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

[Killing Joke]

“Devils need to be better!”

*adds win now coach*
*adds starting goalie*
*clears space on D for two Vet additions in free agency*
*clears space for added forward depth*
*gets good value on Schmid Marino*

“NOT LIKE THAT!!!”​

I don’t understand some of you folks. Still love you nuts

LMAO he did not get good value.
Markstrom is a two year solution if he stays healthy and doesnt decline due to his age.

 

[Devils Trap]

Can we pivot to Matt Roy here?

You arent signing a Top UFA for cheap.

6x6 is right about whats market value for Pesce. In fact the projections had him at around 6.25 so we got a tiny cut on it

 

[Zippy316]

Remember Fitz's reported shopping list of needing 'a top six forward, a bottom six forward, a top four defenseman, a bottom four defenseman and a goalie'?

So far:

Top six foward - ?
Botttom six forward - Cotter
Top four defenseman - Pesce?
Bottom four defenseman - Dillon?
Goalie - Markstrom

Seems like he's on track for at least 4 of 5 so far lol

It does seem like the Devils see Cotter as more than just a fourth line option, unless that’s just a standard hype quote from Fitzgerald to sell the deal.

I’m still of the proponent the Devils should add two ~2.5-3 million dollar forwards like Henrique, Trenin, Pacioretty, and Heinen.

But I guess it’s not out of the question to add a ~5 million dollar forward like Stephenson, Arvidsson, Duchene, or Bertuzzi. Then you look for a value option like Tatar or Zucker that might sign for cheap.

 

[Killing Joke]

Fitz is likely going after Arvidsson and Marchessault in FA for a forward.

 

[Devils Trap]

I could really see Keefe wanting a Domi reunion. Good faceoff guy, showed he can play Top 6 minutes with some snarl.

 

[megajake]

Wouldn't mind Domi at all

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

I could really see Keefe wanting a Domi reunion. Good faceoff guy, showed he can play Top 6 minutes with some snarl.

If he was a right handed shot Id be all in but.. we really could use a righty

Bratt, Palat, Nosek, Cotter, Foote are all lefties

Edit; in fact it almost has to be a righty we acquire

 

[Bcap88]

I adored the defense we had going into 2023...the team wasn't a cup contender but it was lightyears above what we have right now.

But if you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, you're right I will have always have gripes with this current roster... because I think a major potion of its flaws lie in the core. And that is why so much supplementation is needed

I adored the defense we had going into 2023...the team wasn't a cup contender but it was lightyears above what we have right now.

But if you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, you're right I will have always have gripes with this current roster... because I think a major potion of its flaws lie in the core. And that is why so much supplementation is needed

It was a luxury having severson and graves no doubt but I just don’t see an avenue where they could have kept both for what they received on the open market.

As far as I’m concerned the core is Hughes,hischier, Bratt and Meier, Nemec and Luke
You can absolutely win with that and I think it’s finding the right players to compliment those players and adding the right coach to all of it that will instill some discipline and I think they will be in the right path

 

[megajake]

If he was a right handed shot Id be all in but.. we really could use a righty

Bratt, Palat, Nosek, Cotter, Foote are all lefties

Edit; in fact it almost has to be a righty we acquire

Nosek/Foote aren't real players lol

 

[Captain3rdLine]

If he was a right handed shot Id be all in but.. we really could use a righty

Bratt, Palat, Nosek, Cotter, Foote are all lefties

Edit; in fact it almost has to be a righty we acquire

Nosek is gone, and Bratt plays on the right side. If anything it should be a lefty.

RW:
Bratt
Meier
Mercer
Bastian
Lazar (if not at C)

LW:
Palat
Haula (if not at C)
Cotter
Foote
MacDermid

We need a top 6 or at least middle 6 LW

 

[Normal Devil]

Fitz is likely going after Arvidsson and Marchessault in FA for a forward.

Marchessault would be fun for a couple years. He's probably getting paid though at 33.

 

[HersheyBob27]

If he was a right handed shot Id be all in but.. we really could use a righty

Bratt, Palat, Nosek, Cotter, Foote are all lefties

Edit; in fact it almost has to be a righty we acquire

Nosek is long gone

 

[sattar18]

It's just kind of strange to see Fitz spend years talking about patience and playing the long game, and then suddenly take a hatchet to the roster and start flipping everyone that has a bad season.

Fitz didn’t get optimum value in the trades but he’s clearly making the team harder to play against. Let’s wait and see how FA and the summer roll out before we bring out the pitchforks.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Nosek is gone, and Bratt plays on the right side. If anything it should be a lefty.

RW:
Bratt
Meier
Mercer
Bastian
Lazar (if not at C)

LW:
Palat
Haula (if not at C)
Cotter
Foote
MacDermid

We need a top 6 or at least middle 6 LW

Nosek is gone?

Nosek is long gone

Hes listed on our roster, but really though? f***

 

[NJDevs26]

It was a luxury having severson and graves no doubt but I just don’t see an avenue where they could have kept both for what they received on the open market.

As far as I’m concerned the core is Hughes,hischier, Bratt and Meier, Nemec and Luke
You can absolutely win with that and I think it’s finding the right players to compliment those players and adding the right coach to all of it that will instill some discipline and I think they will be in the right path

The thing I'm least looking forward to about allegedly bringing Pesce in on the deal he's rumored to be getting is the inevitable comparisons with Severson, especially if he's underwhelming early. Bruh we couldn't keep Severson long-term but we brought in this over the hill bum for nearly the same amount? It does seem like one offseason after trying to save money on D we're admitting an error and spending again there.

 

[RSeen]

Fitz is likely going after Arvidsson and Marchessault in FA for a forward.

Based on what? I'd be very interested in Arvidsson on a 1-2 year deal. Marchessault not so much given he will get term and overpaid.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Nosek is gone?


Hes listed on our roster, but really though? f***

Ya he’s done. You’re upset about that? He sucks

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Ya he’s done. You’re upset about that? He sucks

No I just had no idea lmfao

 

[Darkauron]

Domi sucks no thanks

 

[AfroThunder396]

I don't really think this is accurate - I think it's looking at the thing that's happening because it's the thing that's happening and ignoring that the core of the team is largely the same guys as last season. Yeah, that team set a record for franchise wins, but the danger is thinking that's the thing to get back to. I'd rather Fitzgerald look forward, rather than backward. Do I love getting more physical? No, but also I saw how Florida won the Stanley Cup, and it wasn't by playing an uptempo, slick offensive game. They had elements of that obviously but they were also playing quite physical.

I agree with a lot of this. I'm with you that I'd rather Fitz look forward than backward. He should be proactive, not reactive. Which is why I'm fine moving on from Holtz and Schmid, if you don't have a spot for them year then why bother hanging on? Just rip the band-aid off and get it over with.

I just think that these attempts to plug certain holes are opening up larger, more valuable holes elsewhere. 18 months ago we had surplus talent, now we're having trouble icing a full top-12. This didn't happen over night, we've slowly been bleeding skill for a bit now. We're getting slower and more simple, and I don't think that's the right direction to go in after committing to Jack, Nico, and Bratt as the core.

I'm not expecting +50 wins every year. I'm fine with getting more physical, but getting "harder to play against" shouldn't come at the cost of what made you a great team. It looks to me like they're banking way, way too hard on Jack carrying this forward group and I just think that's a losing strategy.

 

[Bcap88]

The thing I'm least looking forward to about allegedly bringing Pesce in on the deal he's rumored to be getting is the inevitable comparisons with Severson, especially if he's underwhelming early. Bruh we couldn't keep Severson long-term but we brought in this over the hill bum for nearly the same amount? It does seem like one offseason after trying to save money on D we're admitting an error and spending again there.

I don’t really think it’s comparable

Severson got 8 years and was looking for 8

Pesce can handle top 4 minutes and pk I’m not sure Damon would handle that

 

[NJDevs26]

I don’t really think it’s comparable

Severson got 8 years and was looking for 8

Pesce can handle top 4 minutes and pk I’m not sure Damon would handle that

Well he has seven years left at $6.25 million and Pesce's getting six at likely a similar cap number if not slightly higher so not that big a difference at this point, especially since Severson's three months younger.

 

[JimEIV]

The thing I'm least looking forward to about allegedly bringing Pesce in on the deal he's rumored to be getting is the inevitable comparisons with Severson, especially if he's underwhelming early. Bruh we couldn't keep Severson long-term but we brought in this over the hill bum for nearly the same amount? It does seem like one offseason after trying to save money on D we're admitting an error and spending again there.

I already thought about how I'm going to say it

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

If he was a right handed shot Id be all in but.. we really could use a righty

Bratt, Palat, Nosek, Cotter, Foote are all lefties

Edit; in fact it almost has to be a righty we acquire

I actually think we need a lefty top 6.
Bratt-Meier-Mercer we are fine at RW.
Yes Bratt and Meier can play LW but they are not as effective on their natural side.
I very much like the idea of Domi on Jack Hughes line. Taking faceoffs for Jack and he has better offensive instincts than Huala, who we can push down to 3C.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

The thing I'm least looking forward to about allegedly bringing Pesce in on the deal he's rumored to be getting is the inevitable comparisons with Severson, especially if he's underwhelming early. Bruh we couldn't keep Severson long-term but we brought in this over the hill bum for nearly the same amount? It does seem like one offseason after trying to save money on D we're admitting an error and spending again there.

I don’t think it is admitting to an error. It’s saying Marino wasn’t good enough this season and we think this is an upgrade. Severson was let go because Marino was really good and we have talented young D that can play the role he played.

Should they have know Marino was gonna fall off this hard? I’m also guessing they just really like Pesce as a stylistic fit.