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2019 Offseason Thread


Daniel

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Lottery is done and we can breathe a sigh of relief.  Let the projecting roster for the 2019-20 season begin here.  My opening gambit is as follows:  Draft Jack Hughes.  Sign Taylor Hall to extension.  Trade 2020 first round pick top three protected, Vatanen and McLeod for PK Subban.   Trade Will Butcher, Miles Wood and our 2019 second round pick for Jacob Trouba.  Sign Jordan Eberle.

Hall Nico Eberle
Bratt Hughes Palmieri
Boqvist Zacha Coleman
Agostino Zajac Bastian/Anderson

Greene Subban
Smith Trouba
Davies Severson
Mueller/Santini

Blackwood
Schneider

This can happen.

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i guess on the front we should target Skinner and Panarin but Panarin is likely going to Florida.

On the back end there's really only Karlson and Myers that are good and young enough to be worth pursuing or an upgrade IMO... not sure we'd like the price tag on Karlson though but obviously it would make our D so much better instantly and Greene would be getting less minutes which would be ideal. Mayyyyyyybe Stralman if he'd go for a 3 years deal? 

Other than that... up front seriously i'd rather give a chance to our young guys to win a spot than signing someone like... Nelson, just for the sake of signing someone... and our bottom 6 is basically fine.

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2 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

i guess on the front we should target Skinner and Panarin but Panarin is likely going to Florida.

On the back end there's really only Karlson and Myers that are good and young enough to be worth pursuing or an upgrade IMO... not sure we'd like the price tag on Karlson though but obviously it would make our D so much better instantly and Greene would be getting less minutes which would be ideal. Mayyyyyyybe Stralman if he'd go for a 3 years deal? 

Other than that... up front seriously i'd rather give a chance to our young guys to win a spot than signing someone like... Nelson, just for the sake of signing someone... and our bottom 6 is basically fine.

I mean if Karlsson has interest in signing here, that’s better than what I came up with.

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So let me get this straight. 

We get the #1 pick in the draft, which will yield us a borderline generational talent.

We will have 9 more picks after that.

Ty Smith will be coming to town soon.

Maybe Jesper Boqvist too.

We have plenty of $$$ to sign FAs.

We could sign Taylor Hall, the greatest lottery ball specialist of all time - and easier to sign with Hughes on the way.

And we have solid goaltending going into next year.

All of a sudden...the future is looking very very bright.

 

Edited by Neb00rs
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25 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I mean if Karlsson has interest in signing here, that’s better than what I came up with.

a part of me would also die if PK Subban joined the Devils... he's an electrifying player and one of the best offensive player in the league but i absolutely cannot stand him, he's the most egomaniac player in NHL history by far. He even make Roenick look modest lol 

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so let's recap what we have so far... 

First Round: #1 

Second Round: #34 then 2 more picks anywhere between #47 and #62 depending on where Nashville and Boston end up.

Third Round: #65 and #70 (ANA) then one more picks anywhere between #78 and #93 depending on where the Stars end up.

Fourth Round: #96

Fifth Round: #127

Fifth Round: #158

Fifth Round: #189

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Of the last 15 #1 overall picks, 13 have been borderline elite or better (I would argue that Yak and Johnson are the outliers and I'll give Ekblad a pass because he's durable his usage has gotten considerably more difficult the last three years). NJD fans should like their chances with Hughes or Kakko in that regard. With the excitement around Hall, Hischier and the #1 selection, I would hope that Shero could attract one decent free agent and then, perhaps, make another classic trade for a opening night roster player given the abundance of picks and cap room. I think those three additions would make a massive difference in the team, but are also somewhat reasonable to expect given recent history. 

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8 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

a part of me would also die if PK Subban joined the Devils... he's an electrifying player and one of the best offensive player in the league but i absolutely cannot stand him, he's the most egomaniac player in NHL history by far. He even make Roenick look modest lol 

A team like the Devils that has little media exposure is a good place for a player like that

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8 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

i guess on the front we should target Skinner and Panarin but Panarin is likely going to Florida.

On the back end there's really only Karlson and Myers that are good and young enough to be worth pursuing or an upgrade IMO... not sure we'd like the price tag on Karlson though but obviously it would make our D so much better instantly and Greene would be getting less minutes which would be ideal. Mayyyyyyybe Stralman if he'd go for a 3 years deal? 

Other than that... up front seriously i'd rather give a chance to our young guys to win a spot than signing someone like... Nelson, just for the sake of signing someone... and our bottom 6 is basically fine.

I've seen you mention Skinner on a number of occasions...I'm a hard "no" on him myself.  For one, I really hate signing guys off career years...especially when they're built off good fortune, than due to overall improvement.  Skinner's season was largely built off a 53-game stretch where he scored 36 goals and shot 20.1%...sure, players run hot and cold throughout a season (just ask Kyle Palmieri), but it's just impossible to see him ever enjoying a stretch like that again. 

Now, I'll definitely give you that no one would necessarily or realistically expect a guy like Skinner to be ever be that productive, or to fully repeat 2018-19, but the problem with Skinner is that it's really hard to know exactly what to expect from him in any given season...his glamour numbers are kind of all over the place.  Just look at his goal totals over each of the last five seasons:  18, 28, 37, 24, 40.  He made $6 million in each of the last five seasons ($5.725 million cap hit)...based on this being his first foray into UFA and that he's likely looking to cash in on his highest goal output, I've gotta think he's looking for both a nice raise and a solid term (5 years minimum).

If he turns in a couple of 2017-18 -type seasons to start off his big new contact, this is going to be one of those deals that fans are going to lament very quickly.  I just think he's too inconsistent and not good enough to warrant a UFA overpayment.  Maybe you circle back to him if GMs are smart enough not to sign him up right away, and you can get him on a shorter-term, more reasonable deal (say 4 years or less at about $6.25 - 6.5 million per), but I still think he's too iffy to feel real good about bringing in.

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9 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

i guess on the front we should target Skinner and Panarin but Panarin is likely going to Florida.

On the back end there's really only Karlson and Myers that are good and young enough to be worth pursuing or an upgrade IMO... not sure we'd like the price tag on Karlson though but obviously it would make our D so much better instantly and Greene would be getting less minutes which would be ideal. Mayyyyyyybe Stralman if he'd go for a 3 years deal? 

Other than that... up front seriously i'd rather give a chance to our young guys to win a spot than signing someone like... Nelson, just for the sake of signing someone... and our bottom 6 is basically fine.

I say no to Stralman.  I get to watch him down here often, and I can say he's on a massive downtrend - injury prone, slow, and wouldn't be a good fit on our team.  I'm always a huge supporter of having one or two veteran d-men on your blueline, provided they're good and serviceable of course, and with Lovejoy gone and Greene on his way out soon you can say we have a void there, but I think Vatanen will be that guy once Greene's gone (he'll be 30 by that time), and maybe we sign someone else back there that has experience.  But for me, Stralman is a no.  I like his game, always have, but his career is winding down.

31 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I've seen you mention Skinner on a number of occasions...I'm a hard "no" on him myself.  For one, I really hate signing guys off career years...especially when they're built off good fortune, than due to overall improvement.  Skinner's season was largely built off a 53-game stretch where he scored 36 goals and shot 20.1%...sure, players run hot and cold throughout a season (just ask Kyle Palmieri), but it's just impossible to see him ever enjoying a stretch like that again. 

Now, I'll definitely give you that no one would necessarily or realistically expect a guy like Skinner to be ever be that productive, or to fully repeat 2018-19, but the problem with Skinner is that it's really hard to know exactly what to expect from him in any given season...his glamour numbers are kind of all over the place.  Just look at his goal totals over each of the last five seasons:  18, 28, 37, 24, 40.  He made $6 million in each of the last five seasons ($5.725 million cap hit)...based on this being his first foray into UFA and that he's likely looking to cash in on his highest goal output, I've gotta think he's looking for both a nice raise and a solid term (5 years minimum).

If he turns in a couple of 2017-18 -type seasons to start off his big new contact, this is going to be one of those deals that fans are going to lament very quickly.  I just think he's too inconsistent and not good enough to warrant a UFA overpayment.  Maybe you circle back to him if GMs are smart enough not to sign him up right away, and you can get him on a shorter-term, more reasonable deal (say 4 years or less at about $6.25 - 6.5 million per), but I still think he's too iffy to feel real good about bringing in.

In regards to Skinner, I will say this.  Many years ago on another forum I was chastised for saying that Corey Perry was a good hockey player, and that I thought he was more than just a benefactor of playing with a guy like Getzlaf.  A year or two later, Perry led the league in goals with 50, and has gone on to have a pretty nice career for himself.  He's closing in on 400 goals, and is only about to be 34 soon. I don't know if he'll be a Hall of Fame player, but he's had a solid career and been very consistent throughout, with still some good years left.

To me, Skinner is a lot like him, just obviously several years younger.  Both wingers, both Canadian, both durable and healthy, both on similar trajectories in terms of point production, both former first round picks.  Perry's a little taller, but that's about it in terms of differences.  

I'll take a guy like Skinner on my team.

Oh, and having just looked up their stats to refresh my memory, as fate would have it...they were born on the same day too. :lol:

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42 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I've seen you mention Skinner on a number of occasions...I'm a hard "no" on him myself.  For one, I really hate signing guys off career years...especially when they're built off good fortune, than due to overall improvement.  Skinner's season was largely built off a 53-game stretch where he scored 36 goals and shot 20.1%...sure, players run hot and cold throughout a season (just ask Kyle Palmieri), but it's just impossible to see him ever enjoying a stretch like that again. 

Now, I'll definitely give you that no one would necessarily or realistically expect a guy like Skinner to be ever be that productive, or to fully repeat 2018-19, but the problem with Skinner is that it's really hard to know exactly what to expect from him in any given season...his glamour numbers are kind of all over the place.  Just look at his goal totals over each of the last five seasons:  18, 28, 37, 24, 40.  He made $6 million in each of the last five seasons ($5.725 million cap hit)...based on this being his first foray into UFA and that he's likely looking to cash in on his highest goal output, I've gotta think he's looking for both a nice raise and a solid term (5 years minimum).

If he turns in a couple of 2017-18 -type seasons to start off his big new contact, this is going to be one of those deals that fans are going to lament very quickly.  I just think he's too inconsistent and not good enough to warrant a UFA overpayment.  Maybe you circle back to him if GMs are smart enough not to sign him up right away, and you can get him on a shorter-term, more reasonable deal (say 4 years or less at about $6.25 - 6.5 million per), but I still think he's too iffy to feel real good about bringing in.

Well its' really not because he's been having a career year. I always liked Skinner, he's an incredible skater and can score which would fit our team and fill a hole. He's a legit top 6 guy.

Actually it was not a career year either cause he had the same amount of points in less games a few years ago. I see that guy as a 30 goals average kind of guy. Which is good enough in my book for 2nd line LW

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There's a couple of mentions on this thread about Jesper Boqvist. I'd love to see him on the Devils roster next season but I'm pretty sure I read (on NJ.com I think) that he's staying in Sweden for another year as 1. He's signed a contract there and 2. It'll mean the Devils won't have to expose him in the next expansion draft.

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56 minutes ago, Daniel said:

A team like the Devils that has little media exposure is a good place for a player like that

That attitude is still rubbing many players the wrong way inside a locker room and that's a fact. Lou may be gone but the "you play for the logo on the front, not the name on the back thing" is still true. And Subban is 100% playing for the name on the back. Just not worth all the distraction

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Perry's last three seasons have not been all that good (42 G in his last 184 GP).  Perry was considerably more productive than Skinner over his prime too...from 2007-08 through 2015-16, he averaged 37 G and 36 A per 82 GP, never scoring less than 27 (excepting the lockout-shortened 2013 season of course).

To date, Skinner averages 30 G and 25 A per 82 GP...I don't think it's fair to compare him to the much more proficient Perry. 

5 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Well its' really not because he's been having a career year. I always liked Skinner, he's an incredible skater and can score which would fit our team and fill a hole. He's a legit top 6 guy.

Actually it was not a career year either cause he had the same amount of points in less games a few years ago. I see that guy as a 30 goals average kind of guy. Which is good enough in my book for 2nd line LW

This was a career year for him, in terms of goals scored and shooting%.  I don't expect him to hit those numbers again (or to have such an insane good-fortune run within a season, that blows up the entire season's numbers). 

But it's fair to point out that you're not really expecting that either, as you're asking for about 30 G average per 82 GP...which as you'll see above, is EXACTLY what he's done for his career.  The big question is what are you willing to (over)pay for it?  Especially since he's not consistent from year-to-year? 

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9 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

a part of me would also die if PK Subban joined the Devils... he's an electrifying player and one of the best offensive player in the league but i absolutely cannot stand him, he's the most egomaniac player in NHL history by far. He even make Roenick look modest lol 

I watch a lot of the Nashville Predators because my sister in laws family moved there years ago and I got my niece and nephew into hockey and they've become big fans.   I honestly think Subban is the 3rd best defenseman on that team at best and depending which Ryan Ellis shows up, he might actually be fourth.   Subban just looks so slow to me anymore and there seems to be constant rumors that he's dealing with injuries.   Either way, he's already slowing down or he's hampered with injuries, he's not a player I would want to acquire at this point.   

Not that he's available but IMO, Mattias Ekholm is everything people think Subban is.   

Not a defenseman but one player I think we should target for a trade or offer sheet is Kasperi Kapanen.  That would address our issues at RW.         

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With the Devils winning the lottery, and having so many draft picks, I'm starting to think that Shero may no longer have to dip into the higher-priced end of the UFA pool...feels like he absolutely has the assets to make a trade for something good if he chooses that route. 

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27 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

With the Devils winning the lottery, and having so many draft picks, I'm starting to think that Shero may no longer have to dip into the higher-priced end of the UFA pool...feels like he absolutely has the assets to make a trade for something good if he chooses that route. 

While i agree in a way, if you're able to upgrade through free agency at a fair price you do it cause let's remember that eventhough we're slowly building a nice prospect pool... we're still pretty thin and don't have much depth. So any extra assets is welcome. 

If you can sign a good free agent as an upgrade. Then you may make another player expendable and you can package him to get something you really need that is not available or worth it on the market. I still think packaging any of our players + picks could set us back a little

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40 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Perry's last three seasons have not been all that good (42 G in his last 184 GP).  Perry was considerably more productive than Skinner over his prime too...from 2007-08 through 2015-16, he averaged 37 G and 36 A per 82 GP, never scoring less than 27 (excepting the lockout-shortened 2013 season of course).

To date, Skinner averages 30 G and 25 A per 82 GP...I don't think it's fair to compare him to the much more proficient Perry. 

This was a career year for him, in terms of goals scored and shooting%.  I don't expect him to hit those numbers again (or to have such an insane good-fortune run within a season, that blows up the entire season's numbers). 

But it's fair to point out that you're not really expecting that either, as you're asking for about 30 G average per 82 GP...which as you'll see above, is EXACTLY what he's done for his career.  The big question is what are you willing to (over)pay for it?  Especially since he's not consistent from year-to-year? 

I think Skinner is still very much in his prime.  I don't see why he won't have another very productive 5-7 years ahead of him, if he plays with some decent linemates and finds some chemistry.  I guess we'll see in the next few years.

I wasn't really touching on the money aspect of it - as a general rule and from a pure business standpoint I don't really like to "overpay" for anyone 😛 , but in the sense of possibly taking a risk and offering him a contract in his favor, I'd be OK with giving it a shot. It's never good or the ideal outcome of course, but we've been able to take on gamble contracts in the past and if they didn't work out as we'd hoped, we've been able to manage them and/or get rid of them.  

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1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Lou may be gone but the "you play for the logo on the front, not the name on the back thing" is still true. And Subban is 100% playing for the name on the back. Just not worth all the distraction

Hey, you used that right this time!!

;) 

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Just now, NJDfan1711 said:

I think Skinner is still very much in his prime.  I don't see why he won't have another very productive 5-7 years ahead of him, if he plays with some decent linemates and finds some chemistry.  I guess we'll see in the next few years.

I wasn't really touching on the money aspect of it - as a general rule and from a pure business standpoint I don't really like to "overpay" for anyone 😛 , but in the sense of possibly taking a risk and offering him a contract in his favor, I'd be OK with giving it a shot. It's never good or the ideal outcome of course, but we've been able to take on gamble contracts in the past and if they didn't work out as we'd hoped, we've been able to manage them and/or get rid of them.  

I didn't suggest that Skinner is anywhere near a decline, just that he's not very consistent.  He puts up an 18 G or 24 G season (and he's done that in two of the last five seasons) and less than 50 points, and he's making good money, people are going to be plenty pissed.  Overall I'd say what remains of his prime will probably grade out to pretty good overall, but I'm not sure I want to pay too much for that (I was more talking to SD about the money part of it anyway).  I would be a little more OK with taking a chance on Skinner, but I feel like the Devils are already going to have one potentially bad contract on their hands if they re-sign Taylor Hall.  I'm 100% on board with Shero taking the plunge with Hall though.  Just don't think the Devils need TWO potentially bad and pricey contracts on their hands.  Especially since there will be guys to pay sooner than later.

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10 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I didn't suggest that Skinner is anywhere near a decline, just that he's not very consistent.  He puts up an 18 G or 24 G season (and he's done that in two of the last five seasons) and less than 50 points, and he's making good money, people are going to be plenty pissed.  Overall I'd say what remains of his prime will probably grade out to pretty good overall, but I'm not sure I want to pay too much for that (I was more talking to SD about the money part of it anyway).  I would be a little more OK with taking a chance on Skinner, but I feel like the Devils are already going to have one potentially bad contract on their hands if they re-sign Taylor Hall.  I'm 100% on board with Shero taking the plunge with Hall though.  Just don't think the Devils need TWO potentially bad and pricey contracts on their hands.  Especially since there will be guys to pay sooner than later.

I think i'd rather see him sign a guy like Skinner... than having to go another season reading dumb comments that Shero failed for not signing any top free agents last summer. Almost like he turned down a begging Tavares lol 

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28 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I didn't suggest that Skinner is anywhere near a decline, just that he's not very consistent.  He puts up an 18 G or 24 G season (and he's done that in two of the last five seasons) and less than 50 points, and he's making good money, people are going to be plenty pissed.  Overall I'd say what remains of his prime will probably grade out to pretty good overall, but I'm not sure I want to pay too much for that (I was more talking to SD about the money part of it anyway).  I would be a little more OK with taking a chance on Skinner, but I feel like the Devils are already going to have one potentially bad contract on their hands if they re-sign Taylor Hall.  I'm 100% on board with Shero taking the plunge with Hall though.  Just don't think the Devils need TWO potentially bad and pricey contracts on their hands.  Especially since there will be guys to pay sooner than later.

My bad. When you said this: "Perry was considerably more productive than Skinner over his prime too...", I took that to mean that you thought they both played through their primes already, and you were comparing the two.  I don't know how you can say that if Skinner hasn't completed his prime yet... ;)

Also, for the record, while 18 goals may not be what you want out of a player making anywhere from 5-9M a year, if that player's "down" years are in the 18-24 goal range, and his ceiling and productive years can be as much as mid 30s approaching 40 goals, then I think I'm OK with that.  Even star players are allowed a year or two where they aren't torching the league.  

I think Skinner's best seasons could still be ahead of him.  Also, people probably know this about me, but I tend to value durability and health a ton - maybe too much, but to me I've always been of the mindset that you can have a guy on the most affordable contract ever, or have the guy who is capable of scoring the most goals in the league, but if he ain't on the ice, it does you no good - and when you look at Skinner, he's as durable as they come - played in all 82 games 3 of the past 4 years (only two guys on our team played all 82 this year), and only missed a total of 17 games in the last 6 seasons.  Pretty awesome. 

Edited by NJDfan1711
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Just now, SterioDesign said:

I think i'd rather see him sign a guy like Skinner... than having to go another season reading dumb comments that Shero failed for not signing any top free agents last summer. Almost like he turned down a begging Tavares lol 

More than one way to skin a cat.  Good thing is Shero is clearly not one to placate the instant-grat crowd.  He's been very careful about throwing around UFA money for the sake of spending and bringing in a flawed asset.  I don't think he'll let Skinner become the Devils' version of JVR (though in Skinner's case, at least he's about three years younger than JVR).  Flyers bought JVR's age 29-33 years.  If Shero signed Skinner for five years, they'd be signing up for his age 27-31 years, so at least they wouldn't be on the hook for a bunch of 30+ seasons.  Of course, among other concerns already addressed, Skinner did start his NHL career very early and already has 661 NHL games under his belt (but no playoffs).  Guys who start early like that also sometimes decline early too. 

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13 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

so let's recap what we have so far... 

First Round: #1 

Second Round: #34 then 2 more picks anywhere between #47 and #62 depending on where Nashville and Boston end up.

Third Round: #65 and #70 (ANA) then one more picks anywhere between #78 and #93 depending on where the Stars end up.

Fourth Round: #96

Fifth Round: #127

Fifth Round: #158

Fifth Round: #189

Don't you think a couple of these will be dealt to upgrade somewhere? Also, I think we need a couple big boys that can skate (ride shotgun with JH. ). Wonder if anyone would have interest in Q & maybe McCleod?

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