I know what you are talking about. Just pay what needs to be paid for a legit 2C if that's what we need, as an example. No more Dachs or Newhooks or Barrons. Cozens fits that more. Is Nemec a failed high pick though ?
No he isn't. The reason why Nemec hasn't been in the Devils' lineup is because they have tremendous depth at the position in the NHL right now.
The Devils have Dougie Hamilton firmly entrenched as their PPQB and top right defenseman. They also signed Brett Pesce this Summer to be a strong defensive presence for them, so he's also going nowhere.
Last season, Nemec was the Devils' best defenseman for stretches of their season, and helped carry the load for them deep into their playoff run.
Given such a strong performance last year, Nemec had a spot pretty locked-up as #2-3 RD alongside Pesce at camp. But then he struggled at the beginning of the season in NJ coming off an injury that he sustained in September but played through.
After a rough start for Nemec, Kovacevic came in and played very well for them, kind of "running away with the ball" if you will playing alongside Siegenthaler on that second defensive pairing.
As the season kept running along, with no defenseman on the right side getting injured for the Devils, and Nemec both needing ice time to develop properly and being waivers-exempt, it became obviously apparent to the management team that it was just the smarter move to send Nemec down to the AHL.
And at first Nemec struggled in the AHL for a very weak Utica Comets roster. He likely wasn't fully-healed, and it showed on the ice.
But in the last couple of weeks Nemec has been, even more than Seamus Casey (who's also excelled BTW), Utica's best player.
So yeah, Simon Nemec remains a very good prospect for NJ and isn't at all a reclamation project at this point.
Simply put, the only reason Nemec might be available in trade for the Devils is because he plays a position in which New Jersey has insane depth in, and that they might trade from a position of strength, like we did with Romanov, to try and shore-off potential weaknesses in their lineup (3c, scoring-line wing).