Zajac & Palms to NYI

[DevsMan84]

From the sound of it, the Islanders were the only ones who were offering up a first rounder and that was only if Zajac was in the mix.  The trade on the surface is disappointing from our side, but it probably was the best we could get for both of them.

My main beef with this is just bad asset management.  Palmieri really should have been traded last year when he had 1 more year left on a team-friendly contract and was still putting up decent numbers.  I am not saying he is or was a bad player by any means, but his timeline and the timeline for the rest of the team just didn't match up.  Even last year we all figured the team was likely not going to be good and I think many of us figured that would be the case the year after (next year).  So why keep Palmieri around another year with the team being bottom feeders?

I know leadership will be brought up, but I think that point is a little overstated.  Plus it is pretty telling that the team has already dismissed the possible leadership that Palmieri could bring when he gets bypassed for the captaincy (and management/coaches likely made up their mind about Nico well before the season even started).  I really don't think this extra 3 months of Palmieri sticking around the kids with exactly 5 games of playoff experience in the past 5 years made a huge impact on their development.

[aylbert]

6 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

lol No. He did something very typical by again trading or signing his ex veterans. That's pretty damn straight forward.

Just like I'll say typical Colorado Rockies 1976 for writing a long paragraph after nitpicking something i didnt really say or mean lol

Fitzgerald said exactly this, that Lou obviously has and likes his guys, especially the ones he drafted.

Also, confirmed Zajac asked to be moved on Wednesday

Quote

“(Wednesday) was the day where he just told me, he’d like a chance to move on,” Fitzgerald said. “And we as an organization owe Travis that. And I was proud to do that.”

https://www.nj.com/devils/2021/04/why-devils-tom-fitzgerald-elected-to-trade-kyle-palmieri-and-travis-zajac-and-where-the-team-goes-from-here.html

[Satans Hockey]

Zajac wasn't willing to waive the NMC last year because he still had a year and a half left on his contract. There's a huge difference from being further away from your family and home for 1.5 years vs what could be as little as a month or so or at max like 4 months which means you're getting a shot at a Cup. Huge difference in terms of sacrifice family wise. 

[DJ Eco]

Tough pill to swallow, but some version of this was inevitable, and it doesn't look like a seller's market out there. I'm fine with the 1st, I'll be even better if we weaponize our cap a bit more, and think we can at least use the 1st in a trade. Remember, that's the return from Lou for 19 games of these players. It's a weird local/regional season, they don't really have to move and not a lot about their travel/family situation is going to change, they may thank Fitz for the chance to go for a Cup and decide to re-sign in a few months.

[DJ Eco]

4 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

Zajac wasn't willing to waive the NMC last year because he still had a year and a half left on his contract. There's a huge difference from being further away from your family and home for 1.5 years vs what could be as little as a month or so or at max like 4 months which means you're getting a shot at a Cup. Huge difference in terms of sacrifice family wise. 

And the travel is even less tolling due to the reshuffled divisions. Freakish year, but the situation makes sense for them. Hope Palmieri re-signs with us after!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

22 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

lol No. He did something very typical by again trading or signing his ex veterans. That's pretty damn straight forward.

Just like I'll say typical Colorado Rockies 1976 for writing a long paragraph after nitpicking something i didnt really say or mean lol

Sometimes man...

I didn't attack you, but let's face it, you're well-known for taking sarcastic lil' jabs at Lou no matter what he does, so it felt like this could be the case again here.  Yeah, he does sometimes go after ex-Devils, but this time it doesn't feel like doing so for the sake of doing so...Zajac has been playing well as of late, and is a perfect rental-type.  I get the feeling the deal started with Palms, then Zajac says he'd like to move on, so Fitz found a way to work him into the deal, and get a bit more out of the Isles.  I don't think Zajac was the primary target.  

If Zajac plays well during the playoffs and then gets re-signed for 3 years or so as a reward, then yeah, I'll definitely wonder what the hell Lou is thinking.  

8 minutes ago, DJ Eco said:

Tough pill to swallow, but some version of this was inevitable, and it doesn't look like a seller's market out there. I'm fine with the 1st, I'll be even better if we weaponize our cap a bit more, and think we can at least use the 1st in a trade. Remember, that's the return from Lou for 19 games of these players. It's a weird local/regional season, they don't really have to move and not a lot about their travel/family situation is going to change, they may thank Fitz for the chance to go for a Cup and decide to re-sign in a few months.

I don't know why, but I get the feeling the Devils are going to use the Isles' first-rounder as part of a deal for an established player.  We'll see.  

[SterioDesign]

8 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Sometimes man...

I didn't attack you, but let's face it, you're well-known for taking sarcastic lil' jabs at Lou no matter what he does, so it felt like this could be the case again here.  Yeah, he does sometimes go after ex-Devils, but this time it doesn't feel like doing so for the sake of doing so...Zajac has been playing well as of late, and is a perfect rental-type.  I get the feeling the deal started with Palms, then Zajac says he'd like to move on, so Fitz found a way to work him into the deal, and get a bit more out of the Isles.  I don't think Zajac was the primary target.  

If Zajac plays well during the playoffs and then gets re-signed for 3 years or so as a reward, then yeah, I'll definitely wonder what the hell Lou is thinking.  

I don't know why, but I get the feeling the Devils are going to use the Isles' first-rounder as part of a deal for an established player.  We'll see.  

Well, it wasn't.

But let's be honest. Even if it was? Why would WE need to have a 589302840858905th conversation about it? lol Honestly, why? We know we'll never ever ever ever ever see eye to eye when it comes to how Lou does things.

Edited April 8, 2021 by SterioDesign

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, SterioDesign said:

Well, it wasn't.

But let's be honest. Even if it was? Why would WE need to have a 589302840858905th conversation about it? lol Honestly, why? We know we'll never ever ever ever ever see eye to eye when it comes to how Lou does things.

This wasn't about Lou's MO, past or present...you don't need to automatically go there should I dare to bring up a deal that he's involved in.  I thought you were taking another unnecessary jab, so I was explaining why this deal made sense for both sides.  One team got right-now players to help them try to get over the hump (or at very least add depth), and the other got a piece that might come in handy in making them better down the line, in a typical buyer-seller near-deadline deal.  

[Devil Dan 56]

Typical Lou: getting ready for the playoffs. I remember back in the long ago when that was typical Devils. 

And I don't see the problem with wanting to see success for Zajac, Greene, and Palms. Hell even Schneider. Our team hasn't given us much to root for in nearly 10 years other than that little tear they went on in 2018. 

[mfitz804]

7 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

Typical Lou: getting ready for the playoffs. I remember back in the long ago when that was typical Devils. 

And I don't see the problem with wanting to see success for Zajac, Greene, and Palms. Hell even Schneider. Our team hasn't given us much to root for in nearly 10 years other than that little tear they went on in 2018. 

If that makes you want to be a fan of another team, that’s up to you. 

[EdgeControl]

15 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

Or they got hit by a truck 

[jagknife]

1 minute ago, EdgeControl said:

Or they got hit by a truck 

Well that just got really dark....

[SterioDesign]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

This wasn't about Lou's MO, past or present...you don't need to automatically go there should I dare to bring up a deal that he's involved in.  I thought you were taking another unnecessary jab, so I was explaining why this deal made sense for both sides.  One team got right-now players to help them try to get over the hump (or at very least add depth), and the other got a piece that might come in handy in making them better down the line, in a typical buyer-seller near-deadline deal.  

Well you made an assumption when all i said was a straight up fact that we are all aware of. I already commented in here about how this deal made sense, you should know that i'm more than okay with unloading guys that are not part of the future and get anything while you can. 

[Jerrydevil]

2 hours ago, John Wensink said:

I think the pick(s) can be packaged for someone we really want / need. With the expansion draft, I think there will be oppertunites this summer and adding a first to a trade sounds good. I don't think we use the pick. 

Trade was fine IMO. 

We have picks, we have cap space galore, Jack Hughes needs a sharpshooter, and Patrick Laine hates Columbus and John Tortorella. There has to be a way to make this happen, even with our shallow organizational player depth.

[jagknife]

4 minutes ago, Jerrydevil said:

We have picks, we have cap space galore, Jack Hughes needs a sharpshooter, and Patrick Laine hates Columbus and John Tortorella. There has to be a way to make this happen, even with our shallow organizational player depth.

I really think Laine just hates to work and wants to do literally his own thing. That’s my big holdup with him...

[Jerrydevil]

2 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

My main beef with this is just bad asset management.  Palmieri really should have been traded last year when he had 1 more year left on a team-friendly contract and was still putting up decent numbers.  I am not saying he is or was a bad player by any means, but his timeline and the timeline for the rest of the team just didn't match up.  Even last year we all figured the team was likely not going to be good and I think many of us figured that would be the case the year after (next year).  So why keep Palmieri around another year with the team being bottom feeders?

You make a good case for dealing Palmieri while he still had some term. 

[NJDevs4978]

It’s not even so much that they didn’t deal him last year if ostensibly they were hoping to resign him, but if you weren’t going to make any real long term offer to him then what was the point of banking on him taking a shorter term one that he was never going for pre pandemic? They would have been better off trading him last year if they were only going to lowball him on an offer regardless.

Edited April 8, 2021 by NJDevs4978

[SterioDesign]

I just don't understand the disconnect some people have where they are sick of us losing because we're lacking skills...

But a big part of why we're in the situation we're in is because we didn't draft well / enough over the last 2 decades. Always let our players either leave or fade into nothing. So we didn't gather enough assets for the future. Nothing is guaranteed obviously when you get assets or draft someone (which is why it's better to have as much as possible)... but it sure beat not winning with old vets that will just fade or just lose for nothing.

The ONLY way we can get better and potentially win in the future is by drafting guys or trading for players. You need picks and players for that. Then when we're in the right window ufas might sign here, but there's no point right now cause they'd just be burning their prime years on a rebuilding team.

It's so damn common sense that i just don't understand why some people would argue against that. 

Edited April 8, 2021 by SterioDesign

[DevsMan84]

7 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

I just don't understand the disconnect some people have where they are sick of us losing because we're lacking skills...

But a big part of why we're in the situation we're in is because we didn't draft well / enough over the last 2 decades. Always let our players either leave or fade into nothing. So we didn't gather enough assets for the future. Nothing is guaranteed obviously when you get assets or draft someone... but it sure beat not winning with old vets that will just fade or just lose for nothing.

The ONLY way we can get better and potentially win in the future is by drafting guys or trading for players. You need picks and players for that. Then when we're in the right window ufas might sign here, but there's no point right now cause they'd just be burning their prime years on a rebuilding team.

It's so damn common sense that i just don't understand why some people would argue against that. 

Right now, on April 8th, 2021, which players on our roster were drafted by the Devils during Lou/Conte's term?   The answer is 5 players: Severson, Wood, Jacobs (hasn't even played a game yet), Blackwood and Zacha.

Pinning any of the current April 2021 situation on Lou and Conte's drafting is a bit silly when few players on the active roster have any of Lou/Conte's fingerprints on them.  At this point, I don't care how we were drafting in say 2008, because none of the players from that draft are on this team.  Hell, Severson is the longest tenured current Devil and he was drafted in 2012.

Edited April 8, 2021 by DevsMan84

[Jerrydevil]

1 minute ago, SterioDesign said:

The ONLY way we can get better and potentially win in the future is by drafting guys or trading for players. You need picks and players for that. Then when we're in the right window ufas might sign here, but there's no point right now cause they'd just be burning their prime years on a rebuilding team.

It's so damn common sense that i just don't understand why some people would argue against that. 

I was never a proponent of dealing impending UFAs when we were a playoff team, and that goes for Niedermayer, Elias, Holik, Gomez, Parise, etc. Did that take its toll? Likely. It wouldn’t have been so bad if a Tedenby or two worked out. It didn’t. So here we are. I’m hoping things are darkest before the dawn, but we will see.

[Devil Dan 56]

46 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

If that makes you want to be a fan of another team, that’s up to you. 

Who said I wanted to be a fan of another team? I just don't see the big deal of wanting success for some of our long time former players. 

[SterioDesign]

Just now, Jerrydevil said:

I was never a proponent of dealing impending UFAs when we were a playoff team, and that goes for Niedermayer, Elias, Holik, Gomez, Parise, etc. Did that take its toll? Likely. It wouldn’t have been so bad if a Tedenby or two worked out. It didn’t. So here we are. I’m hoping things are darkest before the dawn, but we will see.

Well keeping those guys would have been great too. Many would probably have signed another deal with us if they would have been offered one at the right time, not like... a week before free agency.

[SterioDesign]

So am i allowed to say it's typical that Lou got Palms to shave his beard or that's going to trigger some people again? 

And just so we're clear and that there's no misconception. I think this no beard rule is insanely dumb and there's absolutely no reason for players not being able to have beard if they want one. It's not impacting their play in any way. And i think the same thing about the Yankees.

One of the main reason i left my full time graphic design job at an agency is when we were bought by another company and they gave us a dress code where we'd have to wear fancy dress shirts and shoes. I'm a fvcking graphic designer, don't put me in a suit. I don't know of one single design agency forcing a dresscode on their designers who just work in the back. Salesmen or wtv i get it. I have friends working for huge companies like Marvell or Disney in the creative department and they don't even have dress code. fvck off. And since i left they were never able to get another designer with my qualifications and it's been a constant revolving door since. And i'm doing way better now working for myself so its totally their loss. So same thing here, why force something when every other teams doesnt.

Edited April 8, 2021 by SterioDesign

[mfitz804]

48 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Right now, on April 8th, 2021, which players on our roster were drafted by the Devils during Lou/Conte's term?   The answer is 5 players: Severson, Wood, Jacobs (hasn't even played a game yet), Blackwood and Zacha.

That’s only our top goal scorer, our top overall scorer, our (hopefully long term) starting goalie and possibly our best non-rookie defenseman. 

[Devil Dan 56]

17 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

So am i allowed to say it's typical that Lou got Palms to shave his beard or that's going to trigger some people again? 

And just so we're clear and that there's no misconception. I think this no beard rule is insanely dumb and there's absolutely no reason for players not being able to have beard if they want one. It's not impacting their play in any way. And i think the same thing about the Yankees.

One of the main reason i left my full time graphic design job at an agency is when we were bought by another company and they gave us a dress code where we'd have to wear fancy dress shirts and shoes. I'm a fvcking graphic designer, don't put me in a suit. I don't know of one single design agency forcing a dresscode on their designers who just work in the back. Salesmen or wtv i get it. I have friends working for huge companies like Marvell or Disney in the creative department and they don't even have dress code. fvck off. And since i left they were never able to get another designer with my qualifications and it's been a constant revolving door since. And i'm doing way better now working for myself so its totally their loss. So same thing here, why force something when every other teams doesnt.

Lou's beard, number restrictions, and social media rules all seemed dumb to me. I mean I get why he has those rules, the whole team thing, but they never made any sense to me. There is so little personality and personal expression in hockey as it is.