Confirmed Trade: [NJD/SJS]Mirco Mueller & 5th round pick for 2nd round pick & 4th round pick

[MarAlain MongYeo]

I know he's been disappointing but there's something about the name Mirco Mueller that makes me think he will be an absolute stud in New Jersey.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Hopefully he doesn't suck I guess.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

Nice work SJ.

Mueller's relative gf% is identical to Morin's and they're pretty much the same player. Would you give up Morin for this return?

The difference is that Mueller was thrust into the league as a 19 year old and the other one wasn't exposed at a young age

 

[Limekiller]

Like others have said, he has a great set of physical tools. He's a big kid (though like almost all young D, could use some more muscle), and as the gif of him chasing down Gaborik shows, skating speed is definitely a strength. Unfortunately, the physical tools have been paired with a fairly deficient toolbox. Decision making, positioning, offensive instincts are all bad. There's been improvement in the first two, not so much in the 3rd.

There's never been any complaints about his work ethic, compete level, or any off-ice issues whatsoever. So have no fears about any of that sort of thing. Hopefully, the mental issues are fixable with proper development. For whatever reason, he wasn't getting that here. If NJ can fix his issues, he'll definitely be a perfectly acceptable 2nd pair defensive D-man. Assuming they feel they can indeed do so, I don't think the price they paid for him was unreasonable. As a Sharks fan, I'm quite happy with the return, since he wasn't going to make it here due to depth ahead of him if nothing else. But, I don't think a late 2nd in a weak draft is a huge price to pay on a gamble for a 22 year old who could end up being your 2nd pair LD.

 

[SabresSharks]

The difference is that Mueller was thrust into the league as a 19 year old and the other one wasn't exposed at a young age

That certainly didn't help his progress, and the Sharks are to blame for not sending him back to Everett. His lack of development since then is on him.

Given his speed, his lack of confidence with the puck on his stick is striking - deer in the headlights level at times.

Hope the Devils can salvage him. In the meantime, the return is welcome for a player who had pretty much been written off by the Sharks.

 

[PetterssonSimp]

Good gamble for the Devils at a fair price. Mueller had no where to go on the Sharks defensive core. Whereas the Sharks got some desperately needed draft picks as they have like none for the next 2 years

 

[Hictor Vedman*]

If a 1st rounder has made no progression in four years since his draft year, he is not worth a 1st rounder. It's really that simple.

Didn't realize NJ's 49th overall pick was a first round pick.

Guess it's simple to everybody but you.

 

[Satastic]

Didn't realize NJ's 49th overall pick was a first round pick.

Guess it's simple to everybody but you.

Mueller, where he is right now, is not worth a first round draft pick. His stock has fallen. It's not as black and white as you make it out to be

Arvidsson must only be worth a fourth round draft pick then, if we're going by how you're explaining it

 

[Juxtaposer]

Didn't realize NJ's 49th overall pick was a first round pick.

Guess it's simple to everybody but you.

You said a former first rounder > a 2nd round pick.

You can change the goalposts all you like but you're still out to lunch. The only reason Mueller is worth more than future considerations is his draft position, which ironically has absolutely no bearing on his ability as a player.

Once a player is drafted, a GM would do well to forget all about when he was drafted. Former 1st round picks get unlimited chances to make it in the NHL, just on the merit of being a former 1st rounder.

 

[Gstank]

This is the Jim Benning special, or what Calgary did with Lazar. Pay a high-ish draft pick for a busting "prospect". These kinda shortcut deals make no sense, especially for a team as bad as the Devils (they'd be better off just trying to draft and develop new core, which Mueller will never be part of).

You know you can't ice a team of all 18-24 year olds and even be remotely competitive right? need some kind of "gap filler"

 

[MadDevil]

Wait, I thought this draft sucked? Now the Devils are giving up a high-ish pick at 49 overall that would probably be better?

 

[Paulinvancouver]

I first read this as Timo Meier. Or at least that's who I thought this was.

Good trade sj.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

Savvy deal for both teams.

 

[Tripod]

Mueller's relative gf% is identical to Morin's and they're pretty much the same player. Would you give up Morin for this return?

The difference is that Mueller was thrust into the league as a 19 year old and the other one wasn't exposed at a young age

I didn't know you only judge players based in gf%.

 

[Blender]

Wait, I thought this draft sucked? Now the Devils are giving up a high-ish pick at 49 overall that would probably be better?

Funny how this narrative seems to change in every thread to suit whichever argument is being made. So which one is it?

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Much easier to make risks like this when you aren't even trading your own picks. I probably would have had a different reaction if this wasn't basically Mueller for Stempniak and Fiddler. His size and skating looks good, hopefully having people that believe in him will help his confidence.

 

[Baemon Severson*]

I didn't know you only judge players based in gf%.

Neither has any offensive ability and both are mobile


What makes Morin such a better prospect?

FWIW, I'm not high on either.

 

[HITMAN88]

Looks like nj got a swiss to help out hischier

You nailed it! There's nothing else to say

 

[Jerzey Devil]

This really could be Hischier related. I say this as someone who expected them to draft Patrick but this move makes me second guess that.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Shero is clearly targeting former 1st round picks under 25 that have underperformed in the early parts of their careers. Palmieri, Bennett, Moore, Noesen, and now Mueller. He's bringing in talented reclamation projects and hoping he can turn them around.

This is a great way for a rebuilding team with no prime assets to find some hidden gems.

 

[Hictor Vedman*]

You said a former first rounder > a 2nd round pick.

You can change the goalposts all you like but you're still out to lunch. The only reason Mueller is worth more than future considerations is his draft position, which ironically has absolutely no bearing on his ability as a player.

Once a player is drafted, a GM would do well to forget all about when he was drafted. Former 1st round picks get unlimited chances to make it in the NHL, just on the merit of being a former 1st rounder.

Yeah, and then you brought up a player drafted in the first round over ten years ago somehow has first round pick value (and yes I know you were being sarcastic). FIRST round pick. If you said second round pick, I'd understand your logic.

However... there's no logic.

 

[KovalSNIPE]

Mueller was never going to be a point producer and people need to stop putting so much value in points for a defenseman. It's the exact reason why so many people complain how there needs to be 2 d-man of the year awards (offensive/defensive). Also, defensemen usually take much longer to become consistent players in the NHL. He can into the NHL way too soon and just needed time to develop.

Yes we paid a late 2nd for him, but he's a 22 year old kid, coming off a good year in the AHL, stuck in a defensively strong Sharks system under a coach who's known for handling rookie d-men very poorly. We have first hand experience with DeBoer with how he handled Larsson. The second he was gone, Larsson flourished and now look where he is. Hopefully the same thing can happen with Mueller. Aside from Colton White and Yegor Rykov (who are unknowns to where they'll end up), we have no LHD prospects who we know could play in the NHL. Mueller may never be a point producer, but he's big, fast, and mobile enough to be a 2nd pairing guy in his prime.

 

[Blender]

This really could be Hischier related. I say this as someone who expected them to draft Patrick but this move makes me second guess that.

If that is the reason they traded for Mueller, Shero needs to be fired. So I doubt it is.

 

[zharkenby]

Hischiers roomate? Too big of a coincidence unless shero is just trolling lol

 

[Brent Burns]

As I said in Sharks board thread, I think this dude still has first pairing potential. Yes I said it. When he came into the league he was playing pretty solid for his age. He needed a change in scenery, but watch, this is gonna be one of those SJ picks that bites them in the butt (see: Bonino)