Value of: UFAs from the Devils

[TySmith4Norris]

Probably just 2nd straight up.

The Riikola move could be a separate one, just spitballing

 

[TBF1972]

Does it have to be a RHD? Avs have some forwards that might work too, like Beaucage for example.

Devils prospect pipeline has two holes:
RHD
Goalie

Goalie is a lesser need, as the Blackwood looks like the short term, mid term and long term starter at the position. They actually need an NHL level back up, but they probably prefer a more experienced veteran like they thought they had with Crawford.

The other position are more or less covered with depth, different skill sets, size and speed. True PFs are a little scarce. Of the three forward position C might be the thinnest, but they already have four NHLer (Zacha, McLeod, Hischier and Hughes) who are below 25 years old. Zacha currently plays LW and various other players like Sharangovich, Boqvist and Mercer might not play down the middle in the NHL.

I am not familiar with Beaucage's game. From the stats, I would consider him a trigger man. The Devils drafted three RW shooter in the last two drafts: Holtz, Clark and overager Thompson. Moynihan is another one, who was considered more of an energy player, who showed surprising scoring touch in the NCAA. Add Mercer and older prospects like Merkley and Bastian and Beaucage wouldn't change much the outlook of the RW prospect pipeline.

Do I have to repeat the RHD prospect pipeline?

 

[DEVILS130]

I’d take a 7th for Gusev

 

[devils29]

I’d take a 7th for Gusev

I’m almost positive the space jam monsters took all his powers at this point

 

[Smitty426]

Devils prospect pipeline has two holes:
RHD
Goalie

Goalie is a lesser need, as the Blackwood looks like the short term, mid term and long term starter at the position. They actually need an NHL level back up, but they probably prefer a more experienced veteran like they thought they had with Crawford.

The other position are more or less covered with depth, different skill sets, size and speed. True PFs are a little scarce. Of the three forward position C might be the thinnest, but they already have four NHLer (Zacha, McLeod, Hischier and Hughes) who are below 25 years old. Zacha currently plays LW and various other players like Sharangovich, Boqvist and Mercer might not play down the middle in the NHL.

I am not familiar with Beaucage's game. From the stats, I would consider him a trigger man. The Devils drafted three RW shooter in the last two drafts: Holtz, Clark and overager Thompson. Moynihan is another one, who was considered more of an energy player, who showed surprising scoring touch in the NCAA. Add Mercer and older prospects like Merkley and Bastian and Beaucage wouldn't change much the outlook of the RW prospect pipeline.

Do I have to repeat the RHD prospect pipeline?

I agree that RHD is the immediate need. But disagree about C's Hughes, Hischier will be here for years. And know Zacha looks like he is starting to show up. Mcleod certainly looks like he can play C at the lower half of the Fwd lineup. To a lesser extent Sharangovich and Kuokokken can be centers if need be. Also on G, Dell is fine unless he is taken by Seattle.

Again RHD is primmary but I woudl say followed up by LHD. We have some lefties upcoming but we need all the D depth we can get.

 

[TBF1972]

I agree that RHD is the immediate need. But disagree about C's Hughes, Hischier will be here for years. And know Zacha looks like he is starting to show up. Mcleod certainly looks like he can play C at the lower half of the Fwd lineup. To a lesser extent Sharangovich and Kuokokken can be centers if need be. Also on G, Dell is fine unless he is taken by Seattle.

Again RHD is primmary but I woudl say followed up by LHD. We have some lefties upcoming but we need all the D depth we can get.

i think we have no disagreement regarding the center position. i mentioned the four u25 center on the nhl roster. center is only relatively thin in comparison to lw and rw. i am not too worried about lhds:
smith (graduated?)
bahl
mukhamadullin
okhotyuk
misyul
vukojevic
zaitsev
edwards

there is depth. but if you ask colorado to provide lhd help, the offered players wouldn't be byram, toews and girard, which would provide more quality.

 

[Richard88]

Devils prospect pipeline has two holes:
RHD
Goalie

Goalie is a lesser need, as the Blackwood looks like the short term, mid term and long term starter at the position. They actually need an NHL level back up, but they probably prefer a more experienced veteran like they thought they had with Crawford.

The other position are more or less covered with depth, different skill sets, size and speed. True PFs are a little scarce. Of the three forward position C might be the thinnest, but they already have four NHLer (Zacha, McLeod, Hischier and Hughes) who are below 25 years old. Zacha currently plays LW and various other players like Sharangovich, Boqvist and Mercer might not play down the middle in the NHL.

I am not familiar with Beaucage's game. From the stats, I would consider him a trigger man. The Devils drafted three RW shooter in the last two drafts: Holtz, Clark and overager Thompson. Moynihan is another one, who was considered more of an energy player, who showed surprising scoring touch in the NCAA. Add Mercer and older prospects like Merkley and Bastian and Beaucage wouldn't change much the outlook of the RW prospect pipeline.

Do I have to repeat the RHD prospect pipeline?

If Avs move Timmins in a Zajac deal would NJ be open to taking Compher to balance money, and/or include a forward prospect or pick to Colorado to offset the fact that Timmins is a little too valuable straight up for Zajac as a rental?

 

[Forge]

I agree that RHD is the immediate need. But disagree about C's Hughes, Hischier will be here for years. And know Zacha looks like he is starting to show up. Mcleod certainly looks like he can play C at the lower half of the Fwd lineup. To a lesser extent Sharangovich and Kuokokken can be centers if need be. Also on G, Dell is fine unless he is taken by Seattle.

Again RHD is primmary but I woudl say followed up by LHD. We have some lefties upcoming but we need all the D depth we can get.

Zacha is showing up as a winger though, not a center. You can put him there in a pinch and it wouldn't be the worst thing ever, but I think he's found a really nice role being the third guy on a line with a couple of drivers.

 

[Forge]

Have to wonder when the Devils start to kick around trades to the league. Palms probably isn't losing a ton of value based on his play thus far just because of the track record, but I wonder if they don't hold on to Goose a little longer than the some of the others (maybe up until the actual deadline) to see if it clicks again like it did last year. Kulikov probably playing his best hockey in years at this point, so it may behoove them to put feelers out on him right away.

 

[TBF1972]

If Avs move Timmins in a Zajac deal would NJ be open to taking Compher to balance money, and/or include a forward prospect or pick to Colorado to offset the fact that Timmins is a little too valuable straight up for Zajac as a rental?

retention on the zajac contract, zero issues.
taking back a 3 year commitment like compher should also not be a deal breaker.
the forward prospect is also an option, but there will definitely be limits. i can't imagine they would move holtz or mercer under any circumstances. foote is the rare pf in the prospect pipeline, so i assume he is not for sale. if you target one of the rookie nhler, who already contributes, you might also get push back. any specific prospect you are interested in?

 

[Russian Factor]

I think something like:

To NJ: Riikola and 2021 2nd

To PIT: Gusev (50% retained) and a 2021 4th

Could make a lot of sense for both sides, especially if Jersey is moving out UFA defensemen

Ideally Pittsburgh could move out a body if they’re adding a roster player and Riikola deserves a chance to play somewhere, he’s a solid #6

What exactly does Gusev bring to Malkin's line other than "he's Russian." We did that with Plotnikov once and it was embarrassing for all involved.

If you're trading with NJ to get a Russian on the team to make Geno happy you'd be better off going with Kulikov who's randomly turned into an excellent shutdown D. And that still wouldn't make sense unless we got rid of at least like 2 of our other LD in trades for forward depth

 

[Russian Factor]

Gusev has the highest skill set but is not fast and he is not getting opportunities on lines with high skilled players

Palms is a strict shooter. That’s how he scores 30 goals in a season. He will always shoot even if a cross seam or back door play is open, he is taking the shot. Gusev is the opposite - he tries to make those passes or force them at times. He has a decent shot when he uses it.

palms pros:
Shooting
Speed
Physical

cons:
Vision
Creativity


Gusev pros:
Vision
Creativity
Playmaking

cons:
Speed
Physical

re: Palmieri - you say he lacks creativity and vision but would you extend that to his general hockey sense? He doesn't seem like a dumb player when I watch him, just maybe a narrow minded one. Rust is a player for us that comes to mind who's like that. He likes to forecheck, drive the net, shoot and get open when he doesn't have the puck. He's smart in his own way and has good hockey sense but isn't really creative. Similar to Palmieri?

 

[Richard88]

retention on the zajac contract, zero issues.
taking back a 3 year commitment like compher should also not be a deal breaker.
the forward prospect is also an option, but there will definitely be limits. i can't imagine they would move holtz or mercer under any circumstances. foote is the rare pf in the prospect pipeline, so i assume he is not for sale. if you target one of the rookie nhler, who already contributes, you might also get push back. any specific prospect you are interested in?

Makes sense that Holtz, Mercer, and Foote would be off limits.

A couple of NJ forward prospects I find intriguing are Pytlik and Baumgartner who were good value where they were picked in the 2020 draft. Not sure they're enough on their own to offset the value of Timmins though, as Pytlik's ceiling is probably a 3C but more realistically a 4C, and Baumgartner's is probably never going to amount to more than a 4th liner either if he even comes over from Switzerland. Maybe if NJ sent a pick back as well it would work, something like Zajac (50% retained) + NYI 2021 2nd + Pytlik for Timmins + mid/late-round pick.

On D I would assume that there would be pushback on Bahl, right? If not he's someone that would be of interest as Colorado could use another shutdown LHD type in the prospect pool as we're fairly thin beyond the NHL with Zhuravlyov being our only legitimate LHD prospect.

Another prospect that could be of interest is Nico Daws; would NJ consider moving him?

On the current roster Miles Wood would be of interest, but I would assume he's one of the guys there would be pushback on, right?

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

re: Palmieri - you say he lacks creativity and vision but would you extend that to his general hockey sense? He doesn't seem like a dumb player when I watch him, just maybe a narrow minded one. Rust is a player for us that comes to mind who's like that. He likes to forecheck, drive the net, shoot and get open when he doesn't have the puck. He's smart in his own way and has good hockey sense but isn't really creative. Similar to Palmieri?

This sounds pretty familiar. His defensive game isn't poor, but I'd say he is just an average forechecker.

One small thing I don't like about Palmieri, is that sometimes he tries to be too fancy in his own zone, which leads unnecessary giveaways every once in a while.

 

[Nico Hischier]

re: Palmieri - you say he lacks creativity and vision but would you extend that to his general hockey sense? He doesn't seem like a dumb player when I watch him, just maybe a narrow minded one. Rust is a player for us that comes to mind who's like that. He likes to forecheck, drive the net, shoot and get open when he doesn't have the puck. He's smart in his own way and has good hockey sense but isn't really creative. Similar to Palmieri?

By lack of creativity and vision I mean palms is not going to try to dangle anyone on a 1 on 1. He is going to toe drag and shoot. he is always going to shoot. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 he is taking the shot. There could a wide open back door tap in or cross seam pass and he will shoot. Other than that he is a great player just has tunnel vision

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

By lack of creativity and vision I mean palms is not going to try to dangle anyone on a 1 on 1. He is going to toe drag and shoot. he is always going to shoot. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 he is taking the shot. There could a wide open back door tap in or cross seam pass and he will shoot. Other than that he is a great player just has tunnel vision

I'm just happy that Palmieri tries to shoot. There are too many pass first players in the Devils already.

 

[TBF1972]

Makes sense that Holtz, Mercer, and Foote would be off limits.

A couple of NJ forward prospects I find intriguing are Pytlik and Baumgartner who were good value where they were picked in the 2020 draft. Not sure they're enough on their own to offset the value of Timmins though, as Pytlik's ceiling is probably a 3C but more realistically a 4C, and Baumgartner's is probably never going to amount to more than a 4th liner either if he even comes over from Switzerland. Maybe if NJ sent a pick back as well it would work, something like Zajac (50% retained) + NYI 2021 2nd + Pytlik for Timmins + mid/late-round pick.

On D I would assume that there would be pushback on Bahl, right? If not he's someone that would be of interest as Colorado could use another shutdown LHD type in the prospect pool as we're fairly thin beyond the NHL with Zhuravlyov being our only legitimate LHD prospect.

Another prospect that could be of interest is Nico Daws; would NJ consider moving him?

On the current roster Miles Wood would be of interest, but I would assume he's one of the guys there would be pushback on, right?

nj added quite a lot of lhd in the early rounds of the last few drafts: smith, okhotyuk, misyul, vukojevic, mukhamadullin and edwards. they also own the rights to the younger zaitsev. bahl was acquired in the hall trade.
bahl, okhotyuk and vukojevic are considered shutdown types and okhotyuk had his moments in camp. bahl offeres obviously size like few others.
misyul and mukhamadullin are both converted forwards and the hope is they can turn into solid two way players. edwards is a smallish pmd. smith you most likely have heard of.
i have zero idea how the management values bahl and okhotyuk and if one could become available in exchange for a rhd. this years draft is rich on lhd and could impact the availability of certain prospects.

the devils goalie pipeline is a weakpoint since the graduation of blackwood and daws is most likely already considered as the most promising prospect. currently it looks like the devils won't have to care about a replacement starter for the foreseeable future. but goalie performances are normally volatile and to expect blackwood to be the exception to the rule would be optimistic. for the nhl roster they seem to prefer an experienced back up (but no worry, we won't compete with colorado for the service of price ). i don't think daws is on his way out for the next few seasons. him competing with blackwood for starter minutes will take a few years, if ever.

wood? last season plenty of devils fans were advocating for a trade. this season the energy line of wood, mcleod and bastian to start the season was one of the most promising and refreshing news. wood's combination of size and speed can create havoc, but it also can destroy the offensive flow of his own team. he is not known as a possesion player. if an offer clearly shows a team appreciates wood as much or more than the devils i personnaly wouldn't mind to sell high on him.

wood for compher and timmins would definitely be interesting. if the ask is a 2nd and pytlik on top of it, the interest would quickly vanish.

 

[The Devil In I]

If Avs move Timmins in a Zajac deal would NJ be open to taking Compher to balance money, and/or include a forward prospect or pick to Colorado to offset the fact that Timmins is a little too valuable straight up for Zajac as a rental?

There was a rumor (maybe it was confirmed and I can't remember) last year that the Devils looked to trade Zajac and he used the NTC to deny the deal. I have a feeling he doesn't want to move his family anywhere. Though if it's just as a rental for like 8-10 weeks, then maybe he'd actually be open to it.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

There was a rumor (maybe it was confirmed and I can't remember) last year that the Devils looked to trade Zajac and he used the NTC to deny the deal. I have a feeling he doesn't want to move his family anywhere. Though if it's just as a rental for like 8-10 weeks, then maybe he'd actually be open to it.

That is fact that he was unwilling to move in January of 2020.

"Zajac’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, recently told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that the New Jersey Devils approached the veteran forward with a potential deal but that he was not willing to waive his no-trade clause right now. Overhardt explained “we’ll see about the future after the season,” indicating that Zajac doesn’t want to go anywhere at the moment. At the end of the season, Zajac will be 35 and have one year remaining on his contract, which carries a $5.75MM cap hit."

Travis Zajac Not Currently Willing To Waive No-Trade Clause (prohockeyrumors.com)