Confirmed with Link: (G) J. Markstrom (30% retention) traded to NJ for (D) Kevin Bahl, 2025 1st rd pick (Top 10 protected)

[Emperoreddy]

The plan always seemed to be to go get a top 4 LD, which is the right call.

That was going to push Bahl out of the lineup so he was expendable.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

We need alot more then just Zadorov to be a contender. Have you seen our forwards?

Yeah we need a middle six wing and fourth liner. Big deal? Can find those in FA every year

 

[Oneiro]

The thought process was not that Bahl would replace Graves. The thought process was that you wouldn't lose 100 games from Hamilton and Siegenthaler and thus overplay everyone else. Keep on arguing that everything is a self-own without regard for context. If two guys who play 20 minutes a night go down, you're always scrambling and you need your goaltender to clean up after you, which obviously was not going to happen here.

If we sign Dillon he's better than Graves or Bahl. You have your PKer with more playoff experience and more of a mean streak and a guy who doesn't have too much trouble making the first pass in transition. No to Zadorov - dumb player and brutal contract. And I even agree we need some more meanness and size.

 

[JimEIV]

The plan always seemed to be to go get a top 4 LD, which is the right call.

That was going to push Bahl out of the lineup so he was expendable.

Always? It certainly wasn't the plan in the summer of 2023 when we lost Severson and Graves and the solution was a RHD that doesn't kill penalties in Colin Miller.

 

[My3Sons]

So now we are going to come full circle...

If you are in a phase of seeing what key components your your defense are capable of....you absolutely aren't ready to compete for a cup...

Now full circle time...then why the hell are you trading a young defender and a first round pick for a 35 year old goaltender?

The stupidity is compounding more that my 401k has this year.

Meh. One guy isn’t some sort of overall team philosophy thing. They want to ally least try to win as they see it. Maybe that is different than how you or I would do it but that see to be what they are doing. They don’t see Bahl as a core piece. It happens. I’m old enough to realize that I have no control over it. My biggest gripe would be thr team has never had a draft that I can think of since 2010 that has produced multiple core players. Maybe I’m missing one but to me that’s the drag on the team. Of Holtz would turn the corner that would help.

 

[JimEIV]

The thought process was not that Bahl would replace Graves.

The GM literally said exactly that on more than one occasion...that "Bahl would replace Graves defensive minutes ". And we argued about that in summer of 2023.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Always? It certainly wasn't the plan in the summer of 2023 when we lost Severson and Graves and the solution was a RHD that doesn't kill penalties in Colin Miller.

Graves was let go because he isn't worth his current contract, which is absolutely true.

Then Siegs and Bahl both took steps back

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

We need alot more then just Zadorov to be a contender. Have you seen our forwards?

Yeah, they’re quite good.

 

[Bcap88]

I agree that the cap is a major determining factor for these decisions...but it also highlights the organizations priorities.

And for the last 9 seasons the organization has been skimping on defense and goaltending ...Cheap, quick and most of time temporary solutions. Markstrom is no different.

But it also puts the focus on the guys who are getting the money....if your philosophy is skimp on blue line back and stack the forwards they better be among the leagues best if you are capped out.

Do you think it's ok to cheap out on defense while finishing 14th in scoring and not having a single 30 goal scorer in league that had 47 30 or more goal scores?

If the savings is on defense the offense, where the resources are, were the bigger failure.

We just forgetting the fact that Nico,timo and jack would have all been well above 30 goals had they not gotten injured ?

You can pencil in Hamilton for at least 15.

The “goal scoring” is not a concern. You are just using an injury riddled year to benefit your agenda in this thread.

 

[glenwo2]

That's unfair, Markstrom is a full year younger than Crawford was when the Devils got him.

So at least we'll get one year out of him before he retires...

 

[JimEIV]

Graves was let go because he isn't worth his current contract, which is absolutely true.

Then Siegs and Bahl both took steps back

Graves was let go and not replaced to this very moment....spin it how you like but that's the reality.

And How the hell does a 23 year old in his first full NHL season "take a step back"?

Step back to what?

 

[HoliksGhost]

We can’t out-chit last year that’s my take

 

[glenwo2]

So... do I change username or I become a Flames fan?

BahlDoggo?

DoggoDeep?

 

[Bcap88]

There was literally no world where you re sign severson and graves for what they got and they wouldn’t take anything less

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

Only thing I'm shocked about is that they announced this during the Finals....

Kinda low class if you ask me

well when we have sabbaticals between each playoff games you gotta do something

 

[JimEIV]

We just forgetting the fact that Nico,timo and jack would have all been well above 30 goals had they not gotten injured ?

You can pencil in Hamilton for at least 15.

The “goal scoring” is not a concern. You are just using an injury riddled year to benefit your agenda in this thread.

"Had they not been injured " is always
the classic fall back to a crap season.

 

[Aurinko]

One man shouldn't be able to fix everything, but it wasn't that far off being a decent season, so might as well try.

I really like the goalie depth on paper. If the d-core can figure some sort of chemistry this should at least be very annoying team to play against.

 

[Triumph]

Devils had an above-average offense despite Hughes missing 20 games (and being bad for 15 others), Meier missing 13 games (and being bad for 30 others), Toffoli being traded, and Hamilton missing 60 games. The Devils also extended only 10 games to overtime, surely the lowest amount in the league. They will be a top 10 offense this season.

 

[Bcap88]

"Had they not been injured " is always
the classic fall back to a crap season.

Take any teams top 3 forwards from them and it’s a crap season

 

[beekay414]

Bahl didn't take a step back, he simply proved he wasn't capable of stepping up into those minutes and Siegenthaler got hurt/lost his partner for the majority of the season and everything went to shit. Why can nothing on this forum ever be taken within the context of the actuality of the season as it played out and everything must be so friggin' black and white? Or why must we argue semantics or verbiage? You know exactly what he meant, you're just addicted to arguing/being right/spinning the wheels.

 

[JimEIV]

Take any teams top 3 forwards from them and it’s a crap season

I don't dispute that. But staying healthy is very much a part of a successful team. Injuries were a major problem but we also didn't bridge the gaps of those injuries very well either.

 

[NJDevs26]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1803774805277044839

Fair analysis really, Cory probably doesn't know our farm system enough to know the 'stopgap' was by design with all the younger goalies though.

 

[tailfins]

I think this deal is a high but ultimately reasonable cost to create (hopefully) stability in goal. I wasn't a fan of bringing in Markstrom, but I see the point.

What I like about Fitz is his flexibility. He clearly was counting on Bahl to grow into the big defensive stopper this team needs. But, Fitz recognized that the more urgent and unique need was goaltending. Fitz probably would prefer not to have traded Bahl (similar to how he probably didn't want to get rid of Zetterlund). But, players like Bahl and Zetterlund are more available via trades, waivers, or free agency than someone like Markstrom. Rather than stick to his plan, he adjusted to reality and let go of players he wanted in favor of a player he felt the team needed.

So, yes, I think this deal temporarily filled one hole a goal while creating another hole in the lineup on D. But, I also think Fitz has a clear understanding of this and will look to resolve the problem.

Of course, finding the right solution is easier said than done. And Markstrom is 34 with only two years left on his deal. Fitz signed up for this problem. The clock is ticking.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Some days I feel like I can be an irrational fan.

Then I see someone saying we’re going to miss our shot at re-signing Kahkonen in a few years because he might sign a long term deal with his new team.

This place makes me feel good about myself. And I thanks ya for it.

I'm not really sure what this is supposed to mean, but he's not coming here later when we basically threw him to the side now when we could've signed him.

 

[glenwo2]

Not trying to derail this but I hate how Nemec never seems to be mentioned when talking about the core by publications/media. He obviously is. It’s definitely known around the league and internally but I feel like cherry picking lol.

Welcome to the "Devils player never mentioned as a Core player" club.

Remember my bitching about Jesper Bratt not viewed by Fitz as part of the core way back when?