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

[Nocashstyle]

At some extent I agree that it's a shallow analysis, but it also shows that a #10 pick isn't a sure thing. It's a same thing with #11 and #12 picks.

#11
Tom Willander
Conor Geekie
Cole Sillinger (Coyotes didn’t make a selection because of penalty so this was officially #12 pick)
Yaroslav Askarov
Victor Söderström
Oliver Wahlstrom
Gabe Vilardi
Logan Brown
Lawson Crouse
Kevin Fiala

#12
Daniil But
Denton Mateychuk
Matt Coronato
Anton Lundell
Matt Boldy
Noah Dobson
Martin Necas
Michael McLeod
Denis Guryanov
Brendan Perlini

There is a high chance that your selection is a miss. You need good scouting to avoid it, and even then it might take 5–8 years that your selection is a impact player. I mean, for instance, McLeod was selected in 2016, and last playoffs were the first time when he was impact player for the Devils (of course, then came the shit in which he was involved).

That being said, there are a lot of examples of bad trades where teams have traded their 1st round pick for a player like Chychrun, Ristolainen, DeBrincat or Seth Jones. So this option also has its risks.

If the Devils select someone like Mintyukov, Rantanen, or Boldy, I'd keep the pick. But if their selection is someone like Jost, Ritchie or Wahlstrom, I'd trade it for someone like Fiala. Unfortunately, we don't know the results, so ultimately the question is, do you have more trust to the Devils' scouting department or Fitzgerald's ability to make trades?

Exactly the point I was trying to make, I just wasn’t able to articulate it as well as you did lol

 

[Rhodes 81]

Yes, but the same goes both ways, as some seem to be interpreting my comment that you‘re very unlikely to get an impact player at 10th overall and we need to trade the pick at all costs.

Absolutely, the whole point of prospects is that you never know what you have until they play 200+ NHL games (or don't make it). I'm sure you don't want to trade the pick for a 4th line winger, just like I don't think Guadana wants to keep it if someone offered us a top pairing LHD with a reasonable contract for it.

Just pointing out we all spend a lot of time arguing semantics and straw men, and I get it's a message board so what else are we going to do but sometimes some people just need to let it go and realize no one here is an absolute idiot that doesn't understand grey areas.

I'd hope everyone's open to all possibilities. Trading the pick is absolutely in play, however, it has to be a damned good return for New Jersey. No goalies over 30/31, no packaging pick plus an NHL top 9 F or top 4 D for one person... unless he's an allstar. We need to not overstate our assets, but we also can't thin our roster out too much either. Our pipeline has become suddenly thin at C, LD, and power/defensive wingers.

This is the biggest reason I lean toward keeping it. All our top picks are on the roster now and some of them are bandied about as trade bait on here. We did well to get Casey and Hameenaho out of the 2nd round and still have Gritsyuk hanging out there, but almost every team has prospects of their caliber. Even if we add a lot of good pieces this offseason we will need more ammunition to make deadline additions and replace some of our cheap depth over time. If we can get a promising player that could provide a 3rd line impact on the level of a Sharangovich, Boqvist, or pre-glow up followed by disgrace McLeod in 2-3 years while playing on an ELC, that helps us extend our window. Even better if that player ends up popping like picks in this range occasionally do.

And if they don't get there, they can be packaged with a 3rd at the deadline two years from now to bring in the next Toffoli or whoever.

 

[Zacha37]

I think if Helenius is there for us and he could play as soon as this coming season, that's a very difficult pick to trade. We need centers in the worst way.

I can see it as well. I view him profiling similarly to Anton Lundell who came over from Finland rather quickly.

 

[JimEIV]

Wood is the kind of payer that you need in the playoffs...those kind of guys always come up with big goals.

I wish we could've kept him somehow.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Wood had 2 playoff goals (and 28 PIM) in 13 career playoff games in NJ and got a ridiculous contract

good riddance

 

[guitarguyvic]

I never understood the disparaging “rocks for brains” commentary about Wood. He’s a bottom 6 power forward with great speed and some physicality who can pot 15 goals a year, he doesn’t need to have a super high hockey IQ. He was a valuable role player for this team that is not as easy to replace as people make believe.

 

[ndkjr70]

Wood is the kind of payer that you need in the playoffs...those kind of guys always come up with big goals.

I wish we could've kept him somehow.

Miles Wood has 19 games played in the playoffs in his career and 5 points (all goals). 2 of those 5 goals can be considered "big", the other 3 were tack-ons in blowouts. His career CF% in the playoffs is 44%. He has 28 penalty minutes, though, which is nice (not for his team).

In his age 28 season, the first of a SIX year deal, he put up 9 goals in 74 games. In "close" and "tied" game situations he had 0 goals scored, most likely because he couldn't be trusted to be on the ice in "close" and "tied" game situations.

I am thrilled the Devils aren't on the hook for paying for his age 29-34 seasons lol.

 

[devilsblood]

Wood had 2 playoff goals in 13 career playoff games in NJ and got a ridiculous contract

good riddance

Same as Bratt.

And now Wood has 3 more career playoff goals then Bratt.

 

[JimEIV]

Miles Wood has 19 games played in the playoffs in his career and 5 points (all goals). 2 of those 5 goals can be considered "big", the other 3 were tack-ons in blowouts. His career CF% in the playoffs is 44%. He has 28 penalty minutes, though, which is nice (not for his team).

In his age 28 season, the first of a SIX year deal, he put up 9 goals in 74 games. In "close" and "tied" game situations he had 0 goals scored, most likely because he couldn't be trusted to be on the ice in "close" and "tied" game situations.

I am thrilled the Devils aren't on the hook for paying for his age 29-34 seasons lol.

Nico has played 17 playoff games and had two goals

Jesper Bratt has played 13 playoff games and has 1 goal

30 playoff games 3 goals...

Mies has 5

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

We’ve already replaced Wood with a superior hockey player in Curtis Lazar. Plays a much harder game, is orders of magnitude better defensively, PKs, totally selfless shot blocker, capable of playing center.

Continue the jerkoff for a guy that had 9 goals because he scored a couple playoff goals. Martinook went off against us and has been otherwise a zero in the postseason. Small sample sniping of players is so fun. Great fodder for concern trolling.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Same as Bratt.

And now Wood has 3 more career playoff goals then Bratt.

why do you feel the need to do things like this all the time, exactly?

Bratt has 6 points in 13 career playoff games. He also had a 57.5% CF% in those games.

Wood had 2 points in 13 career playoff games in NJ. He had a 42.1% CF% in those games.

 

[devilsblood]

Miles Wood has 19 games played in the playoffs in his career and 5 points (all goals). 2 of those 5 goals can be considered "big", the other 3 were tack-ons in blowouts. His career CF% in the playoffs is 44%. He has 28 penalty minutes, though, which is nice (not for his team).

In his age 28 season, the first of a SIX year deal, he put up 9 goals in 74 games. In "close" and "tied" game situations he had 0 goals scored, most likely because he couldn't be trusted to be on the ice in "close" and "tied" game situations.

I am thrilled the Devils aren't on the hook for paying for his age 29-34 seasons lol.

Fair amount of those pim's are fighting and the like.

 

[NJDevs26]

Nico has played 17 playoff games and had two goals

Jesper Bratt has played 13 playoff games and has 1 goal

30 playoff games 3 goals...

Mies has 5

You can't say Wood is a big-time playoff player then when you get called on it being inaccurate immediately pivot to 'well our guys haven't been either'...just take the L and move on

 

[devilsblood]

why do you feel the need to do things like this all the time, exactly?

Bratt has 6 points in 13 career playoff games. He also had a 57.5% CF% in those games.

Wood had 2 points in 13 career playoff games in NJ. He had a 42.1% CF% in those games.

Do what? Respond to your posts? Not sure really.

But you brought up how many goals he had in his playoffs with NJ. I just noted it was the same amount as Bratt. And now Wood has more then twice as many.

 

[britdevil]

I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait, I will not take this bait

They already took it.

 

[devilsblood]

Nico has played 17 playoff games and had two goals

Jesper Bratt has played 13 playoff games and has 1 goal

30 playoff games 3 goals...

Mies has 5

Oh snap, I thought Bratt had 2. My bad. He had half the goals of Wood. Now Wood has 5x as many.

 

[forceten]

Anyone else setting goals for the playoffs? I had the goal of better tomato plants and I used these nutrient spikes and they're growing like crazy! SCORE! Playoff performer, me.

 

[NJDevs26]

Do what? Respond to your posts? Not sure really.

But you brought up how many goals he had in his playoffs with NJ. I just noted it was the same amount as Bratt. And now Wood has more then twice as many.

But this is just being contrarian for the sake of contrarian, which I get is your thing. The point being argued wasn't that Nico and Bratt were big-time playoff players, it's that Wood wasn't. Playing the whataboutism card isn't exactly responding to the initial point or admitting it was correct.

 

[devilsblood]

You can't say Wood is a big-time playoff player then when you get called on it being inaccurate immediately pivot to 'well our guys haven't been either'...just take the L and move on

Big time is a stretch, but he was good vs Carolina.

And let's be real, he wasn't picked up by some garbage organization, Colorado is a well run franchise, they wanted him, they signed him to that deal, and he's producing in the playoffs for them.

Meanwhile in NJ, we have fans cheering we didn't sign him to a contract, good for us I guess.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Oh snap, I thought Bratt had 2. My bad. He had half the goals of Wood. Now Wood has 5x as many.

Why are you trolling about a player on the team you root for to defend a guy not on your team? Seems really stupid and annoying. Especially since Wood can’t even hold Bratt’s jock.

 

[JimEIV]

You can't say Wood is a big-time playoff player then when you get called on it being inaccurate immediately pivot to 'well our guys haven't been either'...just take the L and move on

Well when you makes up shit to create a narrative like you just did, it's easy to get confused...I suppose

I never said he was a big "playoff player" you made that shit up. I said guys like him always score big goals. Pretty big difference.. bottom 6 players throughout playoff history have had a tendency to come up big with late period heroics and OT winners. To deny it is silly.

 

[devilsblood]

But this is just being contrarian for the sake of contrarian, which I get is your thing. The point being argued wasn't that Nico and Bratt were big-time playoff players, it's that Wood wasn't. Playing the whataboutism card isn't exactly responding to the initial point or admitting it was correct.

The point I was arguing against was "good riddance".

Wood is scoring goals in the playoffs, we are discussing who to pick at 10oa.

 

[guitarguyvic]

But this is just being contrarian for the sake of contrarian, which I get is your thing. The point being argued wasn't that Nico and Bratt were big-time playoff players, it's that Wood wasn't. Playing the whataboutism card isn't exactly responding to the initial point or admitting it was correct.

I think it’s quite relevant. Someone tried to “prove” that Miles is not a valuable player for the playoffs by citing that he has only two goals. By that logic, neither are Nico and Bratt since they have as many/less goals.

Wood is a role player, a valuable one when you consider the combination of elements he brings to the bottom six that this team is now lacking.

 

[Rhodes 81]

I'm more worried about actually making the playoffs again than I am which 4th liners might score, personally.