Value of: If the Devils get the #3-#6 pick...

[BPD]

I wouldn't disagree. The Devils went through a decade of poor drafting and/or poor development. I'm not entirely convinced they have 'good' drafting or development now, but they got rid of that entire staff.. so unless it's the very name of the team that dictates drafting or development, things should be different. That's different, not even necessarily better. Declaring the current Devils developmental team as really bad at nurturing talent is unfair given they weren't the ones who earned the Devils that moniker.

So far, at least on the drafting front, things look to be much, much better with last year's draft probably one of our best in a long time. Jury is definitely out on the development part.. we'll need to give them a few years though.

That's fair - at least someone noticed that they needed to fire their staff

 

[ScottyK]

keep the pick unless someone blows us away

 

[nickdawg95]

evander kane

 

[kk87]

Regardless of what happens, the Devils are going to be a really bad hockey team for a very long time. The last two drafts they've gone for forwards with lower ceilings than a lot of players who went later, which isn't the strategy they should be employing right now. This team has to bottom out, amass as many top 5 picks as possible, and swing for the fences with each and every one.

 

[vtdevils2k]

Regardless of what happens, the Devils are going to be a really bad hockey team for a very long time. The last two drafts they've gone for forwards with lower ceilings than a lot of players who went later, which isn't the strategy they should be employing right now. This team has to bottom out, amass as many top 5 picks as possible, and swing for the fences with each and every one.

What are you talking about? How have they gone with forwards with lower ceilings based on where they picked in the past 2 drafts??!

Also, with the draft rules, if you tank you are not guaranteed the top pick.

The team needed to move on from the terrible scouting/drafting department of Conte and the previous regime. The past draft class has/looks to be be much better than anything we've had the past 5 plus years. We're on the right track.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

HFBoards thinks rebuilding means ice an AHL team, get 20 wins, and pray the lottery goes in your favor, and repeat for 5 years.

Fortunately I think Ray Shero has a much more pragmatic approach. New Jersey has a lot of mid-range prospects and can fill many of their roster holes internally within the next 1-3 years. Obviously, we need more top-end talent, but so do a lot of other teams.

NJ will get a top prospect in this year's draft regardless of whether they pick #1 or #5. This team has the money to overpay a top pairing defenseman in free agency and add some complimentary pieces. I would look to dangle Henrique in trade, I think his reputation far overshadows his actual skill set.

I actually like some of the longer term focused moves Shero has made like signing Stempniak then flipping him the next deadline and taking on the Savard contract to gain a pick.

The Devils aren't just 1 or 2 moves away from being a good team. They're many moves away. They need to be strategically gutted and rebuilt which will be painful but it's part of the process.

Even if you draft high it takes time for those guys to become those star talents by which point guys like Zajac, Schneider are nearing retirement or simply a shadow of what they were. Guys like Hall, Palmieri, Henrique are also all very good players but they're also all in their primes right now but in the 3 to 5 years to right this team they'll be exiting their primes.

Thinking signing a guy like Shattenkirk will put this team back on course to be a sustainable contender is naive thinking. There's just far too many other holes.

 

[NJDevils#4]

As a Leafs fan, if NJD was in the 4-6 range, I'd love to do a deal... I'm not sure that we've got what it takes though. Some package involving pieces such as Bozak, JvR, our 2017 1st, Bracco, Timashov, Liepsic, Johnson, Soshnikov, Rychel.. would be available in some sort of package, some of our LHD on the Marlies as well....

New Jersey is probably better off just retooling/rebuilding and keeping the pick... but, I'd be willing to part with enough pieces to get a deal done, to fill a need on our end.

Every. ****ing. Value thread.





NOBODY wants Bozak, ffs. How many threads do I have to see Bozak and a bunch of **** for a team's star player or top prospect/pick. Jesus Christ.