Devils looking to add offense in the offseason

[vadvlfan]

I'd like to see a fourth line that is bigger/physical. Similar to Isles 4th line.   There are a lot of players out there that'll fill that role

[Zubie#8]

I want to see Kalinin and Schlemko back and I guess Farnham, we need a resident tough guy. If we don't make any upgrades on the offense via UFA or trades then most certainly bring back Patty.

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[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

I am all for Elias coming back on a 1 year deal at the right price. He can still do a job here when healthy. He won't be expecting the earth in terms of money and I think him playing with Zacha would be a huge benefit to zacha's development and transition to pro. 

[DJ Eco]

For Elias: 1 year deal, $1 million with games-played and performance-based bonuses that cap at $3-$3.5 million; and only after a lengthy discussion and maybe physical at the end of August.

I think that's reasonable, and Shero has shown some good judgment. We will see.

[Jerzey]

I think there could be a lot of young offensive talent available this offseason, the price is probably just way to high for most of them (in our case).

Yakupov, RNH, Duchene, Nichushkin, Drouin, Eberle, and Hoffman could all be available for trade. I think Yak is the only one we could reasonably afford unless we package our 1st with Severson but even that probably isn't enough to get someone like Duchene. And beyond that it's not worth trading Severson or the 1st.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Jerzey

[Lateralous]

2 hours ago, DJ Eco said:

For Elias: 1 year deal, $1 million with games-played and performance-based bonuses that cap at $3-$3.5 million; and only after a lengthy discussion and maybe physical at the end of August.

I think that's reasonable, and Shero has shown some good judgment. We will see.

That certainly makes sense from a performance standpoint, but wouldn't that bonus money get bumped to the following year?  Not that we should be up against the cap in 2 years either but I think it might make sense to just pick a hard number you are willing to pay for Elias' limited services and eat it all next year.  

[mfitz804]

I'd pay him $2 million without questioning it. 

[Jerzey]

2 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

If we lose the lottery and pick 10th (11th? Am I confused?), does our 1st round pick alone get us any of the talented players in that list above? 

I mean I think it should definitely get us Yakupov at this point, probably Hoffman, and maybe Eberle or Nichushkin. Just my opinion. Might have to add something like Merrill or a 3rd to get the latter.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Jerzey

[Gunslinger27]

Hmmm, I wonder if Shero makes a move to get Johnny Hockey back to jersey !  

[sokar]

Before everyone says Devils have all this cap space don't forget Merrill, Boucher, Josefson, Palmieri, Smith-Pelly, Warsofsky, Kalinin are all RFA.  Devils are going to sign most if not all of those players.  Also we have no idea what may happen during the draft for all we know Devils might trade there 1st rounder for a $6 million player

[HellOnICE]

None of those players are going to be getting significant raises other than Palms. 

 

 

[mfitz804]

14 minutes ago, HellOnICE said:

None of those players are going to be getting significant raises other than Palms. 

 

 

And, it may go without saying, but he totally deserves it. 

[vadvlfan]

18 hours ago, DJ Eco said:

For Elias: 1 year deal, $1 million with games-played and performance-based bonuses that cap at $3-$3.5 million; and only after a lengthy discussion and maybe physical at the end of August.

I think that's reasonable, and Shero has shown some good judgment. We will see.

This makes most sense for Patty, just like lou & Fla. did with Jagr. If he reaches milestones he gets paid more.

[DJ Eco]

17 hours ago, Lateralous said:

That certainly makes sense from a performance standpoint, but wouldn't that bonus money get bumped to the following year?  Not that we should be up against the cap in 2 years either but I think it might make sense to just pick a hard number you are willing to pay for Elias' limited services and eat it all next year.  

I could be wrong but I think it works like this:

If the bonus amount at the end of the season sends you past your cap (like I think happened with Artemi Panarin and Chicago Blackhawks this year), you are able to slide the bonus value over to the next year's cap. But otherwise, if it fits in that year's cap, it applies to that year's cap.

Could be wrong though, but I think that's how it works.

[Lateralous]

4 hours ago, DJ Eco said:

I could be wrong but I think it works like this:

If the bonus amount at the end of the season sends you past your cap (like I think happened with Artemi Panarin and Chicago Blackhawks this year), you are able to slide the bonus value over to the next year's cap. But otherwise, if it fits in that year's cap, it applies to that year's cap.

Could be wrong though, but I think that's how it works.

Ah, that makes sense.  I was thinking of when Chicago won the cup the first time and Kane and Toews Stanley Cup performance bonuses bumped to the following year causing the team to have to jettison one or two extra guys beyond what they had already intended to move out.  

In that case, I'm all for the performance based contract for Elias that you proposed.     

[ghdi]

No to Elias with caveats. If there's slim pickings when we're filling slots and we're getting him at lower than market price, sure. The guy is coming off of a 16 game season and is now 41. We're heading into a season where some of our young guys up front are going to be expected to play very significant roles and I'm not comfortable guaranteeing Elias a roster spot today. He's not a Gionta or 4th line player and will need to be on one of the top scoring lines to be effective. It's inconceivable to offer him that now pre-draft/pre-UFA window. If a more significant addition or multiple additions are made through whatever avenue available (trade/UFA/etc/whatever) then there's potentially not room for Elias unless he's willing to take a significantly decreased role.

While I liked what I saw from Patty in that last game, espc with Zacha, I'm hesitant committing anything to him at this moment . I respect the hell out of him and if he gets the opportunity to end his career in a Devils sweater, I'm all for that, but under no circumstance does sentimentality trump hard decisions that may have to be made this offseason in respect to roster slots. He's not a 4th line plug and does not fill that role.The draft and the early days of free agency need to play out and if there's room for the Patty of today, then by all means an incentive laden contract is absolutely deserved, but its not something to commit to in April with so many question marks, possibilities, and work to do personnel wise. At this point in his career, he's a "wait and see" on April 15th. 

[mfitz804]

1 hour ago, ghdi said:

The guy is coming off of a 16 game season and is now 41. 

I understand and agree with your points. Just wanted to point out he just turned 40, not 41. We were born the same year. Don't prematurely age me, dude!!

[Triumph]

I could see telling Elias 'if we need you in November, we'll call'.  I just don't see where he fits on this team next season.  You can certainly find a spot for him, but you have to push other people out of the way to do it.  And then if he's not good, who knows how long it takes for the coaches to notice.

[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, Triumph said:

I could see telling Elias 'if we need you in November, we'll call'.  I just don't see where he fits on this team next season.  You can certainly find a spot for him, but you have to push other people out of the way to do it.  And then if he's not good, who knows how long it takes for the coaches to notice.

Agree, depending who re-signs. If they lose a handful of those guys, there may be spaces to fill. 

[ghdi]

20 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

I understand and agree with your points. Just wanted to point out he just turned 40, not 41. We were born the same year. Don't prematurely age me, dude!!

lol fair enough

And agreed with Triumph as well. 

[vadvlfan]

I wonder which UFA's might be up for grabs.?

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 10:11 PM, Triumph said:

I could see telling Elias 'if we need you in November, we'll call'.  I just don't see where he fits on this team next season.  You can certainly find a spot for him, but you have to push other people out of the way to do it.  And then if he's not good, who knows how long it takes for the coaches to notice.

Yes, this.  I would much rather the Devils plan around someone who's more of a sure thing...or at least someone younger with upside.  For me it keeps going back to the same thing...if Elias is here, you have to plan for him being the lineup for at least 75% of the team's games (why bother bringing him back otherwise), which seems pretty dicey at this point...and you might be passing up on better or more secure options, so everyone can feel good about a diminished Elias still being a Devil.  I just don't think you take this chance because the guy was once a terrific player for much of his career, when he's probably not that now...I'd say if anything, his upside is probably his 2014-2015 season, at the very best.  And yeah, he could get a lot of games to show that he might be finished, to the detriment of the team. 

I think some people want him back because they don't want to see him ever play for another team...but the thing with that is Elias could play here a full season, miss a bunch of games, not be very good, and STILL decide next year that he still wants to play, and might sign with someone else anyway (even if it's well into the 2017-18 season, and for only a handful of games). 

[NJDfan1711]

On 4/16/2016 at 10:11 PM, Triumph said:

I could see telling Elias 'if we need you in November, we'll call'.  I just don't see where he fits on this team next season.  You can certainly find a spot for him, but you have to push other people out of the way to do it.  And then if he's not good, who knows how long it takes for the coaches to notice.

I don't understand the statement "you have to push other people out of the way to do it".  How is that remotely the case?  This team is still nowhere near having a stacked roster of 12 quality forwards, to the point where Elias is occupying a spot that someone else deserves or has earned.  Money and age are probably the two biggest issues he and the team are facing right now, but assuming he has recovered from his injury and he's able to be moderately productive next year, which I think he will, I think the problem for me, and maybe some others, is finding the right spot for him.  Because there definitely is one, it just may not be what he's willing to accept, or what we're willing to give.  Does this team have offensive talent?  Yeah, Henrique and Palmeri had great years, whether or not they duplicate them next year is both a stretch and remains to be seen, but even if they have decent years in 2017, there's still no question that they deserve top 1-2 line minutes more than Elias does.  The other guys that you probably slot above him to round out the top 6 include Camalleri (if he's healthy of course), maybe Zacha to get him playing with top quality linemates, Zajac, and either Kalinin or perhaps someone that we (hopefully) pick up in free agency. 

So now you're faced with putting Elias in the bottom 6 and giving him significantly reduced minutes as a 3rd or 4th liner.  This is hard for most guys to accept, and although Elias is an awesome dude and pretty modest and humble, a lot of guys tend to call it quits around this point in life (age, length of career), because they don't want to hang on too long and play a reduced role -- they'd prefer to remember their careers for the good times when they were logging a ton of minutes and playing a huge role on the team. 

But to say he's pushing out someone else in order to squeeze him in is just not true by any stretch of the imagination.  He would fit anywhere in the bottom 6 at the moment, and hell, there's still reasonable logic and arguments to say he could/should still be in the top 6.  I'm not saying I'm for that per se, but if Henrique and Palmeri don't have good years next year, and/or if Camalleri doesn't come back healthy (which isn't that far fetched unfortunately), then you're starting to see a really depleted roster that lacks any sort of offensive talent, even compared to what we've had for the last two years, which is sad.  Real sad.

Bottom line is, even with some cap room and potential free agent signings, and of course adding some players in the draft, this team just isn't going to be deep to the point where Elias doesn't fit in.   At 40, with a questionable knee, he's still better than half of our roster.  That's the cold hard truth.

Edited April 18, 2016 by NJDfan1711

[vadvlfan]

What a really crappy crop of UFA's this year. (less Okposo) Shero has to pull off another Palmieri type trade at the draft.

[Lateralous]

9 hours ago, vadvlfan said:

What a really crappy crop of UFA's this year. (less Okposo) Shero has to pull off another Palmieri type trade at the draft.

I don't think we'll see the highway robbery of the Palmieri trade again this summer but there are a lot of teams that are going to have a major salary crunch so I think Shero will be able to take advantage of one or two teams with cap squeezes.