Speculation: If necessary, should Fitzgerald trade up to assure we get one of Power Hughes or Clarke?

[Raian]

Its a question ive been asking myself for a few months now. There are some great forward prospects in this draft but I, personally, would be disappointed if we left a top-7 pick to yet another forward

At some point you have to bite the bullet to get what you want; and thatd mean either assuring we draft one of these three or trading for an established/upcoming top-2 potential defenseman (which would cost so much more!). Because I think a lot of us can agree Ty Smith is our only top-2 potential defenseman in the system (Severson is like a #3 IMO and Mukhamadullin is a long way off as a project)

So would you all be okay with that? What would it cost? Or should we just take a forward and let the dominos fall where they may?

 

[Raian]

Also ive seen the poll section of the website and was curious about how to set that up. Just thought about it, probably a good idea to tally opinions

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

As I mentioned on Twitter, I would prefer move the pick in a package for Tkachuk. Players like that don't come around that often and NJ has the ammo to pull off a trade.

 

[Devils731]

The Devils may also be high on Edvinsson so there could be 4 defenseman they may be comfortable with.

If the Devils are drafting 6th then they’d probably be best staying put, even if it means they lose out on a defenseman unless the cost is very minor.

 

[Les LatterDaySkates]

As I mentioned on Twitter, I would prefer move the pick in a package for Tkachuk. Players like that don't come around that often and NJ has the ammo to pull off a trade.

What could you see being offered for Tkachuk? (Assuming Matthew)

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

What could you see being offered for Tkachuk? (Assuming Matthew)

It all depends where our pick lands but I could see 1st overall+ Foote as a starter

 

[Call Me Al]

i dont think so but if they did i wouldnt hate it

 

[TheDuke93]

I think the worst case scenario at this point is we draft 6th. Missing out on Clarke, Hughes, Power, Beniers or Eklund would be pretty shitty. That being said I would be very shocked if we don't get at least one of these guys. With so many scouts McKenzie talked to having Edvinsson, Guenther and Raty all super high someone will "reach" for a centerman, goal scoring winger or high upside defensemen. My personal BPA list as of today which will probably change again after U18s is.

1. Clarke
2. Beniers
3. Eklund
4. Hughes
5. Power

I think any 5 from among Edvinsson, Raty, Guenther, Svechkov, Johnson, Lucius, McTavish and Lysell will round out the top 10. So there is a real chance even if we get unlucky we have a pretty good chance of getting a player we like. I would much rather take Beniers or Eklund at 5th or 6th and come back and draft 3 straight defensemen with our next 3 picks then trade up to get anyone but Clarke and even then it would have to be a small price to get my preferred prospect.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I don't think they will need to

the Devils are going to finish bottom 3 which means they likely won't pick lower than 6th overall (with Seattle factored in). I find it hard to believe that all 3 DMen are off the board even if NJ picks 6th, but who knows.

 

[Les LatterDaySkates]

It all depends where our pick lands but I could see 1st overall+ Foote as a starter

uh, yeah, that’ll do.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Absolutely opposed to moving up in this draft.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

I think the worst case scenario at this point is we draft 6th. Missing out on Clarke, Hughes, Power, Beniers or Eklund would be pretty shitty. That being said I would be very shocked if we don't get at least one of these guys. With so many scouts McKenzie talked to having Edvinsson, Guenther and Raty all super high someone will "reach" for a centerman, goal scoring winger or high upside defensemen. My personal BPA list as of today which will probably change again after U18s is.

1. Clarke
2. Beniers
3. Eklund
4. Hughes
5. Power

I think any 5 from among Edvinsson, Raty, Guenther, Svechkov, Johnson, Lucius, McTavish and Lysell will round out the top 10. So there is a real chance even if we get unlucky we have a pretty good chance of getting a player we like. I would much rather take Beniers or Eklund at 5th or 6th and come back and draft 3 straight defensemen with our next 3 picks then trade up to get anyone but Clarke and even then it would have to be a small price to get my preferred prospect.

I would agree but I wouldn’t be too upset with Guenther or even Johnson if we ended up picking 6th.

 

[britdevil]

Either draft BPA or move the pick for a star player.

Hell no to trading up.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I'm gonna assume to cost to move up would be NYI 1st and I say no that. If it's like a 3rd to move up one spot to ensure the last of those three I might be convinced but by and large prefer letting the draft come to NJ.

 

[JrFischer54]

Either draft BPA or move the pick for a star player.

Hell no to trading up.

I also said the first pick should be open to trade for established nhl top line talent

 

[Nico Hischier]

I don't think they will need to

the Devils are going to finish bottom 3 which means they likely won't pick lower than 6th overall (with Seattle factored in). I find it hard to believe that all 3 DMen are off the board even if NJ picks 6th, but who knows.

I think there is a strong chance that happens

I see the first 3 picks being
1 power
2 beniers
3 hughes

so the next 2 picks would have to be guenther/eklund/edvinsson for Clarke to drop to 6

it’s almost a guarantee that Anaheim will not draft Clarke if they pick before us since they just drafted rh drysdale. I could see them taking edvinsson or one of the forwards. Buffalo could go power or beniers or even the Swedish goalie and Seattle is projected for Hughes.

 

[My3Sons]

I'm skeptical NJ is likely to get the quality of NHL player they would need to justify moving a pick in the top five. I don't want a player with only two or three years of term left. I'm skeptical NJ wins a hockey trade for a top five pick. Just my thoughts.

 

[TheDuke93]

I think there is a strong chance that happens

I see the first 3 picks being
1 power
2 beniers
3 hughes

so the next 2 picks would have to be guenther/eklund/edvinsson for Clarke to drop to 6

it’s almost a guarantee that Anaheim will not draft Clarke if they pick before us since they just drafted rh drysdale. I could see them taking edvinsson or one of the forwards. Buffalo could go power or beniers or even the Swedish goalie and Seattle is projected for Hughes.

I could just as easily see Power, Edvinsson, Beniers. We have no clue what teams and their scouts think. I am 100% certain Power will be a top 3 pick and after that who knows. Anaheim as you said probably wouldn't draft Clarke ahead of us but that's still no guarantee. Francis was GM of Carolina from 14-18 and selected 3 defensemen and 2 forwards with his top pick being Svechnikov. It's fair to say based on who he took and were he always went BPA according to their board so I can't really see them "reaching." Buffalo is the only real wild card to me and that is after they went and took Jack Quinn

 

[Nico Hischier]

I could just as easily see Power, Edvinsson, Beniers. We have no clue what teams and their scouts think. I am 100% certain Power will be a top 3 pick and after that who knows. Anaheim as you said probably wouldn't draft Clarke ahead of us but that's still no guarantee. Francis was GM of Carolina from 14-18 and selected 3 defensemen and 2 forwards with his top pick being Svechnikov. It's fair to say based on who he took and were he always went BPA according to their board so I can't really see them "reaching." Buffalo is the only real wild card to me and that is after they went and took Jack Quinn

You’re right. My gut tells me that there is a stronger chance of Clarke dropping and not Hughes

 

[Raian]

You’re right. My gut tells me that there is a stronger chance of Clarke dropping and not Hughes

I think people would be surprised if Luke went 1st and I think its because his skating is being underrated (if even possible) as compared to recent defensive prospects

Who would be considered a better skater in their draft year than Luke in recent drafts? Can we name a single player besides maybe Dahlin?

 

[Unknown Caller]

It all depends where our pick lands but I could see 1st overall+ Foote as a starter

Uhhh on no planet am I trading the 1st overall pick and Nolan Foote for Tkachuk.

 

[Nico Hischier]

I think people would be surprised if Luke went 1st and I think its because his skating is being underrated (if even possible) as compared to recent defensive prospects

Who would be considered a better skater in their draft year than Luke in recent drafts? Can we name a single player besides maybe Dahlin?

I wouldn’t say dahlin he’s good but I think makar is a phenomenal skater

 

[BurntToast]

No.

This draft is too hard to track. Why trade an asset for an unknown? The Devils have too many holes to be trading up. Trading down or moving assets for a young player, maybe. First, I’d fire the pro scout, Johnsson/Siegenthaler yeesh...

 

[Raian]

No.

This draft is too hard to track. Why trade an asset for an unknown? The Devils have too many holes to be trading up. Trading down or moving assets for a young player, maybe. First, I’d fire the pro scout, Johnsson/Siegenthaler yeesh...

I think trading down is the only option id have problems with

 

[hidek91]

I also said the first pick should be open to trade for established nhl top line talent

we've been there with Schneider trade, Arizona did that with Raanta + Stepan in 2017.

it would go against team philosophy as it'd provide present value at the cost of future value (when our team is super young).

with that being said, the prospects are so close that I wouldn't trade up but I actually wouldn't mind Beniers or Guenther.