What team is having a better off-season than the New Jersey Devils?

[TGWL]

And the Zuccarello trade also turned out a disaster for the Rangers, gambled and lost a valuable asset, didn't get much in return.

It didn't turn out to be a disaster. We gambled on it potentially being an absolute steal and it didn't happen. It was far from a disaster.

 

[Roomtemperature]

You do use it if it’s just going to sit there anyway and you’re trying to show your star player that you’re trying to make the team as good as possible.

Exactly. The only way the 1st round analogy works is if you give too much term and you have to lose a good to great player later because of a contract now to a plug. Like if they gave Simmons 5 years at 5 for some reason.

 

[Nico the Draft Riser]

Did you think getting Subban was plus?

Panthers added one of the best goalies in the league. The Devils have....god I don’t even know. Is Cory Schneider still a thing?

Canucks got JT Miller, Myers, Benn, Ferland.

Enjoy your 10million dollar goaltender who cant win a playoff game to save his life

JT Miller, woahhhh - Jack Hughes is better than he is at 18 lmfao

 

[Devilsfan118]

Did you think getting Subban was plus?

Panthers added one of the best goalies in the league. The Devils have....god I don’t even know. Is Cory Schneider still a thing?

Canucks got JT Miller, Myers, Benn, Ferland.

...back to the Panthers board with you.

The Panthers giving Bobrovsky $70 million is as questionable as anything else this offseason imo.

 

[JT Kreider]

Enjoy your 10million dollar goaltender who cant win a playoff game to save his life

JT Miller, woahhhh - Jack Hughes is better than he is at 18 lmfao

Benn lol. We are talking about Trouba, Subban, Adam Fox and tY Smith and he comes in with Jordie Benn.

And the Canucks just arguably clogged up their cap space with mediocre players that wont move the needle one way or the other
when Boeser, Hughes and Pettersson are going to command $30 million+ combined in the next 2 years.

Say what you want about the Rangers having minimal cap space but Panarin and Trouba were two of the best players on the market and are the types of players you blow your cap space on. They don't come around too often where you can add a top 5 scorer for nothing but cap space and a top pairing offensive RHD for a pick you acquired for a pending UFA (that you got for free) and a middling bottom pairing defensemen (that you also got for free), considering the Oilers had to give up a Hart Trophy winger for a considerably worse defenseman.

 

[TGWL]

Fox means nothing in this conversation lol, hes a side piece compared to all these names. Devils are adding Smith who is better anyway

The conversation is about having the better offseason. We don't know how Fox is going to be in the NHL but he was still a top prospect added by NYR during the offseason. You can't say he means nothing and then talk about adding Simmonds. I'm sure 99% of the teams would have preferred to add Fox over Simmonds, regardless which one works our or doesn't. I'm sure Smith is going to be fantastic, but it wasn't an offseason move.

I don't see Shattenkirk as a real negative offseason move. Had he stayed, it would have been 6 million on the cap. He wasn't going to suddenly be used as their main puck-moving D-man. I don't considering too much of a negative on their offseason.

With that said, I'm not sure why their needs to be a pissing contents between 2 teams that had a fantastic offseason. I think overall NYR added more from an offseason standpoint, but NJD have more coming up immediately, along with bringing in the #1 pick.

The Rangers lost Hayes, Zuccarello, Shattenkirk and might lose Kreider. Easily the Devils.

That's not even close to how it works. We traded Hayes and got Trouba. How is that even a negative? We traded Zucc instead of losing him for nothing or keeping him on a contract we can't do. If we Trade Kreider, it's for the same reason. That's like saying NJD may lose Hall so we should hold that against their offseason move. Makes no sense.

 

[Torontonian]

Really like what the Devils did, added solid players without having to subtract anything major from their roster. Not sure what the expectation is of Hughes is though, (6o point szn)?

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I think the Devils had the better offseason compared to the Rangers. The way I see it:
Hughes >= Kakko (slight edge Hughes)
Subban >= Trouba (my own opinion)
Gusev < Panarin (big difference)

 

[HBK27]

If my team has 4 first rounds and they trade one for a 4th liner, is the trade not as bad because we had an abundance of first rounders?

Regardless, a guy like Gusev would have been better off a 1-2 million prove it deal. Devils will need cap space next summer for Hall + Hischier.

Gusev likely doesn't sign a 1-2 million prove it deal and just remains in the KHL. Also, if he does perform up to expectations and prove himself in the NHL, he probably costs more than $4.5MM in 2020-2021 when Hall and Nico are due new contracts (though they also have nearly $15MM coming off the books between Greene, Simmonds and Vantanen heading into that summer).

 

[tarheelhockey]

Hurricanes acquired Patrick Marleau and James Reimer. We're pumped for 2013.

 

[AveryStar4Eva]

I’m going with the Devils for best off season. Rangers killed at as well, but their cap situation is pretty messed up for these next two years. Devils set it up so they are solid for cap coming off this next offseason.

 

[DRW204]

i expect Subban to bounce back, but if last year's version was any inclination of him going forward id be a bit worried especially at 9M cap hit. he was quite good the year prior though. Not sure if it was injuries or whatnot but didn't think he was that strong last year notably defensively.

 

[JT Kreider]

I’m going with the Devils for best off season. Rangers killed at as well, but their cap situation is pretty messed up for these next two years. Devils set it up so they are solid for cap coming off this next offseason.

Not necessarily true. We have over $15 million in expiring contracts, which is plenty of cap space to give Kreider a $2-3 million raise and keep RFA Strome if need be. Plus Girardi's BO is slashed by $2.5 million.

Next summer will be very manageable even with the Shatty dead money

 

[TGWL]

i expect Subban to bounce back, but if last year's version was any inclination of him going forward id be a bit worried especially at 9M cap hit. he was quite good the year prior though. Not sure if it was injuries or whatnot but didn't think he was that strong last year notably defensively.

I expect him to get every opportunity to produce for NJD and is somebody I'll be look at in fantasy hockey. I think Preds had other options but NJD will really rely on him.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Can someone post a projected Devils lineup?

 

[DRW204]

I expect him to get every opportunity to produce for NJD and is somebody I'll be look at in fantasy hockey. I think Preds had other options but NJD will really rely on him.

i don't doubt he'll put up points. defensively i think last year a down year for him though at least from games i saw. he was good the year prior and has a track record of good play so i do expect him to bounce back. i just think his latest season wasn't that strong or worth 9M/year. there could be some underlying causes such as injuries that played into this though.

 

[HBK27]

Did you think getting Subban was plus?

Panthers added one of the best goalies in the league. The Devils have....god I don’t even know. Is Cory Schneider still a thing?

Canucks got JT Miller, Myers, Benn, Ferland.

Schneider was still recovering from injury - similar to the long recoveries that Luongo and Rinne went through and were able to play at a high level afterwards. From January 1st through the end of the season he posted a .921 SV% and 2.46 GAA behind an injury-plagued team (Devils had the 2nd most man games lost to injury last season, most of which occurred in the 2nd half of the season). He also followed that up with a solid performance in the World Cup for Team USA.

So yeah, Schneider is still a thing. So is Blackwood who also played well last season. If they play like they did the 2nd half of the season NJ is more than set in goal.

Bobrovsky is a top goalie, but that contract is scary - especially considering his SV% has dropped an average of .009 pts over the past two seasons. Better hope that's not a trend.

Actually, take a look at Schneider's stats when he was 30 (Bobrovsky's current age) - at that point, he had a career .925 SV% and 2.16 GAA over 270 GP and a lot less miles on his body. And Bobrovsky will be 31 by the start of this season - good luck!

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Gusev at this point is another Nikita Filatov. He has the talent to be a top 6 player but giving him 4.5 per year on a 2 year deal was certainly risky. He has 0 NHL games played.

Filatov is a bit of a stretch.. he's not even reaching PPG in the KHL.

I understand your point of view, but... he's the first ever 80-point KHL player to come over to the NHL. I think his talent is undeniable.

The way i see it, the very best KHL players are worth a shot. The potential payoff is too good. Shipachyov or old Kovalchuk didn't work out, but there's also Radulov, Dadonov, Panarin.. These guys set the market value so unfortunately a 1-2M "show me" deal wasn't really realistic. Devils have the cap space though, so whatever.

 

[Nico the Draft Riser]

Can someone post a projected Devils lineup?

Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Gusev-Hughes-Palmieri
Boqvist-Zacha-Coleman
Wood-Zajac-Simmonds

Vatanen-Subban
Butcher-Severson
Smith-Greene

Schneider/Blackwood

Rough guess but the players listed will be the players on the roster - just a matter of whos where

 

[HBK27]

Can someone post a projected Devils lineup?

If I had to guess now:

Hall - Hischier - Bratt
Gusev - Hughes - Palmieri
Coleman - Zajac - Simmonds
Boqvist - Zacha - Wood
Extra: Hayden, Rooney or Anderson (1)

Greene - Subban
Butcher - Severson
Smith - Vantanen
Extras: Mueller & Carrick

Schneider
Blackwood

Bratt and Palmieri could trade spots, but that's largely expected to the the top 6. Boqvist is either playing in NJ or going back to Sweden, but with the Gusev addition it'll be tougher for him to crack the lineup. Also a chance Zacha gets moved to wing to keep him in top 9 versus centering the 4th line.

Vantanen could also be moved to LD as the Devils are a lot more set at RD versus LD.

Figure Schneider and Blackwood largely split the starts and Hynes rides the hot hand.

 

[Voight]

That’s what Gusev is.

"Good player" in the KHL maybe. He is a project in the NHL.

 

[HBK27]

I’m going with the Devils for best off season. Rangers killed at as well, but their cap situation is pretty messed up for these next two years. Devils set it up so they are solid for cap coming off this next offseason.

I think this gives the Devils a slight edge over the Rangers in having a better offseason, as the Shattenkirk buyout is going to hurt next season. Crazy that the Rangers have $12.9MM in dead cap space now over the next two seasons, not to mention Staal and Lundqvist eating up$14.2MM in cap space each of the next two seasons.

I know people have been critical of Shero not spending prior to this offseason, but he's been very cautious to not sign players to long-term deals that can backfire and really have a negative impact on the cap down the line (though, he just got lucky that Shattenkirk chose to sign with the Rangers).

 

[New Jersey]

"Good player" in the KHL maybe. He is a project in the NHL.

So was Panarin circa 2015.

 

[HBK27]

"Good player" in the KHL maybe. He is a project in the NHL.

"The Best Player" in the KHL, definitely.

He just turned 27 - he's not a project. He largely is what he is at this point, aside from some minor adjustments to the smaller ice surface and higher level of competition. Might take a few games to adjust, but after that he either has it or he doesn't.

There's not reason to think he can't hit the ground running to start the season. Every Devils fan was ecstatic with the trade and more than fine with the contract - it was all part of the deal as he wasn't going to accept a lower offer. Devils have the cap space the next two years to afford it so it was a calculated risk.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Did you think getting Subban was plus?

Panthers added one of the best goalies in the league. The Devils have....god I don’t even know. Is Cory Schneider still a thing?

Canucks got JT Miller, Myers, Benn, Ferland.

And at best handed out the second worst contract of the offseason.

What Van gave up for JT Miller...Myers’ contract...

Florida and Vancouver’s offseasons are not even close to the Devils and Rangers. Literally AINEC.