Confirmed with Link: Devils Trade Henrique, Blandisi, 3rd Round Pick to Anaheim for Sami Vatanen/Conditional 3rd

[Classic Devil]

Makes me wonder.....I love Zajac I think he' a good soldier. I think through all the coaches he' always stayed true and disciplined. Never got emotional like some guys, always bought in and did his job. Henrique like others did not respond well to the change.

Is Zajac safe? He's definitely a tad over paid.

He's really not overpaid.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I think the Draft pick condition was put there cause Henrique is only under contract for one more season while Vatanen is under contract longer

That's exactly what it is. It's a small bit of insurance for the Ducks, because if he walks, they traded Vatanen for Blandisi and a 3rd round pick, which is a really bad return. Whereas assuming he resigns, Anaheim is happy with the trade.

 

[MadDevil]

Makes me wonder.....I love Zajac I think he' a good soldier. I think through all the coaches he' always stayed true and disciplined. Never got emotional like some guys, always bought in and did his job. Henrique like others did not respond well to the change.

Is Zajac safe? He's definitely a tad over paid.

I think Rico getting traded was more about our needs on defense and the Ducks being ravaged by injuries at forward, so I don't think it says anything about Zajac's future. Plus Rico is on a cap friendly contract, so he's easier to move than Zajac. Not that I think Zajac's contract is terrible, but you're talking a 27-28 year old at $4 million signed for another year past this one versus a 32 year old at $5.75 million signed for 3 years past this one. Rico can also switch to wing when they get their centers back from injury. Until Zajac actually becomes a liability I don't think he's in danger of being dealt.

 

[Darkauron]

Yeah Zajac is also older, payed more, and he also has a NTC which would make it hard.

 

[Patrik26]

That blows chunks. Well, at least the Rico sweater.

 

[The 29th Pick]

That blows chunks. Well, at least the Rico sweater.

Its like seeing new wedding pictures of your ex wife, yay for her ..ouch for me

 

[DerekDevils30]

Happy to have Sami in a Devils sweater. Seems like a guy who will become a fan favourite quickly. I hope he can regain form in a more open system.

 

[SeidoN]

lets go Sami Wow Wow

 

[MadDevil]

That Henrique Ducks jersey just looks wrong.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Henrique in a Ducks jersey does nothing to me after having my entire childhood memories of Brodeur tarnished in that damn Blues jersey.

 

[SeidoN]

Henrique in a Ducks jersey does nothing to me after having my entire childhood memories of Brodeur tarnished in that damn Blues jersey.

dont remind me

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Henrique just picked up an assist

 

[EliasFTW]

That blows chunks. Well, at least the Rico sweater.

Its like seeing new wedding pictures of your ex wife, yay for her ..ouch for me

That Henrique Ducks jersey just looks wrong.

 

[Its a Trap]

He's really not overpaid.

It doesn't matter if he is.

 

[Sojourn]

Needs context. I care less about his stats, more about his skill set. He’s already proven what he can do in the right situation. He didn’t fit their system, fits ours perfectly. He’s also still coming back from a pretty major injury.

The right situation for Vatanen was under Boudreau, with relatively sheltered minutes. He wasn’t really a bottom pairing guy, but he wasn’t a top 4 guy either. Boudreau liked to roll the D lines, and as a result Vatanen was never really “just” a third pairing guy, but he wasn’t seeing the legit top 4 match ups either.

Even under Boudreau, when Vatanen’s responsibilities increased, his play started to fall off. This was especially true offensively, where he needed to be(and was) more responsible defensively, but at the expense of taking risks offensively. Vatanen has never really been able to find that line where he is a stable influence defensively, but a factor offensively, at even strength. That isn’t a system issue. It was there with Boudreau as well.

Offensively, Vatanen is at his best(at even strength) with less D responsibilities. You might think “well, duh, that’s true of all offensive D” but it’s very prevalent with him. He has struggled to be a top 4 guy, in overall responsibility, while still being able to produce the kind of numbers his career stats indicate. The context of those numbers is that they exist, at least in part, because he had two D pairings ahead of him seeing a lot of D responsibility, while he was being tossed onto the ice in a lot of more favorable situations.

In other words, like Henrique(it sounds like), he has his issues. He should always be pretty good on the PP(albeit inconsistent, because sometimes he just won’t shoot, or he overshoots), and he will be good on the PK, but there are two Vatanens that exist at even strength: the capable puck mover who is solid all-around as a top 4 defenseman, or the dynamic offensive defenseman who needs to be managed defensively. There have been a couple of times where those two defensemen came together, and he looked damn good, but he always seems to fall on one side of the line or the other. It would be really cool to see him figure that part out. He’s a good player regardless, but that would make him a great one.

 

[Scorcho]

Makes me wonder.....I love Zajac I think he' a good soldier. I think through all the coaches he' always stayed true and disciplined. Never got emotional like some guys, always bought in and did his job. Henrique like others did not respond well to the change.

Is Zajac safe? He's definitely a tad over paid.

Zajac is as safe as he wants to be

 

[Emperoreddy]

No easing Sami into the lineup, but definitely liked what I saw tonight.

 

[Zippy316]

He had a good game tonight.

I have to be honest though I'm a little concerned about his speed, especially since the Devils D is already slow and on the smaller size already. I thought and was hoping he would be a lot quicker and faster considering he's a small guy but he looks slow.

 

[DerekDevils30]

No complaints at all for his first game. He's not the fastest guy but he makes up for it with his positioning and stickwork. He had a few good stick checks and his breakout pass was on point.

 

[Emperoreddy]

He helped relieve pressure in our zone a few times with some good plays out of the zone.

That is something we really needed

 

[Tundra]

I think Rico getting traded was more about our needs on defense and the Ducks being ravaged by injuries at forward, so I don't think it says anything about Zajac's future. Plus Rico is on a cap friendly contract, so he's easier to move than Zajac. Not that I think Zajac's contract is terrible, but you're talking a 27-28 year old at $4 million signed for another year past this one versus a 32 year old at $5.75 million signed for 3 years past this one. Rico can also switch to wing when they get their centers back from injury. Until Zajac actually becomes a liability I don't think he's in danger of being dealt.

Zajac isn't long for the Devils at the current pace. Hell survive this season, but I think he could be waived or traded if he continues to be an offensive black hole. Ray has no emotional attachment to him since he never drafted him and #2 he doesn't fit the mold of the team philosophy.

 

[Emperoreddy]

If they are willing to sit Lovejoy on his contract for half a season, they will not have an issue paying Zajac for the remainder of his contract as a 3rd line faceoff specialist. They are not going to waive him or trade him for spare parts.

It is also off topic. Zajac isn’t involved in this trade.

 

[Sojourn]

He had a good game tonight.

I have to be honest though I'm a little concerned about his speed, especially since the Devils D is already slow and on the smaller size already. I thought and was hoping he would be a lot quicker and faster considering he's a small guy but he looks slow.

His speed is a little overrated. When you look at his highlights where he’s moving with speed, it’s usually because he has time to build it up. I think you see less of that now than you do earlier in his career, because teams get on him more quickly. It used to be that he would skate the length of the ice because he’d collect it in the D zone and opposing players would back off.

That being said, he skates well moving forward with the puck. He can weave his way through the neutral zone, create space, and open up passing lanes. It’s less highlight reel, but it’s more sustainably effective, and he’ll give you the clean breakout you need most of the time. He’s a bit weaker, and more uncomfortable skating backwards, and you’ll definitely see him get burned by it at times, but he makes up for it with good positional play and a very active stick. That’s really more of an issue against the high speed skill guys, and they can put most defensemen into uncomfortable situations. He seems fully aware of that weakness too, and he’ll even give opposing players a little extra space as they cross the blue line so he can be in better position further in. It isn’t something he’ll force, so it isn’t a weakness that you see exploited consistently.

Sami is at his best when he plays with swagger. You guys are going to love that. He doesn’t back down from anyone, and he plays like he’s a foot taller, and 50 lbs heavier. He’d stand up to Ryan Getzlaf if he took a poke at your goaltender when Anaheim plays you guys. He just doesn’t care. It’s awesome.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

No complaints at all for his first game. He's not the fastest guy but he makes up for it with his positioning and stickwork. He had a few good stick checks and his breakout pass was on point.

Most of the offensive D-men the Ducks have developed been at least decent defensively, more of a 2way game than how other teams develop their guys, Niedermayer is a development coach with the Ducks & even Lindholm has given some credit to Niedermayer in an article a few years ago, i imagine he helped Vatanen as well.

 

[glenwo2]

Weird.