Old Devils Thread (Lock 'er up please)

[Canadian Saint]

On 5/7/2019 at 12:59 AM, Forge said:

The Hockey Writers did a list of trade targets for the Devils this summer. I don't know if they had them in any sort of order, but I'm numbering them. 

1. Jason Zucker. Obviously, we have talked about him. Makes all the sense in the world, particularly given the rather fair price I think it would take to acquire him. 

2. Jacob Trouba. I don't see this one happening. Trouba is a stud, and he's going to be costly both in contract and in return. They advocated that the package would start with Severson. You know how I feel about Severson, and Trouba is the better player...the question is, would he be that much better than Severson to give him more money, and then pay out Severson + picks? I don't think that he is. Defensively, he's not the dumpster fire that Severson is, but he also gets 10% higher offensive zone starts than Severson and their xgf and xga are actually weirdly similar last year, and Severson was obviously on the far inferior team. Even though I don't love Severson, I just dont' think that this would be the trade I would want to unload him in. 

3. Kasperi Kapanen. Given the leafs' financial woes, and needing to re-sign Marner, I think there's no doubt that Kap is on his way out. I'll be interested in the return because honestly, I think he has largely underachieved. I guess the thought would be that you're grabbing him on the upward trajectory now. 44 points is okay, but on a lineup stacked like that, playing top 6 minutes...yeah, I don't know. Kind of underwhelming? On one hand, they probably have to move him, on the other, I think his name / pedigree is higher than the actual player he is. I get trading for him at only 22 and hoping that 44 becomes 65, but I'm kind of meh on him? 

4. JT Miller. Tampa should definitely be moving someone because they have to re-sign point and have like no cap space, but Miller doesn't particularly interest me, tbh. He's a find player, nice versatility, but at 5.25m, it just feels kind of steep for what he is, which is probably a floater between top 9 and top 6 forward. 

5. Nikolaj Ehlers. I'd be very interested if Winnipeg moves him. THey have a lot of big name rfas and ufas that are going to cost a chunk, so someone may be on the way out. His contract is 6/m aav, but he's only 23 which is nice and he's under contract for like 5 more years, which is awesome if he's clsoer to the 60+ point guy moving forward. Coming off a bad season, so maybe there's a discount to be had there, and he did have back to back 60 point seasons the two before. 

6. Brett Pesce. I'd be all over this if we could find a way to make it work, but i have no idea how we are good trade partners with Carolina given their needs / surplus and ours. I'd love to add him, I just don't know how a deal works. 

I feel like Zucker still makes the most amount of sense, all things considered, but depending the cost, I'm okay with several of these guys. 

I hope you guys don't mind me commenting. Saw this list and thought it was interesting.

Right off the bat I think #6 is unlikely. Carolina plan to build their D around him, Hamilton and Slavin.

#1 Zucker is most likely to get moved. He was nearly traded to the Flames at the deadline for Frolik + Calgary's 1st. The Wild are either looking for a top line C or ammo to move up so they can draft a top line C. On the Oilers board, many are speculating that on draft day if a C prospect like Dach/Cozens drops, we could trade down to 12 from 8 and get Zucker in return (send other stuff their way obviously).

#2 Trouba is most likely done in Winnipeg. With their cap situation they'll want a cost controllable RHD in return. I really like Trouba but the ask for him is going to be silly, and some team is going to overpay (looking at you Toronto). Still he's a guy who has the potential to be on your top pairing for the next 5 years, so if the price is solid, I'd take him.

#3 He's the guy I hope the Oilers try go for. The Leafs are screwed 5 ways to Sunday. The Finn is young and has the potential to be 20g-50p point player in your top 6. They normally shouldn't shake loose. He's well rounded and room for improvement. $4.2M/yr offersheet is only a 2nd round compensation.

#4 Decent player but I think he's Sabres bound for Risto. Overpaid for my taste, has the tools to be an effective player, but doesn't consistently put it together imo.

#5. He's an interesting case. He sucked in the playoffs and has a big contract, but generally he's skilled and produced in the regular season. I still think they'll keep him but he'd be very worth getting if he can be had. He's got the ability to drive a line, but I don't think he's put it together just yet. He also won't come cheap in terms of assets.

Anyway hope you don't mind me giving my 2 cents.

 

Also noted you guys drafted Ty Smith. Loved him coming out, think you got top 4 guy in him.

[Forge]

1 minute ago, Canadian Saint said:

I hope you guys don't mind me commenting. Saw this list and thought it was interesting.

Right off the bat I think #6 is unlikely. Carolina plan to build their D around him, Hamilton and Slavin.

#1 Zucker is most likely to get moved. He was nearly traded to the Flames at the deadline for Frolik + Calgary's 1st. The Wild are either looking for a top line C or ammo to move up so they can draft a top line C. On the Oilers board, many are speculating that on draft day if a C prospect like Dach/Cozens drops, we could trade down to 12 from 8 and get Zucker in return (send other stuff their way obviously).

#2 Trouba is most likely done in Winnipeg. With their cap situation they'll want a cost controllable RHD in return. I really like Trouba but the ask for him is going to be silly, and some team is going to overpay (looking at you Toronto). Still he's a guy who has the potential to be on your top pairing for the next 5 years, so if the price is solid, I'd take him.

#3 He's the guy I hope the Oilers try go for. The Leafs are screwed 5 ways to Sunday. The Finn is young and has the potential to be 20g-50p point player in your top 6. They normally shouldn't shake loose. He's well rounded and room for improvement. $4.2M/yr offersheet is only a 2nd round compensation.

#4 Decent player but I think he's Sabres bound for Risto. Overpaid for my taste, has the tools to be an effective player, but doesn't consistently put it together imo.

#5. He's an interesting case. He sucked in the playoffs and has a big contract, but generally he's skilled and produced in the regular season. I still think they'll keep him but he'd be very worth getting if he can be had. He's got the ability to drive a line, but I don't think he's put it together just yet. He also won't come cheap in terms of assets.

Anyway hope you don't mind me giving my 2 cents.

 

Also noted you guys drafted Ty Smith. Loved him coming out, think you got top 4 guy in him.

Agree about Pesce. And he's so damn good. Very underrated. Feel like if they move a d-man for offense, is more like CDH that would be on his way out than Pesce. 

Was there confirmation that it was a first round pick in exchange for Zucker? That's a little steeper than I thought it would be. I do know that he was almost moved to the Flames, but all I saw was "draft pick", never saw a confirmation on what that pick was. 

I think that Toronto will trade his rights before the offer sheet really comes into play. At least, that is what I would expect. They need to commit to moving someone off the books, and fairly quickly in my opinion. I really don't know what to make of him yet. He's got the pedigree, always had the talent, and maybe he's just a young player still finding his way, but I'm just haven't been overly impressed with him as a whole yet. 

Ehlers is a very interesting case, and honestly, I think that could depend a lot on what they get in return for Trouba. If they secure a young 2c in return for Trouba? I could absolutely see them moving off Ehlers, likely for a RHD. This is where it becomes really interesting for me as a Devils fan because while I wouldn't move off Severson for Trouba, I think I would make a deal of Ehlers / Severson. It would crush our RHD for the time being - basically looking at Vats and Carrick, but I think that a deal centering around Ehlers / Severson would make a ton of sense for both teams. Stralman can be signed for a 1-2 year deal, and we have the cap space and flexibility for the next year + to go ahead and overpay him on a short deal for the time being. He's not great, but he can certainly eat minutes. Carrick may be an okay 3RHD, though I'd prefer him at the #7D spot, so maybe at that point we can flip someone like Mueller for an underachieving RHD if someone needs a LHD. But it could certainly open up possibilities if the Jets move off Trouba and Ehlers becomes expendable. 

[Forge]

Happy to be getting Hughes, of course, but it really sucks that this kid is going to be playing for the Rags. 

[beekay414]

So, apparently, any team that takes on Lucic's contract can get Jesse Puljujarvi for, as STI called it, "next to nothing." The question then becomes...is Jesse Puljujarvi more of a Beau Bennett (1st round pick never worth a damn) or is he Sean Couturier (late bloomer with huge upside)? Probably not a risk (4 years, $24 Million still left on Lucic's deal) that I'd be willing to take. I'd need Klefbom or Nurse to take Lucic's deal and we know that's not happening.

Edited May 11, 2019 by beekay414

[Canadian Saint]

7 hours ago, beekay414 said:

So, apparently, any team that takes on Lucic's contract can get Jesse Puljujarvi for, as STI called it, "next to nothing." The question then becomes...is Jesse Puljujarvi more of a Beau Bennett (1st round pick never worth a damn) or is he Sean Couturier (late bloomer with huge upside)? Probably not a risk (4 years, $24 Million still left on Lucic's deal) that I'd be willing to take. I'd need Klefbom or Nurse to take Lucic's deal and we know that's not happening.

So as an Oiler fan I can give you some insight into Pulju.

Pulju's potential overall is going to depend on 2 things. 1.) Going to a coach who can develop players and 2.) He fixes his attitude. Pulju is a confidence player, he needs a coach for atleast next year give him PP time and easy opposition. Right now he is the same forward as he was when he first got into the NHL. Useless without the puck and limited with it. He struggles to create space in the NHL. Now all this sounds like a lost cause, but he has the tools to be a really effective NHLer. He reminds me of a Nino in Carolina. It's gonna take him a minute to figure out how to play, but if/when he does, he'll be a useful top 6 W. If your coaching staff and front office can do that, I'd take a flyer on him (especially if you aren't competing next season). Edmonton has been useless at that stuff for a while, so no doubt we're struggling in that regard.

On #2 however, is an issue. I flat out don't think Pulju wants to be in Edmonton, but he's also been very difficult. Despite his struggles, he and his agent think he should be in the NHL rather than the AHL. I believe he bought into the hype from this management and media keep repeating the "the new Karri to the new Gretzky" or McDavid's long term winger. As such, he hasn't really taken any big steps to improve. One summer our front office asked him to stay in Edmonton to work on some skills, and Pulju opted to go back to Finland to play some roller hockey tournament. If he's to realize his potential, he has got to kick the ego.

I'm not sure where the Devils are in terms of rebuild, but if you aren't competing for the 1-2 seasons, and you have the right structure, I'd take Pulju. The payout is going to be good if he can put it together, but the work needs to be done first.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Canadian Saint

[Forge]

8 hours ago, beekay414 said:

So, apparently, any team that takes on Lucic's contract can get Jesse Puljujarvi for, as STI called it, "next to nothing." The question then becomes...is Jesse Puljujarvi more of a Beau Bennett (1st round pick never worth a damn) or is he Sean Couturier (late bloomer with huge upside)? Probably not a risk (4 years, $24 Million still left on Lucic's deal) that I'd be willing to take. I'd need Klefbom or Nurse to take Lucic's deal and we know that's not happening.

Yeah, I think that there are better deals that we can take on to get players back, and certainly shorter ones. Lucic's deal is just so bad, and for us, long term, it's pretty brutal. I'd rather take on someone like Corey Perry's deal with only two years left in a deal to secure Manson than I would that Lucic contract, to be honest. And Perry, like Lucic, isn't really worth much of anything right now. They are both toast. 

[Forge]

37 minutes ago, Canadian Saint said:

I'm not sure where the Devils are in terms of rebuild, but if you aren't competing for the 1-2 seasons, and you have the right structure, I'd take Pulju. The payout is going to be good if he can put it together, but the work needs to be done first.

This is a decision they need to make because Hall's future here depends on it. If they are going to commit to patience, then it makes more sense to unload hall, get back at least one very highly rated, ready to contribute prospect, and move forward with a young roster that will be ready to really hit it hard in years 2 or 3. But I don't think that they want to lose Hall. If that is the case, I expect us to make moves toward more of "lets win some games now" type mode, so I'm expecting to see us pick up quality players that can help now (Zucker is one of the most commonly noted). 

With the contracts that we still have on the books and the extensions that we have to hand out, the money well dries up super quick for us, even though I believe that we have the second most cap space in the league, currently. 

[Forge]

We signed Zetterlund and Maltsev to ELCs. Zetterlund I had high hopes for after drafting, but he got completely derailed last season by injury, so I'm not sure what to expect there. Maltsev doesn't appear to be much of anything to me. He's in his draft +3 year, I think, and he still hasn't been able to consistently stick at the KHL level. That's a pretty bad sign in my opinion. 

[Forge]

Seems to be a lot of chatter that podkolzins stock is plummeting. Will be curious to see if it happens. Button had him outside the top 10

[beekay414]

8 minutes ago, Forge said:

Seems to be a lot of chatter that podkolzins stock is plummeting. Will be curious to see if it happens. Button had him outside the top 10

Lot of people have him falling now. Apparently he's getting exposed during these tournaments. 

[Forge]

Interesting trade proposal up on HF boards - 

Would you trade Miles Wood / Will butcher to VGK for Reilly Smith + Collin Miller. I think I would.

[beekay414]

8 hours ago, Forge said:

Interesting trade proposal up on HF boards - 

Would you trade Miles Wood / Will butcher to VGK for Reilly Smith + Collin Miller. I think I would.

Absolutely, I get the paperwork to the league offices ASAP before VGK changes their minds lol

[Forge]

Reading an athletic article about teams in the metro from what to expect this off season.

It said our free agents to target were Brian Boyle, Carl hagelin, and Colin Wilson....

I swear to God, if that's what happens lol....

[beekay414]

14 minutes ago, Forge said:

Reading an athletic article about teams in the metro from what to expect this off season.

It said our free agents to target were Brian Boyle, Carl hagelin, and Colin Wilson....

I swear to God, if that's what happens lol....

Yes, we totally need more bottom 6 guys. Who wrote it?

[Forge]

2 minutes ago, beekay414 said:

Yes, we totally need more bottom 6 guys. Who wrote it?

Scott Burnside