Devils 2019 offseason team discussion (news and notes)

[MartyOwns]

I wouldn't have hated that signing but we will have to see how those last 2-3 years go for JVR. He's relatively useless in his own zone, but is a very good player in the offensive zone.

agreed but i think that’s something people have to get over and accept. any UFA we ever sign will likely not be living up to their contract in the last few years of their deal. that’s the price you pay for dipping your toes in the UFA pool.

 

[vtdevils2k]

Reading some of these quotes from Hall's presser, Shero has to upgrade the roster with more talent or he's not signing an extension. He's mentioning the Devils have cap space and draft picks to do so and he's curious to see what happens with the draft tomorrow night.

Really hope we get a top 2 pick to help accelerate this thing

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

agreed but i think that’s something people have to get over and accept. any UFA we ever sign will likely not be living up to their contract in the last few years of their deal. that’s the price you pay for dipping your toes in the UFA pool.

We tried with JVR so it's not like we didn't go after him. But with these guys the risks far outweigh the reward on average, especially guys entering their age 29 or older seasons. I am so thankful we did not land Kevin Shattenkirk. This year is a bit different if most or all of these guys can get to FA, but on average signing players as UFAs isn't the best strategy for rebuilding type of teams.

 

[Patrik26]

Sounds like numerous technicians were looking at the results of the wrong knee.

 

[R8Devs]

hall was on board with the tank

 

[Patrik26]

hall was on board with the tank

Agreed.

Agreed.

Depends on who you're listening to.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Good, stay!

 

[NJDevs26]

Nothing that says you have to spend in FA to use cap space either.

 

[Patrik26]

hall was on board with the tank

Good, stay!

Oh boy. Here we go. The beginning of the circus?

 

[Better Call Sal]

As for others:

 

[MartyOwns]

We tried with JVR so it's not like we didn't go after him. But with these guys the risks far outweigh the reward on average, especially guys entering their age 29 or older seasons. I am so thankful we did not land Kevin Shattenkirk. This year is a bit different if most or all of these guys can get to FA, but on average signing players as UFAs isn't the best strategy for rebuilding type of teams.

yeah i was saying i’m glad we tried. it might have cost us more than $7M to bring him to NJ, which is in the “too much” range, so who knows? and i agree that probably 50% (minimum) of UFA deals that have a cap hit of $5M or higher are probably regretted. but he’ll be 33 (i think) at the end of his deal- IMO anything ending under 36, 37 is generally fine. conditioning has come a long way to match the increase in league wide speed, so i’d hesitate to say once a guy turns 30 we should run away

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

Nothing that says you have to spend in FA to use cap space either.

Right, I would love to take advantage of another cap crunched team rather than overpay an FA.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

Indicting the GM for not signing any players in a below-average free agency class (which is what I originally responded to) is foolish.

If there's a fit and the player is willing to sign, absolutely go for it. But if you're just signing James Neal or JVR (which, frighteningly, Shero tried to do) just to say you "did something," you're a fool.

JVR is actually a good player that could help, especially with scoring dirty goals in front of the net. Shero not trying to make the defense better last year by going after a proven LD in someone like Calvin de Haan was a bit foolish.

He needs to stpend this off season & try to get some more proven talent here.

Especially since Hall made it clear today that he is worrying about being perennial playoff contender at this stage in his career.

You have to take risks at some point with proven talent instead of constantly taking a bigger risk with internal growth.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

JVR is actually a good player that could help, especially with scoring dirty goals in front of the net. Shero not trying to make the defense better last year by going after a proven LD in someone like Calvin de Haan was a bit foolish.

He needs to stpend this off season & try to get some more proven talent here.

Especially since Hall made it clear today that he is worrying about being perennial playoff contender at this stage in his career.

You have to take risks at some point with proven talent instead of constantly taking a bigger risk with internal growth.

Calvin de Haan and JVR are not the difference this season. There should be lots of players available this offseason who are and Ray has to go all in. Cap space does not lace up skates.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

JVR is actually a good player that could help, especially with scoring dirty goals in front of the net. Shero not trying to make the defense better last year by going after a proven LD in someone like Calvin de Haan was a bit foolish.

He needs to stpend this off season & try to get some more proven talent here.

Especially since Hall made it clear today that he is worrying about being perennial playoff contender at this stage in his career.

You have to take risks at some point with proven talent instead of constantly taking a bigger risk with internal growth.

Agreed, and this summer looks like the year to dip into free agency. Last year was not.

Bear in mind, we were short on picks last year because we bought at the deadline. This year, Shero has the more picks at his disposal than he’s ever had as Devils’ GM.

Context is important, and should certainly be considered before getting all preachy about this summer before it’s even started.

If it’s September and we’re looking at the same roster, that’s the time to crucify Shero.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

Right, I would love to take advantage of another cap crunched team rather than overpay an FA.

Lets assume Ray would be able to do that again for the same price as MoJo and Palms. So to me, the question is what would you rather have?

Option A:
A 24/25 year old forward who has been underutilized and has a relatively low cap hit (for what he will bring to the team) for the next 2-3 years, then will need a new contract. BUT you have to give up a 2nd and 3rd round pick to acquire this player.

OR

Option B:
A 26/27/28 year old forward with an average-high cap hit (relative to what he will bring to the team) for the next 4-5 years. The player has a chance at tailing off in year 4 or 5 of the contract. BUT you don't to give up any draft picks to acquire this player.


Keep in mind - Boqvist + Zetterlund & Walsh; Bastian + Joey Anderson; Blackwood + Speers. Those are the most recent 2nd/3rd round picks for the Devils. With this knowledge, I think I would just rather option B. Especially with the seemingly strong/young UFA group at the forward position this summer.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

I think Ray should make every effort to sign Jordan Eberle, if the term/AAV makes sense. Would definitely help a bit with keeping Hall long term.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

Lets assume Ray would be able to do that again for the same price as MoJo and Palms. So to me, the question is what would you rather have?

Option A:
A 24/25 year old forward who has been underutilized and has a relatively low cap hit (for what he will bring to the team) for the next 2-3 years, then will need a new contract. BUT you have to give up a 2nd and 3rd round pick to acquire this player.

OR

Option B:
A 26/27/28 year old forward with an average-high cap hit (relative to what he will bring to the team) for the next 4-5 years. The player has a chance at tailing off in year 4 or 5 of the contract. BUT you don't to give up any draft picks to acquire this player.


Keep in mind - Boqvist + Zetterlund & Walsh; Bastian + Joey Anderson; Blackwood + Speers. Those are the most recent 2nd/3rd round picks for the Devils. With this knowledge, I think I would just rather option B. Especially with the seemingly strong/young UFA group at the forward position this summer.

I want this on the record. I would much rather have Ryan Dzingel and to use those picks and maybe one of our current D to upgrade at D.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

Calvin de Haan and JVR are not the difference this season. There should be lots of players available this offseason who are and Ray has to go all in. Cap space does not lace up skates.

Sorry, but a guy that can score you at least 25-30 goals is a good addition, as is a reliable veteran 27 year old dman that could play top 4 minutes and help a clearly on his last legs dman in Greene not be ran into the ground like he was this season.

Both would've been good additions and helped this team more than what we had.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

Sorry, but a guy that can score you at least 25-30 goals is a good addition, as is a reliable veteran 27 year old dman that could play top 4 minutes and help a clearly on his last legs dman in Greene not be ran into the ground like he was this season.

Both would've been good additions and helped this team more than what we had.

85 points, almost no chance at winning the lottery, will be cap crunched in 2 years with extensions in place, mediocre city.

 

[Devilswede]

The effort from Ray should be to go all in on Erik Karlsson. Give him what he wants.

Then go after Panarin. Get him the best apartment in NY and give him a personal driver to take him from home to the rink every day.

Draft Hughes.

Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Panarin-Hughes-Palmieri
Wood-Zacha-Coleman
Agostino-Zajac-Anderson

Smith-Karlsson
Butcher-Severson
Greene-Vatanen

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

 

[The Devil In I]

The effort from Ray should be to go all in on Erik Karlsson. Give him what he wants.

Then go after Panarin. Get him the best apartment in NY and give him a personal driver to take him from home to the rink every day.

Draft Hughes.

Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Panarin-Hughes-Palmieri
Wood-Zacha-Coleman
Agostino-Zajac-Anderson

Smith-Karlsson
Butcher-Severson
Greene-Vatanen

Panarin seems to be pretty likely to follow Quenneville to Florida. Karlsson would be sweet though.

 

[NJDevs26]

85 points, almost no chance at winning the lottery, will be cap crunched in 2 years with extensions in place, mediocre city.

As opposed to having to trade Hall, suffering through three more 70-point seasons where we maybe get picks 2, 4 and 5 then having to trade Palm and having Nico start to turn disenchanted? You have to try to get out of the cycle of losing sometime, you can’t fill every single hole from within and via Chiarelli, this also isn’t baseball where you can straight tank for high picks and control players for longer.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

I want this on the record. I would much rather have Ryan Dzingel and to use those picks and maybe one of our current D to upgrade at D.

I fully agree. However I think it is a lot more difficult to pull one of those trades for an impact defenseman than a top 6 forward like Johansson or Palmieri