All purpose general trade speculation thread

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 minutes ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

Finishing 9-9-2 isn't exactly stumble. Devils have the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL -- by a longshot. There's soon an 8-game stretch, where the *worst* team we play has 2 more points than we do. That's fvcking insane. And if we "escape" that 8-game stretch at 2-4-2 (which would be impressive), that means they've gotta win 7 of their other 12 games who are also against good teams. 

The Devils are in a good spot. But they had a stretch of games against bad teams, and they lost. If we had a healthy Schneider, I don't doubt that this team would have an extra 3 or 4 wins. But where we are right now should make absolutely nobody comfortable. 

Assuming the Devils can scrape together a 9-9-2 record or something similar:

Isles would have to go 13-4-2.

Canes would have to go 14-5-1.

Florida would have to go 15-7-1. 

Devils will NOT be able to overcome a total 7-13 kind of limp to the finish, but yeah, they really are in a good spot.  Let's hope Schneider comes in and immediately gets on a roll.

[MadDog2020]

And that brutal trip is flanked by home games against 2 of the best teams in the NHL: Tampa Bay and Winnepeg. 

fvck.

That is unquestionably the toughest stretch we'll face this season.

 

 

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[CommonDreads]

5 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

That six game trip in March is BRUTAL- ANA, SJ, LA, NSH, VGK, PIT. I repeat: BRUTAL.


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I would settle for 4 points on that trip, it's that brutal. 3 legitimate cup contenders and 3 other solid, desperate teams.

[Devilsfan118]

Missing the playoffs after having such a tremendous season would be a devastating blow in our hopes of keeping Hall here long term.

 

[MadDog2020]

Missing the playoffs after having such a tremendous season would be a devastating blow in our hopes of keeping Hall here long term.
 

This is becoming a meme now. CR addressed earlier why this isn't true.


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[Colorado Rockies 1976]

13 minutes ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

94 points gets us in the playoffs almost unquestionably. That's the good thing. And it's not some world-beater type streak needed to get there. But we have an 8 game stretch against the best the NHL has to offer. If you only win 2 games in that stretch, all of a sudden you need a win streak a lot more than you realized.

If the Devils can piece together ONE more 4-ish game win streak this season, we'll get in. I want it sooooooo baddddddd.

Yeah, Devs are still going to have to earn it for sure, and if they didn't have any kind of cushion, I'd definitely be very concerned.  To me, it really starts with Thursday and Friday night.  I'd really like to see them come away with four points. 

[Daniel]

1 minute ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

Taylor Hall is quickly becoming one of my favorite Devils ever. I've listened to all of his interviews. I recently heard his segment from last year on Spittin Chiclets (the best podcast ever if you haven't listened to it). He does not mince his words: his goal - over money - is to win a Stanley Cup. And "if he hits free agency, that will be where his decision comes from". 

If he doesn't make the playoffs, he won't re-sign here. When you're this close, you have to find a way in. 

If for some reason, the team turns into an Ottawa or Edmonton sh!tshow, then all bets all off so far as him extending.  But again, it's the last thing I would be worried about right now.

[MadDog2020]

Taylor Hall is quickly becoming one of my favorite Devils ever. I've listened to all of his interviews. I recently heard his segment from last year on Spittin Chiclets (the best podcast ever if you haven't listened to it). He does not mince his words: his goal - over money - is to win a Stanley Cup. And "if he hits free agency, that will be where his decision comes from". 

If he doesn't make the playoffs, he won't re-sign here. When you're this close, you have to find a way in. 

He's under contract for two more years after this one. This season isn't make or break. Relax man.

 

 

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[Devilsfan118]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

This is becoming a meme now. CR addressed earlier why this isn't true.


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I couldn't find CR's post after a quick search - I'm sure it's well thought out and well written.

But I disagree wholeheartedly with the premise that this season doesn't matter in terms of Hall's future with the Devils.  

If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Devilsfan118

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

Taylor Hall is quickly becoming one of my favorite Devils ever. I've listened to all of his interviews. I recently heard his segment from last year on Spittin Chiclets (the best podcast ever if you haven't listened to it). He does not mince his words: his goal - over money - is to win a Stanley Cup. And "if he hits free agency, that will be where his decision comes from". 

If he doesn't make the playoffs, he won't re-sign here. When you're this close, you have to find a way in. 

C'mon man...if he leaves, it won't be because of anything that did or didn't happen in 2017-18 (and remember that this was NOT supposed to be a playoff-berth kind of season)...and that quote was from last year, after a crappy season for the Devils AND him, when there was still a ton of uncertainty as to where the Devils might be headed.  If Hall leaves, it will be because he's not happy with the state of the 2019-20 Devils and beyond, or because he thinks he has a better opportunity to win elsewhere. 

Also to consider:

Hall has since said Hynes holds him accountable in a way no other coach has, and they are both on the record saying that they work well together.

One thing about Shero that is very obvious:  the guy is very driven and is TRYING, and is extremely proactive in doing whatever he can to upgrade the roster.  He EASILY could have just stood pat at this deadline, or just have made a Sullivan-like deal for the sake of making one.  Forget that he found a way to bring in two forwards in Grabner and Maroon who should be able to help...since the end of last season, he dumped some obvious deadwood in DSP and Cam (some GMs would've given them both another chance), brought in MoJo, Stafford, Hayes, Boyle, Hischier, and Bratt...made a couple of deals for defensemen in Mueller and Vatanen to try to improve the defense...no, not like every last one of those moves worked out (and some of them were clearly supposed to be stopgap-types), but would Hall ever believe that Shero isn't going to do every last thing he can to build a nice window for this team to compete for a Cup?  That Shero won't continue to find ways to make the Devils BETTER in the immediate future?  Not to mention with Hischier, Hall has found a nice chemistry with a kid who's only going to improve in the years to come...and Hischier's already holding his own as a 19-year-old. 

If the scenario is that the Devils don't make the playoffs in the next couple of years, yeah, there's a good chance he might bolt.  If they don't make it in 2017-18 but make it the next couple and are clearly as close to winning a Cup as anyone else, I don't see why he would ever say "But we didn't make it in 2018, so I'm outta here!" 

30 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I couldn't find CR's post after a quick search - I'm sure it's well thought out and well written.

But I disagree wholeheartedly with the premise that this season doesn't matter in terms of Hall's future with the Devils.  

If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.

He's not a free agent until 2020...he has two more seasons here after this one.  Wouldn't reflect on him very well if he decided it was all about 2018 or bust, especially since it's not like this team figures to suck while he's still here.  Other GMs would take note of a guy who isn't really trying his best...Hall checking out would be counterproductive to everyone, especially himself.  But I don't believe Hall will ever pull that...he, Hischier and whoever plays with them in 2018-19 could have a huge year, and I think he knows that even if this team were to somehow come up short this season, he knows that it's most definitely headed in the right direction.  

Edited February 27, 2018 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Chuck the Duck]

23 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.

I'm sure you're being overly dramatic, but thankfully you're not Taylor Hall.  One would hope that any professional athlete worth his salt wouldn't act so childish.  They are (or should be) too competitive and prideful to pull some BS like that.  I wouldn't even expect a 10 year old to act like that.   And Hall isn't a FA until July 1, 2020, so he'd basically have to check out for 2 years.   

[SterioDesign]

36 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I couldn't find CR's post after a quick search - I'm sure it's well thought out and well written.

But I disagree wholeheartedly with the premise that this season doesn't matter in terms of Hall's future with the Devils.  

If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.

Then why was he sad leaving EDM ? just curious. 

[LittleBallofHate]

I posted this elsewhere but maybe it belongs here with the Hall re-signing talk - he seems to appreciate that Ray went out and tried to improve the team - the rest is up to them... 

Amanda Stein‏Verified account @amandacstein 19m19 minutes ago

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#NJDevils Hall on Grabner/Maroon acquisitions: “Just mentally, to have that ‘go-ahead’ from your general manager and really a vote of confidence, is really huge for our group [...] there is a sign saying, ‘let’s do some damage this year’ and let’s try to make a run of it."

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, Chuck the Duck said:

I'm sure you're being overly dramatic, but thankfully you're not Taylor Hall.  One would hope that any professional athlete worth his salt wouldn't act so childish.  They are (or should be) too competitive and prideful to pull some BS like that.  I wouldn't even expect a 10 year old to act like that.   And Hall isn't a FA until July 1, 2020, so he'd basically have to check out for 2 years.   

What's funny is you know what another GM would think if he ever pulled something like that?  "No wonder he's a loser and his teams never make the playoffs." 

Fortunately I don't think Hall has this in him.  I think he'd be even HUNGRIER if this group somehow doesn't make it.  So will many of his teammates.  It will be a big disappointment if they don't make it, for them AND us, but I don't think they're all just going to quit in the seasons to come.  And more changes will be coming...this is obviously still a work in progress.

[mfitz804]

45 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I couldn't find CR's post after a quick search - I'm sure it's well thought out and well written.

But I disagree wholeheartedly with the premise that this season doesn't matter in terms of Hall's future with the Devils.  

If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.

This makes no sense. So he's going to just stop playing until his contract is up? He's not going to want to put up good numbers going into free agency when he's possibly going to get the biggest (and potentially the last) contract of his career?

And if he plays his ass off, and the next two years we do make the playoffs, missing them this year will have been the determining factor?

 

[MadDog2020]

I couldn't find CR's post after a quick search - I'm sure it's well thought out and well written. But I disagree wholeheartedly with the premise that this season doesn't matter in terms of Hall's future with the Devils.   If I'm Hall, and the Devils miss the playoffs after I have an MVP-worthy season, I'm circling 7/1/2019 on my calendar and checking out mentally until then.  

 

 

Hall isn't a UFA until 7/1/2020, for one thing.... And if he does what you're saying, then he's a loser. That's a loser's mentality. It's clear the future here is bright, playoffs or no playoffs this season. I'm pretty sure Hall shares that opinion, and, since I don't believe Hall is a loser, I don't think he cops that type of attitude if we miss. And if he does, I have to think long and hard whether I want to invest in someone with an attitude like that.  

 

 

 

 

[LittleBallofHate]

NBC Sports had us as #3 in their Top Winners of the Trade Deadline with this to say, FWIW: 

3. New Jersey Devils — This was a vintage Ray Shero trade deadline performance, swapping some draft picks and a mid-tier prospect for a couple of rentals. But they are good rentals! By adding Michael Grabner they add another speedy winger to a team that already has Taylor Hall and Miles Wood, and Patrick Maroon is scoring at a 25-goal pace again.

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/02/26/nhl-trade-deadline-winners-and-losers/

[EdgeControl]

On 1/17/2018 at 2:25 PM, EdgeControl said:

Cory for 4 1sts? probably not

OK, how about 3 Firsts?  2?

[NJDevs4978]

On 2/27/2018 at 3:59 PM, LittleBallofHate said:

NBC Sports had us as #3 in their Top Winners of the Trade Deadline with this to say, FWIW: 

3. New Jersey Devils — This was a vintage Ray Shero trade deadline performance, swapping some draft picks and a mid-tier prospect for a couple of rentals. But they are good rentals! By adding Michael Grabner they add another speedy winger to a team that already has Taylor Hall and Miles Wood, and Patrick Maroon is scoring at a 25-goal pace again.

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/02/26/nhl-trade-deadline-winners-and-losers/

lol it would be nice if Grabner got a POINT before the end of the season.  Just one.