I really like Jespar Bratt and I appreciate him for what he's done and how he's come from being a 6th rounder. The story is great. But, I want Fitz to move him for a bigger stronger winger. The D are going to be fast and get the puck down low. We need bangers to take it from there and get the puck to the net for chippy dirty goals. That's not Bratt's game. He doesn't fit a need any more. The Devils have 3 other guys that can do what he does. Maybe they haven't done it at his level but they don't need them to. They are an evolving team. They need Timo but he's going to be expensive and Claude is going to do what he does. He learned a lot about negotiating in his playing days. The Devils HAVE to pay for Timo.
I think that's ok. He's a reliable 3-zone player. If he ups his physicality he's exactly what you need. Put him on a line with Boqvist and Lazar and that's a damn good bottom 6 line. Boqvist needs to amp up the physical play as well. Maybe playing with a guy like Lazar who transformed his game into that style helps those two do the same.
I will be very surprised if Florida loses to Carolina. I've got Florida vs. Vegas at this point. Vegas still has some work to do with Edmonton but I feel like they've nipping at for bit now.
If that's the case Nemec wasn't unavailable for the Devils in the playoffs. But, he was listed as a healthy scratch last night on ESPN's box score. You may be right, I was under the impression he was playing in the AHL under special circumstances of being a European under his ELC.
What's interesting about Sharangovich is he was 3/4 liner in Binghamton and responsible checking forward. He found a scoring touch at the end of his tenure there and really found in the KHL. He's a great 3/4 line guy. It's what he was bread to be in the system. All of the sudden he starts scoring and he immediately gets billed as that guy. He's not that guy.