Confirmed Trade: [NYI/NJD] Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac (both @50%) for AJ Greer, M Jobst, 21 1st, cdnl 22/23 3rd/4th

[MomoSissokko]

And. Isles still have over $3 mil in cap space to add a D man.

And again Lou could call the Devils for probably Murray, Kulikov or Vatanen.

 

[Devil made me do it]

A solid trade by Fitzgerald here. Get a 1st for Palmieri who has been inconsistent for a while now and really is in the decline of his career and Zajac who is a borderline retirement player. Both players would've been let go anyway but we get a 1st and 3rd/4th. Hard to complain.

 

[TBF1972]

I'm confused why New Jersey is adding at the two positions they are deepest at as well. I know Palms has played LW in the past, but where is Zajac fitting?

Bailey and Nelson have been very good together right?

no worry.
the left wings were very disappointing. so aj should feel comfortable on the first line and once the devils can get rid of jack hughes and send him to vancouver for eriksson and virtanen, there's an opening for mason.

 

[Wanderson]

A solid trade by Fitzgerald here. Get a 1st for Palmieri who has been inconsistent for a while now and really is in the decline of his career and Zajac who is a borderline retirement player. Both players would've been let go anyway but we get a 1st and 3rd/4th. Hard to complain.

Glad to hear you are happy about the return!
I believe 1st rounders don’t have the same value this year because of the limited scouting and all the cancelled junior leagues during the season.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Wait people think the Isles won this trade & that this is a sign of a buyers market? Lol

 

[Wanderson]

Wait people think the Isles won this trade & that this is a sign of a buyers market? Lol

Why do you think the Isles lost the trade?

 

[Lobodomy]

Still doesn't make them contenders.

 

[ninetyeight]

Incredible that some still don't seem to understand the concept of UFA and rentals, feels like I'm reading casual twitter or facebook comments sometimes.

I'm in the camp that you extend your UFAs before the deadline or you trade them away. It's bad asset management to let players walk away for free, so you take whatever you can from them. That said the upcoming expansion draft does bring some complications to that. If I may pull some random percentages out of my ass, I think Zajac probably would have signed with the Devils with 95% certainty and now it's probably somewhere around 40%. Don't know if the Devils ever planned to sign Palmieri, and I think chances of him extending (or signing after going UFA) were around 30%. Now I think Palmieri will 90% likely extend with the Islanders, being born from Long Island and all.

The return was more or less what I expected, a 1st (or 2nd+) for Palmieri and a 3rd for Zajac (well it's a 4th that could become a 3rd). It's a good return for Palmieri, even though the chances are that the 1st won't ever become an NHLer. Zajac I think was more valuable for the Devils, and thus shouldn't have been traded. But like many said that probably was the only way to get the deal done. We'll see what happens in free agency, but I'm never mad for my team trading away UFAs if they can't extend them.

Also how are the Devils rivals with the Islanders in this SC run, if they are not even part of it. I for one have no problems rooting for the Islanders, first of all to get that conditional 3rd and hope to see players I've become attached to succeed. A little friendly rivalry is great, but there's a bit too much tribalism going on in sport fandom. Plus I guess I've always liked the Islanders more than the other teams in our division, the Devils and the Islanders have never really been good at the same time. They've also had some really ugly stretches, it's been a while since their glory days so they definitely deserve to have some success.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Why do you think the Isles lost the trade?

They gave up a 1st rd pick for a 30yo who’s a 0.5PPG player & an elderly man
People would make fun of Devils fans who suggested Palmieri was worth a 1st
As a Rangers fan now I’m thinking Strome might be worth a top prospect & a 1st lmao

 

[Sparksrus3]

Can you explain what you don't like instead?...

Bailey on line 1. At least Leo digs in the corners and fore checks. Bailey has been practicing social distancing for years now. I hope we didn’t make this trade to move Bailey up. Trotts knows best and we shall see soon enough..

 

[Chardo]

Rivalry? Devils and Islanders literally exist to counter the Rangers. Their common enemy makes them friends.

 

[lawrence]

2 3rd line players who has played offensive roles in the past with expiring contracts this year, for A 1st rounder another draft pick and 2 prospects, I think Islanders gave up a little too much, who knows if they were in some bidding war, can't see other teams lining up to make offers for Zajac, but either way, despite Isles giving up quite a bit for 2 ufa's, they are improved.

 

[Ice Mammoth]

Versions:

Lou Lamoriello is a hypnotist.
Lou Lamoriello does a better hangover than Tom Fitzgerald.
Conspiracy theory version -
Tom Fitzgerald (NHL Draft 17th overall, 1986 New York Islanders)

Seriously, the deal is slightly in favor of the New York Islanders.
Buyers have priority.
I think 2nd 2022 is enough for balance.

 

[Wanderson]

They gave up a 1st rd pick for a 30yo who’s a 0.5PPG player & an elderly man
People would make fun of Devils fans who suggested Palmieri was worth a 1st
As a Rangers fan now I’m thinking Strome might be worth a top prospect & a 1st lmao

0.67 PPG since joining the Devils. Palmieri is a quality player who will help the Isles a lot. It’s well-known that you are blinded by bias, but it’s unfair to only take his last season in consideration when it comes to judging his abilities. Zajac will also improve their already great center core.

And it’s a late first in a year with limited scouting and when most of the junior leagues has been cancelled. I don’t have any high hopes for the upcoming draft, but I might be proven wrong in the future.

 

[MikeyMike01]

A 1st rounder another draft pick and 2 prospects, I think Islanders gave up a little too much

They are not prospects, they are AHL players. The Islanders would be at 50 contracts otherwise.

 

[Bronson]

They gave up a 1st rd pick for a 30yo who’s a 0.5PPG player & an elderly man
People would make fun of Devils fans who suggested Palmieri was worth a 1st
As a Rangers fan now I’m thinking Strome might be worth a top prospect & a 1st lmao

Didn't we have this discussion last year about how the Islanders overpaid for Pageau?

 

[Anaheim4ever]

I think it's great return for NJ considering Palmieri is declining at 30 and is a UFA in a few months. If Palmieri had another season left on his contract at a lower salary like Rakell it would be leaning more towards Islanders winning as getting retention for the whole next season would make them stronger next season when Lee returns. Would not say it's buyers market.

Zajac doesn't have much left if anything, the trade is like 1st + 3rd = pending UFA Palmieri and 2 AHL prospects = Zajac.

 

[Bronson]

Also of note: hfboards consider players to be washed up after 30.

 

[Allan92]

Palmieri grew up as a Rangers fan and has now played most of his prime for the Devils and Islanders.

Dirty

 

[Quickdraw2828]

I think it's great return for NJ considering Palmieri is declining at 30

Let's see what happens when he leaves the Devils.

 

[Tiredswede]

zajac is given an opportunity to get a cup. it sounded on Fitzgerald that that was more a focus than the return.

im happy w. the return for palmieri and will miss zajac

 

[jetsforever]

Wow, surprised that they traded Zajac after all this time
I guess this answers the Palmieri value question

 

[Chardo]

Devils just over a year ago:

C Andy Greene
A Travis Zajac
A Kyle Palmieri

Now all Islanders. Lou and Trotz place a big premium on leadership.

 

[saintunspecified]

As a nyi fan, I'm mixed. I wanted either a winger with some size or zip. Palmieri is fine, but now we have 3 very similar right wingers. I'm not worried about the cost, and I'm glad they got the extra center + enough cap room to add an extra Dman.

I would play Beau with Barzal, Bailey with Nelson, and Zajac with Pageau. Then you can experiment with how the RWs fit. But probably it will be eberle as rw1, palmieri as rw2, and wahstrom as rw3.

Foligno would have been a better fit.

Not worried about whether Zajac/JPG play center or wing. They're smart vets. They'll communicate. It'll give wahstrom some latitude to be creative.

 

[boredmale]

And again Lou could call the Devils for probably Murray, Kulikov or Vatanen.

To be honest I am surprised he didn't get one of those guys included in the deal. Maybe he has a bigger fish he is looking at with his 3.2M of capspace