Confirmed Trade: [ANA/NJD] Vatanen & conditional 3rd for Henrique, Blandisi & a 3rd

[Nocashstyle]

In my eyes, Sami Vatanen is unequivocally and by far the best defenseman on the Devils blueline since we acquired him.Okay save the first 5 games since he's settled in, he is the #1 guy.

The gap is huge in a lot of fans eyes between the #1 and #2 guy. He eats tons of minutes, amazing offense play, fairly solid defensive play. He's getting all the tough match-ups with Greene as his partner (who is not as good as he used to be)

I would venture to say he is one of the best all around defenseman that NJ has had quite some some time, as well. Maybe arguably so, but its looking harder to debate it.

Unfortunately, that is not too big of an accomplishment. Andy Greene from a few years back and Larsson the year before he was traded are the only consistently competent defensemen they've had in quite some time.

Regardless, Vats has been spectacular. Like any decent offensive defenseman, he's had some brutal turnovers, but other than that, he's been way better in the D zone than I expected. And I didn't expect him to be able to eat up minutes the way he has too.

 

[Deuce22]

What I like best about Sami is his compete level. He plays hard and fights and scraps and never lets up. I was not expecting that!

And it sounds like Henrique hasn't changed a thing...which is a good thing. He was great for us.

Vats was like that in Anaheim, as well. People who rarely saw him play described him as weak in his own zone, I guess because of his size. But his compete level made up for a lot of that. Sounds like Devil fans are seeing that also.

 

[Sojourn]

What I like best about Sami is his compete level. He plays hard and fights and scraps and never lets up. I was not expecting that!

And it sounds like Henrique hasn't changed a thing...which is a good thing. He was great for us.

Yeah, Vatanen plays like he's 6'3". He's going to lose some physical battles, but he's always there to fight them. Sami is the kind of player who, I think, can win some of those battles just because he goes into them assuming he will win them. When he's at his best, he plays with swagger. There's a cocky quality to his game, and I think it's a good thing.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

Vats was like that in Anaheim, as well. People who rarely saw him play described him as weak in his own zone, I guess because of his size. But his compete level made up for a lot of that. Sounds like Devil fans are seeing that also.

Yeah he was improperly labelled as an undersized PP specialist by some who clearly hadn't been closely following him at all, but Vatanen brings a lot more to the table.

 

[Tretyak 20]

He certainly has the occasional brain fart, and we've given up goals because of it. But he's also logged huge minutes against top competition and managed to put up an impressive number of points at the same time.

I think I can safely say he has solidified our D and made us a much better team. And that from a Henrique fan.

 

[Paul4587]

I would absolutely love to have Sami back. We have a massive hole on the backend since he's gone. That said we absolutely needed Henrique so I am happy with the trade. We created a hole to fill another but it was still worth it in terms of value.

 

[Arthuros]

I would absolutely love to have Sami back. We have a massive hole on the backend since he's gone. That said we absolutely needed Henrique so I am happy with the trade. We created a hole to fill another but it was still worth it in terms of value.

When we traded him, Sami’s value was in keeping Bieksa out of the lineup, not in terms of a unique skill set.

It just seems like a hole because Bieksa is that bad.

 

[BahlDeep]

I would absolutely love to have Sami back. We have a massive hole on the backend since he's gone. That said we absolutely needed Henrique so I am happy with the trade. We created a hole to fill another but it was still worth it in terms of value.

That's why I think relatively speaking the Devils won the trade.

 

[Exit Dose]

That's why I think relatively speaking the Devils won the trade.

We need what Henrique brings more than what Sami does.

 

[MitchMurphy]

Each team certainly misses their former player for sure, not just as fan favorites, but for what they did. They both are certainly doing great for their new teams. Win for both teams.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Love love love Vats

 

[vtdevils2k]

Each team certainly misses their former player for sure, not just as fan favorites, but for what they did. They both are certainly doing great for their new teams. Win for both teams.

Don't think the Devils really miss Henrique that much to be honest. Good locker room guy and fan favorite, however we finally have depth to overcome him being traded for Vats(minus some recent injuries). Vats has been ridiculous for the Devils and has pretty much been our #1D playing top end minutes and thriving in the role AND putting up points.

We desperately needed him and could not be happier with him!

Hope Rico does well for the Ducks

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Don't think the Devils really miss Henrique that much to be honest. Good locker room guy and fan favorite, however we finally have depth to overcome him being traded for Vats(minis some recent injuries). Vats has been ridiculous for the Devils and has pretty much been our #1D playing top end minutes and thriving in the role AND putting up points.

We desperately needed him and could not be happier with him!

Hope Rico does well for the Ducks

Considering you guys can score eight goals without him...

 

[jonlin]

Considering you guys can score eight goals without him...

Vatanen was 0+1 with a +3

 

[NjDevsRR]

Vatanen was 0+1 with a +3

Think he was talking about scoring 8 without Henrique which makes it a great trade

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Think he was talking about scoring 8 without Henrique which makes it a great trade

Yes, that's what I meant.

 

[405Exit]

Don't think the Devils really miss Henrique that much to be honest. Good locker room guy and fan favorite, however we finally have depth to overcome him being traded for Vats(minus some recent injuries). Vats has been ridiculous for the Devils and has pretty much been our #1D playing top end minutes and thriving in the role AND putting up points.

We desperately needed him and could not be happier with him!

Hope Rico does well for the Ducks

Henrique is fitting in like a glove. We desperately needed more scoring up front. Great trade for both sides.

 

[Bruce Granville]

Two good players got traded and both are happy with the new guy?
Stop the presses.

For me as a neutral fan it was obvious that the Devils won this trade by a mile.
A couple years back Selanne already said Sami was not getting enough respect from the Ducks and should look for a trade.
But he obviously liked the scenery and chose to stay longer.

Vats reminds me a lot of Spurgeon...underappreciated due to size, but a really good #2D.

 

[Linda Bacon]

Two good players got traded and both are happy with the new guy?
Stop the presses.

For me as a neutral fan it was obvious that the Devils won this trade by a mile.
A couple years back Selanne already said Sami was not getting enough respect from the Ducks and should look for a trade.
But he obviously liked the scenery and chose to stay longer.

Vats reminds me a lot of Spurgeon...underappreciated due to size, but a really good #2D.

trust Devils fans when we say Henrique is clutch... he always shows up in important moments and in the playoffs

great trade for both teams, maybe even a perfect trade

 

[Emperoreddy]

The Devils team doesn’t really miss Rico because they did have the depth on the left side to absorb the lose, but the fan base really missed him.

He was a major fan favorite. Less rational parts of the internet have lots of Devil fans still complaining about the trade because they liked Henrique so much.

Vats has been fantastic though

 

[Boo Boo]

Would do this trade again in a heartbeat. If it weren't for bieksa then I wouldnt miss vats at all. He was a little overpayed in anaheim but im very happy he turned his season around. Im very optimistic that we have d in our system that will replace him over the coming years and we needed the reinforcements up front.

 

[robbieboy3686]

Would do this trade again in a heartbeat. If it weren't for bieksa then I wouldnt miss vats at all. He was a little overpayed in anaheim but im very happy he turned his season around. Im very optimistic that we have d in our system that will replace him over the coming years and we needed the reinforcements up front.

Ding Ding Ding , not to mention Montours all around game has been very impressive! On a team where huge mistakes often get put into the back of our net ( I don’t miss vatenan at all) come playoffs time he will turn the puck over at critical times, get outmanned in front of the net and have that lost look on his face( ala bieksa luca sbisa) glad he’s doing well in NJ though . Ty for Henrique. At this point moving forward Henrique>Silf as far as being resigned ( that’s how impressive Henrique is)

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Ding Ding Ding , not to mention Montours all around game has been very impressive! On a team where huge mistakes often get put into the back of our net ( I don’t miss vatenan at all) come playoffs time he will turn the puck over at critical times, get outmanned in front of the net and have that lost look on his face( ala bieksa luca sbisa) glad he’s doing well in NJ though . Ty for Henrique. At this point moving forward Henrique>Silf as far as being resigned ( that’s how impressive Henrique is)

Are you sure you're watching the right games? I've seen many defensive mistakes by Montour lately that's lead to goals on our end. Sami is small, I'll give him that, but at least he plays aggressive

Vatanen played well during the playoffs, it was usually Montour who was too offensive in the other teams zone. I'd still rather have Montour at times, but his defensive play is rather annoying.

 

[Paul4587]

Are you sure you're watching the right games? I've seen many defensive mistakes by Montour lately that's lead to goals on our end. Sami is small, I'll give him that, but at least he plays aggressive

Vatanen played well during the playoffs, it was usually Montour who was too offensive in the other teams zone. I'd still rather have Montour at times, but his defensive play is rather annoying.

Yeah Montours defensive game doesn’t come close to Sami’s at this point. Sami is also a significantly better PKer. I think Montour has higher offensive upside but he hasn’t surpassed Sami there yet ether.

 

[Csonked Out]

I miss Rico's personality so much, he is such an easy player to like. Anaheim will absolutely love him come playoff time as he absolutely shines than. He will be a Devils hero forever due to his goal against the Rangers in 2012 to take us to the cup finals.

That being said, Vats has absolutely transformed this defense. I am surprised just how strong defensively he is. He is a strong skater and very good on both the P.K and Power play. He is producing like a #1 defender on top of that which is fantastic.

P.S. Anaheim sucks for having such good defensive depth that a defender like this is viewed as dispensable, that's just greedy lol.