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

[SKNJD9]

You have any trade targets?

Nothing concrete fitzy has looked at cap strapped teams ( Avalanche ? ) for a physical upgrade who can be a middle 6 player and ultimately make Bastian expendable ( for cap reasons for some more wiggle room ) I think the plan and this is purely speculation is to not have both palat and mercer on the 2nd line. I think Palat Haula Noesen is the desired 3rd line but depending on who we get, Haula may get tied to Jack again out of necessity

What I would like ? Hartman from Minny if Billy G can get the delusion out of his mind that he can compete

Bratt - Jack - Meier
Hartman - Hischier - Mercer
Palat - Haula - Noesen
Foote - Lazar - Cotter

Siegs - Hamilton
Hughes - Pesce
Dillon - Nemec
Kovacevic

 

[Nubmer6]

Nothing concrete fitzy has looked at cap strapped teams ( Avalanche ? ) for a physical upgrade who can be a 3rd liner and ultimately make Bastian expendable ( for cap reasons for some more wiggle room )

That's just too logical.

 

[SKNJD9]

That's just too logical.

yeah it isn't rocket science lol

 

[TheUnseenHand]

You always this negative? Every post of yours I've seen today is leaning hard into the pessimism. I guess there are a few every free agency/deadline day

Always? No. More often than I should be? Yeah, that would probably be a fair statement.

It's less UFA day and more the overall direction since the team was eliminated by Carolina. We had a unicorn of a team that skated opponents into oblivion and was a blast to watch; and I would have rather leaned into that and tried to win a Cup that way than become, whatever we are trying to become now. If that team had a goalie, man that would be incredible.

I like Pesce and Dillon. No complaints about those deals especially when you look around the league at other deals that were signed. I have concerns that, while "tougher", the bottom 6 still isn't good enough to keep the play in the offensive zone, contribute meaningfully offensively, or play good defense. And I feel like that was the second biggest issue last year, first being the crippling, long term injuries to key players. I had that higher on the list to address than defense or goaltending. Fitz did try to address it, but his focus was definitely way more on defense and goaltending. And as a result, I don't think the bottom 6 got nearly enough of a facelift.

In any case, getting healthy will give the team the biggest bump. I'm interested to see a full year of healthy Timo.

 

[Nico Hischier]

Always? No. More often than I should be? Yeah, that would probably be a fair statement.

It's less UFA day and more the overall direction since the team was eliminated by Carolina. We had a unicorn of a team that skated opponents into oblivion and was a blast to watch; and I would have rather leaned into that and tried to win a Cup that way than become, whatever we are trying to become now. If that team had a goalie, man that would be incredible.

Yes that team was so much fun. But I think the biggest problem was that team was built to outscore their problems and not play defense. Teams that are built this way usually do well in regular season but the scoring dries up come playoffs. The only team being an exception I would say was the colorado avalanche and obviously the oilers just got one win away.

I like what fitz has been doing this off-season trying to get tougher to play against. It’s probably something the Buffalo Sabres should have been doing all along. I want to see this team win games not just be fun to watch

 

[dgibb10]

Do we push up 1 of Haula/Palat into top 6, in which case we should be targeting a bottom 6 C (Michael Mcleod replacement), or do we target a top 6 complimentary winger (Tatar type). If it's the latter, I question moving on from Holtz and Clarke. at 900k I think both would have been great fits for an offensive top 9 role, either on the 3rd line or 2nd line.

If Luke and Pesce are playing 22/23 and Dougie and Siegenthaler are doing the same it'll be impossible.

He'll be 16/17 minutes with PK if the top 4 are playing that much.

Severson got up that high because he played top 4 minutes got #2 PP and #5PK .... Nemec, if everyone is healthy, won't get top 4 minutes with Pesce and Dougie and won't get nearly the special teams time.

21-22 for luke, 20-21 for dougie, 20-21 for pesce, 19-20 for nemec, 18-19 for siegs, 18-19 for dillon

Are we worried about losing Hatakka? If not I think DeSimone stays; though odd to give him a one way then if you werent worried about losing Hatakka


Pesce also averaged 22 two seasons ago

I think the risk of waivers is somewhat overstated. Every team has a hatakka, I doubt he gets claimed to start the year. If he comes up to replace an injury, plays well, and we try to send him back down, then it may become an issue.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Im really rooting for Bastian to (make it first) prove himself in camp and earn that 4RW spot; hes literally bled for this team when others wouldnt and I believe that heart is infectious

Unfortunately he's a terrible hockey player they can't skate

 

[AfroThunder396]

I like Ross Colton but I think people around here definitely overrate him because he’s a Jersey kid.

If we’re adding to the top 6, it shouldn’t be a 28 year old whose career high is 40 points.

He only had 1 more goal that Holtz did last year, I’m not sure why everyone is so convinced he’s the answer. If we didn’t sign Noesen I’d be all over him as a 3rd line option but he’s redundant now IMO.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Yes that team was so much fun. But I think the biggest problem was that team was built to outscore their problems and not play defense. Teams that are built this way usually do well in regular season but the scoring dries up come playoffs. The only team being an exception I would say was the colorado avalanche and obviously the oilers just got one win away.

I like what fitz has been doing this off-season trying to get tougher to play against. It’s probably something the Buffalo Sabres should have been doing all along. I want to see this team win games not just be fun to watch

I think that team was enough of a unicorn that, given better goaltending, we could have won the Cup. But I get it. History is not kind to teams like that generally. I understand pivoting to a bigger, slower, more physical and plodding game as that is generally what it takes to win the Cup. I just question if our best players will ever be able to thrive in an environment like that.

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

I asked this in the FA thread but what about Tyler Johnson as a middle 6 Swiss Army knife for cheap? Gives positional flexibility. Not sure if he’s totally cooked. I prefer the trade route given how little is out there but he could be some okay depth if his game hasn’t fallen off a cliff.

 

[Triumph]

I think that team was enough of a unicorn that, given better goaltending, we could have won the Cup. But I get it. History is not kind to teams like that generally. I understand pivoting to a bigger, slower, more physical and plodding game as that is generally what it takes to win the Cup. I just question if our best players will ever be able to thrive in an environment like that.

They didn't outplay Carolina, even apart from goaltending. Carolina put up a 57% xG on us in all situations and they had the lead for the vast majority of the series.

 

[Mgd31]

I asked this in the FA thread but what about Tyler Johnson as a middle 6 Swiss Army knife for cheap? Gives positional flexibility. Not sure if he’s totally cooked. I prefer the trade route given how little is out there but he could be some okay depth if his game hasn’t fallen off a cliff.

I was thinking about him too, but at this point he is probably just a guy that's only value is to a bad team

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I like Ross Colton but I think people around here definitely overrate him because he’s a Jersey kid.

If we’re adding to the top 6, it shouldn’t be a 28 year old whose career high is 40 points.

He only had 1 more goal that Holtz did last year, I’m not sure why everyone is so convinced he’s the answer. If we didn’t sign Noesen I’d be all over him as a 3rd line option but he’s redundant now IMO.

His production at 5 on 5 has been quite good on a per minute basis. 40 points without cracking 14 minutes is solid. Great skating metrics with physicality and good at draws. No idea if Fitz has any interest, but it looks like he checks some boxes.

 

[Devs3cups]

I think that team was enough of a unicorn that, given better goaltending, we could have won the Cup. But I get it. History is not kind to teams like that generally. I understand pivoting to a bigger, slower, more physical and plodding game as that is generally what it takes to win the Cup. I just question if our best players will ever be able to thrive in an environment like that.

I honestly don’t think Fitz is forgetting speed. We still have a fast team. Feels to me like he’s targeting players who can skate and play with pace, while having an edge to their game. Best of both worlds.

 

[Devil X]

I like Ross Colton but I think people around here definitely overrate him because he’s a Jersey kid.

If we’re adding to the top 6, it shouldn’t be a 28 year old whose career high is 40 points.

He only had 1 more goal that Holtz did last year, I’m not sure why everyone is so convinced he’s the answer. If we didn’t sign Noesen I’d be all over him as a 3rd line option but he’s redundant now IMO.

I’m looking at him as a complementary forward who can play up and with skill guys and be effective which I believe he can be.

But what he really does is help us at center if we need it. It that means he’s the starting 3C and Haula is with Jack ok. If it means he’s with Jack fine he can take FOs. It gives the team options and does make the team deeper.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

They didn't outplay Carolina, even apart from goaltending. Carolina put up a 57% xG on us in all situations and they had the lead for the vast majority of the series.

Yeah because it was a young, inexperienced team. At least that is my opinion. Given more experience in the playoffs I think that roster could have done damage. I think the loss to Carolina was attributed to the wrong root cause. The biggest issue was the lack of playoff experience and you only get that experience by playing in the playoffs.

 

[Omar Little]

I think if we trade for Colton there will need to be a 3rd team involved to retain something like 1.5m - 2m.

 

[dzubrus8]

Count me as someone ok with calling it a day on FA (outside of a 14th F who can take faceoffs and some AHL signings). Defense and goalie are completely set. Roster with no additional moves looks like this

Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Palat - Hughes - Bratt
Cotter - Haula - Noesen
Foote - Lazar - Bastian
MacDermid, Beckman/C

Siegs - Hamilton
Hughes - Pesce
Dillon - Nemec
Kovacevic

Markstrom
Allen

Assuming Mercer signs some sort of 2-3 x $4 then there's $2.7M in cap left and a need to sign an additional forward. Start the season with this group, see if some team is going to give up on a player midseason or even wait until the trade deadline.

This roster as constructed is more than capable of being a 100+ point team in the league. Adding that 2nd line winger would make this roster even better but is probably not something that needs to be done until the deadline when teams would be willing to retain and when the Devils would know exactly what they need.

Only exception would be if NJ/Colorado strike a deal for Colton with a 3rd team retaining but I think that could cost a 2 + 3 and not sure if giving up that much capital is worthwhile.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Count me as someone ok with calling it a day on FA (outside of a 14th F who can take faceoffs and some AHL signings). Defense and goalie are completely set. Roster with no additional moves looks like this

Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Palat - Hughes - Bratt
Cotter - Haula - Noesen
Foote - Lazar - Bastian
MacDermid, Beckman/C

Siegs - Hamilton
Hughes - Pesce
Dillon - Nemec
Kovacevic

Markstrom
Allen

Assuming Mercer signs some sort of 2-3 x $4 then there's $2.7M in cap left and a need to sign an additional forward. Start the season with this group, see if some team is going to give up on a player midseason or even wait until the trade deadline.

This roster as constructed is more than capable of being a 100+ point team in the league. Adding that 2nd line winger would make this roster even better but is probably not something that needs to be done until the deadline when teams would be willing to retain and when the Devils would know exactly what they need.

Only exception would be if NJ/Colorado strike a deal for Colton with a 3rd team retaining but I think that could cost a 2 + 3 and not sure if giving up that much capital is worthwhile.

I hate that bottom 6. And I don't think Mercer is a top 6 player. At least not yet.

That defense though. It's sexy.

 

[Goptor]

I hate that bottom 6. And I don't think Mercer is a top 6 player. At least not yet.

That defense though. It's sexy.

They have 4 top 6 forwards. Cap has finally caught up with them and they need to sacrifice somewhere.

Its not a bad thing, every team has weaknesses at some point because of the cap.

Just expect a low scoring/more defensive team next year.

 

[Dylan9z9]

Fitz FA score D+ .... being generous

 

[Lou is God]

Fitz FA score D+ .... being generous

Ok champ lol

 

[Team Concept]

At this point I guess we just need to go into the season with what we've got. Arseny Gritsyuk will be coming over next season and there is no point in picking up a player with term that would block him or some of our prospects.

You've got 8 winger spots and 7 of the 8 have a contract for this season and it will be 8 of 8 next season when Gritsyuk is added to the mix.

Bratt-Meier-Mercer-Palat-Noesen-Cotter-Bastian

So we go into the season with Nolan Foote and maybe someone like a Josh Filmon for the first half of the season and then we can acquire a UFA winger near the trade deadline.

 

[Devils Trap]

D+ …., LMFAO

Sure

 

[Triumph]

I hate that bottom 6. And I don't think Mercer is a top 6 player. At least not yet.

That defense though. It's sexy.

Not ready for top 6 Dawson Mercer played 371 minutes with Jack Hughes and 309 minutes with Nico Hischier in the halcyon days of 2022-23. That's over 2/3rds of his ice time.

If the Devils feel like Mercer is not ready to play with either of those guys, they should trade him - he's not ever going to be more ready, and they're going to pay him like someone who is capable of doing that.