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

[Oneiro]

For us, I like the profile of Henrique as a player - guy who can play middle six, score 15-20 with decent defense and has wheels. We should be looking for that kind of third liner. I’m just not sure he’s going to be that anymore.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

Example of easily fitting in Henrique, and still adding a UFA forward as well.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

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[Guttersniped]

Example of easily fitting in Henrique, and still adding a UFA forward as well.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

Not sure Haula is only getting a 275k raise, or all the RFAs you signed are going to be quite that cheap, or Fitz is going to be ok with a lack of any defensive depth.

So I wouldn’t describe it as easy to fit him with his full salary and it would certainly would be preferable to have salary retained.

 

[MadDevil]

Is a 33 year old Rico really much better than Sharangovich? I think I'd rather just keep him and see if he can rebound (my money would be on yes given we've seen scorers have shitty stretches of shooting luck before). Obviously if his contract is too much then yeah maybe he ends up being the one that gets sacrificed, but I don't think it'll be for a middle 6 guy making almost 6 million against the cap. Even if Anaheim retains, I don't think we'd be saving all that much compared to signing Sharangovich.

 

[MasterofGrond]

I’d rather have old Rico than Rango at the same price.

I don’t think Anaheim would actually retain 50% though.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Not interested in Henrique with his cap hit and what we'd also have to give up in trade. Look at the Florida Panthers as a blue print, they were able to acquire players like Bennett, Verhaeghe, Duclair, Marchment, Forsling and Montour for extremely cheap and turn them into pivotal players on their roster. It's a much better strategy to buy low on talent and turn them into valuable pieces than continually pay market rate or higher for talent.

 

[HersheyBob27]

Should New Jersey Devils Push For Fabian Zetterlund Return?

The New Jersey Devils could use some depth amongst their forward ranks. Could the familiar and fan-favorite Fabian Zetterlund make sense?

pucksandpitchforks.com

Answer : Yes.

Done with him. Barely an NHL player. Dumb article

 

[beekay414]

Done with him. Barely an NHL player. Dumb article

Stick to the Hershey Bears

 

[MadDevil]

Done with him. Barely an NHL player. Dumb article

What did the Swedes do to you?

 

[Bcap88]

Stop with the nostalgia Henrique is not what this team needs

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Stop with the nostalgia Henrique is not what this team needs

Well, Henrique or someone similar is definately something what this team and especially third line needs. Yes, his contract is too expensive so I wouldn't trade him, but as a player he has a lot of qualities you want from your third liner.

And I agree with @Lou Bloom that it's more reasonable to acquire players for cheap than always pay market rate. Of course, it's easier said than done.

 

[tailfins]

Not interested in Henrique with his cap hit and what we'd also have to give up in trade. Look at the Florida Panthers as a blue print, they were able to acquire players like Bennett, Verhaeghe, Duclair, Marchment, Forsling and Montour for extremely cheap and turn them into pivotal players on their roster. It's a much better strategy to buy low on talent and turn them into valuable pieces than continually pay market rate or higher for talent.

I disagree with how the point is made.

I think Vegas is a much better model than Florida, and their strategy is clearer to execute. Vegas paid for elite talent. And elite talent got them the cup. Even Florida eventually did that with Tkachuk.

I think you mean not to overpay for middling talent. That I fully agree with. If the Ducks needed to dump Henrique, he’d be worth considering. But, he’s not good enough to be worth getting into a bidding war for.

 

[devilsblood]

Is a 33 year old Rico really much better than Sharangovich? I think I'd rather just keep him and see if he can rebound (my money would be on yes given we've seen scorers have shitty stretches of shooting luck before). Obviously if his contract is too much then yeah maybe he ends up being the one that gets sacrificed, but I don't think it'll be for a middle 6 guy making almost 6 million against the cap. Even if Anaheim retains, I don't think we'd be saving all that much compared to signing Sharangovich.

Ya, there is a chance Shara rebounds, and also a chance Rico drops off.

And while Henrique's numbers are pretty good the last couple years, his most common linemates are Terry and Zegras. Stick him with whoever we roll with on the third line and I'm foreseeing long droughts from him, which is something we complained about when he was in his prime.

25% of his points the last couple years have also come on the PP, and he won't get much of a role here with the man advantage.

Even at 50% retained(which we'd have to give assets for Anaheim to retain) he'll cost about $3mil per. Just not seeing it.

Should New Jersey Devils Push For Fabian Zetterlund Return?

The New Jersey Devils could use some depth amongst their forward ranks. Could the familiar and fan-favorite Fabian Zetterlund make sense?

pucksandpitchforks.com

Answer : Yes.

Just go the Bastian route and wait for SJ to try to sneak him through waivers.

Z's numbers with SJ last year are hilariously bad, 22 gp zero goals, 3 assists, a -10(-9 5v5). The only guys on that team to play more games without scoring a goal were goalies. The next closest guy was an undrafted rookie d-man who played 16 games. 3rd was Johnsson with 11 gp's.

Muk did perform well for their AHL team though.

 

[Xirik]

He's got a year left, if it doesn't work he's done. I don't hate the idea. Haula is only a year younger. It would allow us to keep Haula with Jack when needed or trying Henrique there too. It certainly gives us options.

Wonder if he would take a more team friendly deal after the contract is over just so he could stay and potentially try to win a cup. Guess he might be to young to go along with it compared to what Toronto does with it's old man signings though.

 

[RSeen]

Devils would easily be able to afford Henrique without any salary retention so I don't even think it would be needed

At close to $6M, that would be tough with signing Meier and Haula etc., and round out our roster. Anaheimis not making the playoffs this year, so we should definitely push for them to retain 50% IMO.

Example of easily fitting in Henrique, and still adding a UFA forward as well.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

The tough thing is the overrages on the bonuses on Luke and Nemec. Those will hit the following season, where I think theoretically we will be an even better team. I'd push for retention and pay extra.

 

[RSeen]

Is a 33 year old Rico really much better than Sharangovich? I think I'd rather just keep him and see if he can rebound (my money would be on yes given we've seen scorers have shitty stretches of shooting luck before). Obviously if his contract is too much then yeah maybe he ends up being the one that gets sacrificed, but I don't think it'll be for a middle 6 guy making almost 6 million against the cap. Even if Anaheim retains, I don't think we'd be saving all that much compared to signing Sharangovich.

Rico is significantly better IMO. Yegor is not a player I think can play in the bottom six and produce. I can easily seeing Rico being an effective 3rd liner or even being on Nico's wing and producing.

He can also be effective on special teams and I would anticipate Rico being a more productive playoff performer.

 

[Bleedred]

What's the highest pick we could probably get for Blackwood's rights? Ottawa needs a goalie. Maybe ask for a 6th?

Or do we just sign him for 1 year because Daws is injured?

I just want him gone.

Believe me when I say that I would rather sign Keith Kinkaid next year than him. At least it’s a guarantee he won’t play here for the NHL team unless guys start getting hurt.

If we actually keep Blackwood (I don’t think we will) it’s already a red flag.

I wouldn’t even want him for $1.5 million for one year (which was suggested the other day) because he isn’t worth $1.5 million per year (though I think he probably is on the open market) and it’s still a few hundred grand on our books after he’s buried.

Not to mention that he could very well be picked up off waivers after camp and at that point it’s like why did we even bother?

If we don’t re-sign him and just let him become UFA, I do think there will be 6-8 teams, maybe even more that are interested in him at 1 year and $1.5-ish million. Just let him go.


Basically what I’m saying is that if we re-sign him then the organization is already showing they’re higher on him than they should be, as he should generate plenty of interest on the UFA market.

If I’m him, I’d rather check that out than stay here and be the third and potentially get waived and have no say in where I’m gonna go. If we let him go UFA, he has control over it.

 

[devilsblood]

Rico is significantly better IMO. Yegor is not a player I think can play in the bottom six and produce. I can easily seeing Rico being an effective 3rd liner or even being on Nico's wing and producing.

He can also be effective on special teams and I would anticipate Rico being a more productive playoff performer.

Shara's best run was with Zajac and Kuok. Which was very third liney. Not sure why he hasn't been able to recapture that magic, but he's never been very good further up the lineup.

 

[devilsblood]

Wonder if he would take a more team friendly deal after the contract is over just so he could stay and potentially try to win a cup. Guess he might be to young to go along with it compared to what Toronto does with it's old man signings though.

He'll be 34, and went through waivers a year or two ago without anyone picking him up.

He's going to be signing a team friendly deal if he wants to keep playing in the NHL. Whether that be with a contender or otherwise.

 

[Japam]

Didn't realize Mukh played for SJ AHL team and put up nice numbers. Did anyone catch any of those games?

 

[Figgie]

He's got a year left, if it doesn't work he's done. I don't hate the idea. Haula is only a year younger. It would allow us to keep Haula with Jack when needed or trying Henrique there too. It certainly gives us options.

I like the idea of getting Henrique back.

Haula- Hughes- Meier
Palat - Rico/x - x/Rico
Bratt - Nico (3c) - Mercer
Wood/x- Mcleod?- Bastian

 

[Zippy316]

Henrique, the player, makes a ton of sense as a third player in that Haula/Palat role. As a player in player out scenario, I like the idea of having Henrique instead of Sharangovich.

But that AAV is brutal to take on. The only way I’d be interested is at 50% retention, but I don’t think the Devils should pay that price. Ducks probably get way more value out of Henrique at the deadline anyways.

It makes a ton more sense for the Devils to target someone like Colton, UFA winger, or a useful cap dump for free, see if someone like Foote, Holtz, or Clarke step up, and then maybe look to add someone like Henrique at the deadline if the team is still missing a versatile middle-six forward.

 

[My3Sons]

Presumably ANA is not just going to give away Henrique to clear salary space they don't have to use. I expect they will try to move him at the TDL to a contender and see what they can squeeze as a pick based on how he does. Given the current makeup of the NJ lineup Henrique would be asked to take a fair amount of defensive matchups to take some of the workload off Hischier. I'm not sure if that is Henrique's game.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

At close to $6M, that would be tough with signing Meier and Haula etc., and round out our roster. Anaheimis not making the playoffs this year, so we should definitely push for them to retain 50% IMO.


The tough thing is the overrages on the bonuses on Luke and Nemec. Those will hit the following season, where I think theoretically we will be an even better team. I'd push for retention and pay extra.

Great point on the overages, but i think since we wouldn't be using LTIR we would be able to fit both bonuses in at seasons end after accruing cap space all season

 

[Stephen Gionta]

Henrique, the player, makes a ton of sense as a third player in that Haula/Palat role. As a player in player out scenario, I like the idea of having Henrique instead of Sharangovich.

But that AAV is brutal to take on. The only way I’d be interested is at 50% retention, but I don’t think the Devils should pay that price. Ducks probably get way more value out of Henrique at the deadline anyways.

It makes a ton more sense for the Devils to target someone like Colton, UFA winger, or a useful cap dump for free, see if someone like Foote, Holtz, or Clarke step up, and then maybe look to add someone like Henrique at the deadline if the team is still missing a versatile middle-six forward.

Foote is no longer waiver eligible so he's going to be on the roster. He's most likely ticketed for the 4LW role.