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

[Lou Bloom]

I'm not trading Nemec after a down year either - as far as I'm concern, our chances at winning this year is zero.

Only way I'm trading him is for a comparable young player like McTavish.

The Devils have a surplus at defense with a clear deficiency at forward, Even if we trade Nemec we still have Luke, Casey and Silayev long term which is an elite young defensive group to go along with Dougie, Siegs and Pesce all signed for 3+ more years as veteran defenseman.

If I thought Nemec was an elite, dynamic top pairing defenseman then I'd understand the unwillingness to trade him but nothing about his game would lead me to believe in that outcome.

 

[Killing Joke]

Another center we could've used is now gone, to Pitt. Cool.

 

[longislanddevil]

Use Mercer as part of a package to get McCann. Once again, he has two years left at a crazy bargain of 5m. He’s a sniper who is not one-dimensional and can also play center if needed. He is the perfect fit. Include 2 2nd round picks and a B defensive prospect like Vilen? Seattle is thin from an organizational standpoint on the blueline. I’m not so sure this moves the needle or is a compelling enough offer. Trying to think of a deal that could work without Nemec or Casey in it.

Not everyone will agree with this but I’d trade Mercer for Mittlestadt in a heartbeat (and it’s not even that I necessarily love Mittlestadt). He fits a glaring team need and has two more years left. Mittlestadt is still just 26. The delta between the contracts of him and Mercer is just 1.75m. This trade speaks more to my opinion of Mercer really. And I’m sorry….MERCER CANNOT PLAY CENTER!!! He can be slotted there but it doesn’t work and it never has.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Another center we could've used is now gone, to Pitt. Cool.

I know we aren't pining for Tommy Novak?

 

[NJDevils17]

Some posters don’t care about players / picks / deals as long as it doesn’t happen to the Devils then it’s a disaster. Exhausting.

 

[RNCDevil]

Nemec is so young. I don't see how you give up on a defenseman when Luke Hughes seems to be the only young, remarkable player the Devils have. Maybe Casey (whom I love) can do good things for a season. Maybe Silyev can be solid. Maybe one of the intriguing Russians pans out. But I only see one, young defender to build around.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I know we aren't pining for Tommy Novak?

He's good but yeah that's just bitching to bitch at this rate. Next to no rumors or anything related to him

 

[RSeen]

The Devils have a surplus at defense with a clear deficiency at forward, Even if we trade Nemec we still have Luke, Casey and Silayev long term which is an elite young defensive group to go along with Dougie, Siegs and Pesce all signed for 3+ more years as veteran defenseman.

If I thought Nemec was an elite, dynamic top pairing defenseman then I'd understand the unwillingness to trade him but nothing about his game would lead me to believe in that outcome.

He just turned 21 and the way he performed last year provided evidence that he can be a top pairing player in the future. This year has been a disaster but he came into the season coming off an offseason injury.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Use Mercer as part of a package to get McCann. Once again, he has two years left at a crazy bargain of 5m. He’s a sniper who is not one-dimensional and can also play center if needed. He is the perfect fit. Include 2 2nd round picks and a B defensive prospect like Vilen? Seattle is thin from an organizational standpoint on the blueline.

Not everyone will agree with this but I’d trade Mercer for Mittlestadt in a heartbeat (and it’s not even that I necessarily love Mittlestadt). He fits a glaring team need and has two more years left. Mittlestadt is still just 26. The delta between the contracts of him and Mercer is just 1.75m. This trade speaks more to my opinion of Mercer really. And I’m sorry….MERCER CANNOT PLAY CENTER!!! He can be slotted there but it doesn’t work and it never has.

I'm not interested in Mittelstadt at nearly $6M.

And while it's hard to gauge how much value Mercer has league wide, I highly doubt he would be valuable enough to be the centerpiece in a McCann trade.

 

[longislanddevil]

I'm not interested in Mittelstadt at nearly $6M.

And while it's hard to gauge how much value Mercer has league wide, I highly doubt he would be valuable enough to be the centerpiece in a McCann trade.

Do you think a 2026 1st and Mercer is enough to get it done?

 

[Zippy316]

I definitely was pining for Novak (and Roy from Vegas) in the off-season.

Definitely a player the Devils could’ve used though as a 2/3C option. What a weird trade from the Penguins and Nashville, makes zero sense what Trotz is doing in Nashville too.

 

[VoidCreature]

Mercer may be disappointing but he’s worth his contract and is under team control. Don’t know why everyone is so eager to move him.

 

[Normal Devil]

Ryan O'Reilly is one I would look to add for sure. He's a gamer and gives you a chance of holding on to a playoff spot. He's also a leader come playoff time.

 

[RSeen]

Mercer may be disappointing but he’s worth his contract and is under team control. Don’t know why everyone is so eager to move him.

26 points in 63 games is not worth $4M so he has some work to do.

 

[Lou Bloom]

He just turned 21 and the way he performed last year provided evidence that he can be a top pairing player in the future. This year has been a disaster but he came into the season coming off an offseason injury.

Last year proved he can be an NHL caliber defenseman, not that he can be a top pairing player in the future. He's an offense first defenseman without high end skating and dynamic scoring ability, that has defensive holes to his game. Take away the rose colored glasses or the 2nd overall pick status (In an extremely weak draft) and you see a good, not elite prospect. And it's always possible that he can make big developmental strides and become an elite defenseman but that doesn't mean we should expect or project that level of play out of him. By my eye he has top 4 potential but Isn't a big difference maker that we'll regret trading away.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Nemec is so young. I don't see how you give up on a defenseman when Luke Hughes seems to be the only young, remarkable player the Devils have. Maybe Casey (whom I love) can do good things for a season. Maybe Silyev can be solid. Maybe one of the intriguing Russians pans out. But I only see one, young defender to build around.

It's not about giving up, It's about trading from a surplus to improve a clear deficiency at forward. Even if we trade Nemec, how many teams have a better young defensive trio than Luke, Silayev and Casey? It seems crazy to hoard defensive prospects when we have so little forward talent on the roster outside of Jack, Nico, Bratt and Meier with only Gritsyuk and Lenni as the only forwards with decent NHL potential currently in the system.

 

[NjDevsRR]

26 points in 63 games is not worth $4M so he has some work to do.

I think thats pretty standard

Edit: read that as 36 in 63, yeah hes slightly under the expected point production

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

It's not about giving up, It's about trading from a surplus to improve a clear deficiency at forward. Even if we trade Nemec, how many teams have a better young defensive trio than Luke, Silayev and Casey? It seems crazy to hoard defensive prospects when we have so little forward talent on the roster outside of Jack, Nico, Bratt and Meier with only Gritsyuk and Lenni as the only forwards with decent NHL potential currently in the system.

While I get what you're saying, we also said this about our centers a couple of years back when we had Jack Nico Zacha McLeod Boqvist etc and then it turned out to become a weakness quickly. Only way I'm trading Nemec is if it's a prospect who's struggling elsewhere or needs a change of scenery. McTavish was brought and that's something I'd probably do if Anaheim comes to us

 

[RSeen]

Last year proved he can be an NHL caliber defenseman, not that he can be a top pairing player in the future. He's an offense first defenseman without high end skating and dynamic scoring ability, that has defensive holes to his game. Take away the rose colored glasses or the 2nd overall pick status (In an extremely weak draft) and you see a good, not elite prospect. And it's always possible that he can make big developmental strides and become an elite defenseman but that doesn't mean we should expect or project that level of play out of him. By my eye he has top 4 potential but Isn't a big difference maker that we'll regret trading away.

He proved he can play in the NHL at 20 years old - that is a lot more than most at that age can do. He doesn't need to have dynamic qualities to still be a top pairing player, there are plenty of examples of that.

I would have easily rather have taken Cooley or Wright, but regardless that doesn't mean I am giving up on Nemec. Dougie and Pesce are in their 30s, we don't exactly have many other options on the right side after that other than Casey, who is small.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Do you think a 2026 1st and Mercer is enough to get it done?

Tough to say just because I have no clue how much value Mercer has around the league currently. His age, past performance, draft status and contract are all pluses but his past two seasons of play and lack of projectible tools are clear negatives against him. He's clearly a positive asset and will have pretty good value but how much, I'm not sure.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Mercer may be disappointing but he’s worth his contract and is under team control. Don’t know why everyone is so eager to move him.

He's the new Blackwood, one month of stellar play and we thought we had an elite core piece when he was just meh/mediocre the entire time. He did have a fantastic game last night versus Dallas, wish he played like that most of the year because it would've been a massive boost

 

[Bleedred]

Fitz - you got $13m LTIR, use it

He’ll use it next year.

Don’t forget to take off like a little under $2 million or so for buying out Haula’s contract, because he was dumb enough to give one of the league’s most travelled journeymen a three year deal in the first place.

 

[Killing Joke]

Nemec is so young. I don't see how you give up on a defenseman when Luke Hughes seems to be the only young, remarkable player the Devils have. Maybe Casey (whom I love) can do good things for a season. Maybe Silyev can be solid. Maybe one of the intriguing Russians pans out. But I only see one, young defender to build around.

Because, he's an expendable piece given what we already have on the right side. He does not help us now, and he can be used to get players that can. I don't get why people are so infatuated with a guy who has shown nothing this year and has no signs of being an elite defenseman you should be taking at 2 over all.

 

[Lou Bloom]

While I get what you're saying, we also said this about our centers a couple of years back when we had Jack Nico Zacha McLeod Boqvist etc and then it turned out to become a weakness quickly. Only way I'm trading Nemec is if it's a prospect who's struggling elsewhere or needs a change of scenery. McTavish was brought and that's something I'd probably do if Anaheim comes to us

I never bought into the idea that we were set at center (I was in favor of drafting Cooley in 2022) but even if that was the case I still don't think it's a strong argument when we have a clear weakness at forward currently vs a strong defensive core. I'd much rather focus on fixing the current problem with no answers on the team or in the system vs worrying about a potential future problem in a still loaded defensive group.

I'd also only trade Nemec in a deal for a forward with a good amount of term and on the younger side.

 

[Patrik26]

Put Dougie on LTIR and just go nuts

Week to week could be 2 weeks or it could be the remainder of the regular season with only 5 weeks left. LTIR might be the best option.