Confirmed with Link: Palms and Zajac traded to Isles for 2021 1st, AJ Greer, Mason Jobst, 2022 conditional 4th

[NJDevils7]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

 

[TrufleShufle]

"get palms off this team! trade this bum for a bag of pucks I never want to see him in a devils uni ever again!"

*gets a first for KP*

"that's it?"

I keep seeing some form of this post, but I'd love to see two posts from the same poster saying both "get him off the team for literally anything" and then also being upset by the return or the fact he's gone.

I don't doubt it's happened, but by the amount of times this exact joke has been posted, I'd imagine it would be pretty easy to find.

 

[Darkauron]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

Ah more people overreacting to this again. Okay then dont watch. Bye

 

[Triumph]

I'm a bit perplexed at the obsession or thinking some fans have of bringing guys like Coleman, Palmieri, Zajac back if we can given what's occurred and where things sit now and in next couple years.

I respect folks who think with their heart, but the truth is i think the hierarchy will think with the head and fits longer term. The return on Coleman was intriguing and made sense, and I hate to say it but in truth even bringing Zajac I would only be interested if it's a swan song at a drastically reduced/low salary for what his role would be, a down line checking center and I'm thinking now after reading some tea leaves on the trade/Fitz's comments, it's unlikely this regime will be bringing him back.

Yeah, I loved Zajac's game, and the Devils could use a guy like him. I don't think next season they can really use the actual Travis Zajac, though. I love that Travis is scoring goals and has a lot of points somehow but to me this was the worst he looked since 17-18 and that year he was coming back from a major injury. I guess we'll see - he looked incredible pre-COVID-19.

 

[devilsblood]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

I'd bet Nico and Hughes find it admirable. They probably think the same.

 

[Nocashstyle]

I don’t think that’s a bad quote by Fitz. It shows he cares for his players on an individual level.

With that said, I will certainly not be actively rooting for the Islanders at least at the start of the playoffs. I want the pick to be as beneficial as possible to the Devils. If the Islanders end up making it to the finals, I’ll root for them then.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

What did you expect the guy to say in a freaking press conference....?

"Yeah I hope those bums get swept so we can get as high of a pick as possible!"

Yikes.

 

[tailfins]

"get palms off this team! trade this bum for a bag of pucks I never want to see him in a devils uni ever again!"

*gets a first for KP*

"that's it?"

I'm not sure anyone is upset with the Palms trade. It was well forecast and the return is reasonable. People may want more, but whatever.

Zajac is the issue. It was not really speculated. And the return is minor. Maybe it’s an upgrade from a 2nd to a 1st, with a downgrade to the conditional 4th from a 3rd. Is that worth it? I think that’s the issue.

From a purely mercenary perspective, of course it’s worth it. Zajac isn’t a difference maker for this team, so get what you can.

But, zajac has more emotional value / was a connection to a time when this franchise won regularly and had one of the most defined identities of any team in the league.

Losing that to another team for a small upgrade in draft position? Meh.

 

[Devils Trap]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

Not this again. This is a classy quote that goes a long way with relationships with other players, GMs, media etc. Nothing wrong with this.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure Nico and Jack want Kyle and Travis to win the cup.

Fine, dont watch. How dare someone run the team with class and integrity.

 

[TrufleShufle]

What did you expect the guy to say in a freaking press conference....?

"Yeah I hope those bums get swept so we can get as high of a pick as possible!"

Yikes.

I've seen pressers where a GM who just traded a player away said neither of these things. It was crazy but it happened.

Before words get put in my mouth, I don't care about this quote really at all, just pointing out the obvious.

 

[HBK27]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

We're talking about a guy that played over 1,000 games with this franchise and been nothing but class through some brutal years, as well as a local player in Palmieri that gave us 5+ great seasons at a really good value compared to what we gave up to get him and paid him on his contract. Both left on great terms. This isn't Hall or Parise we're talking about. The Islanders also have Greene, who played over 900 games for this franchise and served as captain.

JFC the overreaction to this quote is insane. "Loser's mentality?!?!?" GTFO with that.

I'll be happy for these players if they win the Cup. Hopefully our scouting staff makes a great pick regardless of where it winds up. Having the higher pick guarantees absolutely nothing.

 

[MartyOwns]

A 1st round pick is a 1st round pick that is not almost a second round pick. It is a 1st and it provides a range of variable options in how to attack the draft, and the top of the 1st round and how we might want to use the 2nd 1st and even the 2nd we have from the Isles or if we get another one for one of the defensemen. If it was a 2nd, it would be a 2nd, and then you'd say, well it's almost really a 3rd.

Good grief.

jesus christ relax dude. to me, the return was underwhelming for the reasons i stated. i'm not surprised to see people here spin it as a good deal, but it wasn't. now maybe a lot of that was outside of fitz's control, and if so, whatever. but at the end of the day, those were 2 of our most valuable assets, so to walk away with what will most assuredly be a very late 1st, a 4th, and some absolute garbage players sucks.

it's not the end of the world, but it's disappointing IMO.

 

[HBK27]

I don’t think that’s a bad quote by Fitz. It shows he cares for his players on an individual level.

With that said, I will certainly not be actively rooting for the Islanders at least at the start of the playoffs. I want the pick to be as beneficial as possible to the Devils. If the Islanders end up making it to the finals, I’ll root for them then.

Wait, what?!?!? You'll root for them in the SCF???? That would push our pick back from 31 to 32 if they win!

Screw Zajac, Greene and Palmieri - I want that higher pick!!!

/s

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

I'm not sure anyone is upset with the Palms trade. It was well forecast and the return is reasonable. People may want more, but whatever.

Zajac is the issue. It was not really speculated. And the return is minor. Maybe it’s an upgrade from a 2nd to a 1st, with a downgrade to the conditional 4th from a 3rd. Is that worth it? I think that’s the issue.

From a purely mercenary perspective, of course it’s worth it. Zajac isn’t a difference maker for this team, so get what you can.

But, zajac has more emotional value / was a connection to a time when this franchise won regularly and had one of the most defined identities of any team in the league.

Losing that to another team for a small upgrade in draft position? Meh.

Again, someone posted a report that Zajac asked to go to a contender. What is wrong with Fitz doing him a solid and maybe getting a slightly less return to make him happy so he could stay with his family while contending for a cup? If they did that maybe that could be viewed as something positive with respect to the organization?

 

[HBK27]

Again, someone posted a report that Zajac asked to go to a contender. What is wrong with Fitz doing him a solid and maybe getting a slightly less return to make him happy so he could stay with his family while contending for a cup? If they did that maybe that could be viewed as something positive with respect to the organization?

Whether Fitz did Zajac a solid or Travis exercised his NMC and would only waive for the Islanders, his return was clearly going to be impacted by having full control over where he went. I'm happy for Zajac and his family that he gets another shot at the Cup and doesn't have to uproot or be away from his family during the playoff run.

 

[NJDevils7]

Lol, well I guess that was a hot take I posted about Fitz quote huh?

It's one thing to wish them well, but to straight up say "I hope we get the 32nd pick".....I'm sorry, that's just completely unnecessary to say. I completely disagree with that take. I love Palms and Zajac too, but sorry I don't want to see them and Greene winning a Cup with the Islanders of all teams, while we finish in the bottom 5 of the league once again. I especially don't want to root for them if it means we are getting a worst 1st round pick. I don't really see how that is up for debate.

And when I say I have no motivation to watch this team anymore, that's not because I am trying to protest or prove a point. It just genuinely makes me sick to think about the state of our franchise right now - that we have sucked for almost a decade now, and that our GM and fans are openly rooting for a cross town rival to win even at the expense of our OWN team. It's depressing.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

jesus christ relax dude. to me, the return was underwhelming for the reasons i stated. i'm not surprised to see people here spin it as a good deal, but it wasn't. now maybe a lot of that was outside of fitz's control, and if so, whatever. but at the end of the day, those were 2 of our most valuable assets, so to walk away with what will most assuredly be a very late 1st, a 4th, and some absolute garbage players sucks.

it's not the end of the world, but it's disappointing IMO.

Travis Zajac had a no trade clause and isn’t very good anymore with a large salary, he was not one of our most valuable assets. Both teams got good value.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: "I hope the pick we get is the 32nd pick. I hope both of these gentlemen win the Cup."

Is Fitz serious with this quote??? What a loser mentality. Our organization takes top priority. That is non-negotiable. To say that he hopes we get the 32nd pick (instead of the 16th, 17th, whatever is the best possible) is just unacceptable. Its one thing to hear as a fan, but imagine being Hughes, Nico, or any player on this team and hearing your GM say that he cares more about the Islanders winning the Cup than improving the current roster? What a joke.

I honestly have no motivation to watch this team anymore. It makes me sick.

So don’t watch them anymore. Nobody is making you.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

I am 100% convinced Fitz won't draft with this pick and will ultimately use it to move up.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Holy shit clean shaven Palms

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

jesus christ relax dude. to me, the return was underwhelming for the reasons i stated. i'm not surprised to see people here spin it as a good deal, but it wasn't. now maybe a lot of that was outside of fitz's control, and if so, whatever. but at the end of the day, those were 2 of our most valuable assets, so to walk away with what will most assuredly be a very late 1st, a 4th, and some absolute garbage players sucks.

it's not the end of the world, but it's disappointing IMO.

wat

 

[MadDevil]

Lou made Palms shave his beard.

 

[NJDevils7]

So don’t watch them anymore. Nobody is making you.

I know that. Have fun watching the Islanders.

 

[NJDevs26]

Not this again. This is a classy quote that goes a long way with relationships with other players, GMs, media etc. Nothing wrong with this.

To be honest, I'm pretty sure Nico and Jack want Kyle and Travis to win the cup.

When have you ever seen any GM go that far to ‘show class’? It’s not as if the only two options were to say he wants them to win or he hopes they lose, he doesn’t have to comment on the Isles winning at all but hey he’s the GM (for now) if he’d rather prioritize sentimentality over a better pick vaya con dios. Obviously their players and friends on the team will root for them, they don’t care for the pick.

The issue is it’s not particularly media savvy to say that. Fans don’t want to hear the GM prioritize sentimentality when he just did a (justifiably) unsentimental trade and our whole plan is based on futures like the first round pick we traded for. Fans have no trouble rooting against their own team for pick slots, they really don’t want to hear the GM rooting for another team - and a quasi rival at that - against the pick in an exaggerated show of respect.