Devils 2019 offseason team discussion (news and notes) IIl

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Nubmer6

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The Defense is in a weird situation...

The right side is significantly better than than left - So you are going to be hard pressed to upgrade on Vatanen and Severson imo and even if you do upgrade on one of those what good is going to do having 1 as 3rd defender?

But the left side is full of Youth...Smith, Butcher, Davies, Mueller - And of course not youth but Greene. So any upgrade on the left side is going to hit the development of the youth...

Believe it or not but I think the Devils need to Standpat. Phase Greene out this season and see where you stand with Butcher, Davies and Smith. I do believe that is the best approach - Do nothing.
I think ideally we'd trade for a vet that can handle top 4 on the left that only has a year or two left on his contract. It would give a little time for the LHD to develop with less pressure. I'm just not sure who would feasibly be available, and if it would be worth the cost.

I've been saying for a year now that our left has quantity while the right has quality. I think both Vatanen and Severson are better than any of our LHD. I'm hoping that eventually changes after Ty gets his feet wet.

One argument for standing pat is that if we pick up any significant D, we're forced to expose one of our D that we probably don't wan to in the expansion draft. I presume the keepers right now are Vatanen, Severson, and Butcher, with Smith exempt. Perhaps there's a deal to be made with Seattle, or maybe we can end up leveraging the odd man out of another team like we thought was a possibility in the last expansion.
 

devilsblood

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Mar 10, 2010
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The Defense is in a weird situation...

The right side is significantly better than than left - So you are going to be hard pressed to upgrade on Vatanen and Severson imo and even if you do upgrade on one of those what good is going to do having 1 as 3rd defender?

But the left side is full of Youth...Smith, Butcher, Davies, Mueller - And of course not youth but Greene. So any upgrade on the left side is going to hit the development of the youth...

Believe it or not but I think the Devils need to Standpat. Phase Greene out this season and see where you stand with Butcher, Davies and Smith. I do believe that is the best approach - Do nothing.
I'm interested in upgrading the right side by trading Vat's.

But agree I don't see a spot on the left side, unless we are trading Butcher or Smith for a legit #1.
 

JimEIV

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Feb 19, 2003
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I'm interested in upgrading the right side by trading Vat's.

But agree I don't see a spot on the left side, unless we are trading Butcher or Smith for a legit #1.
Definitely, trades completely change the equation. That is why I think Butcher is a prime candidate for a trade.
 

devilsblood

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I realize that everyone is going to cite Blake Coleman for the next 10 years when we talk about players who are in their mid 20s who are likely done developing, but Kevin Rooney is not Blake Coleman. Blake Coleman had a long history of success in college and the AHL. Kevin Rooney has neither. He's a nice guy to bring up in a pinch if you need a penalty killer, but he should not be part of the NHL roster except as a permanent extra forward.
It's true Rooney does not have the college history of producing offense like Coleman did. But he has a more late bloomer type resume given his ahl production has been much more impressive then his college production. And his NHL production has been OK so far.

The question is can he show more improvement yet.

Even if he doesn't, is 12 goals and 20 points with very solid pk play worthy of a 4th line center spot? Kind of.
 
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devilsblood

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Definitely, trades completely change the equation. That is why I think Butcher is a prime candidate for a trade.
I agree.

I'd also look to move Vat's if possible.

The Subban deal, while a long shot, made sense. That type of deal where we bring back a big, but not too long, of a contract.
 

Tretyak 20

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Dec 4, 2003
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The Defense is in a weird situation...

The right side is significantly better than than left - So you are going to be hard pressed to upgrade on Vatanen and Severson imo and even if you do upgrade on one of those what good is going to do having 1 as 3rd defender?

But the left side is full of Youth...Smith, Butcher, Davies, Mueller - And of course not youth but Greene. So any upgrade on the left side is going to hit the development of the youth...

Believe it or not but I think the Devils need to Standpat. Phase Greene out this season and see where you stand with Butcher, Davies and Smith. I do believe that is the best approach - Do nothing.

Not sure I agree, but I can see the logic behind it.
 
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Hischier and Hughes

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Were not going to sit pat on defense because we have a few prospects coming up in a few years. If they make the club then so be it, they can fight for a spot.

You also dont stand pat because of an expansion draft an entire two years away

I think the likelihood that we add somebody outside the organization on defense is higher than 75-80%, and thats with 10-15% of the remaining odds being we dont find a partner for a deal
 

Hischier and Hughes

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I agree.

I'd also look to move Vat's if possible.

The Subban deal, while a long shot, made sense. That type of deal where we bring back a big, but not too long, of a contract.
Subban likely costs Smith or 2020 1st + and im not spending those types of assets for a three year upgrade that we likely wont contend with
 

Billdo

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Oct 28, 2008
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The Defense is in a weird situation...

The right side is significantly better than than left - So you are going to be hard pressed to upgrade on Vatanen and Severson imo and even if you do upgrade on one of those what good is going to do having 1 as 3rd defender?

But the left side is full of Youth...Smith, Butcher, Davies, Mueller - And of course not youth but Greene. So any upgrade on the left side is going to hit the development of the youth...

Believe it or not but I think the Devils need to Standpat. Phase Greene out this season and see where you stand with Butcher, Davies and Smith. I do believe that is the best approach - Do nothing.

Unless a substantial upgrade can be made AT LEFT DEFENSE, I'd agree. We need to upgrade LD1.
 

JimEIV

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Feb 19, 2003
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Were not going to sit pat on defense because we have a few prospects coming up in a few years. If they make the club then so be it, they can fight for a spot.

You also dont stand pat because of an expansion draft an entire two years away

I think the likelihood that we add somebody outside the organization on defense is higher than 75-80%, and thats with 10-15% of the remaining odds being we dont find a partner for a deal
You stand Pat because your team sucks and you are still VERY much rebuilding.
 

None Shall Pass

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Jul 7, 2007
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Yeah, I'm firmly on the trade Butcher for an upgrade train. Masiask (sp?) did a piece on him in The Athletic, and once he was given more than bottom-pairing minutes at even strength he got absolutely cratered on both sides of the ice.
 
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Stephen Gionta

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Jun 15, 2015
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I do not think the Devils should make a move for a right handed defenseman UNLESS his name is Erik Karlsson. I wouldn't mind Tyler Myers on a 4 year deal or less. But if the contract is 5 years or more, I have zero interest. And Myers will likely get a 5+ year deal from some stupid team out there, so that idea is out the window.

I think Shero should be looking to make a deal for a true top 4 left handed defenseman that is 28 years old or younger. Cam Fowler comes to mind as my favorite option, but not sure it's that realistic.

Maybe try to trade for one on this list? Fantasy: Potential restricted free agents in 2019
 

Triumph

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Oct 2, 2007
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Yeah, I'm firmly on the trade Butcher for an upgrade train. Masiask (sp?) did a piece on him in The Athletic, and once he was given more than bottom-pairing minutes at even strength he got absolutely cratered on both sides of the ice.

Giant misread of whatever piece he did. Butcher did not get cratered.
 

mtnet

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Yeah Myers is not going to move the needle I'm afraid, hopefully Shero feels the same on that. If we go big on only one player via FA/Trade over the next 1-2 years, it has to be a transformational defenseman. Overspending for only marginal improvement would not be great down the road.

While our defense remains a deficiency, it appears we'd have more targets in play next year than this year. At least we'll be adding Smith next season, and though expectations should be tempered given his rookie status and likely bottom 4 minutes, I'd like to think he'd represent more help than harm at this point.

With Hughes coming our way, our needs up the middle are laid to rest. We should make a play for a shot-happy winger to fill out the top 6 for now. That would give us a much needed shooter, and as a bonus, probably be what someone like Hall would value most in terms of "adding talent".
 

BurntToast

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May 27, 2007
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Well Eberle certainly has been "ehh," most of his career.

He has produced consistently his entire career. Even this past season he had 19 goals. Lets take out the names and replace them with goals. These are low estimates.

25-20-20 (Eberle)
15-15-30
2o-15-15
5-10-x

This would put the Devils in a similar spot as last year. Around 200 with 10/20 goals from the defense.


We need Bratt and Nico to contribute more in the form of goals. Or sign one of Skinner/Lee and Eberle/Nyquist. Use Bratt/Zacha on Second PP or PK. Roll 4 lines. Good depth. Lee on Hughes’ line would be awesome. Can help take some of the pressure off Hughes and you can rotate them if you want to give Hughes a break.

25-20-20
(Lee)30-15-30
20-15-15
15-10-x

A good threshold for the Devils to aim for is 250GF. Last year’s team had 248 and took the last playoff spot.

The two lowest GF in the playoffs are the Islanders at 228 (best GA) and Dallas at 210 (2nd best GA).
 

Brodeur

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Feb 27, 2002
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Maybe try to acquire Hoffman+Matheson from Florida?

They need to afford Panarin+Bobrovsky+anything else they add

I'd be a little surprised if they moved Matheson, but Hoffman seems like the easiest guy to deal if they were able to sign Panarin. Although I'd be curious if they'd try to deal him to the West rather than a potential competitor.
 
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