GDT: Free Agency Frenzy is here - NHLN coverage starts 11 AM

[Normal Devil]

Even if we don't add any key pieces in free agency, we'll be fine. Signing guys in free agency is no guarantee of improvement or success either, as everyone here should know very well.

That's what I think as well .. sure, I'd love a true #2 center, but we have a lot of young guys who are poised to improve, and a few veterans coming off injury riddled seasons. Hischier has the talent to blow up and become an elite player .. Bratt, Butcher, Mueller and Zacha could easily take another step up. Johansson, Palmieri, and Schneider could return to good health. It's not a dire situation by any means.

As for free agency .. I'd like to add De Haan, and keep Maroon.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

He's looking for a multi-year deal, and the finalists are NJ, NYR, NYI and DAL. He should sign today.

With how things are going, I'm just assuming NYI is out of the running.

I think thats a fair assumption as two other NYC area teams are bidding.

 

[Nubmer6]

Umm... ok...



Hope he rots in the minors there.

 

[Call Me Al]

gross, guy doesn't deserve to put on an nhl jersey

 

[RSeen]

I have no problem not making the playoffs. We are still ahead of schedule.

The worry would have to be the impact it has to retaining Hall. We simply cannot afford to lose him.

 

[NJDevs26]

Knock off the cutie pie one liner crap and stick to arguing points. Keep personal digs and intentionally provoking them off the board or you’ll be out of the thread.

 

[OmNomNom]

for the record the post that started this was that "we can all agree that it will take a miracle to get in" and then transition that premise into the assumption (spoken like fact) that with only one playoff appearance Hall will not resign when he is a free agent in 2 years because he will reject our contract extension offer on july 1 after a bad season

i think using "hall" and "walk year" in one phrase set of alarms on people - it took me a sec to realize what he meant. he doesn't mean that hall would necessarily walk, but it IS true that it would be the year he could walk.

i get @JrFischer54's concern on regression, but i'm of the opinion that there's still plenty of time left, and we'll see something in a week.

to frame everything, we were supposed to be dogshit last year, don't forget. thinking/expecting we're gonna hit the playoffs consistently is positive thinking, and i think we actually do have the talent to do it, but i also know to temper my expectations - bratt and butcher succeeding, along with noesen, coleman, and gibbons coming out as successful last season were MAJOR strokes of luck.

that's not to say we won't get that kind of luck again this year - coleman could improve, mcleod could actually pan out, zacha might get better, bratt might stay consistent, hischier might improve (i'd bet on this).

but it's absolutely possible that we end up missing again. some teams in our division DID get better on paper, and hall himself even said that this past year is prob not gonna happen again for him. greene is another year old, and so is everyone else above 30 (trav and schneider)

 

[OmNomNom]

gross, guy doesn't deserve to put on an nhl jersey

he's reunited with laviolette

 

[NJDevs26]

for the record the post that started this was that "we can all agree that it will take a miracle to get in" and then transition that premise into the assumption (spoken like fact) that with only one playoff appearance Hall will not resign when he is a free agent in 2 years because he will reject our contract extension offer on july 1 after a bad season

Yeah jumping from point A (which is an assumption to begin with) to point D is a ridiculous leap. This team needs improvements and Shero knows it. Some people seem to gloss over the fact the off-season doesn’t end on July 1.

 

[Nubmer6]

Yeah jumping from point A (which is an assumption to begin with) to point D is a ridiculous leap. This team needs improvements and Shero knows it. Some people seem to gloss over the fact the off-season doesn’t end on July 1.

To be fair, he DID follow it up with "if things stay the same".

 

[Tundra]

The only way I see the Devils acquiring Erik Karlsson is if someone like Marcus Johansson vouches for the organization. I believe Johansson knows Karlsson since they were 16.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Teams below us have also gotten better like the Flyers and Panthers. We definitely need to make additions if we plan on being a playoff team.

At the same time, we have not lost any real talent.

Nico, Bratt, Butcher, and Coleman will all be seasoned. Sure, I'm willing to bet we may see a sophomore slump from at least one of them, but at the same time, it's just as likely one or two takes a further step ahead from where they were last season too.

Cory rounding back into form would be nice. As would a full healthy season for Palms and MoJo. A rookie like Anderson or possibly McLeod could surprise as well...

I'm also certain Ray is not content to sit pretty on D. He's just not willing to make a short-sighted impulsive move.

It's not all doom and gloom just because we haven't made any major moves yet...

 

[JrFischer54]

for the record the post that started this was that "we can all agree that it will take a miracle to get in" and then transition that premise into the assumption (spoken like fact) that with only one playoff appearance Hall will not resign when he is a free agent in 2 years because he will reject our contract extension offer on july 1 after a bad season

i'm not going to respond after this but your way off base with everything i said in that thread. if you want you can pm me and we can talk about it but way off with everything i said

 

[Call Me Al]

there's nothing that says we will be worse other than assuming hall doesn't repeat his mvp season and none of our young players improve. we didn't lose any major talent from this offseason.

and if anything, having mojo and palmieri healthy for a full season would be an improvement. palmieri looked great in the preseason but never gained his momentum back after all his leg injuries it seemed like

 

[Darkauron]

Wow what a shit show to wake up to. Glad we are officially in on CDH!

 

[Call Me Al]

i think we can just agree to disagree on our major concerns for the team going forward, and no hard feelings/nothing personal intended

 

[Devils Dominion]

Teams below us have also gotten better like the Flyers and Panthers. We definitely need to make additions if we plan on being a playoff team.

Philly finished ahead of us last season

 

[njdevils19]

Sorry guys, but I agree that there's a real chance of regression on this team. The stars seemed to align this year for us to squeak in. Hynes and co. need to keep the team focused to avoid an Edmonton-like collapse. I expect at least one sophomore slump, and if hits Hischier or Butcher it'll be pretty tough on us. I also think Hall's probably also going to drop into the 80 point range. Also, we were relatively lucky injury-wise with defensemen. I don't think we had to call anyone up the whole year, and we're pretty thin there.

On the plus side, some rookies should progress, Corey could regain his form, Kinky could have really learned from his stint as starter, and we hopefully get more luck on the injury front with the forwards. Having a full season of MarJo, Palms, and Zajac would help, along with the staff's realization that Zajac is now best in a checking line role. We also signed some veteran AHL defensemen that can do the job in a pinch. Zacha taking the next step would help us immensely.

I guess what I'm saying is, it wouldn't take a miracle to make it back to the show, but if we keep our current personele, I wouldn't be so quick to presume we make it back in. I do think adding someone like de Haan would be a huge help though. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

This. I don't think anyone would, or should, be surprised if we missed. But while a lot of stars aligned for us at the right times last year, it also won't take some amazing event for us to get back in. There are some spots we probably won't get the same production. However that will mean not only some drop back from a few guys, but some improvement from others as well.

Now for us to make noise in the playoffs, we would need a few of our young offensive stars to actually make the next step along with one of Severson/Santini to do the same. Cory to come back to previous form. On top of that picking up a Dman that takes Andy off the first line.

 

[Lindys Lazy Eye]

I would of really liked Neal but w/e

 

[OmNomNom]

Philly finished ahead of us last season

i hate to agree here, but i think flyers are gonna be much better. adding JVR in place of filppula is a huge upgrade. there's no guarantee simmonds leaves either, and their young guns are gonna be a year closer to their primes.

carter hart signed his ELC in early 2016, so i assume he gets a taste, and if he does as well as is hoped, then we better watch out

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

The only way I see the Devils acquiring Erik Karlsson is if someone like Marcus Johansson vouches for the organization. I believe Johansson knows Karlsson since they were 16.

if all it took was Marcus Johansson saying "hey this is a good team" I think the deal would have been done by now

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I am never worried about the Flyers until they get a goalie

its the same story for literally 20 years

 

[Team Concept]

The only way I see the Devils acquiring Erik Karlsson is if someone like Marcus Johansson vouches for the organization. I believe Johansson knows Karlsson since they were 16.

Refresh my memory. If we did make a trade for Karlsson would we be able to sign him to an extension prior to making the trade? In other words could we make a trade with Ottawa on the condition that Karlsson signs an extension to stay long term?

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

The Flyers are improved, the Penguins are the equivalent, the Caps have peaked, the BJs are spinning their wheels... I don't take the Canes seriously, and I couldn't even tell you NYI's center depth past Barzal now.

I don't think we'll have that hard of a time making the playoffs. It certainly isn't a shoe-in, but it isn't going to be impossible.

 

[OmNomNom]

if all it took was Marcus Johansson saying "hey this is a good team" I think the deal would have been done by now

hey man, he could be like tavares and take forever on his decision. maybe he loves ottawa too much

melnyk is also quite stingy, so some GM has to be working him really well to get that price down