Devils 2018-19 team discussion (player news and notes) - Offseason edition

[vtdevils2k]

I am happy with Shero. However, in some ways I think the drafting could have been better. I am not sure how much of that he leaves to the scouts, but Zacha and McLeod have me concerned. I know he drafted Nico, but that fell in his lap and Patrick had a fine 2nd half of the season last year. In the Zacha and McLeod drafts he pretty much went with the consensus at the time, but maybe he could have reached for some better players who went later in those drafts. I know its hindsight, but Barzal the next center taken in the '15 draft had more offensive upside in juniors (Zacha didn't even average more than a point per game in that year). Passing on Logan Brown in '16 for McLeod is going to leave him open to some comparisons down the line.
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Honestly i stopped reading once you brought up Nolan Patrick. Nico Hischier was outstanding in his first NHL season and was a big reason why Taylor Hall won MVP as Hall stated this as well.

Also Come on man, Logan Brown stinks.

Lol. You "honestly" stopped reading after I brought up Patrick? Yet you mention Logan Brown in your response which was at the end of my comment. Okay, I'll give you Zacha pick since Shero jumped on board in 2015. However, moving forward there will be comparisons between Brown and McLeod because of that trade we made with Ottawa.

Logan Brown

19 years old 35-14-26-40 -5
20 years old 32-22-26-48 +4
NHL 4-0-1-1 E

Michael McLeod

19 years old 57-27-46-73 +28
20 years old 38-16-28-44 -1
AHL 6-0-1-1 -6

Logan brown is not that good man. Mcleod fits this team and is projected as a 2C

Zacha is how old? He’s not some 30 year old jag

 

[theoptimist]

Beating the **** out of your girlfriend is not "issues". You don't get second chances with domestic violence.

Well....you do, but it’s hard when you’re a professional athlete.

That said, I don’t even know what angle Voynov and his camp would take to rectify the situation.

 

[Team Concept]

Well we could debate adding Luca Sbisa to the team as a LD. That would be fun.

 

[Nubmer6]

Well we could debate adding Luca Sbisa to the team as a LD. That would be fun.

Or we could stick with conspiracy theories about how we can't spend!

OK, maybe not

 

[SeidoN]

oh were debating a draft from 3 years ago again

and my time machine isnt even ready yet

 

[NJDevs26]

Well we could debate adding Luca Sbisa to the team as a LD. That would be fun.

It's not ideal but at least (again) it'd be talking about this year's team and not some three year old draft. If you want to talk about how Zacha's a dissapointment that's one thing or even Shero's drafting as a whole but don't you guys get tired of relitigating the 2015 draft for the 12535th time? We get it, Zacha's career has been a dissapointment so far, whatever a few people want to say about advanced stats and even-strength points per 60. It's also far from over.

Just yesterday I said enough was enough and you guys still want to bring it up, do we need a thread for the 2015 draft alone? I'd do it except you guys would still obsess and bring it into other threads.

For the last time let's get back to current players and matters.

 

[Billdo]

NHL sources have stated who has been in the race, with Vegas and Stars leading the pack..

Oh good. Sources. How many of these ultra valuable sources had Carolina signing de Haan? The sources on that NEVER mentioned Carolina. What the hell is with the obsession some of you guys have with rumors?

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Any chance we can get Vonyov? I know he has issues but he served his time and it has been many years since then. He would automatically become our top defensmen.

I have no interest in being the organization that gives that POS a second chance.

 

[captainscott]

Was really hoping we would get dehaan. A free asset is always preferable to losing assets in a trade. The extra .5 to 1 mil is the trade-off. I think I would have matched the offer or even went to 4.75 if he had to. In a perfect world he's worth 4 or so but you have to pay for ufas. Oh well, I trust Ray and maybe he had concerns about his shoulder lonh term. That said, I wouldn't mind going into the season with what we have on d unless something falls in his lap.

its not a free asset its almost 5 million per year.... but i get your point... the devils have a road map.. i fully expect mueller and santini to be playing important minutes next season... we need another defenseman no doubt about it, but sometimes your best moves are just giving players you already have the opportunity to thrive. Karlsson while a long shot is still a possibility the team has lots of young players and some of them will need to make the jump.... thats how you build.. there should be no panic with free agent signings it never works... and we don't need it..

 

[SeidoN]

I dont wanna dwell on the 2015 draft again, but shout out to the guy who -after Shero was seen talking to Bob Murray- said the Ducks had nothing the Devils would want, 2 hours before we traded for Palmieri

anyway, a giant f*** NO to Voynov. if we signed him I would write a strongly worded email to management

 

[NJDevs26]

Beating the **** out of your girlfriend is not "issues". You don't get second chances with domestic violence.

Well it depends on the sport...NFL you can pretty much do anything short of murder and get a second chance as long as you can still play. Baseball you get your suspension and then come back but what Voynov did (and his offputting atitude) is worse than even the normal garden variety domestic violence cases in pro sports.

I'd stop short of saying he'll be blackballed but I think he'll be a non-starter for at least 90% of teams given the culture of the NHL and its players. Certainly our organization with what Shero and Hynes have emphasized in terms of culture, he'd be a non-starter in terms of not considering him at all.

 

[captainscott]

It's not ideal but at least (again) it'd be talking about this year's team and not some three year old draft. If you want to talk about how Zacha's a dissapointment that's one thing or even Shero's drafting as a whole but don't you guys get tired of relitigating the 2015 draft for the 12535th time? We get it, Zacha's career has been a dissapointment so far, whatever a few people want to say about advanced stats and even-strength points per 60. It's also far from over.

Just yesterday I said enough was enough and you guys still want to bring it up, do we need a thread for the 2015 draft alone? I'd do it except you guys would still obsess and bring it into other threads.

For the last time let's get back to current players and matters.

Zacha.... is going to be an ok player I think... he does some things really well .... the question is simply going to be will he ever put up respectable offensive numbers... defensively and skill wise he is already a good NHL player ... I think if he doesn't thrive or least double his offensive production this year we can slot him in as a disappointment .... not a bust though he is a great skater and i really good passer and penalty killer so he will stay in NHL so can't be a bust.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

anyway, a giant **** NO to Voynov. if we signed him I would write a strongly worded email to management

It won’t happen.

You can’t preach “culture culture culture” and then bring in a guy who’s been out of the league for years for pulverizing his wife.

 

[Triumph]

Having an identity as a 'fast' team doesn't mean all of your players have to be fast. What did Moore do 5 on 5 that required speed? Blow through the neutral zone with the puck in order to dump it in? Yeah, sometimes he would join the rush, and being fast helps to catch up to the play. And sometimes his speed could help him cover for mistakes he made or his defense partner. It still didn't make him a good or useful player, at least not at 5 on 5.

 

[captainscott]

mueller vatenen
greene severson
butcher santini/ lovejoy

that group is ok with some serious question marks... if mueller makes a jump , butcher makes a jump, and santini makes a jump and all stay healthy it could be worse....

still three months to improve that lot... I think the most outside of the box thinking is that Will Butcher will fine tune his game and be able to play top minutes.... not sure how much he can actually improve his skating and speed though at this point in life

 

[captainscott]

Having an identity as a 'fast' team doesn't mean all of your players have to be fast. What did Moore do 5 on 5 that required speed? Blow through the neutral zone with the puck in order to dump it in? Yeah, sometimes he would join the rush, and being fast helps to catch up to the play. And sometimes his speed could help him cover for mistakes he made or his defense partner. It still didn't make him a good or useful player, at least not at 5 on 5.

the guys on the verge of coming on board... anderson mcleod... certainly off set any speed losses....up front..

i will say moore saved some goals against with his speed... i think moore was a good player on an overall look ... he is a loss only if mueller or santini cannot seize the opportunity to replace him... if they are not adequate replacements then we lost depth

 

[Goptor]

There are still a few available UFA players that may target NJ for a chance to stay in the NHL. The Devils do provide a good opportunity to win a spot on the roster:

Tyler Ennis put up points in the past but is seemingly washed up. He can fill in for Stafford's role.
Benoit Pouliot can fill in the Hayes role of sitting on the bench till a guy gets injured and coming in for a few games.
Anthony Duclair can fit Gibbons role as a speedy 4th liner that can move up in case of injuries.

Then there are the waivers pickups from other teams. I'm not sure what guys are now waiver eligible and at risk of not making their team.

 

[Lou is God]

I have all the faith in the world in Shero, but I was really hoping we would come out of the first week of July with a top 4 defenseman. But we still got time before the season starts.

 

[Jets012]

I'm okay with not signing De Haan. Only if that means that Shero/Hynes and co are serious about bumping up Butcher's minutes immensely. Give him a chance to be a top pairing LHD or at the very least top 4. He's better than Mueller/Greene

 

[Nubmer6]

the guys on the verge of coming on board... anderson mcleod... certainly off set any speed losses....up front..

i will say moore saved some goals against with his speed... i think moore was a good player on an overall look ... he is a loss only if mueller or santini cannot seize the opportunity to replace him... if they are not adequate replacements then we lost depth

I'd rather give Anderson and McLeod a year in the A, but I guess we'll see how they look coming into camp. I mean, Bratt made the jump immediately, so it's possible one of them could too.

I'd feel safer with a journeyman vet on PTO like we normally add, but we have to be willing to bench him if the kids step up (which we haven't always done).

 

[longislanddevil]

Hello fellow Devils fans!! I’ve been an avid Devils fan since 1988. Always enjoy lurking and reading thoughts/opinions from you guys. I’ve decided I’d like to be a participant in discussion and look forward to dialogue exchange with you all.

In regards to the Devils off-season thus far, other than De Haan and Maroon, there was no one else available that I’d even want Ray to pursue. I’d still like to see Maroon resigned at a reasonable term and $ amount (nothing more than 3 years). Would De Haan have been a nice piece? Sure. 4 years, a shade over 4.5 mil per with Carolina isn’t a bad deal for player or team. With that said, we don’t know if he preferred Carolina to us, had a better off from them, or if Ray simply thought 4 years for a player coming off a major shoulder injury was too risky of an investment. I think we should all be ecstatic that Ray isn’t handing out ridiculous contracts to “band aid” type veteran players the way Lou did. I agree with him that free agency is NOT the most prudent way to build a team.

Ray is extremely shrewd and has a history of exploiting teams with dicey salary cap situations or other GMs that aren’t as savvy. He has done a phenomenal job and deserves our trust. I feel like a big, under the radar trade is coming. Did any of us have any clue about the Hall or Johansson deals before they were made? I don’t think so. He seems to be very good at keeping speculating from leaking out. I have this sneaky, gut feeling that something could be quietly brewing with Minnesota. I’ll be the first to admit this is pure conjecture on my part. With that said, there are a few variables for my hypothesis:
1) Minnesota has a tricky salary cap situation with major $ tied up in Parise and Sutter long term. There are a number of younger players on their squad that will be needing new deals in the near future.
2) They have a new GM. Existing players are inherited and not necessarily “their guys.” New GMs tend to like to put their stamp on and mold/shape the team in their own unique vision.
3) This may mean something and it may not. Chuck Fletcher (former Wild GM) is now an assistant to Shero. I’m sure Ray values his insight and he’d know the Wild’s personnel extremely well.

Could we be after Dumba or Niederreiter? I’d welcome either as I think both would address areas in which we lack depth.

Thank you for reading. I’m curious as to your thoughts here.

- Howie

 

[NJDevs26]

Hello fellow Devils fans!! I’ve been an avid Devils fan since 1988. Always enjoy lurking and reading thoughts/opinions from you guys. I’ve decided I’d like to be a participant in discussion and look forward to dialogue exchange with you all.

In regards to the Devils off-season thus far, other than De Haan and Maroon, there was no one else available that I’d even want Ray to pursue. I’d still like to see Maroon resigned at a reasonable term and $ amount (nothing more than 3 years). Would De Haan have been a nice piece? Sure. 4 years, a shade over 4.5 mil per with Carolina isn’t a bad deal for player or team. With that said, we don’t know if he preferred Carolina to us, had a better off from them, or if Ray simply thought 4 years for a player coming off a major shoulder injury was too risky of an investment. I think we should all be ecstatic that Ray isn’t handing out ridiculous contracts to “band aid” type veteran players the way Lou did. I agree with him that free agency is NOT the most prudent way to build a team.

Welcome!

Well I think Shero agreed with you seeing as deHaan and Maroon have been the only FA's we've even been tied to. As far as the Wild go, they have like $11 million in cap space after buying out Ennis and only need to give RFA contracts to Zucker and Dumba, don't think they're in any immediate danger capwise, though they could move someone for the sake of change, I'd agree with that much.

 

[Goptor]

Hello fellow Devils fans!! I’ve been an avid Devils fan since 1988. Always enjoy lurking and reading thoughts/opinions from you guys. I’ve decided I’d like to be a participant in discussion and look forward to dialogue exchange with you all.

In regards to the Devils off-season thus far, other than De Haan and Maroon, there was no one else available that I’d even want Ray to pursue. I’d still like to see Maroon resigned at a reasonable term and $ amount (nothing more than 3 years). Would De Haan have been a nice piece? Sure. 4 years, a shade over 4.5 mil per with Carolina isn’t a bad deal for player or team. With that said, we don’t know if he preferred Carolina to us, had a better off from them, or if Ray simply thought 4 years for a player coming off a major shoulder injury was too risky of an investment. I think we should all be ecstatic that Ray isn’t handing out ridiculous contracts to “band aid” type veteran players the way Lou did. I agree with him that free agency is NOT the most prudent way to build a team.

Ray is extremely shrewd and has a history of exploiting teams with dicey salary cap situations or other GMs that aren’t as savvy. He has done a phenomenal job and deserves our trust. I feel like a big, under the radar trade is coming. Did any of us have any clue about the Hall or Johansson deals before they were made? I don’t think so. He seems to be very good at keeping speculating from leaking out. I have this sneaky, gut feeling that something could be quietly brewing with Minnesota. I’ll be the first to admit this is pure conjecture on my part. With that said, there are a few variables for my hypothesis:
1) Minnesota has a tricky salary cap situation with major $ tied up in Parise and Sutter long term. There are a number of younger players on their squad that will be needing new deals in the near future.
2) They have a new GM. Existing players are inherited and not necessarily “their guys.” New GMs tend to like to put their stamp on and mold/shape the team in their own unique vision.
3) This may mean something and it may not. Chuck Fletcher (former Wild GM) is now an assistant to Shero. I’m sure Ray values his insight and he’d know the Wild’s personnel extremely well.

Could we be after Dumba or Niederreiter? I’d welcome either as I think both would address areas in which we lack depth.

Thank you for reading. I’m curious as to your thoughts here.

- Howie

I agree that Minnesota is a good target. Expectations need to be tempered though because their GM doesn't know what he has yet. They could be a good trading partner for a player like Vatanen - someone who doesn't fit The team's new play style and gets lost in the mix.

It would have to wait until mid-season though.

 

[SeidoN]

Dumba or Neiderreiter would be very nice aquisitions

 

[tailfins]

I don’t think Voynov is signing with the Devils, but I think the anti-Voynov group is taking things too far. I didn’t see people stop being fans when the Devils drafted Myles Bell, and he killed his gf. There wasn’t huge outrage about Jon Merrill (there was discussion, but not outrage) after his “incident”.

As someone else in this thread mentioned, there’s lots we don’t know about players, but with Voynov we know a lot about this one incident. What Voynov did was not acceptable, but he has done what was required to get his record expunged. It’s hard for me to take a moral stand on this when it’s just not part of how other players are judged.