LeBrun: Devils have cap space/assets to acquire a good player or two

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Try taking cap dump maybe.

 

[Zippy316]

I do think it helps a bunch that there are a bunch of good deals "on the books", so an agressive deal (which is what I think it would take) is unlikely to handicap the team going forward.

I just think that if you look at the number of teams that would likely make an offer to Shattenkirk,

For Shattenkirk, hockey's worst kept secret is that he wants to come back home close to his family that lives north of NYC. If the Rangers can't free open space, the Devils (along with the Islanders) make the most sense to sign him and allow him to be close to his family. Obviously, he can expand his horizons a bit to Toronto or Buffalo or Boston, but the Devils are one of the few teams that will be able to comfortably offer him both a term and a generous AAV.

Obviously, we don't know if he's genuinely interested in NJ, but I think many people underestimate the Devils future right now. It changes big time with the arrival of a guy that could be the #1D that we are desperately missing.

This is the 5th season in a row the Devils are in/around a bottom 10 team.

They simply aren't a very good team and that core isn't worth protecting.

They should be focusing on a longer term vision towards building the team up again and not going after guys like Alzner or Shattenkirk.

I don't think you realize how much turnover the Devils have had in a short amount of time. The bottom 10 finish (the Zacha pick) from two years ago is a completely different team than the one we're icing right now. Only 6 players (Greene, Cammalleri, Henrique, Zajac, Severson, and Merrill remain from that team). Josefson and Helgeson as well, but they're merely depth players at this point.

Right now, they have a few groups. Greene, Zajac, and Cammalleri as the veterans on the team that have two-three more years left of good play in them. Hall, Henrique, Schneider, and Palmieri as what I like to refer to as the "younger veterans" all signed to very reasonable deals with multiple years of good play left. Then they have their young core that is currently pushing their way onto the NHL team -- Zacha, Quenneville, Wood, Blandisi, Speers, Severson, Santini, and Blackwood as the long-term goalie prospect. I'd also include McLeod and whoever we draft in the first round in that group. Devils have also added a lot of promising players in the 2016 draft. A center at the top of the 2017 draft could really stabilize the center position down the road as well.

In all honesty, if I'm the Devils, I look to add to that young veteran group by adding two solid defenders. Any defender from age 25-29 likely has a good five/six years left of good play in him would be what I'm interested in. Shattenkirk would be the big catch, Alzner would be a solid DFD, and even a guy like Brendan Smith could be an option. That's not even considering a trade from the expansion draft fall out.

I think if the Devils could bolster their defense and improve their bottom six. They're set up quite well for both the short and long term.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Try taking cap dump maybe.

Like Marc Savard?

 

[A91]

Y'all can have Mark Fayne back for free. He's basically the same player he was a few years ago.

 

[57special]

Wild and NJ need to talk after the playoffs and before the X draft. I can think of a variety of deals that might happen. It's no secret they are going to lose a good Dman unless they do some last minute pre draft deals. With the way Dumba is going, it will be very tough to lose him for nothing, but I think even a Scandella would be a helpful addition there...it's pretty open ended right now. A lot can happen between now and the end of the playoffs, so it's hard to predict exact scenarios.

 

[MichaelJ]

Wild and NJ need to talk after the playoffs and before the X draft. I can think of a variety of deals that might happen. It's no secret they are going to lose a good Dman unless they do some last minute pre draft deals. With the way Dumba is going, it will be very tough to lose him for nothing, but I think even a Scandella would be a helpful addition there...it's pretty open ended right now. A lot can happen between now and the end of the playoffs, so it's hard to predict exact scenarios.

If Minnesota is looking to deal a defenseman (I've read they might bite the bullet and lose one for nothing via expansion rather than trade one and still lose one via expansion) I'm sure the Devils would be interested. Brodin would be top of our list.

 

[ginner classic]

I expect the devils to be frontrunners for Shattenkirk but they will also be very active in trades for D that are likely to be lost in expansion. They have a spot available and maybe even 2 if they choose to go with 4D. They could also pick up a couple of forwars that are expansion targets and go 7-3. A lot will depend on how they view Merrill. For sure a team to watch.

If they add Shatty and Brodin for example, that D is suddenly looking pretty darn good.

 

[deathtouchtrample]

We'll give you Hynes in exchange

Hynes is an easy step up from Capuano.

 

[57special]

If Minnesota is looking to deal a defenseman (I've read they might bite the bullet and lose one for nothing via expansion rather than trade one and still lose one via expansion) I'm sure the Devils would be interested. Brodin would be top of our list.

If Dumba continues to play as is the Wild might not be able to let him go for nothing( he is on pace for 40pts. , and is on an upward career trajectory in everything) to LV. Both he and Scandella are likely the ones being left unprotected. Either Brodin or Dumba ( if he continues as he has so far this year) are going to be expensive. Scandella is a decent top 4 guy on just about any team. He will be less expensive. There is a slight chance that Spurgeon will be available.

The whole situation sucks for the Wild, as they don't want to trade anyone, but seeing Dumba go for nothing is awful, especially considering that he has a reasonable cap hit.

Brodin is my favorite player. It would kill me to see him leave the Wild.

 

[Mad Brills*]

Could they dump a bunch of assets for JVR?

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Could they dump a bunch of assets for JVR?

Would be cool to have another NJ guy but I doubt it, he's only signed for one more year. Makes more sense for contenders.

 

[Icelevel]

Bobby Ryan is from New Jersey!

 

[bluemandan]

Could the Devils make two significant moves with their cap space like the Islanders did with Leddy and Boychuk?

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

For Shattenkirk, hockey's worst kept secret is that he wants to come back home close to his family that lives north of NYC. If the Rangers can't free open space, the Devils (along with the Islanders) make the most sense to sign him and allow him to be close to his family. Obviously, he can expand his horizons a bit to Toronto or Buffalo or Boston, but the Devils are one of the few teams that will be able to comfortably offer him both a term and a generous AAV.

Obviously, we don't know if he's genuinely interested in NJ, but I think many people underestimate the Devils future right now. It changes big time with the arrival of a guy that could be the #1D that we are desperately missing.



I don't think you realize how much turnover the Devils have had in a short amount of time. The bottom 10 finish (the Zacha pick) from two years ago is a completely different team than the one we're icing right now. Only 6 players (Greene, Cammalleri, Henrique, Zajac, Severson, and Merrill remain from that team). Josefson and Helgeson as well, but they're merely depth players at this point.

Right now, they have a few groups. Greene, Zajac, and Cammalleri as the veterans on the team that have two-three more years left of good play in them. Hall, Henrique, Schneider, and Palmieri as what I like to refer to as the "younger veterans" all signed to very reasonable deals with multiple years of good play left. Then they have their young core that is currently pushing their way onto the NHL team -- Zacha, Quenneville, Wood, Blandisi, Speers, Severson, Santini, and Blackwood as the long-term goalie prospect. I'd also include McLeod and whoever we draft in the first round in that group. Devils have also added a lot of promising players in the 2016 draft. A center at the top of the 2017 draft could really stabilize the center position down the road as well.

In all honesty, if I'm the Devils, I look to add to that young veteran group by adding two solid defenders. Any defender from age 25-29 likely has a good five/six years left of good play in him would be what I'm interested in. Shattenkirk would be the big catch, Alzner would be a solid DFD, and even a guy like Brendan Smith could be an option. That's not even considering a trade from the expansion draft fall out.

I think if the Devils could bolster their defense and improve their bottom six. They're set up quite well for both the short and long term.

I think that is fair, if maybe a little optimistic, from the Devils perspective. The one thing I would caution you on is Shattenkirk as a #1 dman. I am a Hawks fan, and have seen him play alot against "my" team, and he isn't a traditional #1 kind of guy. I'd consider him a better skating, better shooting, Keith Yandle type of player. A guy who generates offense while usually not being a liability defensively.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

They'd probably still be bad regardless.

Not trying to hate, just think that they're a few years away from contention.

 

[SETHROLLINS]

Y'all can have Mark Fayne back for free. He's basically the same player he was a few years ago.

He'll get a PTO with the Leafs when his contract is up because of the Lou connection. Shero hasn't really shown any interest in bringing back former Devils.

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

I like what Shero is doing. He was lucky to inherit Schneider tho

 

[Mad Brills*]

Meant to say they could extend jvr.

 

[Blender]

Could the Devils make two significant moves with their cap space like the Islanders did with Leddy and Boychuk?

I think this is exactly the kind of moves we should be targeting. Pray on teams with cap issues and try and get some good players cheap. Preferably as young as possible.

Meant to say they could extend jvr.

Makes absolutely no sense to trade for a left winger when that is our strongest forward position.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Could the Devils make two significant moves with their cap space like the Islanders did with Leddy and Boychuk?

thats the hope, yes.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

I don't think you realize how much turnover the Devils have had in a short amount of time. The bottom 10 finish (the Zacha pick) from two years ago is a completely different team than the one we're icing right now. Only 6 players (Greene, Cammalleri, Henrique, Zajac, Severson, and Merrill remain from that team). Josefson and Helgeson as well, but they're merely depth players at this point.

Right now, they have a few groups. Greene, Zajac, and Cammalleri as the veterans on the team that have two-three more years left of good play in them. Hall, Henrique, Schneider, and Palmieri as what I like to refer to as the "younger veterans" all signed to very reasonable deals with multiple years of good play left. Then they have their young core that is currently pushing their way onto the NHL team -- Zacha, Quenneville, Wood, Blandisi, Speers, Severson, Santini, and Blackwood as the long-term goalie prospect. I'd also include McLeod and whoever we draft in the first round in that group. Devils have also added a lot of promising players in the 2016 draft. A center at the top of the 2017 draft could really stabilize the center position down the road as well.

In all honesty, if I'm the Devils, I look to add to that young veteran group by adding two solid defenders. Any defender from age 25-29 likely has a good five/six years left of good play in him would be what I'm interested in. Shattenkirk would be the big catch, Alzner would be a solid DFD, and even a guy like Brendan Smith could be an option. That's not even considering a trade from the expansion draft fall out.

I think if the Devils could bolster their defense and improve their bottom six. They're set up quite well for both the short and long term.

Guys like Shattenkirk & Alzner would only come to the Devils if they dramatically overpay/overterm. Even if the team added those two Dmen they still aren't a cup contender and then they're also capped out for years.

The Devils are a different team from when Zacha was drafted but so are a lot of teams. However, a lot of that youth you noted is just meh stuff that every team has.

What's so great about the 2016 draft class? Those players are 3+ years from making a noticeable impact also.

Devils need to add top young talent. Top end talent is what franchises are built around. For higher end youth the Devils really are underwhelming. Go around the league.

Cammi, Zajac and Greene are getting up there in age so I wouldn't count on them in anyway. If anything they should be dealt out well the team could still get something.

The Devils aren't starting with nothing and might not need a 5+ year rip everything down to the core type rebuild. But a focus on a 3-5 year plan is needed.

Not expensive overtermed UFAs.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Guys like Shattenkirk & Alzner would only come to the Devils if they dramatically overpay/overterm. Even if the team added those two Dmen they still aren't a cup contender and then they're also capped out for years.

The Devils are a different team from when Zacha was drafted but so are a lot of teams. However, a lot of that youth you noted is just meh stuff that every team has.

What's so great about the 2016 draft class? Those players are 3+ years from making a noticeable impact also.

Devils need to add top young talent. Top end talent is what franchises are built around. For higher end youth the Devils really are underwhelming. Go around the league.

Cammi, Zajac and Greene are getting up there in age so I wouldn't count on them in anyway. If anything they should be dealt out well the team could still get something.

The Devils aren't starting with nothing and might not need a 5+ year rip everything down to the core type rebuild. But a focus on a 3-5 year plan is needed.

Not expensive overtermed UFAs.

Even if they gave Shattenkirk AND Alzner 7x$7 (I'm not advocating that they do), they would still have plenty of cap space. They are swimming in it.

The Devils are ALREADY in the middle of a rebuild, whether people want to choose to believe that or not. I agree that they are missing that surefire #1 DMan or #1C, but maybe they can get that in this draft?

If they had both Shattenkirk and Alzner this year, they would 100% be a playoff team, I can guarantee you that.

 

[njdevil26]

Bobby Ryan is from New Jersey!

I would love to have him here but his contract is crazy pants.

 

[njdevil26]

Even if they gave Shattenkirk AND Alzner 7x$7 (I'm not advocating that they do), they would still have plenty of cap space. They are swimming in it.

The Devils are ALREADY in the middle of a rebuild, whether people want to choose to believe that or not. I agree that they are missing that surefire #1 DMan or #1C, but maybe they can get that in this draft?

If they had both Shattenkirk and Alzner this year, they would 100% be a playoff team, I can guarantee you that.

Agreed. Our offense is fine. They've put up underwhelming numbers but that's the result of entire systemic failure on defense. Now they are playing better defense and Schneider's GAA is under 2 for the month. If our defense was-

Greene-Shattenkirk
Alzner-Severson
Quincey/Merrill-Santini

We'd be fine.

 

[njdevil26]

Guys like Shattenkirk & Alzner would only come to the Devils if they dramatically overpay/overterm. Even if the team added those two Dmen they still aren't a cup contender and then they're also capped out for years.

The Devils are a different team from when Zacha was drafted but so are a lot of teams. However, a lot of that youth you noted is just meh stuff that every team has.

What's so great about the 2016 draft class? Those players are 3+ years from making a noticeable impact also.

Devils need to add top young talent. Top end talent is what franchises are built around. For higher end youth the Devils really are underwhelming. Go around the league.

Cammi, Zajac and Greene are getting up there in age so I wouldn't count on them in anyway. If anything they should be dealt out well the team could still get something.

The Devils aren't starting with nothing and might not need a 5+ year rip everything down to the core type rebuild. But a focus on a 3-5 year plan is needed.

Not expensive overtermed UFAs.

?

Zajac is 31 and playing the best he has in YEARS.

Cammalleri is streaky and has little to no effect on the team's overall performance.

Greene is having a down year and is replaceable.

Zajac is going nowhere and the team is in the exact same place with or without Greene and Cammalleri