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Devils aquire Sami Vatanen for Henrique + Blandisi + '18 3rd


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This is great.  I wish it was Zajac instead and I'm sure he was offered up first but Henrique is the better player and younger.  Still love the deal.  He was being wasted down on the third line and producing zilch.  Now we can ditch Prout and stop wondering when Joe Joe Blando is coming up to destroy the league.  That's the big loss folks.  Blandisi may be the next great one.  A gamble worth taking though.  

The Devils just got even better

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7 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

I will say this; I'd trade Henrique-Larsson for Hall-Vatanen 150 times out of 100.

Amen.

7 hours ago, sundstrom said:

If Rico wasn't a handsome social media darling with the most important goal in 10 years, everyone would be thrilled with this move. Henrique just hasn't been that good for years. He does not make any line he's on better and the Devils have too many forwards that can play top 6.

this trade makes terrific sense.

This 1000x. This is a great trade. We traded an expendable forward for a real d-man. Shero pulls of some seriously good trades.

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5 minutes ago, joshfox bread said:

This is great.  I wish it was Zajac instead and I'm sure he was offered up first but Henrique is the better player and younger.  Still love the deal.  He was being wasted down on the third line and producing zilch.  Now we can ditch Prout and stop wondering when Joe Joe Blando is coming up to destroy the league.  That's the big loss folks.  Blandisi may be the next great one.  A gamble worth taking though.  

The Devils just got even better

Nothing about Blandisi suggests greatness.  He's already 23.  He's a pretty good AHLer (20 G and 42 A in 77 GP), for whatever that's worth, but I think he'll fall somewhere between NHL fringer and NHL bad-team filler.

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7 hours ago, Daniel said:

Yah, he's probably good enough to have a real NHL career. 

I also wonder if Quenneville came up in the discussions.  He's quietly performed very well for an age 20-21 player in the AHL.

I think this, as CR1976 said, was the crux of the trade. This trade represented that the Devils are choosing Quenneville over Blandisi. Which should be the choice with Q being younger and showing more promise.

Edited by Neb00rs
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3 minutes ago, Neb00rs said:

I think this, as CR1976 said, was the crux of the trade. This trade represented that the Devils are choosing Quenneville over Blandisi. Which should be the choise with Q being younger and showing more promise.

I'm not a huge believer in Blandisi or Q tbh, but yeah, if I have to choose one or the other, it's Q every time for me, for exactly the reasons you stated.  I like that it was Blender who went and not Q.

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Can any advanced metrics guys with a little time on their hands say what Sami's possession numbers were like the passed couple years? I know this year has been rough for him due to his partner and state of that team. Wondering how he did last year w possession.

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3 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

He could be feeling the same emotions as Henrique...I think that first time being traded from the team that drafted them affects some of these guys, as we saw with Hall.  But most get over it. 

This is what you want from players who get traded to your team. If they leave happily, they probably aren't the most loyal player in the world. There's no reason Vatanen should be in love with NJ yet. A player who likes where he is is a sign of a quality person and leader. Think Scott Stevens leaving the Blues.

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1 minute ago, Neb00rs said:

This is what you want from players who get traded to your team. If they leave happily, they probably aren't the most loyal player in the world. There's no reason Vatanen should be in love with NJ yet. A player who likes where he is is a sign of a quality person and leader. Think Scott Stevens leaving the Blues.

I think players in Henrique's and Vatanen's position are always in a bit of a tough spot, in that they don't see a deal coming (not many of this magnitude are pulled off this early in the season), and weren't really looking to go elsewhere...but they quickly have to balance whatever negative emotions with sudden "Well this is a new opportunity for me, I'm excited, here we go!" bravado.  It's a unique challenge that a lot of fans don't take into account when these deals are done.

Stevens in a lot of ways was basically screwed...though the Blues did drag their feet when it came to putting together compensation for signing Shanahan (their first offer to the Devils was power play specialist Dan Quinn, which was a total joke), they did finally offer up a compensation package (centered around Brind'Amour and Joseph) that really was pretty fair.  The Blues 100% didn't want to lose Stevens and Stevens clearly very much wanted to be there for many many years...both parties had to be completely stunned at that turn of events.  It wasn't like either party wanted to move on...they were ripped apart from each other.   

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6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I think players in Henrique's and Vatanen's position are always in a bit of a tough spot, in that they don't see a deal coming (not many of this magnitude are pulled off this early in the season), and weren't really looking to go elsewhere...but they quickly have to balance whatever negative emotions with sudden "Well this is a new opportunity for me, I'm excited, here we go!" bravado.  It's a unique challenge that a lot of fans don't take into account when these deals are done.

Stevens in a lot of ways was basically screwed...though the Blues did drag their feet when it came to putting together compensation for signing Shanahan (their first offer to the Devils was power play specialist Dan Quinn, which was a total joke), they did finally offer up a compensation package (centered around Brind'Amour and Joseph) that really was pretty fair.  The Blues 100% didn't want to lose Stevens and Stevens clearly very much wanted to be there for many many years...both parties had to be completely stunned at that turn of events.  It wasn't like either party wanted to move on...they were ripped apart from each other.   

For sure, this is a more complex look at it all. The only point I'm making is that I think fans often look to see what newly traded for players say re: their excitement about joining the team. Fans want to see that the player is excited to be part of the squad. And often, players know to say the right things and express excitement about a "new opportunity," but none of this really appeals to me. I like to see that a player isn't necessarily comfortable with being "ripped apart" from a team. It says to me that player can become the type of player who would be uncomfortable being "ripped apart" from the Devils.

Of course, in Vatanen's case, if his play continues to decline, then it won't matter either way.

Edited by Neb00rs
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I think they're feeling so many emotions initially it's hard to get much of a true read on anything they say or do...if anything, they probably keep a lot of what they're really feeling pretty well-hidden, though safe and canned quotes. 

I responded to the Stevens example mostly because it was so different...Henrique's and Vatanen's teams decided they didn't want their players anymore...not much you can do as a player if your employer makes that decision, and you don't have a NTC.  Obviously wasn't the case with the Blues...I bet they were chuckling to themselves and thinking "Sure Lou, you try to take Scott, that'll happen!"

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I think anyone hoping for Rico to come back, he's like the long distance GF, he's going to find someone else. He'll fall for Anaheim, they have better better weather and beaches. He's also probably going to play with a mix of Perry, Getzlaf, and Kesler, so he's gonna put up points, especially once that team gets healthier.

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It sucks losing AH.  I loved to see his personality come out after Lou left - that AMA was amazing - I never expected to see that from a Devils player. 

And the big goals... if only we could have made the playoffs more.  He was so clutch. And he really embraced being a NJ Devil. 

But now we need Defense. I think everyone has been expecting this since the summer. Necessary evil is how I'm thinking of it.

According to this article, Adam had an idea he might be dealt too:  http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/21621492/nhl-new-jersey-devils-wish-adam-henrique-well-not-too-well

Also funny in that article, Ray called Ruutu to ask his opinion about Sami last night! 

Edited by LittleBallofHate
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5 minutes ago, CarpathianForest said:

So what does Vatanen bring that we gave up Henrique and Blandisi?

hopefully someone who can cover the most dangerous man and quickly get a puck out of the D-zone

and who has a heavy shot from the blueline

Edited by EdgeControl
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6 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

Ray usually knows what is up and usually isn't on the short end of a trade, he has earned trust at this point.

when I heard the trade, mixed emotions and I felt bad for Rico in that he was a Devil thru and thru and here mostly for lean years and is getting traded just as they're on the upswing. 

Business wise, I like that Vatanen is under contract for longer and his game will fit our style of play. I think Sami is going to do well here. 

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fair trade imo, I don't think either guy is much more than an average NHL'er.  Rico certainly a fan favorite and rightly so but as others have stated his game has tailed off but he has great sentimental value.  Wishing him the best.  As for Vatanen, having watched a ton of Ducks games over the last 2-3 years he's good, not great.  Blandisi doesn't make a good NHL roster unless it's injury riddled again imo.  Hoping for the best.

 

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10 minutes ago, lucifer91 said:

Op is not me...this is a real FB my friend Anthony put up saying goodbye to Henrique...

28219.png on another note, i heard that Sami has been injury prone,  any truth to this?  

He had a significant injury over the offseason.  But from what I can tell, he doesn’t get injured more than any other player his age.

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