On some level it sounds like NJ gave up thee dimes for a quarter. An overpayment but ultimately who cares. In five years we can look back and see what Traff and the pick are doing. Not my idea of a good trade but "fleeced" is a pretty strong adjective. If NJ makes the playoffs this season it will have been worth it. As others have noted you cannot pull the rug out from under the remaining players. If the cost of the good will is a low second and Traff not ideal but whatever.
He was 6/10/16 +3 on a shit defensive team. He's a defensive D-man who at best is -25 ppg. He has basically been just that during his career. He's not an offensive D-man. He is coming to help hold down the fort.
No, no, no. Timing doesn’t matter, this is bad asset management anyway you slice it. The pick or the player for a 33yo rental would’ve been over payment, so both is woof.
Another trade where he gave up a pick and a player who has bottom 6/lower 9 potential, where most likely a pick would’ve sufficed. The 3 year contract just compounded the stupidity.
No that's LaChance - his dad is a scout for NJ. Unless we have a real coincidence here.
In the games we have seen him play in Utica over the course of 2 seasons, he has not stood out as a true NHL possibility. Nobody in this city said, "He won't be here long. He needs to be in the NHL." Nemec and Casey are the only 2 D-man since NJ arrived here 4 seasons ago to get people talking about NHL possibilities.
Zetterlund was a throw in too be nice on our third line this season no?....Picks aren't useless either they are assets that should be used wisely...Traff plays a pro game and for retention when we don't need it or a rental was an overpayment....If he wanted retention to make another deal that is kinda of scary if he is really is in save his job mode....Keep in mind I like Dumolin as a player but overpayment is overpayment
Sure, but the issue with NJ isn't another third liner unless that guy is a center. Zetterlund is a nice player. I do wish he was here but I don't think the team is in any different a position if he was. As I see it, the problem is lack of center depth. If they had a couple of decent to good center prospects the season would not seem nearly as dire. Heck, if they had drafted Lundell over Holtz they'd probably be in decent shape. I don't disagree with your premise but I presume Fitz had to trump another offer on Doumulin and they were stuck with needing a lefty defender. Injuries really crippled them here.
Plus we added a prospect with some upside yesterday. If we make the playoffs or not, we couldn’t just play two rookies on the backline for the rest of the season. Pickups at this time of the year are always going to be an overpayment.
I expect by the time Traff develops Fitz will be long gone. I tend to agree with you on this but getting worked up about it isn't changing anything. Hopefully it works out. Why Fitz can't draft any good offensive players I have no idea. Aren't a decent number of the scouts the same ones that picked guys like Bratt and Shara etc?
Don’t worry, next year he’ll ovecorrect and draft five or six big boys who can win faceoffs but have next to no offensive talent
