Devils 2021 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part XXX

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HBK27

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Continue.

Also, part XXX...

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Blender

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So which top 6 forward are we exposing to Seattle in this edition of the thread?
 

Nico Hischier

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The play with kuokanen letting up on jack eichel that I was referring to is at the 5:10 mark of this video. I like kuokanen but he is a soft player. He doesn’t hit or use his body. Only stick checks

 

My3Sons

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So, does Greer offer an alternative to Bastian as a fourth line physical forward? That would be nice insurance if NJ lost Bastian to SEA. Hard to see them exposing Kuokkanen since as others have noted, he's a Fitz guy. Unfortunately, so is Johnsson. Hopefully Fitz can see that Johnsson is not worth protecting in the expansion draft and almost certainly gets passed over by SEA.
 

Zajacs Bowl Cut

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using 1 clip from 3 months ago on a play that resulted in a flukey goal is....not the greatest evidence.

And regardless, I don't care that Bastian hits and Kuokkanen does not in the grand scheme of things. I want to protect the 7 best forwards that could be taken and Nate Bastian is not one of our 7 best forwards that could be taken.
 

Blender

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The play with kuokanen letting up on jack eichel that I was referring to is at the 5:10 mark of this video. I like kuokanen but he is a soft player. He doesn’t hit or use his body. Only stick checks


This is ridiculous. It's equivalent to finding some wide turn Hughes took in a game and writing a treatise about how Hughes will be a bad player based on his wide turns.
 

Hisch13r

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This is ridiculous. It's equivalent to finding some wide turn Hughes took in a game and writing a treatise about how Hughes will be a bad player based on his wide turns.

I wonder what Blade’s up to today. What prospect is he planning on tearing down next? Maybe he just really hates the name and is working on 2022 Jack Hughes
 
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Nico Hischier

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This is ridiculous. It's equivalent to finding some wide turn Hughes took in a game and writing a treatise about how Hughes will be a bad player based on his wide turns.
Maybe it’s ridiculous but I’m just trying to say that my opinion is kuokanen is a soft player. You would like to see him step up there and not let an opposing player easily cut into the slot to make a play. It’s one play that stuck with me because we had a great chance right before this to tie the game up and then that happened and we go down 2-0.

I like bastian and McLeod more because they are not soft players and we need more physical players. We have enough soft players. Now do I think they are worth more then exposing kuokanen. No, not really. But I do think we should make a trade with Seattle so they do not select bastian or McLeod
 
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HBK27

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Maybe it’s ridiculous but I’m just trying to say that my opinion is kuokanen is a soft player. You would like to see him step up there and not let an opposing player easily cut into the slot to make a play. It’s one play that stuck with me because we had a great chance right before this to tie the game up and then that happened and we go down 2-0.

I like bastian and McLeod more because they are not soft players and we need more physical players. We have enough soft players. Now do I think they are worth more then exposing kuokanen. No, not really. But I do think we should make a trade with Seattle so they do not select bastian or McLeod

I'm going to keep beating this drum right up until the expansion draft. The cost should be relatively low and Seattle realistically can't take legit players from every team without flipping them, which resulted resulted in underwhelming returns for Vegas and could be even worse now given the cap situation.
 
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My3Sons

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Maybe it’s ridiculous but I’m just trying to say that my opinion is kuokanen is a soft player. You would like to see him step up there and not let an opposing player easily cut into the slot to make a play. It’s one play that stuck with me because we had a great chance right before this to tie the game up and then that happened and we go down 2-0.

I like bastian and McLeod more because they are not soft players and we need more physical players. We have enough soft players. Now do I think they are worth more then exposing kuokanen. No, not really. But I do think we should make a trade with Seattle so they do not select bastian or McLeod

That's a position that some fans and GM's share. It's tricky. Plenty of soft players can be very good despite not wanting to mix it up. Plenty of tough players just don't have enough skill to be more than good energy guys. I think the issue with Kuokkanen is that NJ is a relatively soft team overall right now. If they can add a top six talent with some edge it would help a lot. I also think that the team would be best served with higher end wings for Jack and then Shara and Kuokkanen are playing third line minutes which might change the way you view them. They probably look much better against other team's third liners than they do against an Eichel.
 
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Zippy316

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So, does Greer offer an alternative to Bastian as a fourth line physical forward? That would be nice insurance if NJ lost Bastian to SEA. Hard to see them exposing Kuokkanen since as others have noted, he's a Fitz guy. Unfortunately, so is Johnsson. Hopefully Fitz can see that Johnsson is not worth protecting in the expansion draft and almost certainly gets passed over by SEA.

No way Johnsson gets protected.

As far as Greer, he seems to be an interesting tweener guy that might have some fourth line potential. Worth a shot and he’s meshed pretty well in Binghamton with 9 points in 10 games (including him playing two of them at LD).

Jobst is another interesting pick-up. Smaller guy who is a bit older at 27 who put up some good offensive numbers in college. He seems like a good candidate to be your AAAA player that almost all consistently good AHL teams seem to have (Chris Bourque, Ben Street, Joe Whitney, etc.)
 

My3Sons

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No way Johnsson gets protected.

As far as Greer, he seems to be an interesting tweener guy that might have some fourth line potential. Worth a shot and he’s meshed pretty well in Binghamton with 9 points in 10 games (including him playing two of them at LD).

Jobst is another interesting pick-up. Smaller guy who is a bit older at 27 who put up some good offensive numbers in college. He seems like a good candidate to be your AAAA player that almost all consistently good AHL teams seem to have (Chris Bourque, Ben Street, Joe Whitney, etc.)

I hope you are right about Johnsson, but it isn't our decision and we didn't trade for him.
 
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SJinNewJersey

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Even though I don't want to lose Bastain, I don't think there is a good enough reason on keeping him over Kuok or McLeod.

No way Devs protect Johnsson.
 

Nico Hischier

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That's a position that some fans and GM's share. It's tricky. Plenty of soft players can be very good despite not wanting to mix it up. Plenty of tough players just don't have enough skill to be more than good energy guys. I think the issue with Kuokkanen is that NJ is a relatively soft team overall right now. If they can add a top six talent with some edge it would help a lot. I also think that the team would be best served with higher end wings for Jack and then Shara and Kuokkanen are playing third line minutes which might change the way you view them. They probably look much better against other team's third liners than they do against an Eichel.
Completely agree with this. Ideally you would like to see

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Sharangovich -Nico-bratt
Zacha-maltsev/boqvist/?-kuokanen
BMW

I switched sharangovich and Zacha but they seem interchangeable to me.

we need a skilled physical player like a Matt tkachuk and a shooter like holtz to pan out to make a great first line with Hughes
 
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My3Sons

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Completely agree with this. Ideally you would like to see

?-hughes-?
Sharangovich -Nico-bratt
Zacha-maltsev/boqvist/?-kuokanen
BMW

I switched sharangovich and Zacha but they seem interchangeable to me.

we need a skilled physical player like a Matt tkachuk and a shooter like holtz to pan out to make a great first line with Hughes

Maybe a big strong guy like Foote can pan out and play with Hughes even if he isn't overly physical, he can be a force to play against at his size and strength. To me, Maltsev would be a great third line center if he can develop his offensive skills. Boquist has the edge on him there for now, even if Boquist is smaller and his compete is a bit inconsistent. Both still have time to play their way on or off the team.
 
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Guttersniped

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There is some chance Johnsson gets protected, he is functional NHL forward with decent defense.

His inability to finish this season is actually worse than his inability to finish last season and that should do it because he’s not worth the cap hit.
 
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MauDevils

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I'm surprised people would keep McLeod over Bastian. I think Bastian is a much better player and what he brings is harder to replace.
 
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Blackjack

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I've been worried that Johnsson would be protected since Fitz defended him at the trade deadline, but it does seem unlikely to me now.

They have a lot more wingers now than when Fitz made that trade. With Zacha's switch, they now have four scoring wingers in the NHL with Bratt, Kuokkanen, and Shara. For checking wingers they have Wood, Bastian, Boqvist, and Merkley. Then there are Foote and Clarke, who have played well in Binghampton and could play their way onto the team next year, and two first round draft picks that could also force tough decisions in the fall.

The alternative to exposing Johnsson is probably McLeod, which means losing a former 1st round pick that has outplayed Johnsson, is 3 years younger, far cheaper, and plays center, where NJ is thin. Kuokkanen and Sharangovich are not even on the table. Hischier, Bratt, Wood, and Zacha as well.

I strongly suspect Francis will take Bastian. There's a possibility that he takes Butcher, but I think that if Fitz wants him to take Johnsson the price will be high.
 
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Bleedred

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If we seriously protect Bastian over Kuok (I still can’t spell his name, but god damn I’ll fight to protect him!) that’s just really dumb.

Can’t we protect both and expose another D-man instead?

I’d still be all for exposing Subban (I don’t think they’ll pick him up), even though we probably won’t. I’m fine with Subban playing here another year, but I’m also fine with exposing him to protect a forward we probably need more. Subban is probably a #4 defenseman, but I really don’t see him as being any better than that.

The only defenseman we have worth protecting is Severson. The rest of the guys are either UFA or exempt (Smith) due to age. Then again, we just acquired Siegenthaler and he needs to be protected too.
 

Bleedred

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I'm surprised people would keep McLeod over Bastian. I think Bastian is a much better player and what he brings is harder to replace.
Fair point.

McLeod has exceeded the expectations I had for him going into this year, but am I convinced he’ll top out as anything better than a 4th liner? Not really. He may or he may not.

So I wouldn’t riot if we protected Bastian over him, but I would if we protected Bastian over Kuokkanen.
 
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