Devils 2017-18 team discussion (player news and notes) IV - March to the Trade Deadline

[Zippy316]

If the organization truly sees Mueller as a ready to play now player coupled with the lack of extension for Moore I could see Moore moved as part of a package at the deadline for an upgrade elsewhere.

I understand that the D is nothing to brag about and that stylistically he fits what the team is looking for, but does the team need two second/third pair LD tweeners? Depth maybe but why have an extra guy sitting around if he can be moved (maybe with a JQ who has been criticized by the team recently) for someone that will actually play every game? Other than those two I don’t see any extra assets that have any actual NHL value (unless Chiarelli covets Hayes).

I don't see Moore moved this year unless Shero gets an offer he cant refuse. I mean, we tried going one game without Moore and look how that went. He's been very consistent and surprising clutch when the team needs a response offensively.

Also if you keep Moore, you can also debate about trading Greene in the off-season and keeping Moore. That's a tough move to make, but I could see it going down.

 

[Blackjack]

You don’t trade away defensemen at the deadline if you are a playoff team.

We have Steven Santini playing in the AHL and we're scratching a capable defenseman every game.

 

[My3Sons]

I don't see Moore moved this year unless Shero gets an offer he cant refuse. I mean, we tried going one game without Moore and look how that went. He's been very consistent and surprising clutch when the team needs a response offensively.

Also if you keep Moore, you can also debate about trading Greene in the off-season and keeping Moore. That's a tough move to make, but I could see it going down.

With Greene’s contract I’d be surprised if any team wanted him. As for Moore, he strikes me as a replacement level player. Why invest in Mueller to sit him and wait for a long term injury? I get that they didn’t see Butcher making the impact he has this season, but to me he is the third pair LD. Mueller has to ply at some point. I don’t see Moore as a great investment unless the team finds a way to move Greene which as stated I’m skeptical can happen. Keeping him isn’t the end of the world and I can understand not wanting to rock the boat down the stretch but for a second round pick I’d be very tempted.

 

[Blackjack]

Edmonton -- It's almost awkward to list them as a candidate for a "buy low" trade, given the context of the Hall acquisition. Like LA, they have a logjam of LD, with Sekera/Klefbom/Russell/Davidson/Nurse. In this case, though, I think they'd prefer to bury/buy out Russell instead of moving Davidson/Nurse. At forward, Slepyshev has been under-utilized.

I kind of doubt Edmonton will do another big trade with us after all the deserved criticism they've taken for the Hall deal. Any deal would have extra scrutiny and if it turned out badly they would have to explain how they got taken by the same team twice.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

I kind of doubt Edmonton will do another big trade with us after all the deserved criticism they've taken for the Hall deal. Any deal would have extra scrutiny and if it turned out badly they would have to explain how they got taken by the same team twice.

I agree with you. But for the sake of the exercise, I included them, since Devilswede did in his post.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Scored comp tickets for tomorrow can’t wait.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Greene-Vatanen
Mueller-Severson
Butcher-Santini/Lovejoy

That’s a decent enough defense. We’d lose some offense and speed but improve defensively. Mueller makes more sense as a partner for Severson from a stylistic standpoint imo.

We’re not moving Moore though, so this is pointless.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

If Moore gets moved, I'd almost guarantee we'd have some sort of replacement defenseman, either in the same deal or a separate one.

 

[Blackjack]

As for Moore, he strikes me as a replacement level player.

Wow, I completely disagree. He has good offensive numbers for a guy that doesn't play on the powerplay, he's the best skater we have on the blue line, and he plays with a physical edge. Yes, he has some limitations, but I think he's been great this year.

 

[Zippy316]

I did some research on the teams from Devilswede's post, and here's what I gathered:

Buffalo -- Other than Sam Reinhart (C/RW) and Nic Baptiste (RW), there isn't much here. From Shero's perspective and applying his "model," Reinhart wears the "former high pick" hat and Baptiste is the "under-utilized project with scoring touch." Personally, I have a hard time seeing Buffalo selling Reinhart at the price Shero wants to pay.

Minnesota -- Zucker and Dumba are the big expiring RFA's for them, but both players seem to be in their long-term plans. It's interesting to note that the Wild will have to give raises to the aforementioned players, along with re-signing/replacing their entire fourth line (Winnik/Cullen/Stewart), with only about $10M. Perhaps Brodin's $4.167M AAV gets a bit too pricey to hang onto?

Los Angeles -- Shero has to be looking at their D situation here, specifically their left side. Even moving Martinez to the right side (he plays both), they have a logjam with Phaneuf/Muzzin/LaDue/Forbort/Gravel, with top prospect Kale Clague jockeying for a spot as soon as next year. Pulling back the curtain a bit, LA extended Forbort at the beginning of this season, and have escalated his minutes from ~18:00 ATOI last year to ~21:30 ATOI this year. He has logged 24+ minutes in two of their last five games, being paired with Doughty. The Kings love LaDue and Clague (and their ELCs), and Phaneuf automatically gets a spot, so perhaps Muzzin is the odd man out? It certainly looks like Forbort is being groomed to take over his role.

Arizona -- I don't buy the smoke around Max Domi. The only other guy is Tobias Rieder, who has surfaced quite a bit recently in trade rumors. He just turned 25, can play all three forward positions, and has stats/usage that are extremely similar to what Palmieri had when Shero acquired him. He's also remarkably durable, having missed only three games over the past three seasons.

Vancouver -- The Canucks have a glut of pending RFA defensemen, but I don't see Hutton/Stetcher/Gudbranson being better than what we currently have by way of young defensemen. An obligatory plug here for Derrick Pouliot, given the Pittsburgh/Shero connection, but, again, I don't think he's an upgrade on what we already have.

Detroit -- Their cap situation is a god damn mess, jesus. Devilswede name dropped Gustav Nyquist, so that's self-explanatory. I think he's the cheaper option between him and Tatar. Other than that, it has been reported that D Xavier Ouellet may be given a fresh start elsewhere. He hasn't shown much at the NHL level, so unless Shero loves him for some reason, I don't think that'll happen.

Edmonton -- It's almost awkward to list them as a candidate for a "buy low" trade, given the context of the Hall acquisition. Like LA, they have a logjam of LD, with Sekera/Klefbom/Russell/Davidson/Nurse. In this case, though, I think they'd prefer to bury/buy out Russell instead of moving Davidson/Nurse. At forward, Slepyshev has been under-utilized.

The issue is what Shero wants to do? Do we want to compete or continue to rebuild? Some of those guys might make us a marginally better team, but is it worth it add them and kick Noesen, Coleman, Butcher, Mueller etc out of the line-up to accommodate them this year?

A guy like Virtanen/Slepyshev might be an option to bolster the depth and maybe hope they break out next year. Reider, Domi, Nyquist, and Reinhart would be a perfect mix of competing now and adding to the future, but also are the most expensive.

Should be an interesting last week here.

 

[Zippy316]

Greene-Vatanen
Mueller-Severson
Butcher-Santini/Lovejoy

That’s a decent enough defense. We’d lose some offense and speed but improve defensively. Mueller makes more sense as a partner for Severson from a stylistic standpoint imo.

We’re not moving Moore though, so this is pointless.

Next year, I wouldn't mind that with a full training camp and healthy off-season for Vatanen and all the young guys improving.

On a team that you want to make the playoffs with this year? I'd be nervous about icing that every night. Moore gives us some some veteran stability on the left side and I never thought I'd say that after the last two years.

 

[NJDevs26]

The issue is what Shero wants to do? Do we want to compete or continue to rebuild? Some of those guys might make us a marginally better team, but is it worth it add them and kick Noesen, Coleman, Butcher, Mueller etc out of the line-up to accommodate them this year?

They aren't booting Noesen or Coleman out of the lineup, any forward they add would get time over the Stafford/Hayes/Lappin/JQ back end forwards, three of those guys aren't part of the future anyway and JQ is still in the doghouse. Sadly you have to plan as if MarJo isn't going to be around this year and look on adding him as a bonus. I could definitely see them getting a patch forward though it'd be bargain basement shopping if they did.

 

[Zippy316]

Stay away from Virtannen

He may have been a draft bust relative to his position, but he has an interesting skill set. Great skater, great motor, terrific shot, and loves to hit.

Those are the types of guys you look to buy low on because he can still turn into a quality depth player. I'm not saying get into a bidding war for him, but if he becomes available for a reasonable price (or an asset you think is expendable), why not? He was picked high for a reason so if you can tap into that, he might be able to improve his game.

 

[Zippy316]

They aren't booting Noesen or Coleman out of the lineup, any forward they add would get time over the Stafford/Hayes back end forwards. Sadly you have to plan as if MarJo isn't going to be around this year and look on adding him as a bonus. I could definitely see them getting a patch forward though it'd be bargain basement shopping if they did.

This talk does make it seem like Johansson will be out for a while, because with him back, I don't see any spot that makes any sense for the Devils to improve on. It's either a guy playing his proper role or a younger guy that has earned that spot this year:

Hall - Hischier - Bratt
Johansson - Zacha - Palmieri
Wood - Zajac - Noesen
Coleman - Boyle - Gibbons
Hayes - Stafford

The only issue there is there isn't much depth in case of injuries aside from Quenneville who is a big unknown. I could also see the Devils having McLeod skate with the team after his OHL season is over as he's likely an improvement over any forward in Binghamton.

 

[Ripshot 43]

He may have been a draft bust relative to his position, but he has an interesting skill set. Great skater, great motor, terrific shot, and loves to hit.

Those are the types of guys you look to buy low on because he can still turn into a quality depth player. I'm not saying get into a bidding war for him, but if he becomes available for a reasonable price (or an asset you think is expendable), why not? He was picked high for a reason so if you can tap into that, he might be able to improve his game.

And this has been 100% Shero’s MO. Look at how many former 1st rounders he’s brought in, in the short time he’s been with us.

 

[NJDevs26]

Honest to god I keep forgetting Gibbons is even around let alone coming back soon, while he didn't do much offensively the last few months it'll at least add depth and another good role player.

This talk does make it seem like Johansson will be out for a while, because with him back, I don't see any spot that makes any sense for the Devils to improve on. It's either a guy playing his proper role or a younger guy that has earned that spot this year:

Hall - Hischier - Bratt
Johansson - Zacha - Palmieri
Wood - Zajac - Noesen
Coleman - Boyle - Gibbons
Hayes - Stafford

The only issue there is there isn't much depth in case of injuries aside from Quenneville who is a big unknown. I could also see the Devils having McLeod skate with the team after his OHL season is over as he's likely an improvement over any forward in Binghamton.

I could picture a 2/3RW tweener addition to take some of the load off Bratt and bump Noesen down to a fourth line which would actually matter. Of course it'd be in the vein of when Lou brought back Steve Sullivan and not anything real eye-popping.

If Vrbata wasn't having a complete crap year (or maybe because he is, and they think they can find some spark out of him) that could be the kind of guy they bring in for some 5th-7th round pick.

Hall-Hischier-Palmieri
Wood-Zacha-Bratt/deadline acquisition
Coleman/Gibbons-Zajac-deadline acquisition/Bratt
Gibbons/Coleman-Boyle-Noesen

 

[Bleedred]

If Moore gets moved, I'd almost guarantee we'd have some sort of replacement defenseman, either in the same deal or a separate one.

Meh

If it's gonna be another Dalton Prout then just f***in have them keep them and send us a 6th round pick instead, if that's the best they can do.

Or we can always trade that player for Scott Darling at some point next year!

 

[Zippy316]

I could picture a 2/3RW tweener addition to take some of the load off Bratt and bump Noesen down to a fourth line which would actually matter. Of course it'd be in the vein of when Lou brought back Steve Sullivan and not anything real eye-popping.

Hall-Hischier-Palmieri
Wood-Zacha-Bratt/deadline acquisition
Coleman-Zajac-deadline acquisition/Bratt
Gibbons-Boyle-Noesen

A guy that can play both wings would be ideal in that case but I just don't see what we're offering to get that caliber of player.

Aside from the bigger fishes (Pacioretty, Hoffman, Kane), the next group of available players like Nyquist, Reinhart, and Domi are what the Devils would likely be looking at. But even those are not much of an improvement over what we already have or are longer projects rather than 'strengthen your roster' players.

 

[jkrdevil]

We have Steven Santini playing in the AHL and we're scratching a capable defenseman every game.

The playoffs are a physical grind. You can never have too many defensemen because you could easily one or two on the first couple of games.

 

[NJDevs26]

The playoffs are a physical grind. You can never have too many defensemen because you could easily one or two on the first couple of games.

I understand the argument for depth but you also kind of want to figure out what you have in Mueller before the offseason where you have to make a decision on re-signing Moore and before you spend major assets to bring in another LD.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Buffalo: Reinhart, Baptiste, Fasching, and everybody's favorite, Jacob Josefson
Minnesota: Zucker, Dumba
LA: Gravel, LaDue
Zona: Domi, Reider, Dauphin
Vancouver: Virtanen, Granlund, Baertschi, Stecher, Puoliot, another favorite, Reid Boucher
Detroit: AA, Larkin, Mantha, Frk, Bertuzzi
Edmonton: Strome, Shlepyshev, Caggiula, Nurse, Benning, Davidson
Ottawa: Shore, Stone, Ceci, Claesson
Montreal: Danault, de la Rose, Carr, L. Shaw, McCarron

This list of teams doesn’t really tell us anything since it is literally every team looking to sell minus the Rangers.

Of course we are scouting and speaking to these teams.

 

[jkrdevil]

I understand the argument for depth but you also kind of want to figure out what you have in Mueller before the offseason where you have to make a decision on re-signing Moore and before you spend major assets to bring in another LD.

You kind of already know what you have in Mueller. That you have to ask the question says not much

 

[Emperoreddy]

You kind of already know what you have in Mueller. That you have to ask the question says not much

I mean Hynes literally said otherwise in his interview today. They definitely like Mueller, and it is simply a numbers game.

 

[DerekDevils30]

How has Hjalmarsson been for Arizona? He's signed through next season. Would add playoff experience and may be able to shoulder some shutdown minutes alongside Severson or Vatanen

 

[Setec Astronomy]

FWIW, a few months back Garrioch, who I know isn’t the most reliable, said Ray had inquired about OEL along with Toronto.

A few people have mentioned Greene, and it is worth noting that he could be bought out pretty much on the same terms as Cammy. You could also send him to the Bing, I’m not sure if that gets rid of his cap hit but it probably doesn’t matter. Still, he’s very respected in the locker room so doing something like that probably doesn’t happen.