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Trade: Ryan Graves to NJ


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40 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

On one hand:  yippy, another 2nd-rounder + something middling for someone else's expendable...obviously tons of offseason to go, but it feels like the Devils have tapped this well a LOT in recent seasons...and due to what always feels like a relatively low price, our first reaction is usually positive (and hopeful).  

On the other:  looks like Graves should be a solid pickup, and will help fill a glaring need.  Really hope this works out, because these are EXACTLY the kinds of deals that had a way of not working out for Shero.  I'd say on the surface, this one feels about as good as the deal for MoJo did at the time it was made (I liked it plenty and thought it made tons of sense).  I just REALLY want something to work out for the Devils, for a change.  Fingers crossed on this one.   

That's my one concern too.  This now either the 6th or 7th 2nd rounder we have traded away in the past 5 or so years.  Some names that we traded away 2nd rounders for include Subban, Gusev, Mueller, Johansson, and Grabner and out of those only one is still a Devil.

Edited by DevsMan84
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Nothing against Fitz, I like him and believe in him, but let me see him make some things happen.

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3 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

That's my one concern too.  This now either the 6th or 7th 2nd rounder we have traded away in the past 5 or so years.  Some names that we traded away 2nd rounders for include Subban, Gusev, Mueller, Johansson, and Grabner and out of those only one is still a Devil.

The ironic part is other than Mueller, I don’t think any of them looked like a bad deal at the time. Even Mueller was not a bad deal, just a reclamation attempt rather than a guy who looked solid. 

And even Mueller, he was a reclamation project rather than what appeared to be a solid player, but still, I didn't hate it. 

Edited by mfitz804
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More info very detailed about Graves: 

I am getting the feeling that most Avs fans are happy to see him go because of errors in defense. He gets blamed a lot. 

 

Here is what this fan said:

First, be careful what you read here. The 'H' in HF apparently stands for hatred, as there seems to be a need here for a villain to beat up, and Graves has pulled that duty quite a bit. On to Graves:

1) This was a business decision, not a talent decision. Graves will be a perfectly serviceable middle pair D for NJ. He just did not fit here, with a pair of Top 4 draft picks taking up a lot of room.
2) Graves does have his negatives. He is infuriating when it comes to clearly the puck. He is just as infuriating with the constant supply of slappers from the blue line.
3) He is excellent on the PK. He's long and gives up the body. Our #1 goalie loves Graves, which is probably all you need to know. He is an excellent shot blocker, though I feel this wastes some of his checking talent.
4) He seems coachable. He changed his style when he came here, which was coached. Our coaching is not that good, so one could say that he was taught some bad habits.

I think this is a trade which works for all parties. The Avs were in danger of losing Graves for nothing in the XD. The Avs needed to cut Net Cap Hit. The Avs had a Top 4 D-man stuck in what was a 6D or potentially even 7D slot with all of our depth. For Graves, this is a chance to shine. He played well with Makar last year on the 1st pair. He ought to be a good 2nd pair D at a nice price for NJ - plus a PK1 D-man.

 

IMO this was a business decision by both team. I am not that excited about him being a player that will impact our weak defense, just my opinion, I of course hope I am wrong. 

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2 minutes ago, Brewskies said:

2) Graves does have his negatives. He is infuriating when it comes to clearly the puck. He is just as infuriating with the constant supply of slappers from the blue line.

That sounds like an exact replacement for PK...

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7 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That sounds like an exact replacement for PK...

Agree and cheaper. As you probably know, I am not a big fan of PK's play and what he costs us. He had a nice vacation while making big bucks. He is a nice guy and probably plays an excellent senior role in the locker room. But we need defense badly.

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56 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

The ironic part is other than Mueller, I don’t think any of them looked like a bad deal at the time. Even Mueller was not a bad deal, just a reclamation attempt rather than a guy who looked solid. 

And even Mueller, he was a reclamation project rather than what appeared to be a solid player, but still, I didn't hate it. 

In a vacuum, the Mueller trade was a reasonable gamble.  However, when you look at the list of trades where we send a 2nd rounder for x player, those tend to blow up in our faces way more than they help us.  I guess Gusev could be considered a little bit of a win since he was one of our most productive players in 19-20 season, but as of now he is not on the team and was scratched by Florida in a bunch of their games.

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53 minutes ago, Brewskies said:


3) He is excellent on the PK. He's long and gives up the body. Our #1 goalie loves Graves, which is probably all you need to know. He is an excellent shot blocker, though I feel this wastes some of his checking talent.

That alone may be worth it for him, considering our PK last season was beyond putrid.

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2 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

That's my one concern too.  This now either the 6th or 7th 2nd rounder we have traded away in the past 5 or so years.  Some names that we traded away 2nd rounders for include Subban, Gusev, Mueller, Johansson, and Grabner and out of those only one is still a Devil.

Out of that list, I'd say Johansson was the absolute no-brainer...he'd just come off his best season and was still pretty young.  Goose was a worthwhile "Why not?" kind of move, though it was fair to wonder how a guy who was playing for a stacked team in a lesser league would play here (both he and Kovy didn't do much, though Goose did show some promise towards the end of his first NHL season).  By virtue of being a former first-rounder, someone was going to take a second-chance flier on Mueller...given the state of the Devils at the time, I understood why the Devils did it.  Grabner seemed like a good move that didn't work out at all...but unfortunately that's how it can go with deadline deals...will that player be able to fit in with entirely new teammates in a very short period of time?  Some guys take right off (see Hall last year), some guys just never figure it out for their new team.  PK I'd say was the most iffy...yeah, technically he didn't cost the Devils too much in assets, but there were enough red flags in his final season with the Preds that it was fair to wonder what version of PK the Devils would get. 

So out of the list, most seemed like solid acquisitions at the time...which makes the fact that none of them have really worked out all the more frustrating.  Hopefully this one ends the trend.

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2 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Out of that list, I'd say Johansson was the absolute no-brainer...he'd just come off his best season and was still pretty young.  Goose was a worthwhile "Why not?" kind of move, though it was fair to wonder how a guy who was playing for a stacked team in a lesser league would play here (both he and Kovy didn't do much, though Goose did show some promise towards the end of his first NHL season).  By virtue of being a former first-rounder, someone was going to take a second-chance flier on Mueller...given the state of the Devils at the time, I understood why the Devils did it.  Grabner seemed like a good move that didn't work out at all...but unfortunately that's how it can go with deadline deals...will that player be able to fit in with entirely new teammates in a very short period of time?  Some guys take right off (see Hall last year), some guys just never figure it out for their new team.  PK I'd say was the most iffy...yeah, technically he didn't cost the Devils too much in assets, but there were enough red flags in his final season with the Preds that it was fair to wonder what version of PK the Devils would get. 

So out of the list, most seemed like solid acquisitions at the time...which makes the fact that none of them have really worked out all the more frustrating.  Hopefully this one ends the trend.

Grabner was such a terrible deal in hindsight. We did a deal with the Rags. Did Grabner have any goals when he was here?

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15 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Out of that list, I'd say Johansson was the absolute no-brainer...he'd just come off his best season and was still pretty young.  Goose was a worthwhile "Why not?" kind of move, though it was fair to wonder how a guy who was playing for a stacked team in a lesser league would play here (both he and Kovy didn't do much, though Goose did show some promise towards the end of his first NHL season).  By virtue of being a former first-rounder, someone was going to take a second-chance flier on Mueller...given the state of the Devils at the time, I understood why the Devils did it.  Grabner seemed like a good move that didn't work out at all...but unfortunately that's how it can go with deadline deals...will that player be able to fit in with entirely new teammates in a very short period of time?  Some guys take right off (see Hall last year), some guys just never figure it out for their new team.  PK I'd say was the most iffy...yeah, technically he didn't cost the Devils too much in assets, but there were enough red flags in his final season with the Preds that it was fair to wonder what version of PK the Devils would get. 

So out of the list, most seemed like solid acquisitions at the time...which makes the fact that none of them have really worked out all the more frustrating.  Hopefully this one ends the trend.

I largely agree.  However, in just about all the cases the players on that list were the odd man out on their former teams (Gusev is half-credit due to him not even being on the team).

1 minute ago, MB3 said:

am I missing something or are you already assuming Subban gets selected?

Only Subban on that list is currently a Devil.

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11 minutes ago, MB3 said:

am I missing something or are you already assuming Subban gets selected?

I think you confused your Johnsson with your Johansson. 

14 minutes ago, MB3 said:

for someone who “did not fit” in colorado, he got top-4 minutes every single season he’d been there. He was 4th in ATOI/G for colorado defenseman last year. Your friend acting like he’s going to lose minutes is silly. 

Sounds like a guy who can eat minutes. 

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Posted in the comments of the open thread on All About The Jersey.

Does it win dumbest comment of the internet today?

"I wonder how Maltsev feels about all of this

He’s leaving a team with 3 cups to a team with 2. The Devils have won the Cup more recently than the Avalanche, and the Devils have been in Finals more recently too

I hope he’s coping with this downgrade well"

 

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8 minutes ago, CarpathianForest said:

Posted in the comments of the open thread on All About The Jersey.

Does it win dumbest comment of the internet today?

"I wonder how Maltsev feels about all of this

He’s leaving a team with 3 cups to a team with 2. The Devils have won the Cup more recently than the Avalanche, and the Devils have been in Finals more recently too

I hope he’s coping with this downgrade well"

 

Yep he is probably pissed about it, I’m sure those cups we won when he was 5, 2, and -3 years old were his primary reason for being here. 

As far as it being the dumbest comment of the day, I reserve decision until the day is over, NJDevs does have its moments. 

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1 hour ago, CarpathianForest said:

Grabner was such a terrible deal in hindsight. We did a deal with the Rags. Did Grabner have any goals when he was here?

For some reason he really was able to find the net as a Ranger...52 goals in 135 GP with them (a lot of the reason I liked the deal at the time)...then he scores 2 in a total of 23 GP as a Devil, and was basically invisible...I do remember him having a few breakaways, but just like that, his scoring dried right up the second he came here.

Was a tough spot for Shero...I don't think he necessarily wanted to make help-now deadline moves, but he was trying to show Hall that he was willing to help the Devils get into the playoffs (and hopefully have some success)...at that time, it felt like there was a real shot that Hall and the Devils could have several good years together...oh well.  

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