. Not guaranteed to get one but have a solid chance at doing so if you make the right pick which is obviously easier said than done.

 

[RSeen]

I mean arguably teams have done better with the picks around 10 due to pure randomness. You can get a star there if you make the right pick.

10th overall picks: Rantanen, Bouchard, Mintyukov, Tippett. We’ll see how some of the more recent ones in Dvorsky and Perfetti turn out.

9th overall: Ehlers, Meier, Sergachev, Zegras
And then again we’ll see how some more recent ones such as Rossi, Guenther, Savoie and Danielson turn out. If you went back another 3 years you could add Hamilton, Horvat, and Trouba to that list.

11th: Fiala, Vilardi, Wahlstrom, Crouse, Askarov, and again there’s some great players such as Forsberg a couple years back.

12th: Necas, Dobson, Boldy, Lundell,

13th: Jarvis, Benson, Suzuki, Vrana, Morrisey

Some really good players there. Not guaranteed to get one but have a solid chance at doing so if you make the right pick which is obviously easier said than done.

I would make the pick. In 3 years, when players like Luke and Nemec are on their second deals, we will need some cheaper talent and ELC's can be a good way to get that.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

I have a feeling Fitz can sign big free agent goalie next summer after Allen deal will expire. Core is still there, if he will not waste this year pick, we will have a lot of long term pieces. Depth is problem, but cheap deals of all of our core players will help to fix it.

I think that is his hope as well. Markstrom becomes your 1b for a year. If we are looking at a Saros/Markstrom tandem in 2025-2026 - then it was a very good long game by Fitz.

And frankly, that is kind of what needs to happen. Unless Markstrom ends up still being good and you can sign him to 1-year deals after (which seems unlikely)

 

[megajake]

A stinky year when you’re healthy signals major changes are needed. A stinky year when you’re decimated by injury? Not so much.

We been stinky for over a decade now.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

We been stinky for over a decade now.

Except the whole franchise record in points and a playoff series victory thing the season before with much of the same team. Maybe more relevant than what we did with the toilet paper lineup.

 

[MartyOwns]

 

[JimEIV]

View attachment 885753

Are you talking drunk selfies at the Stanley Hotel?

 

[megajake]

Except the whole franchise record in points and a playoff series victory thing the season before with much of the same team. Maybe more relevant than what we did with the toilet paper lineup.

Could have just as easily been a fluke

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Could have just as easily been a fluke

It’s possible. Trade Jack and Nico just in case.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I think you're overvaluing this pick... Go look at the last 10, 10th overall picks. Not a brilliant list.

In the last 10 years we've seen Rantanen, Mintyukov, Bouchard, Perfetti and Tippett all drafted at 10. That's a good group of talent that you'd have 5+ years of before they hit UFA. Trading away potentially 7+ years of a high end talent for 1 year of an LHD upgrade is pure mismanagement.

And if you think I'm overvaluing the pick then go look at the list of players that have been traded for top 10 picks and tell me how many of them were traded for "any veteran LHD top 4 upgrade".

Also, you keep saying you'd trade the pick for an immediate impact player. What does that entail? Who is the worst player you'd be willing to trade that pick for?

 

[Bad Goalie]

I’d rather have Hattaka in the NHL. He has to go through waivers one and I think the left side of our D is weaker so I’d rather have immediately available help. Also think he’s better than DeSimone

Hatakka can play both sides (did so with the Comets), but LD is his best side.

Do other teams boards get like this too?

Vancouver does.

 

[Guttersniped]

Per my sources the Pesce signing is “very likely”

Per my sources the Devils aren’t interested in Mantha and Duclair.

 

[britdevil]

In the last 10 years we've seen Rantanen, Mintyukov, Bouchard, Perfetti and Tippett all drafted at 10. That's a good group of talent that you'd have 5+ years of before they hit UFA. Trading away potentially 7+ years of a high end talent for 1 year of an LHD upgrade is pure mismanagement.

And if you think I'm overvaluing the pick then go look at the list of players that have been traded for top 10 picks and tell me how many of them were traded for "any veteran LHD top 4 upgrade".

Also, you keep saying you'd trade the pick for an immediate impact player. What does that entail? Who is the worst player you'd be willing to trade that pick for?

We've also seen Tyson Jost, Nick Ritchie and Vasili Podkolzin. We can play this game, forever. Back and forth. Very silly.

I never said "any veteran LHD". How ridiculous.

I have no idea. I'm not an NHL GM and I don't play fantasy GM. My overall point is that the Devils have a core group RIGHT NOW. I'd like to see Fitz add to it, RIGHT NOW.

 

[Bleedred]

Care to enlighten me as to what it is? The Initials (MBN?)

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

I guess he's projected to be drafted around 10th.

 

[DerekDevils30]

Meier-Hischier-Bratt
____-Hughes-Mercer
Palat-Haula-Holtz


If I’m McGroarty I see a good opportunity for a top 6/9 role right off the bat and going forward. Having the Hughes bros and Casey in the organization is a big positive as well. No doubt in my mind Fitz is discussing with Chevy. Would come down to price of course.

 

[Forge]

Meier-Hischier-Bratt
____-Hughes-Mercer
Palat-Haula-Holtz


If I’m McGroarty I see a good opportunity for a top 6/9 role right off the bat and going forward. Having the Hughes bros and Casey in the organization is a big positive as well. No doubt in my mind Fitz is discussing with Chevy. Would come down to price of course.

Yeah, seems like he just wants to play. I'd have no issues giving up 10 for him.

But I don't know how interested Winnipeg is in futures. Do they want a top 10 pick, or do they want someone that can help now?

What if he asks for Mercer? I don't think that's a crazy ask at all from their side.

 

[Bleedred]

I want nothing to do with Mantha on any kind of deal.

Old, slow, and was looking washed up and finished before last season, which looks like a rando up season/one last comeback season before resuming his decline.

He's even older than the 30 years old that he's turning in September. He may as well be turning 37 with how slow and beat up he is.

I feel sorry for whoever signs him, unless it's only like a 1, maybe 2 year deal tops. And we really shouldn't be signing him to any kind of a deal. He's too slow and meh at basically everything else, unless you think he's really as good as he was this past season. And even if he is, he's still way too slow.

Remember how slow Toffoli was? He's even slower than that. And probably significantly slower.

I don't know if anyone seriously brought up signing him. I'm not sure if anyone did. I hope not.

 

[JimEIV]

I'm not sure why everyone underestimates how different the lineup was this year from 2023.

Half of 2023 Bahl wasn't a starter...this year he was going to be relied upon to provide critical minutes. Last year Luke was in college and Nemec was finishing his 1st North American season at 18 years old...

Severson gone
Graves gone
Tatar gone
Wood gone
Sharangovich gone
Zetterlund gone
Boqvist gone
Blackwood gone
McLeod gone

Add
Luke
Nemec
Miller
Hatakka
DeSimone
Meier
Lazar
Toffoli
Tierney
Nosek
Willman
MacDermid
Allen
Kahkonen


I know you can make the argument that a lot of these players are inconsequential...but the overall quality of depth was significantly better in 2023...I think that lack of depth was reason that we didn't bridge the gap of injuries as well as we should have...

We were deeper, faster, bigger stronger and more experienced with the depth group from 2023 and they were obviously missed

 

[Forge]

I feel sorry for whoever signs him, unless it's only like a 1, maybe 2 year deal tops. And we really shouldn't be signing him to any kind of a deal. He's too slow and meh at basically everything else, unless you think he's really as good as he was this past season. And even if he is, he's still way too slow.

I assumed he was going to get something like 1 year, 2.5 - 3 million. I don't see anyone wanting to invest heavily in that dude.

 

[beekay414]

I hate that this McGroarty news came out because I'm going to be so disappointed when we inevitably don't land him.

 

[Lou Bloom]

We've also seen Tyson Jost, Nick Ritchie and Vasili Podkolzin. We can play this game, forever. Back and forth. Very silly.

Yeah busts happen, there's also examples of players being traded and being busts in their new destinations, does that mean we should bring up every failed veteran trade like Dubois, Huberdeau, Erik Karlsson, etc.. to downplay the value of trading for veteran talent?

I never said "any veteran LHD". How ridiculous.

You said:

Hell, if I'm Fitz and an NHL GM wants the 10th overall and they are offering up a veteran top 4 LD on draft day??? I'm making that deal.

I have no idea. I'm not an NHL GM and I don't play fantasy GM. My overall point is that the Devils have a core group RIGHT NOW. I'd like to see Fitz add to it, RIGHT NOW.

So your opinion is they should trade 10th overall away and you don't have any opinion on who they get back as long as they marginally improve the current roster. This is just extremely short sighted thinking, imagine where the Oilers would be right now if they decided in 2018 they were in win now mode and traded the 10th overall pick (Evan Bouchard) for an immediate upgrade, the same Evan Bouchard that 6 years later is 2nd in playoff scoring (32P in 24G) and leads the team in TOI by a full 2 mins.