Confirmed Trade: [NJD/SJS] Meier (50%), Harrington, Ibragimov, Emond, Hatakka, ‘24 5th for ‘23 1st, cond ‘24 1st, Johnsson, Okhotiuk, Mukhamadullin, Zetterlund, 24 7th

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Yeah, team's windows are only so long. Closing the door on a year or two because a team won't spend assets on goaltending seems short-sighted.

again, which of these hypothetical goalies are you talking about? Literally no good ones have moved.

you're making it seem like Nashville is like "HEY COME TAKE SAROS!" when that is not happening but any report.

You should see what this guy Blackwood has been doing for the Sharks, keeping them in games they have no business competing in. If only NJD had a guy like that…..

been there, done that. A month worth of games from him isn't gonna change anything.

He will get injured and/or play like shit for a bunch of games. Thats who he is.

The 19 and 20 year olds are not among the better defenders for New Jersey at this stage of their careers (in fact, the 20-year-old is hardly a defender at all at this point).

Luke Hughes is the Devils best defenseman as a 20 year old.

another L for you! They are piling up.

 

[Smitty426]

If NJ refuses to address their goaltending in a serious manner then they’re just gonna be in the same group of “what ifs” along with Edmonton and Toronto.

Also, not willing to at least attempt to upgrade a clear weakness that was a big reason as to why they lost last year is just a case of a GM unwillingness to show enough confidence in himself and his staff to put their reputations on the line by making a significant move. That’s the difference between the winners and losers. Vegas GM and TB GM took massive risks and they paid off.

Show me where we weren't willing, kinda dumb comment. Vegas grabbed what was out there, what risk did Tampa take, I'll wait

 

[TheBeard]

Show me where we weren't willing, kinda dumb comment. Vegas grabbed what was out there, what risk did Tampa take, I'll wait

Every year TB is basically trading away their firsts and seconds to bring in guys like Nick Paul and Hagel. Vegas is was more about the swings they took in general, not just in nets.

 

[HBK27]

Imagine having this much talent and a stacked prospect cupboard to boot and trying to sell the fanbase on James Reimer for a 4th as the piece to put them over the finish line.

Imagine still being salty about another fanbase from the Meier trade threads to the point that you make nonsensical comments like this.

Fitzgerald has been very blunt about the goaltending issues and stating that he has been looking to make an upgrade. It's a bad market right now - you have several teams in Edmonton, Carolina, NJ and other looking to make an upgrade in net and yet...none have made a move yet. Are all the GM's just not as brilliant as you or do you think there might be another reason?

So in your opinion what goalie upgrade was available and what was the cost of this upgrade?
People love to point at Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, but was he ever actually available or was it all just noise to force a new contract? If he was, what was the asking price? There is no answer for this question unless of course you were in the room.

It's super easy to sit at your keyboard and say, they should have done this, or should have done that. What isn't as easy, is actually getting it done. We can sit here and say they should have offered Mercer, or they should have offered Nemec but the reality is they mave have done just that and Winnipeg wanted both, or Luke Hughes, we simply do not know

He will never actually answer this question, as he's been asked many times without ever providing answer. It's rather transparent what his goal is here and it's certainly not to have a rational discussion about how NJ addressing goaltending.

 

[Mattb124]

again, which of these hypothetical goalies are you talking about? Literally no good ones have moved.

you're making it seem like Nashville is like "HEY COME TAKE SAROS!" when that is not happening but any report.

And you’re making it seem as though Saros is untouchable just because no #1-type goalies have been traded this season. There are certainly some that would be available for the right price, it’s just that no team has yet met the price.

 

[TheBeard]

Imagine still being salty about another fanbase from the Meier trade threads to the point that you make nonsensical comments like this.

Fitzgerald has been very blunt about the goaltending issues and stating that he has been looking to make an upgrade. It's a bad market right now - you have several teams in Edmonton, Carolina, NJ and other looking to make an upgrade in net and yet...none have made a move yet. Are all the GM's just not as brilliant as you or do you think there might be another reason?

What would I be salty about? I’m not even talking about the state of their goaltending now, but i would be massively disappointed if I was a Devils fan and my team went into the postseason with the same goaltending duo that let me down last year.

As for who is available? How the hell do I know? Maybe no one is and this is all moot. None of us know because I don’t have very many GM numbers in my phone (read: none)nor do I imagine any of them would disclose any sort of information just so I can satiate the demands of another random poster on a message board. What I DO know is that the same duo that hurt them in the playoffs last year now sit 25th in the league in goals against with a collective save percentage of .872.

 

[Smitty426]

Every year TB is basically trading away their firsts and seconds to bring in guys like Nick Paul and Hagel. Vegas is was more about the swings they took in general, not just in nets.

That hasn't worked lately btw
Jeannot trade?
Hagel trade?
Marginally better but some of what they sent out had baggage, they hoodwinked other GMs
Here's a list of trade history they've made '

Tampa Bay Lightning Trade History - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Tampa Bay Lightning NHL trade history. Trades can be filtered on players, teams, dates, and events

www.capfriendly.com

 

[TheBeard]

That hasn't worked lately btw
Jeannot trade?
Hagel trade?
Marginally better but some of what they sent out had baggage, they hoodwinked other GMs
Here's a list of trade history they've made '

Tampa Bay Lightning Trade History - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Tampa Bay Lightning NHL trade history. Trades can be filtered on players, teams, dates, and events

www.capfriendly.com

If they worked 100% of the time every GM would be doing it.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Hagel trade?

While I agree with general sentiment, you have to admit Hagel trade was great for them, especially in their cap situation. Jeannot one, they tried to replicate it and it was obviously a terrible misfire.

 

[My3Sons]

again, which of these hypothetical goalies are you talking about? Literally no good ones have moved.

you're making it seem like Nashville is like "HEY COME TAKE SAROS!" when that is not happening but any report.



been there, done that. A month worth of games from him isn't gonna change anything.

He will get injured and/or play like shit for a bunch of games. Thats who he is.



Luke Hughes is the Devils best defenseman as a 20 year old.

another L for you! They are piling up.

Nemec had more ice time last game. And some fans of other teams are desperate to push NJ to some sort of win now all in give away the young players routine. They don't know the team and they don't watch the games but they are experts in what the team should do.

 

[TheBeard]

Nemec had more ice time last game. And some fans of other teams are desperate to push NJ to some sort of win now all in give away the young players routine. They don't know the team and they don't watch the games but they are experts in what the team should do.

I watch enough to know their goaltending is a liability. I’m actually rooting for NJ because I want that first round pick.

 

[My3Sons]

I watch enough to know their goaltending is a liability. I’m actually rooting for NJ because I want that first round pick.

Then you'd know they aren't a win now team and their issues such as they are do not begin and end with a goalie.

 

[TheBeard]

Then you'd know they aren't a win now team and their issues such as they are do not begin and end with a goalie.

I think everyone has their own philosophy on when a team should be making a push. I have always been on the side of taking advantage of a plethora of young players still on ELCs because it’s only a matter of time before Nemec, Hughes, Holtz, Mercer are all gonna be asking for serious dough.

 

[My3Sons]

I think everyone has their own philosophy on when a team should be making a push. I have always been on the side of taking advantage of a plethora of young players still on ELCs because it’s only a matter of time before Nemec, Hughes, Holtz, Mercer are all gonna be asking for serious dough.

Sure, but NJ already did that by adding Palat, Hamilton, and Meier. All "go for it moves". You can't just keep making those at some point the cap gets in the way. You also can't add a goalie with any term if you plan on paying all of Nemec, Hughes, Holtz, Mercer, etc. NJ gambled that Vanacek would have a typical average season like last year and the team would be fine. This season he hasn't been great, but the injuries have really hurt them (how many games without both Hughes and Hischier), and the average age of half the defense right now is middle school. One goalie isn't fixing all that even if it would help. So they give up four or five goals per game instead of five or six. It won't be the difference between five and two or even three without some additional things being fixed.

 

[Legend123]

Well so far I called it. I'm not surprised the contract already looks like shit

 

[TheBeard]

You also can't add a goalie with any term if you plan on paying all of Nemec, Hughes, Holtz, Mercer, etc. NJ

You can’t pay all of them anyways.

 

[Oneiro]

You can’t pay all of them anyways.

I think you're vastly underestimating how much the cap is going to rise the next five years. The first jump is already 4M.

Look at post 05 lockout to 2013 and know that the cap jump is going to be bigger than that.

 

[JetsFan815]

The defense argument has merit - but not because of the reason suggested. Dougie Hamilton is now on his fourth team and paid as if he is a Trouba or Pietrangelo and then the team further weakened its blueline by jettisoning two competent defenders in Graves and Severson. The problem is further exacerbated with Luke Hughes being forced into the lineup before he is ready (playing pretty much the same game Hamilton does).

Hamilton is better than Trouba/Pietrangelo.

 

[TheBeard]

I think you're vastly underestimating how much the cap is going to rise the next five years. The first jump is already 4M.

Look at post 05 lockout to 2013 and know that the cap jump is going to be bigger than that.

You’re talking about 4 or 5 players that’ll all be in the 6-9 million range. How much are you paying for them now?

 

[biturbo19]

Hamilton is better than Trouba/Pietrangelo.

Strongly disagree.

Could maybe almost kinda/sorta make an argument that Hamilton's offensive abilities outweigh Trouba's defensive play. But i'd still take Trouba. With Pietranglo, it's really not even close.


But more importantly...i think you're missing the crux of the issue brought up there. It's that the Devils defence has a lot of overlap right now. They lost a pair of pretty good aggressive, physical defensive presences with Graves and Severson...and replaced them with guys like Hughes, who is very talented...but super raw still, and plays a very similar sort of offensive-minded game in the vein of Dougie. So inevitably, the defensive play is going to take a noticeable step backward.

It is what it is, because Severson in particular, they just couldn't have justified tying themselves to with that kind of contract. But that doesn't mean letting those two walk wasn't a major hit to the teams overall defensive play, slotting people into appropriate roles which just help the whole team function better. Including the goaltending.

 

[SJinNewJersey]

You should see what this guy Blackwood has been doing for the Sharks, keeping them in games they have no business competing in. If only NJD had a guy like that…..

Perhaps you might want to educate yourself on what happens when covid, injuries, and a rift between a player and a team occurs.

 

[biturbo19]

Perhaps you might want to educate yourself on what happens when covid, injuries, and a rift between a player and a team occurs.

It's always funny when people snidely remark that a player that a team moved on from would be a great fit with that team, without consideration of circumstances that led to their departure in the first place.

Blackwood was completely burned in NJ. Not only was he playing like absolute garbage, he'd become a huge headache for them in general. Cool that it's working out for the historically bad team that picked him up. But there's no way that was tenable any longer for the Devils. That relationship was kaput. Over. Finished. Players don't rebound in that sort of situation. It's silly to act like causality is irrelevant and everything happens in a vacuum.

 

[Mirka the Turka]

Gotta be honest, Sharks won this trade quite easily. I'd trade Meier back for Zetterlund any day of the week.

 

[Mattb124]

[MOD]

Gotta be honest, Sharks won this trade quite easily. I'd trade Meier back for Zetterlund any day of the week.

And the Sharks would make that trade in a second. Meier is by FAR the better player. To his credit Zetterlund has looked much better this season versus last.

 

[TheBeard]

[MOD]


And the Sharks would make that trade in a second. Meier is by FAR the better player. To his credit Zetterlund has looked much better this season versus last.

I honestly don’t know if I would strictly because of the contracts.