Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2023-24 season part III

[Ripshot 43]

He's one of those guys that is insanely athletic, but cannot keep muscle mass to save his life. It'll come with age as his metabolism slows down.

Like myself, I only have to look at a doughnut and i'll put on a couple tree pounds.

“Tree pounds”?

The North American to British conversion rates get wackier and wackier.

 

[NJDevils17]

Daws is also still coming off that hip surgery. He’ll likely be up and down for the rest of the year.

 

[devilsblood]

Still trying to digest the devils uni's.

The final couple minutes of the game I started to like them. Think I might like them better without the shoulder blacks? But obviously they are what they are.

Love all the post game gear though. Haula's hat. Ruff's baseball cap and sweatshirt. Liking these looks.

 

[JimEIV]

Still trying to digest the devils uni's.

The final couple minutes of the game I started to like them. Think I might like them better without the shoulder blacks? But obviously they are what they are.

Love all the post game gear though. Haula's hat. Ruff's baseball cap and sweatshirt. Liking these looks.

The uniforms do look slightly better in action... I'm watching the game now on ESPN+

But the no boarder/accent is still weird

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

“Tree pounds”?

The North American to British conversion rates get wackier and wackier.

Don’t throw stones.

 

[britdevil]

“Tree pounds”?

The North American to British conversion rates get wackier and wackier.

Let me tell you a couple tree things, I did twenty years in the can!

I thought we were all Jersey in here?

Wait... Uncle Philly is New York crew. I may have f***ed up.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Let me tell you a couple tree things, I did twenty years in the can!

I thought we were all Jersey in here?

Wait... Uncle Philly is New York crew. I may have f***ed up.

 

[Devs3cups]

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Would be totally for adding in a trade like Duclair + Kakkonen from SJ

 

[Saugus]

I really liked Daws in his first few NHL starts before his hip surgeries, but I figured it was too small a sample size to declare him the answer to the recurring issues in net.

But now he arrived for real last night, and I think we might have a good one here.

 

[Guttersniped]

As I wrap my brain around that possibility it’s hard not to see it as a good move really. A top 4 borderline top pairing D (according to Flames fans) who skates like the wind and matches up against top competition. It would stink to lose Mercer but if you can have Hanifin locked up plus Markstrom for another 2 seasons while allowing Daws to develop as a backup it sounds much more palatable.

A D corps of Hanifin, Hamilton, Hughes, Nemec, Siegs, Marino is about as good as it gets in the coming seasons. Of course there will need to be some cap gymnastics to be done but GM’s have shown it’s doable. Would put us in a full on contention push the next few seasons.

Downside is it could really hurt our forward depth and would stink to lose Mercer who I think is going to be a very good player.

All this thought for what will end up being Vladar to the Devils for a late pick.

We called Severson a borderline top-pairing guy too at one point, Hanifin’s a 2nd pair PMD who want 7-8m on a long term contract.

I don’t see how we can afford that with Hamilton and the upcoming RFA deals.

Also trading Mercer is a terrible f***ing idea. He’s 22 and has the 3rd most points in his draft class. I guess everyone behind Stutzle sucks according to some people here.

We are deep at RW.

Bratt
Toffoli
Meier
Mercer
Holtz

That’s why Toffoli and/or Holtz can go in the right trade.

 

[JimEIV]

Trust your guys Fitz

I'd run with Daws until the end of the season. If he falters we do something in the summer. Not in the least bit interested in trading assets for 34 year goaltender to make a half-assed run at the playoffs.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

This is a ridiculous assertion. Jack may need to bulk up - if he does, he will almost certainly lose speed.

Kovy was like over 50 pounds heavier than him and was still crazy fast (before he lost his back). McDavid bulked up, still crazy fast. I don't buy the bulking = losing speed thing. Just gotta do it the right way. I don't think anyone is saying he's gotta go full body building mode, but the guy is a toothpick. He needs to bulk up a bit.

 

[DerekDevils30]

We called Severson a borderline top-pairing guy too at one point, Hanifin’s a 2nd pair PMD who want 7-8m on a long term contract.

I don’t see how we can afford that with Hamilton and the upcoming RFA deals.

Also trading Mercer is a terrible f***ing idea. He’s 22 and has the 3rd most points in his draft class. I guess everyone behind Stutzle sucks according to some people here.



That’s why Toffoli and/or Holtz can go in the right trade.

I’ve pretty much done a 180 since that post. Shiny new toys can be a cool thought but I think there is potential with this current group with a few tweaks. As I and a few others have said I’d be cool with making a move for someone like Kahkonen in net. Let him and Daws handle things down the stretch and see what happens. Won’t cost an arm and a leg and Daws deserves a chance to run with it for now. The kid is hot.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

This is pretty fair but I don't think any Devils fan wouldn't want a starter in front of Daws/Schmid. Goalie trade + one of them will be the ideal thing for 24-25. I have no issue getting a better backup for the rest of the year at the deadline and tell Calgary/Nashville to suck wind for Saros/Markstrom for the time being

I don't understand why they won't give Schmid another chance

 

[JimEIV]

Kovy was like over 50 pounds heavier than him and was still crazy fast (before he lost his back). McDavid bulked up, still crazy fast. I don't buy the bulking = losing speed thing. Just gotta do it the right way. I don't think anyone is saying he's gotta go full body building mode, but the guy is a toothpick. He needs to bulk up a bit.

Of course you can add muscle without losing speed. You can add muscle and actually even get faster

 

[devilsblood]

I don't understand why they won't give Schmid another chance

But do we go into next year with Vitek and Daws to start next year?

Or Daws Schmid?

If we add a guy we can really count on to be the #1, with Daws as the backup, Schmid get's squeezed.

 

[R8Devs]

Mercer I can also accept for Saros because the Devils would probably need to reallocate some of his extension to Saros anyway but no one else. I wouldn't mind a big goalie trade in the offseason if they can't get Saros by the deadline so that the Devils aren't squeezed on timeline. Like you can get Kahkonen now and run him and Daws for now and then reevaluate in the offseason when there are more options and cap space or even better Daws proves himself to be a #1 option even in the playoffs if the Devs make it.

Like for in-season moves now -- trade picks/prospects for Kahkonen and Wennberg and then you'll still have all your good assets come offseason and then go from there. Wennberg would give the Devils an upgraded center over Nosek who can PK that doesn't cost as much as Henrique (and also plays center way more than Henrique) and then Ruff if he wants to keep that Meier-Lazar-Bastian line can run Holtz-Wennberg-Mercer and that'd be a much better fit for those two than Nosek.

 

[devilsblood]

Of course you can add muscle without losing speed. You can add muscle and actually get even get faster

See olympic sprinters vs long distance runners.

Pure speed requires muscle.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

But do we go into next year with Vitek and Daws to start next year?

Or Daws Schmid?

If we add a guy we can really count on to be the #1, with Daws as the backup, Schmid get's squeezed.

No one will know the answer to that until they give the guy a chance. Definitely not Vitek. Schmid, who knows?

Everything about this team has been managed so poorly. Had they adjusted the system 50 games ago, they'd have more cushion to see what their options are. Right now, they don't have that luxury anymore. They brought it on themselves. Fitz is prob gunna have to gamble again

 

[devilsblood]

Trust your guys Fitz

I'd run with Daws until the end of the season. If he falters we do something in the summer. Not in the least bit interested in trading assets for 34 year goaltender to make a half-assed run at the playoffs.

I'm willing to make a good trade.

But 34 year old at $6 mil a year is not an ideal target.

A guy like Saros who is going to require a big extension isn't quite ideal either.

Especially if we are sending out premium assets to acquire such a player.

No one will know the answer to that until they give the guy a chance. Definitely not Vitek. Schmid, who knows?

Everything about this team has been managed so poorly. Had they adjusted the system 50 games ago, they'd have more cushion to see what their options are. Right now, they don't have that luxury anymore. They brought it on themselves. Fitz is prob gunna have to gamble again

Schmid was given a chance this year.

Maybe next year is different, but Daws Schmid next year, with I guess Poulter as next guy up, is a very iffy set up.

 

[JimEIV]

I'm willing to make a good trade.

But 34 year old at $6 mil a year is not an ideal target.

A guy like Saros who is going to require a big extension isn't quite ideal either.

Especially if we are sending out premium assets to acquire such a player.

Saros makes much more sense but I'm more afraid of that price.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Also trading Mercer is a terrible f***ing idea. He’s 22 and has the 3rd most points in his draft class. I guess everyone behind Stutzle sucks according to some people here.

That depends on who you're trading him for. He's a good player but he's not an untouchable piece and this is his last year on his ELC, so he's not going to be cheap moving forward. If you can get a legit top 5 goaltender in the league in Saros for him I don't see how that's a terrible trade.

Not to mention that focusing on most points in a draft class when you're not that far removed from it is not really a big indicator of future success. Are you really going to take Mercer over Sanderson, Byfield or Faber just because he has more points in the NHL at this time? Not to mention all the other players from that draft that are at least on a similar level to Mercer as a young talent.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Schmid was given a chance this year.

Maybe next year is different, but Daws Schmid next year, with I guess Poulter as next guy up, is a very iffy set up.

I'm talking about given a chance post system tweak...come on

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Lol Schmid and Daws are both capable of looking great for a few games. I definitely want one of them as our backup for 20-25 games and to see if they can grow into a larger role later. But depending on them for a playoff run is asking for trouble, as we found out in the Carolina series.