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

[Emperoreddy]

He looks alright

 

[tailfins]

Again, happy to take other assets or to another team.

I just like knight and also the fact imo the higher cap

a) lowers his value to make him easier to acquire
b) ensures we don't make a dumb move in UFA with all that extra money saved from dougie

Other goalie options/targets

Eg try and pry Wallstedt out if they're sold on Gustafsson (who was one of my favourite targets last year btw)
Try and grab one of Cossa or Augistine from Det.

Or just grab futures to use down the line when needed

Much more likely that Gustavsson from MIN or UPL from BUF end up being moved.

Gus is UFA after next year. Minnesota will likely have a similar decision to Nashville's this summer. If both play well, Gustavsson should be the odd guy out.

Same in Buffalo. Levi is once again killing it in the AHL. Maybe Buffalo tries to keep UPL longer since he's signed for more years, but if one of the two need to be moved, it'll be UPL.

 

[dgibb10]

Much more likely that Gustavsson from MIN or UPL from BUF end up being moved.

Gus is UFA after next year. Minnesota will likely have a similar decision to Nashville's this summer. If both play well, Gustavsson should be the odd guy out.

Same in Buffalo. Levi is once again killing it in the AHL. Maybe Buffalo tries to keep UPL longer since he's signed for more years, but if one of the two need to be moved, it'll be UPL.

I'd target Gus or UPL then

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Checked out Union College vs Vermont. Vermont beat them 6 to 2. Union has a sick barn. They are moving into a new arena next year so it was good to see this one before they leave it. They are a decent program and won the National Championship in 2014. Our boy Keith Kinkaid played for 2 seasons for them as well.

 

[Dialamo]

He looks alright

Thought he was gonna be out for longer (like March). That is a good sign!

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Good to see Lazar back , like others I thought he was going to be out till March or the end of the regular season. Having him and Bastian back will help fix our 4th line.


It would of been huge if Gritsyuk's contract ended last season so he could of got some NHL experience this year. If he looked legit in the top 6 than we wouldn't need to trade for a top 6 wing.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

saw this one reddit , not sure if it was posted in here. The caption was "not all heroes wear capes". I originally thought it was meant for Turcotte missing that shot till the obvious stuck out lmao.

 

[NJDfan86]

I just watched a team pay for Jacob trouba at 8 mill, at this point I refuse to believe Dougie Hamilton will require meaningful retention, ESPECIALLY with a cap jump coming.

And since his signing bonus is due the day his NMC goes away, he costs just 14.65 (4.88 a year) mill in real money over the final 3 years for an acquiring team.

Trouba was 1.5 years, not 3.5 (deadline, 3 full).

Real vs cap money matters more to bottom feeders as well - FL doesn’t have an issue paying, they desire cap flexibility so Hamilton’s contract at 100% is a non-starter.

 

[dgibb10]

Trouba was 1.5 years, not 3.5 (deadline, 3 full).

Real vs cap money matters more to bottom feeders as well - FL doesn’t have an issue paying, they desire cap flexibility so Hamilton’s contract at 100% is a non-starter.

Trouba wasn't at the deadline.

2 years
3 years.

You have both of those numbers wrong lmao

 

[Billdo]

I'd rather have Meier be a 70 point player and the Devils a 100 point team, than Meier be a 100 point player and the Devils a 70 point team.

I'm not worried about him.

I know it's not the point of your post but if he was even a 70 point player I think the conversation stops. He's a mid 50s point player for his career. That's a tough thing for some ppl to be on board with contract wise. I'm not worried about him nor do I really care about his contract, but he's being paid to produce more than he has which is probably just too high expectations from the fan base on the player.

 

[NJDfan86]

Trouba wasn't at the deadline.

2 years
3 years.

You have both of those numbers wrong lmao

What? I used the in season trade colloquial for Trouba (in season trade so ~.5, 1.5 left). I put 3.5 for Dougie because he currently has 3+ the rest of this year - I had assumed that you were advocating for the trade to be offseason, but had you been advocating for in season then Dougie would have had more than 3.

To make it quite simple - At the end of this season, Trouba will have 1 more year on his contract and Dougie will have 3, so trying to hand wave them as comparable is laughable.

 

[dgibb10]

What? I used the in season trade colloquial for Trouba (in season trade so ~.5, 1.5 left). I put 3.5 for Dougie because he currently has 3+ the rest of this year - I had assumed that you were advocating for the trade to be offseason, but had you been advocating for in season then Dougie would have had more than 3.

To make it quite simple - At the end of this season, Trouba will have 1 more year on his contract and Dougie will have 3, so trying to hand wave them as comparable is laughable.

Why would we trade dougie in season?

"To make it quite simple - At the end of this season, Trouba will have 1 more year on his contract and Dougie will have 3, so trying to hand wave them as comparable is laughable."

Trouba wasn't traded at the end of this season tho now was he.

You're right, Dougie is actually very good.

The RD market this offseason sucks ass. Not a single PPQB available, not a single top pairing or even really 2nd pairing dman available besides Kovy and Ekblad.

 

[Hisch13r]

I know it's not the point of your post but if he was even a 70 point player I think the conversation stops. He's a mid 50s point player for his career. That's a tough thing for some ppl to be on board with contract wise. I'm not worried about him nor do I really care about his contract, but he's being paid to produce more than he has which is probably just too high expectations from the fan base on the player.

His last 2 years in SJ were 76 in 77 and 52 in 57 so it seemed like he had started to breakout more and would be a 70+ pt guy so I don't think the expectations were all that unfair. Now without being a PP1 the expectations change a bit but I don't think at least like a consistent 65-70+ pt ask is an unreasonable ask of him at all.

These are his 5v5 production rates over his career. 4 of his last 5 years in SJ were better than this. It's fair to expect more production from him. I'm not too concerned about the goal scoring getting back to that level because he has started getting pucks on net like he should. If he falls back to his prior level here then I'll be more concerned. I don't know why his playmaking has been more than cut in half from his 3 best primary assist rates in SJ.

Over the past 13 games he has 53 shots. His first 18 he only had 48. That recent stretch is more in line with where Timo Meier should be. At his current SH% he'd be on pace for 30 goals at if he had been taking shots at this rate all year rather than the 24 he's on pace for. Add in little more shooting luck to get him more at his career average SH% and he'd be on pace for 38 goals. He's currently on pace for 29 assists. 38 goals 67 pts without being on PP1 and being an elite playdriver would be a good season for Meier and I think well within expectations.

 

[Goptor]

Dougie will return a haul if he's traded.

Of course its silly to talk about trading a guy who's a key piece to the top PP in the league.

 

[Hisch13r]

Dougie will return a haul if he's traded.

Of course its silly to talk about trading a guy who's a key piece to the top PP in the league.

I don't think he'd return a haul. I think you hope to just get off the deal without having to pay anything. Burns for example while yes was a bit older was still coming off a 54 pt year. He had 3 years left at 8 mil. SJ ate nearly 3 mil of that deal and STILL got nothing in return. It's also not silly to talk about moving him.

 

[Triumph]

Dougie will return a haul if he's traded.

Of course its silly to talk about trading a guy who's a key piece to the top PP in the league.

I disagree - the whole reason he is here is that nobody else really wanted him at that price and length of contract. In the run up to UFA in summer 2021, the Blackhawks got Jones and the Flyers got Ristolainen - that took each of those teams out of the running. It seemed like the only real suitors for him were us and the Canes. Nothing has really changed about Dougie or the NHL since then.

The Devils will have to eat some of the deal to trade him, though I do think they will get something back for doing so. There's just so few teams out there who have space for Hamilton and who absolutely need a PP1 guy - most teams are already paying someone a lot of money for that. Honestly, the team I expect to be the most interested are the Canes. The Bruins should be interested but they dealt Hamilton away 10 years ago. Detroit could be interested. Other than that, I'm having trouble thinking of teams - Seattle just paid a ton for Montour, Utah for Sergachev.

 

[MB3]

If by “haul” he means “Dougie and a 2nd for a throwaway prospect” I agree he’ll return a haul.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Mercer, Nemec+++ for Cozens?

holy crap what lol

thats before even getting into Cozens' contract

 

[MB3]

holy crap what lol

thats before even getting into Cozens' contract

Are you sending this message from the year 2006?

$7.1m for a 23 year old play driving center with a 30-goal season under his belt is a great contract not a terrible contract.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Are you sending this message from the year 2006?

$7.1m for a 23 year old play driving center with a 30-goal season under his belt is a great contract not a terrible contract.

brother Dylan Cozens is a very mid player. HE has been nothing special so far in his career. He has a slightly better career ppg than Mercer does making nearly twice as much. Would I trade Mercer for him? Maybe.

Would I trade Mercer, Nemec, ++ for him? Absolutely freaking no chance.

go look at the trade board and see how most Sabres fans are talking about him.

 

[Forge]

Dougie will return a haul if he's traded.

Of course its silly to talk about trading a guy who's a key piece to the top PP in the league.

He's not going to go anywhere in season, but starting next off season it'll be on the table.

It'll be much tougher with just a ten team trade list, though. That'll also eat significantly into any return if they can manage to find a place for him.

 

[MB3]

see how most Sabres fans are talking about him.

“A lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep” -Tywin Lannister’

-MB3

But in all seriousness look at RoR. Look at reinhardt. Look at Montour. Look at Rodrigues. Middlestadt.

Buffalo has demonstrated a total inability to cultivate successful hockey players. Cozens will be next; whether it’s here or elsewhere.

 

[dgibb10]

“A lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep” -Tywin Lannister’

-MB3

But in all seriousness look at RoR. Look at reinhardt. Look at Montour. Look at Rodrigues. Middlestadt.

Buffalo has demonstrated a total inability to cultivate successful hockey players. Cozens will be next; whether it’s here or elsewhere.

Yes, if you can take advantage of Buffalo's failure to develop, do so.

You don't pay a bad organization MORE because they've failed to develop players in the past

 

[Forge]

The Athletic's mock trade for the devils was a second + fifth for Bjugstad

 

[tailfins]

The Athletic's mock trade for the devils was a second + fifth for Bjugstadt

don't hate it. more than I'd like to give up, but it fits with the kind of low profile move I think they should be looking at. Devils don't need to shake things up - just make a nice tuck-in addition.