Confirmed with Link: Weekesbomb: Palat to NJ for five-year deal

[Captain3rdLine]

Well you can gladly point it out and make me look bad the day he hits 50 for us. I would gladly look bad if it means success for the Devils

You make it sound like im rooting against him. I cant make the signing go away nor have I hated on it, Ive stated Im not a fan of it but it has its perks and escape routes.

Palat will make me horny in the corners and crease. Doesnt change the fact that Ill feel wrong about it after, kind of like fetish porn...... lmfao

Just not a fan of when people sit here and try to downplay the player by calling him a 40-45 point guy which IMO he clearly isn’t or people call him a middle-6 forward.

I don’t think anyone loves the contract. Some dislike it more than others but I don’t think it’s necessary to downplay the player to make it seem worse which some people seem to like doing.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Oh man, have not read this whole thread, but is there really hysteria? I thought Palat was one of this board's consensus plan B's if JG didn't work out. Also pretty sure MacKenzie reported way earlier yesterday that Fitz was in on Palat along with Seattle. This likely wasn't a panic signing.

Friedman's 32 thoughts.

 

[OmNomNom]

Oh man, have not read this whole thread, but is there really hysteria? I thought Palat was one of this board's consensus plan B's if JG didn't work out. Also pretty sure MacKenzie reported way earlier yesterday that Fitz was in on Palat along with Seattle. This likely wasn't a panic signing.

people hate the term and AAV in combination, not the guy

i personally think it's splitting hairs, but it's a type of contract fitz is gonna potentially be dinged on, if it doesn't pan out for a majority of the term. he can't/shouldn't continue making deals like this

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I think Fitz looked at an inexperienced core being asked to do a lot in every zone with very little help and paid the market premium for the right kind of guy at the wrong time.

I don't think this f***s up a powerhouse down the line. But you can't do it again.

Agreed 100%, your margin of error is closing with a contract like this.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Yes, and f***ing Sonny Milano isn’t a better idea, these aren’t automatons, they’re people.

Palet is very smart, unbelievably savy, two-way player with a ton of experience who works very hard. He’s exactly the kind of vet you want on a team. And he has no problem contributing on lines with elite players, he’s better than Tatar (going by what we saw this summer).

Just because a contract isn’t great value with nice upside doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing in the world that everyone must immediately despise. I’m going to wait to see Palet on the team first.

He signed, the deed is done. Arguing about how he’ll age is pointless, we’ll all find out together.

If and when this contract is a problem, then Fitz (or the then current GM) will have to deal with it.

This^^^^^^^^^^
This is a must read

 

[RJK]

Feels like fitz overpaid to avoid striking out on another top FA. Love the player, hate that contract

 

[billingtons ghost]

Richer than I'd hoped, but literally exactly the player we needed. He is 31 not 41. He will be fine.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

6m x 5yrs is something you gotta pay for a double champ and three-time finalist and a proven excellent playoff player (and a playoff clutch). This is by far not the worst signing ever.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Yes, and f***ing Sonny Milano isn’t a better idea, these aren’t automatons, they’re people.

Palet is very smart, unbelievably savy, two-way player with a ton of experience who works very hard. He’s exactly the kind of vet you want on a team. And he has no problem contributing on lines with elite players, he’s better than Tatar (going by what we saw this summer).

Just because a contract isn’t great value with nice upside doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing in the world that everyone must immediately despise. I’m going to wait to see Palet on the team first.

He signed, the deed is done. Arguing about how he’ll age is pointless, we’ll all find out together.

If and when this contract is a problem, then Fitz (or the then current GM) will have to deal with it.

This ^. Amen.

People comparing Palat to tatar are high.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I'll also add that there's two recent examples of smart, highly competitive over 30 wingers in Oshie (2017) and Zuccarello (2019) who's contracts were panned when they were initially signed and both guys have aged better than expected and ended up being two of the better free agent signings of their respective classes. This obviously doesn't mean that Palat will definitely go down the same route but there is some precedent there and a player who relies on his brains and competitiveness is a better bet to age well than a player who relies on his physical gifts.

 

[Oneiro]

Oh man, have not read this whole thread, but is there really hysteria? I thought Palat was one of this board's consensus plan B's if JG didn't work out. Also pretty sure MacKenzie reported way earlier yesterday that Fitz was in on Palat along with Seattle. This likely wasn't a panic signing.

Some posters are very down on it, a lot of them fans who I see eye to eye with on a lot of things. And I get the caution.

I don't think you can be a slave to the probabilities at all times - sometimes you have to take the temperature of the team and stop the bleeding while staying as closely aligned with your principles re: how the team and cap structure is built. If you're going to transgress, might as well be for the guy with pedigree who addresses weaknesses.

Again, I'm not big on the deal but I will admit that a young Palat or current Nichushkin is exactly the kind of player I want for this team, haha.

 

[Neutrinos]

Even if you want to play this dumb game you’re trying to play calling him a 40-45 point guy is clearly just inaccurate.


Ummm it really shouldn’t be. They will still have cap space and they were always gonna bring someone in so even if it was someone closer to 4M that’s a 2M dollar difference.

It won’t end our ability to do that next off-season.

Not sure I necessarily agree with this, this team is gonna have a ton of ELC's that insulate them for the next couple of years. I also want to see what the RFA's get to get a better picture of this team's cap room, they probably have the lowest roster size right now for 23-24.

I said 'might' because of the uncertainty surrounding their RFAs

What is Bratt's extension going to look like? What if Ty Smith has a breakout season worthy of 6 or 7 million a year extension? What will Wood's next contract look like if he scores 30 this year? What if Blackwood returns to his pre-pandemic play? What if Mercer puts up 70 points this season, and will be looking for a Brady Tkachuk-like extension when he hits FA?

 

[Brick City]

I guess the contract doesn't bother me as much. We (hockey fans generally) go through this every year. It's free agent frenzy, nearly everyone overpays. I like the adage of add 1 year and $1m to what you think is fair is what the player will actually get.

We have loads of cap space and no bad long term contracts. IF he doesn't work out in years 4-5, an adept GM should be able to move the cap hit. Although I don't necessarily agree it's a given that he'll age poorly. I think Fitz took a reasonable risk here.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I said 'might' because of the uncertainty surrounding their RFAs

What is Bratt's extension going to look like? What if Ty Smith has a breakout season worthy of 6 or 7 million a year extension? What will Wood's next contract look like if he scores 30 this year? What if Blackwood returns to his pre-pandemic play? What if Mercer puts up 70 points this season, and will be looking for a Brady Tkachuk-like extension when he hits FA?

Well Jesus Christ man if Ty Smith turns into a top pairing defensmen all of the sudden that’s a really good problem to have. I’m not gonna worry about missing out on some big free agent because 1 or 2 of our young players turn into stars.

 

[BurntToast]

Everyone wants Nino because he scored 20 and his is big, but he struggles to make 40 pts and turns 30 in September. You love Perron because he scores goals but he is still mostly a 50pt player, who is 34.

The guy is a .75pt player in the playoffs, it wouldn’t shock me if he still has value even if there is a decline..

 

[Better Call Sal]

Very happy to bring Palat in. Cap hit is what was estimated he would likely receive, term might be a bit longer than expected but he’s the exact type of player we need.

Stoked to have him aboard! Bring in Niederreiter and complete the fun!

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I said 'might' because of the uncertainty surrounding their RFAs

What is Bratt's extension going to look like? What if Ty Smith has a breakout season worthy of 6 or 7 million a year extension? What will Wood's next contract look like if he scores 30 this year? What if Blackwood returns to his pre-pandemic play? What if Mercer puts up 70 points this season, and will be looking for a Brady Tkachuk-like extension when he hits FA?

If this happens, the Devils would be disgusting as a team that I wouldn't care about potential UFA's lol

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

You're going to forget the cap hit when you watch him play regularly. Maybe the contract gets a little ugly in the last year or two.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

I said 'might' because of the uncertainty surrounding their RFAs

What is Bratt's extension going to look like? What if Ty Smith has a breakout season worthy of 6 or 7 million a year extension? What will Wood's next contract look like if he scores 30 this year? What if Blackwood returns to his pre-pandemic play? What if Mercer puts up 70 points this season, and will be looking for a Brady Tkachuk-like extension when he hits FA?

Those would be lovely "problems" to have.

Loving it that this pipe dream list NO LONGER HAS ZACHA ON IT

 

[Killing Joke]

6m x 5yrs is something you gotta pay for a double champ and three-time finalist and a proven excellent playoff player (and a playoff clutch). This is by far not the worst signing ever.

he's a 4 time finalist. he got to the finals against the hawks the last time the hawks won the cup.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

he's a 4 time finalist. he got to the finals against the hawks the last time the hawks won the cup.

Thanks, was thinking if he was already in that team but was too lazy to check.

 

[Canucks LB]

I’m just curious, canucks fan here.
Don’t you guys have like 21 million in capspace, can’t you in theory still get JT Miller?

 

[ninetyeight]

He's a good player, who played with two of the best players in the league. I'm not sure we can offer him similar skilled linemates even if he plays with Hughes (which he probably won't).

It's expensive and he's older, but if he's a Zacha replacement to play with Nico (and possibly Bratt), he should be much better at least for the first couple of years.

We don't have bad contracts right now, so it's not that big of a deal, but these type of signings make it harder to sign Tkachuk and other future UFAs.

The fact that Columbus got Gaudreau with just 3m more feels pretty unfair right now. But Johnny obviously didn't want to play here, so f him.

So no more offseason champs for us. We got super older, but I don't think we got that much better. Maybe the team surprises everyone now that everyone's expectations are low.

 

[Bcap88]

I’m just curious, canucks fan here.
Don’t you guys have like 21 million in capspace, can’t you in theory still get JT Miller?

We don’t want him for the price it’s gonna cost asset wise and contract wise

 

[LightningStrikes]

You’re going to love this guy. It’s no secret that he was always part of our best lines in the past 8 years. And he’s still underrated for it. Great along the boards and on both sides of the ice. He does the small things so well you hardly realize it. Everyone around him plays so much better when he’s on the ice.

He will go on offensive droughts during the regular season though. I’m talking 20+ game stretches without a goal or just a handful of points. He’s also banged up a lot as you might have noticed from looking at his stats sheet: He’s never played a full 82 game season in his career.

Once you make the playoffs he’s a beast though. Clutch goals and almost ppg is the regular for him. Absolute warrior who will leave everything on the ice when it counts most.

Take good care of him. And never forget about Drej.