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The 2021 Offseason Thread


jagknife

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6 minutes ago, Jerrydevil said:

I know he's only been the captain for like 5 minutes, but I'd be against trading Hischier, and if that means we don't have what it takes to land the biggest fish, then so be it. It's hard to picture a Nico trade happening. It seems so destructive.

I still like Nico a hell of a lot, but I no longer consider him an absolute untouchable.  It would still sting to see him go though.  

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i dont particularly agree with spending money just for the sake of spending money. That claim usually comes from fans with no patience who think money fixes problems automatically. Thats also how you get fvcked with the cap when you really need it down the line when your team is really competing and you have to jump through hoops to make it work. It's NOT always a good move. And it doesnt really guarantee anything either

First let's look at the guys we have looked in for next season, and where we could actually use an upgrade. Honestly on the forward group, unless we can get someone REALLY established and proven. Id rather keep going with some of our young guys that should get better every season.

Kuokkanen - Hughes - Sharangovich

Zacha - Hischier - Bratt

Wood - McLeod - Bastian

Foote - Boqvist - Johnsson

Holtz - Maltsev - Merkley

 

Ty Smith - Subban

Butcher - Severson

Bahl - Siegenthaler

 

Blackwood

Wedgewood

Dell

As far as forward that could potentially hit the market there's only a few id consider. And i do think that we need a good veteran presence in this very young lineup, thats obviously missing. So maybe i'd consider one of the 30+ ufas in that scenario like Foligno but not sure where hed fit

Coleman (i'd bring him in a heartbeat, he's exactly the veteran presence we need), Hall, RNH, Landeskog, Schwartz, Tatar, Danault (he may not want to come cause hed be the 3rd center and that's why he wanted to leave MTL anyway, he dindt want to be stuck in a defensive role, but he's one of the best defensive dman in the league) and Hyman. 

On the D it's obvious that we need help, landing Hamilton or Larsson would be amazing. And getting a capable backup goalie would be great too. 

That being said, i'd rather get players through trade if possible and get them more around 24-25 years old. We have to realize that we are in a very very good position to make that happen, we have cap room, we have extra prospects that are expendable and somewhat proven that will be pushed down the lineup when we get more players. We know we have guys like holtz and mercer coming in too and theres only so many spots, so we'll have to unload some guys. We could likely get something pretty good for a package of our 2nd first round pick plus some of our younger guys.

This could be a very big summer for us. Our group as is it is really closer than it seem. 

Edited by SterioDesign
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5 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

I think history has shown guys are not anxious to come here, so throwing money at them is our best opportunity to land those kind of players. Sorry, but we have the cap space, we should be using some of it to convince guys to come here. 

I am not saying don't overpay guys. We will 100% have to. What I am saying is this off-season is not necessarily the time to do it. A lot of the guys are still young. Our core is 3-4 years away from competing consistently. 

I referenced this before , but Buffalo got trigger happy half way through their rebuild, overpaid a load of guys and it all collapsed now they are somehow in a worse place than before with their best player wanting to walk. 

If we do get guys in they need to be at their peak in 3-4 years. Not on the down swing. I would rather see trying some Palms like trades around the expansion draft.

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7 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

i dont particularly agree with spending money just for the sake of spending money. Thats how you get fvcked with the cap when you really need it down the line. And it doesnt really guarantee anything either

First let's look at the guys we have looked in for next season, and where we could actually use an upgrade. Honestly on the forward group, unless we can get someone REALLY established and proven. Id rather keep going with some of our young guys that should get better every season.

Kuokkanen - Hughes - Sharangovich

Zacha - Hischier - Bratt

Wood - McLeod - Bastian

Foote - Boqvist - Johnsson

Holtz - Maltsev - Merkley

 

Ty Smith - Subban

Butcher - Severson

Bahl - Siegenthaler

 

Blackwood

Wedgewood

Dell

 

I would replace 3-4 of those forwards, 4 of the 6 defensemen, and 2 of the 3 goalies. Other than that we look great. 

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Just now, mfitz804 said:

I would replace 3-4 of those forwards, 4 of the 6 defensemen, and 2 of the 3 goalies. Other than that we look great. 

Well i mean the claim should be... we need someone for this position and someone to play with this guy. More than a blind statement like "WE NEED TO SPEND MONEY! WE HAVE CAP SPACE" that kind of shows the mentality behind it lol

IMO we need 2 top 2 dman. Ty smith and subban are good top 4 guys but not top 2 (not yet for smith anyway)

I guess we'll see who we're losing to Seattle too, id also like to replace johnsson. he did nothing for me this season at all. 

 

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15 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I would replace 3-4 of those forwards, 4 of the 6 defensemen, and 2 of the 3 goalies. Other than that we look great. 

imo if they go status quo without plugging in some outside skilled guys (both forwards and on defense), they will continue to have some feel good stories with guys that do surprisingly well while at the same time continue to be in the bottom third league wide.  Until they figure out how to bring those guys in from the outside we will continue to swing and miss.  There's too much talent within the division and other teams don't stand still hoping for the best. It's tiring. 

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15 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Well i mean the claim should be... we need someone for this position and someone to play with this guy. More than a blind statement like "WE NEED TO SPEND MONEY! WE HAVE CAP SPACE" that kind of shows the mentality behind it lo

I don't believe anyone advocates spending it just to spend it. You spend it because you need to fill needs. Unfortunately, we have need at virtually every position. 

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9 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Speaking for myself I'm not talking about bringing back the corpses of Palmieri and Zajac.

No point in doing that, I agree. I would rather those minutes go to any one of the prospects we have, or to a more capable, younger veteran that we manage to acquire. 

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4 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I still like Nico a hell of a lot, but I no longer consider him an absolute untouchable.  It would still sting to see him go though.  

If it is for someone like an Eichel or a Laine, it's either Jack or Hischier likely going the other way as I could imagine Buffalo and Columbus are looking for a roster player rather than high first rounder (probably both).  Hughes has a higher ceiling than Hischier so Hischier would be the less of two evils.

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5 minutes ago, Guadana said:

Trading Hughes for Laine would be stupid. Chiarelli level.  Even trading Hischier for Laine is bad move.

Trading Nico just creates another huge hole. Unless you’re penciling Mercer in as a 2C. Zacha needs to stay at LW. 

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Just now, Nicomo said:

Trading Nico just creates another huge hole. Unless you’re penciling Mercer in as a 2C. Zacha needs to stay at LW. 

Another huge hole where we have no prospect to heal it. Only Mercer could... or could not. He wasn’t penciled as potential top-6 nhl  center. I did watch some of his game this year, I really like his two way game and position game, but I can’t say he is impressive in organization of line’s game.

Holtz and Mercer has top-6 potential to play on the right wing, where we have Bratt and Kuokkanen now. I have my own questions and worries about their play, but at least they have some good and bright side. Plus we have Clarke and Thompson as insurance. We have nothing in center with top-6 potential. 

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6 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

Call me pessimistic, but I don't think help is coming from UFA this season (or at least enough to really matter).  I don't think a guy like Hamilton would want to come to NJ no matter how much money we throw at him.  I really don't want Zajac and Palmieri anywhere near this team and I am very apathetic at the idea of signing a guy like Larsson or Coleman for their second tour (plus they probably don't move the needle much anyways).

That means help will most likely have to come from a trade.  I have said it several times before over the past few weeks, but I would like for the Devils to really swing for the fences and take a big risk in making a trade.  No more trading for other team's most expendable guys for picks and spare parts.  I wouldn't mind an Eichel or Laine (given it is a sign and trade) and have no problems trading anyone not named Hughes and Smith to get it done.

Well said, if one of Bratt, Zacha, Kuokkanen needs to be served up to get a difference maker, go for it.  I agree the '21 UFA market looks weak, not drooling over anyone kept for guys we discussed. And Hamilton/ Larsson are not coming imo.  I think we have enough to land Eichel, (1st rounder, roster player, good prospect, and later round pick) but that's still not enough probably. Don't want to part with Hughes/Nico. that will be what it takes.

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I can understand not parting with Hughes for Eichel as his upside is higher. But Nico? In theory, that I would have to do. You would be taking a chance that Nico might turn into what you already know Eichel is. 

BUT

Is it worth it to give up Nico for 4 years of Eichel? You have to assume he isn’t going to re-sign because 1) most don’t, and 2) we may not be his best chance to win 4 years from now. 

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2 minutes ago, MB3 said:

No, it's not. I think the value is probably right, but the Devils shouldn't trade 7 years of their homegrown captain for 4 years of a recent malcontent who's been on a losing team his whole career. The second he sees daylight, he's out. 

I guess really 3.5 years when you trade him at the deadline in year 4. Doesn’t seem like the guy I sacrifice Nico for. 

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Trading Nico is a non-starter unless the package coming back is stupid. I would need something to blow me out of the water. If Eichel was signed to a 7 year deal like Nico, I’d have to do that. But not on the four deal he has, because that whiny bitch will leave the minute he gets the opportunity. So, not a chance am I trading my 22-year old Captain for what essentially will be a Hall replay, minus the Hart Trophy.

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8 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Trading Nico is a non-starter unless the package coming back is stupid. I would need something to blow me out of the water. If Eichel was signed to a 7 year deal like Nico, I’d have to do that. But not on the four deal he has, because that whiny bitch will leave the minute he gets the opportunity. So, not a chance am I trading my 22-year old Captain for what essentially will be a Hall replay, minus the Hart Trophy.

Well stated. 

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Considering that we just sucked ass to a bottom three finish, like a lot of you I still feel oddly optimistic about to direction this is headed given the improvement we've seen in the core.  That being said, there are four gaping holes in our roster than Fitz needs to address: 2 top pair D, 1st line LW and and 2nd goalie.   The first three aren't easy but we hopefully have answers for 2 of them in the pipeline.  Here's how I see our team long term (Brackets are for prospects we hope pan out) and I left out the 4th line O because that should ideally just be a revolving door of entry level, last chance contracts.   

Center

1. Hughes

1a. Hischier 

3. (Mercer)

Next year is a big one for these guys because this rebuild goes nowhere without H & H staying healthy and reaching their potential. 

 

Left Wing:

1.  TBD

2. Zacha

3. Kuokkanen/Boqvist/Foote 

 

Right Wing:

1. (Holtz)

2.  Sharangovich/Bratt 

3. Bratt/ Sharangovich

Who knows how this will shake out but we seem pretty well positioned here in any order you want to put them in unless Holtz really bombs 

 

Defense: 

1.  TBD (UFA - Hamilton?) 

2.  Subban next year and then hopefully our 2021 1st rd pick in future

3. Ty Smith

4. Severson 

5-6 Bahl + MB3’s list of D 

 

G

1a.  Blackwod

1b. TBD 

Edited by Lateralous
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