Speculation: NJD Offseason Part III

[Emperoreddy]

That speaks to the fluidity of players league wide and where they slot in. Is Malkin a 2nd line C? While Rico is a 1st line guy? Top 6 vs middle 6, vs bottom 6, I think it all can be pretty vague.

As per this situation specifically? One year at a time I guess.

But looking at the makeup of our prospect pool there are some young guys who I'd rather not start their NHL careers on the 4th line. Zacha, Wood's Blandisi Q? If those guys aren't top 9 I 'd rather they be in Albany or back in Jr's in Zacha's case.

But Coleman or Pietila? Early in their careers I'd be very cool with either coming in and filling that role.

If they are effective, then for that year they are good 4th liners, who maybe in subsequent years play more a mid 6 role to who knows what degree.

I wouldn't be against starting Wood on the 4th line if he makes the team.

 

[Zippy316]

I wouldn't be against starting Wood on the 4th line if he makes the team.

I think he could definitely be effective in that role, but I would rather him develop his offense in Albany if he were to be used on the fourth line.

 

[thethinglonger]

I wouldn't be against starting Wood on the 4th line if he makes the team.

And I think he'd be an immediate upgrade to our 4th line.

I think he could definitely be effective in that role, but I would rather him develop his offense in Albany if he were to be used on the fourth line.

I much prefer this. His potential is a Middle-6 winger, in my opinion (on a good team), so let's give him the time to adjust to the professional game...although he does play a very Pro-style game already. His offense is pretty raw.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I think he could definitely be effective in that role, but I would rather him develop his offense in Albany if he were to be used on the fourth line.

If you give him some line mates with some skill he can develop it at the big level, but it all depends on his camp.

Don't want to just give him the spot.

 

[Marshal Rochambeau]

Wood will benefit immensely from a year in Albany.

 

[Scorcho]

And I think he'd be an immediate upgrade to our 4th line.



I much prefer this. His potential is a Middle-6 winger, in my opinion (on a good team), so let's give him the time to adjust to the professional game...although he does play a very Pro-style game already. His offense is pretty raw.

Pietella - JJ- Wood

mm mm good

 

[Zippy316]

Pietella - JJ- Wood

mm mm good

I really liked Pietila and Kalinin together. I felt like Pietila's speed and energy really got Kalinin into the game otherwise I feel Kalinin has a tendency to float around a bit.

I wouldn't mind giving Kalinin - JJ - Pietila a shot on the fourth line.

 

[Scorcho]

I really liked Pietila and Kalinin together. I felt like Pietila's speed and energy really got Kalinin into the game otherwise I feel Kalinin has a tendency to float around a bit.

I wouldn't mind giving Kalinin - JJ - Pietila a shot on the fourth line.

also good

 

[RSeen]

I really liked Pietila and Kalinin together. I felt like Pietila's speed and energy really got Kalinin into the game otherwise I feel Kalinin has a tendency to float around a bit.

I wouldn't mind giving Kalinin - JJ - Pietila a shot on the fourth line.

Sounds like a potentially good 4th line to me.

 

[Bologna 1]

Id be down for armia. He is just starting to come into his own.

 

[MichaelJ]

Wood will benefit immensely from a year in Albany.

I agree. He's not likely to make LW3 out of camp and I'd rather he get significant playing time. He can play 4th line at the end of the season.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

if Chychrun is there at 11 I take him, no doubt in my mind

Agreed.

 

[goonybird]

Especially if we move Severson for RNH

 

[Stephen Gionta]

LINEUP

1. UFA F
2. Henrique
3. Zajac
4. Cammalleri
5. Palmieri
6. Boucher
7. TRADE - young top 6 potential forward.
8. UFA/another trade/young guy
9. Elias
10. Josefson
11. DSP
12. Kalinin
13. Gionta

Competing for spots: Zacha, Blandisi, Quenneville, Lappin, Farnham, Kennedy, O’Neill, Wood, Pietila

1. Larsson
2. Greene
3. Severson
4. UFA D
5. Schlemko
6. Moore
7. Helgeson

Competing for spots: Santini, Mozik, Hrabarenka, Scarlett

1. Schneider
2. Kinkaid
Depth: Wedgewood

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I think you need to temper your expectations a bit....

also, Gionta should be nowhere near this team next year

 

[Stephen Gionta]

Why you say that

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

A) you think we're going to sign someone in free agency that immediately becomes our best forward? so basically that boils down to Stamkos or Palmieri
B) you think we're going to trade for a young top 6 potential forward and sign another one
C) you think we're going to sign a top 4 DMan in free agency


I just don't see ALL of that happening in one offseason. Not realistic, IMO.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

A) you think we're going to sign someone in free agency that immediately becomes our best forward? so basically that boils down to Stamkos or Palmieri
B) you think we're going to trade for a young top 6 potential forward and sign another one
C) you think we're going to sign a top 4 DMan in free agency


I just don't see ALL of that happening in one offseason. Not realistic, IMO.

A. Just because I put the UFA F in the 1st slot doesn't mean i think he is gonna be our best forward.. It was just the order i happened to write it in.

B. Yes i think it is possible to sign an impact forward and trade for an impact forward in the same summer. It happened last summer. Traded for Palmieri. Signed Stempniak.

C. Yes I think it is very possible to sign a top 4 defenseman in free agency. there are tons of options - Yandle, Goligoski, Demers being the top 3 of my own preferred list.


It is definitely realistic. You seem to be very pessimistic and YOUR expectations are unrealistic. Its like you think Shero is gonna sit on his couch all summer and do nothing.

 

[JimEIV]

A. Just because I put the UFA F in the 1st slot doesn't mean i think he is gonna be our best forward.. It was just the order i happened to write it in.

B. Yes i think it is possible to sign an impact forward and trade for an impact forward in the same summer. It happened last summer. Traded for Palmieri. Signed Stempniak.

C. Yes I think it is very possible to sign a top 4 defenseman in free agency. there are tons of options - Yandle, Goligoski, Demers being the top 3 of my own preferred list.


It is definitely realistic. You seem to be very pessimistic and YOUR expectations are unrealistic. Its like you think Shero is gonna sit on his couch all summer and do nothing.

I would have no problem with that.

 

[RememberTheName]

I would have no problem with that.

I second this. I would be totally fine if Shero did nothing, got another high draft pick, and then go for players in free agency next year

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

The more I think about it, the more I want Demers. We need depth on D. We can't be an injury away from icing an embarrassment like Warstinky or someone like him. We need a stout D if we aren't gonna ice a competent forward core. Obviously I want Shero to address the forward situation as well, but solidifying our strengths is also important.

Who knows if Severson will be tried on the left side, but Severson-Larsson sounds like an interesting pairing. Greene-Demers as the second and then if Santini is ready, Schlemko-Santini with Merrill/Moore as the extra. If he's not ready, Schlemko-Merrill as the third pairing with Moore as the extra. Depending on how our guys progress, this could be a fantastic unit.

 

[Marshal Rochambeau]

We have quite a deep right side in terms of prospects that are one or two years away from making the team. Unless Demers wants a one or two year contract I don't see the point in signing him when our stated goal is to develop the youth.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

We have quite a deep right side in terms of prospects that are one or two years away from making the team. Unless Demers wants a one or two year contract I don't see the point in signing him when our stated goal is to develop the youth.

do you honestly think that any of our prospects will ever be as good as Jason Demers is?

I don't get this line of thinking. Lets say Demers says "yea, I will sign with you guys for a fair deal." You tell him no because we MIGHT have a good NHL player in 2-3 years? That makes no sense to me.

Demers is 27 years old. This is not some 34 year old we're talking about.

 

[NJDevs26]

I second this. I would be totally fine if Shero did nothing, got another high draft pick, and then go for players in free agency next year

I want to see Palmieri resigned long-term and at least one consequential FA signing or trade (a la Palmieri/Cory), though I'm not neccesarily saying trade #11 or roster player(s) I wouldn't dismiss any possibility out of hand. I would really like to see this team with one more top six RW and one more top four d-man in general, but I agree with not signing older guys long-term - that's how we got into the abyss.

Of course Shero doesn't entirely control whether Palmieri signs a long-term deal or whether a signing/trade happens.

 

[dzubrus8]

Here are some good FAs to ponder that nobody here is really talking much about (taken from an AATJ article comment of mine):

I don’t think I would want to sign three defensemen (Schlemko included) and I think most need convincing that the Devils need two. At forward, I think you left out a lot of interesting players that could slot in at that top-6 RW spot.

Everybody talks about the top forward free agents: Kyle Okposo and Steven Stamkos. They are going to have several suitors if they make it to the big market. But of pending UFAs, neither are first in points. Jaromir Jagr (65 pts) comes in first, Stamkos (64) in second, and then Okposo tied with Loui Eriksson (63) for third.

Stammer is definitely a pipe-dream. Jagr has said repeatedly that he wants to come back and he wants to play in Sunrise. That leaves Okposo and Eriksson. Eriksson is a left-shooting right wing for Boston and scored 30 goals this year. He has had five 60 point seasons and in his last eight seasons, he played 95% of games in seven of them. He has gotten Selke votes three times in his career and is a solid possession player by all indications.

I don’t care if it’s a "playoffs in 2017" or a "compete by 2020" plan, Eriksson is the type of durable, high scoring veteran who can set up Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri and get them to 30 goals in the future. According to this he wants six years at six million per season. Boston offered him three or four at the same salary. At age 30, maybe he will regress by the end of his contract, but if you’re looking for a Kyle Okposo consolation prize, I’d look no further.

Another guy I’d be looking at for the forward corps is Andrew Ladd. He can take the body but he’s also an on-ice leader who is good for about 45-55 points a season. He’s not a thumper like Ryane Clowe but instead he has a perfect blend of on-ice responsibility and pure scoring ability. His HERO chart rivals that of Kyle Okposo. He would probably come cheaper than Okposo. Maybe we offer him Clowe’s contract: 5 years at 4.85m per year.

One more guy I want to mention is Jiri Hudler. He’s good at everything, a master at nothing, but he offers solid and reliable play in a top-six role. Maybe we can slot him at 2RW and put Palmieri at 1RW. His HERO chart is impressive too but take that for what it is given his 70 point season in 2014-15.

Of course, the grand prize of this all would be if the Devils could pick up Alex Radulov and he decides to be mature. Artemi Panarin is good and all but he never played as well in the KHL as Radulov did. Radulov scored 58 points as a 21-year old for Nashville. His KHL numbers show a player who improved a lot since he was 22 years old. Now 30, he is past his prime but still producing. If you want a game breaker and are not worried about potential downfall of character issues, Radulov is your guy. Note that Shero did a lot of scouting in Nashville and was there at the time Radulov was drafted. If he wants to stay close to New York (as it sounds) then maybe he wouldn’t mind crossing the Hudson to get first line minutes and a fat paycheck.

On defense, I think the consensus is that Greene and Larsson should be broken up and most want Greene to pair with Severson. On the third pairing we could do Moore/Merrill with Santini/Mozik and I don’t think the results would be so detrimental to the rest of the team. Yandle would be nice for sure and it would balance out with Larsson next to him providing quality blue-line play. However, I’d also look long at Alex Goligoski. He’s only 30 and his HERO chart paints a prettier picture than it does for Yandle. I’m not sure how acrimonious of a divorce it was between Shero and Goligoski when the then Penguins GM sent him to Dallas in a trade for James Neal and Matt Niskanen. If Goligoski’s alright with a reuniting, I’d be totally on board. He’s a top-two defenseman who has been paid and treated like a second-pairing guy. No longer.