Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2023 offseason part II

[Cheddabombs]

About time we had a classic early July Fitzy trade out of nowhere

 

[NJDevs26]

If Gibson had two years left I'd consider it, four is just way too much of a risk though. Hell I'd consider Ullmark or Saros but we might have to give up Schmid in that deal, and then we'd really have to tie ourselves to an expensive goalie long-term.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

It does make sense to take advantage of one of your goalies being waiver exempt to get depth. I like what Carolina did for their goaltending (run it back, put Kochetkhov in minors until someone gets hurt) basically giving them 3 guys to choose from when the playoffs start (if all are healthy).

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Another option is to wait until after training camp and claim a goalie that gets waived if Schmid or Vanecek has a bad camp. Eric Comrie looks like a likely candidate to be waived.

 

[NJDevs26]

Another option is to wait until after training camp and claim a goalie that gets waived if Schmid or Vanecek has a bad camp. Eric Comrie looks like a likely candidate to be waived.

I keed...he was already here for five minutes and let go. It looked like a bad call two years ago too but lots of goalies (especially backups) randomly get hot for a while a la Kinkaid a few years back.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Goalies don’t play as much as they used to and are more inconsistent than ever. Teams are more reliant on tandems than they previously had.

If Marty’s records ever fall, it’ll be a miracle. Over a 14 year period, including his injury season in 08-09, he averaged 70 games played per season.

Wins, you never know, but I can't see the shutout record ever being broken. It's a much different game.

Picture how truly unbeatable his record would be if it wasn't for the the 3 lockouts.

With the speed of the game and what not now I just don't think many goalies could handle that workload. All the coaches try to manage it so they are fresh for the playoffs and avoid injury a bit more. Marty though was a workhorse. Even playing 70 games a year like he did back then must of been very hard to do. He honestly would play every game if he had the choice.

 

[NJDevs26]

Picture how truly unbeatable his record would be if it wasn't for the the 3 lockouts.

With the speed of the game and what not now I just don't think many goalies could handle that workload. All the coaches try to manage it so they are fresh for the playoffs and avoid injury a bit more. Marty though was a workhorse. Even playing 70 games a year like he did back then must of been very hard to do. He honestly would play every game if he had the choice.

That's true to a degree but also you could say having the equivalent of two years off might have helped extend his career a bit with the unplanned breaks given the workload he had during his prime. Especially the mid-career lockout when he was playing 70+ a season.

 

[jkrdevil]

I feel like this Gibson talk is agent driven to try and create a market. There is nothing about the Devils in how they have operated since Fitz took over that screams they would be interested in Gibson.

 

[Eggtimer]

A

I feel like this Gibson talk is agent driven to try and create a market. There is nothing about the Devils in how they have operated since Fitz took over that screams they would be interested in Gibson.

Agent driven or leaked out for our benefit. Makes the Jets aware that Helle isn’t our only option amd that we are not desperate and only considering Helle. Evenif that is the case (Helle or bust )

 

[MartyOwns]

i would totally take a flyer on zadina if we had the space for him

edit: room, not cap space

 

[Saugus]

I feel like this Gibson talk is agent driven to try and create a market. There is nothing about the Devils in how they have operated since Fitz took over that screams they would be interested in Gibson.

Agreed. I think it’s far more likely that we’re trying to trade for Hellebuyck and waiting for Winnipeg’s asking price to come down. Fitz is patient, and if we’re the only reasonable buyer and they can’t re-sign him (which both seem to be the case), the price will come down.

We plug him in for a year, see what happens, then worry about how and if to re-sign him next offseason.

 

[bossram]

Agreed. I think it’s far more likely that we’re trying to trade for Hellebuyck and waiting for Winnipeg’s asking price to come down. Fitz is patient, and if we’re the only reasonable buyer and they can’t re-sign him (which both seem to be the case), the price will come down.

We plug him in for a year, see what happens, then worry about how and if to re-sign him next offseason.

If the price isn't crazy, I don't even mind Hellebuyck as a one-year rental.

 

[devilsblood]

If the price isn't crazy, I don't even mind Hellebuyck as a one-year rental.

But what isn't crazy? Holtz? a 1st? Casey? Some combination of those 3? Throw in a 2nd or a 3rd?

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

i would totally take a flyer on zadina if we had the space for him

edit: room, not cap space

He could be worth a flier to give Holtz some competition at 3rd line RW

 

[Triumph]

Can't take on Filip Zadina when Nolan Patrick is still sitting out there unsigned

 

[bossram]

But what isn't crazy? Holtz? a 1st? Casey? Some combination of those 3? Throw in a 2nd or a 3rd?

1st or Holtz (or Casey) + B-level asset would be the line for me.

 

[devilsblood]

Can't take on Filip Zadina when Nolan Patrick is still sitting out there unsigned

Why not both? GIF.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I'd trade Holtz for one year of Hellebuyck 50% retained I think. I don't think I'd trade Vanecek and Holtz for Hellebuyck 0% retained.

 

[bossram]

I'd trade Holtz for one year of Hellebuyck 50% retained I think. I don't think I'd trade Vanecek and Holtz for Hellebuyck 0% retained.

Vanecek is very likely going back the other way in any Hellebuyck deal, so retention isn't really a big issue.

 

[Nubmer6]

Vanecek is very likely going back the other way in any Hellebuyck deal, so retention isn't really a big issue.

I think we need 1-1.5M retained at this point (on top of trading VV headed the other way).

 

[Forge]

Vanecek is very likely going back the other way in any Hellebuyck deal, so retention isn't really a big issue.

I'm not going to make that assumption yet. They are (rightfully) hedging on what they want to do with Akira this year specifically. At least in public. It's very possible that they prefer to keep Akira in Utica and bring him up as needed and continue to get him experience in that manner. They also could be fine with moving VV and putting Akira into the NHL full time. They've given the impression that this is all pretty fluid (and publicly, it should be if only for leverage purposes in trade negotiations)

 

[StevenToddIves]

@StevenToddIves fav’s rankings

"You too can rank the NHL prospects without ever even once watching one of their games!" by Byron Bader.

 

[glenwo2]

"You too can rank the NHL prospects without ever even once watching one of their games!" by Byron Bader.

lol.

I forgot how much you despised this guy, Steve.

 

[bossram]

I think we need 1-1.5M retained at this point (on top of trading VV headed the other way).

Perhaps a bit of retention, but not a ton. I don't think retention would be worth paying more for in a trade.

I'm not going to make that assumption yet. They are (rightfully) hedging on what they want to do with Akira this year specifically. At least in public. It's very possible that they prefer to keep Akira in Utica and bring him up as needed and continue to get him experience in that manner. They also could be fine with moving VV and putting Akira into the NHL full time. They've given the impression that this is all pretty fluid (and publicly, it should be if only for leverage purposes in trade negotiations)

I would think it's a fairly solid assumption in any hypothetical Hellebuyck trade. Winnipeg is also going to need someone to play goal for them, the UFA goalie market is picked clean, and Winnipeg is also wary of players fleeing the coop so they'd want someone under contract. They would very likely need Vanecek to come back.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Luke battling it out with Cooley for the #5 spot in the HFBoards top 50 prospects poll. Would only be fitting if he was voted the #1 D prospect. Cooley’s also a very good prospect.

Right now, off the top of my head I'd rank the top 20:

1 Bedard CHI
2 Michkov PHI
3 Fantilli CLB
4 Hughes NJ
5 Carlsson ANH
6 Jiricek CLB
7 Nemec NJ
8 Slafkovsky MTL
9 Cooley ARI
10 Edvinsson DET
11 Benson BUF
12 Wright SEA
13 Smith SJ
14 Gauthier PHI
15 Simashev ARI
16 Reinbacher MTL
17 Faber MIN
18 Leonard WSH
19 Dvorsky STL
20 Clarke LAK


I have Hughes as the top D and Nemec as the #3 D, so the Devils still probably have a top 10 prospect pool overall until Hughes graduates next season.