This is why I say they need to go out and find better. Not gonna find it just waiting for what we have to develop. Guys like Spurgeon, Zuccarello, "we don't have replacements for them" cannot be the excuse for keeping them. Go get the replacements for them. Make it happen.
Trade and Free Agency - 2025-26
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This is why I say they need to go out and find better. Not gonna find it just waiting for what we have to develop. Guys like Spurgeon, Zuccarello, "we don't have replacements for them" cannot be the excuse for keeping them. Go get the replacements for them. Make it happen.
Spurgeon
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Spurgeon had one serious injury. He was relatively healthy the season before that and the seasons following.
If you’ve got a defensive pairing that plays well together, I’d rather just keep them together if it’ll be cheap.
FlyerFire
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Spurgeon
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Forgot about that line. Fontaine was a surprisingly decent player, I’m surprised he never got a chance beyond the 3 seasons here.
Center that can’t win a FO yet.
Spurgeon
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I still think Spurgeon has a spot here as a 3RD if he re-signs cheap. Go out and find a bigger defenseman that can play a shutdown 2RD role with Brodin.
If they really need to open up cap for specifically this season though & they’re unsuccessfully able to dump it in other ways (Middleton, Foligno, Trenin, Gus), then I’d understand moving Spurgeon. I just think they can go about this in a smarter way than blowing up a 2nd pairing that was effective together when healthy. He is the easiest way to open up a lot of cap, but it’d be only for next season. I’d imagine most of that would have to go to his replacement too.
I do like @57special’s idea of bringing in Kesselring. See how he plays here & then you can re-evaluate what to do with Spurgeon. It’s unfortunate that none of our D-man draft picks have panned out whatsoever. For as lauded as Brackett is, he really hasn’t hit on anything special since we brought him in.
And? He’s had a career of missing chunks of a season. Same as Brodin.
Brodin has made an effective pairing either just about everyone ever paired with him. Spurgeon is just another name to add to that list.
A small 3rd pair RD isn’t something the team can afford when they already have Quinn (pending re-sign) on the team.
It’s time to move on and find someone else.
Dr Jan Itor
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ctmagic
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I don’t think there’s a rush to get rid of Spurgeon but we have to see what our young guys can do. I think Jared is on a year to year basis at this point. I don’t see him being moved this year but who knows. The alluring aspect would be to free up his cap space if it meant improving elsewhere.
As far as Kesselring goes, I’m not sure why Buffalo would move him at his lowest value currently. Injury plagued season but he’s shown he can play and he a prime bounce back candidate. I bet they’d want more in return than we’d be happy with.
Spurgeon
Registered User
I was just pointing out that between Spurgeon and Brodin, Brodin is the one that has had significantly more problems with staying healthy recently. I’d say that Spurgeon has done a surprisingly good job of recovering and maintaining his play after a type of injury that could have ended his career. I think a large part of that is he’s not somebody that has relied on his physical attributes and athletic abilities to become the player he is. He’s similar to Zucc in that regard and due to that, I think he’s someone that can continue to play at a high-level even past this year. If he takes a team-friendly deal to stay here, his contract will have positive value on this team.
Spurgeon has made his career by playing effectively with a rotating list of LDs. His positioning, stick checking, and shot blocking abilities are perfectly capable of a 3RD role. They should go and get a RD this offseason, but I’d throw them into Bogo’s spot at first. Re-evaluate mid-season if a trade opportunity comes up and they need cap space to make it happen.
Spurgeon
Registered User
I was thinking this when I was checking the list a few days ago. He produced very well with CBJ at 5v5 (10th best in the league at P/60). I’m worried about what UFAs are going to cost in this new cap environment though. Especially considering how thin this UFA class is.
There’s actually a couple other surprising UFA forwards that were top of the league in 5v5 P/60:
3rd - Arvidsson (3.07)
8th - Mantha (2.83)
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Dr Jan Itor
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Cap pinch. Tuch and Benson are taking all the space they have and maybe even more.
I'm surprised that you'd even come back here and post again after that appalling proposal - thought it would be Fondue and Feathers?
Kesselring, even when he came back from injury, was not trusted to play by Ruff, even as a #7D.
Spurgron had Suter, Scandella, Middleton, and Brodin as the LD he was paired with. Seriously he didn’t have a revolving door at any point.
His style of play is pretty useless in the Playoffs. And really the Playoffs are what matter with the team they have.
Center. I believe theyve committed to him as a center. At this moment he would probably be a bit more valuable as a RW because the faceoffs are so bad but he has every tool he needs to be a pretty good 2C it looks like to me. He was drafted as RW but he's been a center for years now, including his time in the KHL.
His age 22 season just now compares pretty closely to Brock Nelson's age 22 season imo. Brock is a a couple inches taller and a bit heavier (tho Danila clearly has room to add a bit on his frame) but playstyles are pretty damn similar. Fairly high-paced (but not someone creates a ton thru his skating), decent size and competitve on pucks. More defense-first but not without the ability to score or make a play.
According to some Devils' fans, we're practically holding the guy hostage. "He belongs with his brothers....yadda, yadda, yadda."
I didn't even know that we have just one day to get him re-signed. ONE DAY! True story. Apparently, if he isn't re-signed by midnight of July 1st, that means he wants out, and the Wild should do the right thing and trade him to NJ. But if he stays, that also means that he is just taking the big money, but still doesn't like it here and really still wishes he could play with his brothers in NJ.
The reasoning and fixations going around are borderline insanity at this point. Again, the Nuck fans were right.
Sweetnut
Raiding Roman Maroni's top shelf
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Makes sense. The longest day.
You should suggest that they simply trade Jack Hughes to us for Foligno and Hartman, so that we have Jack and Quinn. Then they should trade Foligno to Buffalo for Jack Quinn. Win-win!
Both teams with Jack Quinn!
Anyone know if Hughes & EP got along in Vancouver? Try as I might, I can’t stop circling back to him as an attainable 1C solution. But if Hughes hates him then that won’t work
I believe the stories were Hughes didnt like EP and his work ethic
That’s what I remember too. JT Miller was the loudest voice against EP40 as well.
What I heard was there was a rift in the locker room prior to Miller leaving, and Hughes was on Pettersson's side during all of that, but that afterwards Hughes and Pettersson also came apart because Hughes wasn't all that thrilled with Pettersson at a certain point either.
So yeah, no Pettersson on this roster. All the talent in the world, but doesn't have the makeup to be elite.
So yeah, no Pettersson on this roster. All the talent in the world, but doesn't have the makeup to be elite.
