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

[RSeen]

Its a tough situation. Kovacevic has been too good to let go. Dougie has a 10 team trade list starting next year - moving him with 3 years left could also be challenging. Pesce is going nowhere.

I suspect its either Nemec or Kovacevic.

 

[JrFischer54]

coming out of the lockout the 06, 07 and 08 seasons sucked to watch. played each team in division 8 times. it got old fast.

Yeah I agree at the time it did stink but I think it was just the wrong time to do. Game is totally different now faster more skilled and the playoffs not being divisional heavy at that time hurt it. If they are bent on keeping the schedule how it is then they should really reevaluate the spacing of the matchups at minimum. Hard for teams to make up ground on teams ahead of them if they are finished playing them.

 

[longislanddevil]

Nemec is either going to have to become a regular next season or be traded while his value is still high. Something has to give. The rubber has to meet the road. He would be playing for most NHL teams but our defense is suddenly quite deep. Nobody could have seen Kovacevic emerge to play at such an elite level. If we are able to resign Kovacevic (and I hope we do at a reasonable price), there is simply no room for Nemec. I don’t see much of a choice but to part with Dougie. From a sheer monetary standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to keep him with Nemec waiting in the wings. Luke needs a new contract and Kovacevic will get a significant raise if we are able to retain him. I don’t think Dougie is completely cooked but how do we justify absorbing that 9 mil cap hit considering the set of circumstances? We can’t. The cap is going up but we may need to clear as much space as possible if there are some UFAs we want to sign or if a trade is made in the summer.

With the delta being 3 mil, it makes more sense to buyout Dougie than Palat. I’m not a fan of Palat but his play the last 15-20 games gives me a glimmer of hope (one that I had lost) that he at worst can be semi-useful in a bottom six role. I’m not crapping on Hamilton here. It’s just a matter of dollars and (common) sense.

 

[My3Sons]

With what cap space would we acquire Pettersson? Sounds like somebody is chumming the water.

Well it’s the team’s chance to right the wrong of drafting Hischier. They send him and Mercer to Vancouver for Pettersson. I mean what team wouldn’t want a prima Donna making that much to pout when things do t go his way?

 

[dgibb10]

Nemec is either going to have to become a regular next season or be traded while his value is still high. Something has to give. The rubber has to meet the road. He would be playing for most NHL teams but our defense is suddenly quite deep. Nobody could have seen Kovacevic emerge to play at such an elite level. If we are able to resign Kovacevic (and I hope we do at a reasonable price), there is simply no room for Nemec. I don’t see much of a choice but to part with Dougie. From a sheer monetary standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to keep him with Nemec waiting in the wings. Luke needs a new contract and Kovacevic will get a significant raise if we are able to retain him. I don’t think Dougie is completely cooked but how do we justify absorbing that 9 mil cap hit considering the set of circumstances? We can’t. The cap is going up but we may need to clear as much space as possible if there are some UFAs we want to sign or if a trade is made in the summer.

With the delta being 3 mil, it makes more sense to buyout Dougie than Palat. I’m not a fan of Palat but his play the last 15-20 games gives me a glimmer of hope (one that I had lost) that he at worst can be semi-useful in a bottom six role. I’m not crapping on Hamilton here. It’s just a matter of dollars and (common) sense.

"Buyout dougie"

is legitimately insane

It would save us:

200k next year (lol)
200k in 26-27 (lol)
4.5 mill in 27-28
and then cost us 800k for the 3 years after it

 

[Guttersniped]

And another

2 + 3

So hot.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

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A+ work

 

[Guttersniped]

Dom finally put out his Athletic player cards.



This card on Nico (except on the PK):

This card on Nico on the PK:

 

[Forge]

Its a tough situation. Kovacevic has been too good to let go. Dougie has a 10 team trade list starting next year - moving him with 3 years left could also be challenging. Pesce is going nowhere.

I suspect its either Nemec or Kovacevic.

I still think kovacevic being gone is the most likely situation, but I'm not completely convinced that Dougie is untradeable. I think they likely are just taking a mediocre player with a high multi year contract back.

 

[MadDevil]

He's never gonna rise above a #3 center with those PK numbers.

 

[Forge]

With what cap space would we acquire Pettersson? Sounds like somebody is chumming the water.

I feel like the more likely target for the devils would be miller for some reason

 

[Guttersniped]

Nemec is either going to have to become a regular next season or be traded while his value is still high. Something has to give. The rubber has to meet the road. He would be playing for most NHL teams but our defense is suddenly quite deep. Nobody could have seen Kovacevic emerge to play at such an elite level. If we are able to resign Kovacevic (and I hope we do at a reasonable price), there is simply no room for Nemec. I don’t see much of a choice but to part with Dougie. From a sheer monetary standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to keep him with Nemec waiting in the wings. Luke needs a new contract and Kovacevic will get a significant raise if we are able to retain him. I don’t think Dougie is completely cooked but how do we justify absorbing that 9 mil cap hit considering the set of circumstances? We can’t. The cap is going up but we may need to clear as much space as possible if there are some UFAs we want to sign or if a trade is made in the summer.

With the delta being 3 mil, it makes more sense to buyout Dougie than Palat. I’m not a fan of Palat but his play the last 15-20 games gives me a glimmer of hope (one that I had lost) that he at worst can be semi-useful in a bottom six role. I’m not crapping on Hamilton here. It’s just a matter of dollars and (common) sense.

Uh, there’s a buyout button on Puckpedia.

This is what Dougie’s buyout would be this off-season. It’s not feasible unless you’re ok with 8.8m dead cap space.



Big signing bonuses make a contract buyout proof, Hamilton’s can’t be bought out until his last season.

And even then it’s pretty meh, but we actually save some cap space at that point because he doesn’t have a signing bonus in his last year.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Pretty reasonable thing for Nemec to say. Isn’t asking for a trade yet but recognizes that he may have to at some point if he can’t clear the Devils RD logjam. We can’t reasonable expect a 2nd overall pick producing at this pace in the AHL to be content there until he’s 22 or 23.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

No clue how you deal with this RD dilemma. Hamilton getting traded doesn’t seem very feasible even though it’s probably the most attractive option, And you don’t want to lose Kovacevic or Nemec but most likely are going to have to. I’ve bounced back and forth on this but trading Nemec is something we could really regret long-term.

Either way I think it has to be clearly resolved this offseason at the latest.

 

[Forge]

Pretty reasonable thing for Nemec to say. Isn’t asking for a trade yet but recognizes that he may have to at some point if he can’t clear the Devils RD logjam. We can’t reasonable expect a 2nd overall pick producing at this pace in the AHL to be content there until he’s 22 or 23.

Yeah, as long as he's not expecting the NHL gig this year and is okay with it coming next season, I think this is a non story. Something will give on the rhd front

 

[MadDevil]

I think it depends on how legit they feel Kovacevic is. He'll be 28 at the start of next season, so is this the Kovacevic we can expect for the next 3-4 years (or longer)? And is that more valuable than a 21 year old #2 overall pick? I don't think moving Dougie is all that realistic this summer, and they just signed Pesce, so he's not going anywhere. There isn't an opening on the left side even if you wanted to move one of the RD over, unless they dump Dillon, which seems pretty unlikely.