Jump to content

2019 Offseason Thread


Daniel

Recommended Posts

I don't know anything about TJ Brodie, but I like Coleman and what he brought last year to a sh!t team. His play down a man, along with Zacha, makes us a legit threat while down a man. I like that element being in the back of other team's minds. Again, I don't really know anything about TJ Brodie but who takes Coleman's spot up front then? McLeod?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

I don't know anything about TJ Brodie, but I like Coleman and what he brought last year to a sh!t team. His play down a man, along with Zacha, makes us a legit threat while down a man. I like that element being in the back of other team's minds. Again, I don't really know anything about TJ Brodie but who takes Coleman's spot up front then? McLeod?

I agree, I wouldn't be so quick to move him. He fills his role here to a T and is on a decent contract. Id like to see what we have in smith before we go making moves right away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Devils should always be working on trying to improve the team, whether that is substantially or incrementally.  If getting a top-4 D-man in exchange for a bottom 6 forward who may have already had his career year is the price, then I am all for it.

I really do like Coleman, but I don't want to go back down the dark path of not wanting to part with players out of loyalty rather than what makes sense hockey-wise.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know the so called experts have the Devils as nothing more than a bubble playoff team for this season.  What is it that would put them into the playoff as almost guaranteed locks?  Is the goaltending their concern or is the concern on D or both or something else?

I know all these expectations are just on paper.  On paper we appear to have a solid team but you still have to go out and perform.  Similar to the lightning, best team in the league but couldn’t win a game in the playoffs.

What’s the concern for the season in everyone’s mind?  As long as everyone stays relatively injury free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, ajsgolf said:

I know the so called experts have the Devils as nothing more than a bubble playoff team for this season.  What is it that would put them into the playoff as almost guaranteed locks?  Is the goaltending their concern or is the concern on D or both or something else?

I know all these expectations are just on paper.  On paper we appear to have a solid team but you still have to go out and perform.  Similar to the lightning, best team in the league but couldn’t win a game in the playoffs.

What’s the concern for the season in everyone’s mind?  As long as everyone stays relatively injury free.

Goaltending is my #1 concern. Cory showed some promise towards the end of last season, but we need CONSISTANT play from our tandem.  None of this hot/cold bullsh!t. I think we're still missing a piece on D, but I'm expecting to put up enough offense that it (hopefully) won't become a major concern before we make a move there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, DevsMan84 said:

The Devils should always be working on trying to improve the team, whether that is substantially or incrementally.  If getting a top-4 D-man in exchange for a bottom 6 forward who may have already had his career year is the price, then I am all for it.

I really do like Coleman, but I don't want to go back down the dark path of not wanting to part with players out of loyalty rather than what makes sense hockey-wise.

Except that in this case, the Devils would be acquiring a D-man who's set to go UFA after this year and is probably ripe to be overpaid.  They already have one of those guys in Vatanen (though in his case, he needs to stay healthy and be more productive this season).   

The problem I see is that every time a decent offensive defenseman becomes available or is somehow linked to being a possibly acquisition by the Devils, they're not really taking stock of what's already in house...or how much it might cost down the line.  Devils are going to have currently "cheap" players to pay very soon.  I don't know if I would want to allocate a UFA overpayment to Brodie. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, ajsgolf said:

I know the so called experts have the Devils as nothing more than a bubble playoff team for this season.  What is it that would put them into the playoff as almost guaranteed locks?  Is the goaltending their concern or is the concern on D or both or something else?

I know all these expectations are just on paper.  On paper we appear to have a solid team but you still have to go out and perform.  Similar to the lightning, best team in the league but couldn’t win a game in the playoffs.

What’s the concern for the season in everyone’s mind?  As long as everyone stays relatively injury free.

I think so, yes. That’s the big question for me anyway. If Cory bounces back I think they’re a playoff team. If he doesn’t, it will be tough.

Blackwood looked pretty good last season, but it’s just too small a sample size to really know what we have in him. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, ajsgolf said:

I know the so called experts have the Devils as nothing more than a bubble playoff team for this season.  What is it that would put them into the playoff as almost guaranteed locks?  Is the goaltending their concern or is the concern on D or both or something else?

I think goaltending is definitely a concern, we don't know what we are really going to get from either guy. Schneider has proven that he can't be counted on as of now to be the Schneider he was when we acquired him and Blackwood doesn't have enough miles on him yet. hopefully Cory is healthy and plays well this season, if not we could have a real mess in net.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Except that in this case, the Devils would be acquiring a D-man who's set to go UFA after this year and is probably ripe to be overpaid.  They already have one of those guys in Vatanen (though in his case, he needs to stay healthy and be more productive this season).   

The problem I see is that every time a decent offensive defenseman becomes available or is somehow linked to being a possibly acquisition by the Devils, they're not really taking stock of what's already in house...or how much it might cost down the line.  Devils are going to have currently "cheap" players to pay very soon.  I don't know if I would want to allocate a UFA overpayment to Brodie. 

I am thinking if the Devils get Brodie they are in the mindset that they are expecting to part with Vatanen after this season.  Vats will probably get around the same amount on the open market so if it came down between those two then Brodie (who is only a year older than Sami) looks more attractive simply because he can actually stay healthy enough.

Replacing a bottom 6 guy is also much easier than replacing a top 4 D-man.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Rob_Ottawa said:

Yes, you said it, goaltending is key.

If Blackwood regresses at all, we are in trouble.

I have zero faith in Cory's fitness at this point in his career.

If Blackwood stays on the same track as last year, then we should challenge for 7-8 spot

I think expecting the same out of Blackwood is unrealistic. This is going to be his first full season in the league and there will probably be ups and downs. The opposing players will be used to him and he's going need to make sure he keeps evolving his game. He's fantastic down low covering post to post but players will learn to take the extra moment to shoot high on him quick. 

I think Schneider still goes into the season as the guy and I think they should have added a veteran for the AHL like when they had Lack last year even though he got hurt. I don't think Cormier is ready for the NHL if it comes to that. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

The Devils should always be working on trying to improve the team, whether that is substantially or incrementally.  If getting a top-4 D-man in exchange for a bottom 6 forward who may have already had his career year is the price, then I am all for it.

I really do like Coleman, but I don't want to go back down the dark path of not wanting to part with players out of loyalty rather than what makes sense hockey-wise.

I understand what you mean when you say bottom 6 and top 6 and stuff but for me those descriptors become more irrelevant when you're not talking about very good players. I really don't care what line guys like Coleman and Zajac play on. What is important is how good they are at filling their roles on the team. Coleman is a role player regardless of the line he is on so the " top 4 Dman vs bottom 6 forward" in assessing value isn't relevant in the context of these players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, DevsMan84 said:

I am thinking if the Devils get Brodie they are in the mindset that they are expecting to part with Vatanen after this season.  Vats will probably get around the same amount on the open market so if it came down between those two then Brodie (who is only a year older than Sami) looks more attractive simply because he can actually stay healthy enough.

Replacing a bottom 6 guy is also much easier than replacing a top 4 D-man.

I think Vats won't get re-signed anyway, but you'd still have PK, Severson, and Butcher signed for at least two seasons each beyond this one (Smith would also have two seasons left on his ELC after this year).  It just doesn't feel like Brodie is this "gotta have" guy, especially once he becomes overpriced.

I'd be more interested if Brodie had three more years left at his current cap hit.

9 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Yet another way Hall’s indecision affects what we do. 

Not sure why Hall gets the blame here...sounds like both sides are equally willing to wait, and I can understand that based on the circumstances.  Been over this, but it's not like Shero's put an offer on the table that Hall has been hemming and hawing over signing.  Also telling that neither side is bitching one bit about the other.  Seen plenty of that in various negotiations throughout the years. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Not sure why Hall gets the blame here...sounds like both sides are equally willing to wait, and I can understand that based on the circumstances.  Been over this, but it's not like Shero's put an offer on the table that Hall has been hemming and hawing over signing.  Also telling that neither side is bitching one bit about the other.  Seen plenty of that in various negotiations throughout the years. 

Shero is willing to wait because he has to. If Hall’s position was that he wants to be nowhere but New Jersey, do you think an extension would be done already? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NJDevils1214 said:

I understand what you mean when you say bottom 6 and top 6 and stuff but for me those descriptors become more irrelevant when you're not talking about very good players. I really don't care what line guys like Coleman and Zajac play on. What is important is how good they are at filling their roles on the team. Coleman is a role player regardless of the line he is on so the " top 4 Dman vs bottom 6 forward" in assessing value isn't relevant in the context of these players.

Coleman is a type of player that is far more easily replaceable than Brodie.

We really need to get over the love affair with role players.  I get they are often fan favorites and teams do need those type of players.  However, like I said in an earlier post, the team has to constantly look to get better, not get stuck in the mud or roll backwards.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Shero is willing to wait because he has to. If Hall’s position was that he wants to be nowhere but New Jersey, do you think an extension would be done already? 

Depends on what Hall would've been asking for.  I'm not so sure that Shero is willing to just give Hall 8 years at $10.5 - 11 million per without knowing about how healthy Hall is first.  This is a case where I think that it makes good sense for both sides to wait.  Shero shouldn't just throw caution to the wind, and I can understand Hall wanting to show everyone (yes, perhaps even other teams) that he still can be a PPG+ producer, like he's been since the start of the 2017-18 season. 

Like I've said earlier, really does suck when a guy gets hurt and misses significant time heading into a walk year.  Muddies everything up.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I think Vats won't get re-signed anyway, but you'd still have PK, Severson, and Butcher signed for at least two seasons each beyond this one (Smith would also have two seasons left on his ELC after this year).  It just doesn't feel like Brodie is this "gotta have" guy, especially once he becomes overpriced.

I'd be more interested if Brodie had three more years left at his current cap hit.

Not sure why Hall gets the blame here...sounds like both sides are equally willing to wait, and I can understand that based on the circumstances.  Been over this, but it's not like Shero's put an offer on the table that Hall has been hemming and hawing over signing.  Also telling that neither side is bitching one bit about the other.  Seen plenty of that in various negotiations throughout the years. 

I agree that Brodie isn't a "gotta have" guy, but he is still an improvement nonetheless.  If the trade doesn't happen I won't be upset in the slightest.

Every team has overpriced players and I am not going to go crazy over putting forth "what if" cap scenarios in 3-5 years from now.  Besides, cap strapped teams always seem to find their way out of cap hell these days without giving up the farm.

Edited by DevsMan84
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

I agree that Brodie isn't a "gotta have" guy, but he is still an improvement nonetheless.  If the trade doesn't happen I won't be upset in the slightest.

Every team has overpriced players and I am not going to go crazy over putting forth "what if" cap scenarios in 3-5 years from now.  Besides, cap strapped teams always seem to find their way out of cap hell these days without giving up the farm.

I'm not either, but right now the Devils have exactly one guy signed for 2022-23 (Severson).  This could be a good thing or a bad thing, really (always nice NOT to have a bunch of high-priced fading talent on your payroll)...if Shero can get a nice homegrown development wheel going, with guys constantly being sprinkled in on ELC contracts (and then hopefully reasonable deals on their first forays into RFA), then sure, you can overpay some of your roster.  But it also means that a lot of players (if all goes well, in that they're playing well and developing) will be due raises very soon (we'll see that this summer). 

As far as the immediate future goes, I REALLY hope Hischier's RFA situation doesn't turn into a complete clusterfvck.  Will be very interesting to see how Blackwood plays too, because he'll also be a RFA after this year.  Hischier, Bratt, and Blackwood all RFAs this offseason.  Of course, Greene, Vatanen, and Simmonds all come off (Zajac comes off the following year, but so will Palms and Gusev).  Money will be there to keep guys, but in time there will be less to divvy up among others...of course, that's where having the pipeline of young, cheap talent becomes so key. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I’m just not going to worry about our team being so talented that we have a hard time paying everyone. In fact, I’ve been waiting for it for years!!

I'll take that problem over others for sure (like being capped out or near capped out due to a bunch of bad UFA signings). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I'll take that problem over others for sure (like being capped out or near capped out due to a bunch of bad UFA signings). 

We will do the same thing that teams in cap hell like the Rangers, Lightning, Leafs and Blackhawks do; dump overpriced players to teams who have tons of cap for little in return.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.