Would you trade the 2nd overall pick for Cole Caufield?

[Clam Jensen]

Some home love to guest. You can not sold on the draft class, but price is exist in the moment of time, and Cofield doesn’t rise his price much. And for now little dwarf with questionable two way impact isn’t worth the things Slafkovsky could bring.
Every team fans like their own assets more, but pick number one and number two are unquestionably high assets and ever were.
Even after two weeks of the new season Slafkovsky could turn into the pumpkin and Smallfield could score 10 goals in five games. And price will turn around. But now course is different.
I easily believe Miniaturefield could be 40+ goal scorer, I even prefer him over Debrinkat, because of contract and age. But now he is in three years from draft and he is still a projection. Good projection I believe. Good little projection. Like cute corgi, he should grow in adorable boy. He will be a wonderful shepherd doggy. How can you even discuss the sale of such a puppy? How much do you want for it? Come back when he grows up. Oh, I'm sorry.

You’re a gem.

 

[LeedsMonster]

Voted no. Caufield is a good player with a high ceiling, but I wouldnt trade Slaf/ Jiricek/ Nemec/ Gauthier for him as our team is currently constructed.

 

[AfroThunder396]

No, but if Fitz did it I wouldn't be mad or anything. I would rather draft Slaf.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

A top line of Bratt - Hughes - Caufield


Loads of skill, but I wouldn't want a line of guys not tall enough to ride the roller coaster.

 

[Sgt Brylin]

A tiny sniper is the last thing this team needs. I wouldn't trade #2 for Debrincat, who is a lot more proven than Caufield. Add in Drouin and #26 and we're starting to look at the kind of overpay I'd expect to part with the pick.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

A tiny sniper is the last thing this team needs. I wouldn't trade #2 for Debrincat, who is a lot more proven than Caufield. Add in Drouin and #26 and we're starting to look at the kind of overpay I'd expect to part with the pick.

That's a great point about Debrincat. I think a lot of teams look at the Devils and misread their needs because they assume we're still in a rebuild. The rebuild is over, the core pieces are here. The Devils are just a bad team now that needs to get better ASAP.

Debrincat's track record makes him much more valuable to the Devils IMO, and I still wouldn't trade the 2nd overall. I'll readily admit a lot of it is the mystery box effect with Slafkovsky and Cooley, but I think the potential value there is too much to pass up. At least not for a hefty overpay, like you said.

 

[My3Sons]

That's a great point about Debrincat. I think a lot of teams look at the Devils and misread their needs because they assume we're still in a rebuild. The rebuild is over, the core pieces are here. The Devils are just a bad team now that needs to get better ASAP.

Debrincat's track record makes him much more valuable to the Devils IMO, and I still wouldn't trade the 2nd overall. I'll readily admit a lot of it is the mystery box effect with Slafkovsky and Cooley, but I think the potential value there is too much to pass up. At least not for a hefty overpay, like you said.

I don’t think you can say the rebuild is over just because we are all frustrated. They have what I see as four core players and another one that maybe becomes a core player and a number of complementary players some of which need UFA contracts after this season. They are still somewhat patchwork with a series of young players being cycled through the lineup. They have no goalie they can count on. If they can get stable goaltending and have a decent season then you can think it’s realistic to think they can move past rebuilding. Just my thoughts.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

It has nothing to do with frustration, it's just about time and logistics. Devils don't need potential anymore, there's enough of that. They can't afford to spend another 2-4 years acquiring young talent with an eye on the future. Now it's about adding proven (or just MORE proven) talent, with the extremely important caveat that it has to fit the timeline. That's the biggest reason I want little to do with Caufield. He's not MUCH less of a question mark than Slafkovsky or Cooley would be, in my opinion.

 

[My3Sons]

It has nothing to do with frustration, it's just about time and logistics. Devils don't need potential anymore, there's enough of that. They can't afford to spend another 2-4 years acquiring young talent with an eye on the future. Now it's about adding proven (or just MORE proven) talent, with the extremely important caveat that it has to fit the timeline. That's the biggest reason I want little to do with Caufield. He's not MUCH less of a question mark than Slafkovsky or Cooley would be, in my opinion.

Absent stable goaltending they won’t get better in my view.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Absent stable goaltending they won’t get better in my view.

Oh absolutely, i didn’t mean to disagree with that. But that has nothing to do with rebuilding. Trading for a goaltending prospect or drafting one doesn’t do anything of value for the Devils next year.

 

[SpitfireG]

Caufield isn't available for any trade

 

[My3Sons]

Caufield isn't available for any trade

It’s just a hypothetical thought exercise. Nobody actually cares if he is or isn’t. That’s not the point.

 

[TBF1972]

collecting brothers and collecting former junior teammates are equally dump exercises.

hughes doesn't need caufield. hischier needs higher level wings to produce. i still hope bratt and/or holtz can do the trick.

 

[My3Sons]

collecting brothers and collecting former junior teammates are equally dump exercises.

hughes doesn't need caufield. hischier needs higher level wings to produce. i still hope bratt and/or holtz can do the trick.

It doesn't make sense as a goal in and of itself but if you get some synergy from it, it's not worth avoiding. I don't think the Vancouver fans are upset that the twins played together for example. My guess is that Jack and Luke both benefit from playing together on some level. Also, I doubt that NJ drafted Bastian just because he was McLeod's junior teammate. They obviously saw something in him and he's been a sold fourth line player for NJ. Maybe he can still develop enough to play on a third line. For a mid second round pick that would be a very good outcome.

 

[TBF1972]

It doesn't make sense as a goal in and of itself but if you get some synergy from it, it's not worth avoiding. I don't think the Vancouver fans are upset that the twins played together for example. My guess is that Jack and Luke both benefit from playing together on some level. Also, I doubt that NJ drafted Bastian just because he was McLeod's junior teammate. They obviously saw something in him and he's been a sold fourth line player for NJ. Maybe he can still develop enough to play on a third line. For a mid second round pick that would be a very good outcome.

time will tell if luke was the right pick.

but how many times drouin to colorado (mainly montreal fans) was proposed because they were successful former junior line mates. i am sure nobody would be talking about trading for caufield, if hughes and him didn't happen to be line mates in the usdp. but their chemistry is a thing of the past. chemistry between players is formed and lost from year to year. sometimes it is more dependent on coaching strategy than the players themselves. if hughes and caufield would play together in the nhl, they wouldn't score goals the same way the did in juniors. while the sport is the same, the level of play heavily impacts, what plays can be successfully executed. i am not sure, if they were automatic fits in the nhl with lindy ruff as their coach.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Here's my guide to trading 2OA.

Is the trade target Matthew Tkachuk?
If the answer is "yes," try and make an attempt at a package.
If the answer is "no," don't do it.

 

[Torts]

I'd be happy with it if the package was Caufield, Anderson and one of MTL's second rounders but they probably say no.

 

[My3Sons]

time will tell if luke was the right pick.

but how many times drouin to colorado (mainly montreal fans) was proposed because they were successful former junior line mates. i am sure nobody would be talking about trading for caufield, if hughes and him didn't happen to be line mates in the usdp. but their chemistry is a thing of the past. chemistry between players is formed and lost from year to year. sometimes it is more dependent on coaching strategy than the players themselves. if hughes and caufield would play together in the nhl, they wouldn't score goals the same way the did in juniors. while the sport is the same, the level of play heavily impacts, what plays can be successfully executed. i am not sure, if they were automatic fits in the nhl with lindy ruff as their coach.

I don't think result oriented decision making is realistic. The question to me is whether Luke was the right pick at the time. If a prospect suffers some sort of injury or illness later on, it's not realistic to decide he was the wrong pick because of bad luck or circumstances. Just my thoughts. If you want to say that the outcome for Luke absent injury or circumstances shows whether or not NJ has good scouts that's reasonable to me, but there is a big range of that. If Luke is a 45 point defender who is amazing in transition that is still a great player, even if he is not a 60 point defender who is even more amazing in transition.

I will say that right now, it's hard to second guess the Luke Hughes selection. He had a great freshman season and was so young, that he could very easily have been in this draft in the conversation for first overall. My guess is that he'd be picked by NJ at two if MTL didn't take him. That's all on his own merit. I think the brother connection is a sort of tie breaker, where it's as fair as any other tie breaker.

I agree that posters can overrate the value of these connections but they aren't wrong that it matters to the players. Why do Vancouver fans keep suggesting a trade of Jack to NJ? It's don't think it's because they hope Jack will make Quinn play better; it's because they are concerned that Quinn will leave to join Jack and Luke when his contract is up. Jack was pretty explicit when he said he'd stick with NJ since they drafted Luke. Obviously, on some level it matters to him. In the past, the example of the Niedermayers is also an instance where it mattered to some degree. It's not a sole reason to do things but it shouldn't be completely discounted either as I see it.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I actually had no idea Hughes and Caufield were former teammates. No wonder there's so much smoke where there's no fire. I'm getting rusty.

 

[Eggtimer]

please delete

 

[TBF1972]

I don't think result oriented decision making is realistic. The question to me is whether Luke was the right pick at the time. If a prospect suffers some sort of injury or illness later on, it's not realistic to decide he was the wrong pick because of bad luck or circumstances. Just my thoughts. If you want to say that the outcome for Luke absent injury or circumstances shows whether or not NJ has good scouts that's reasonable to me, but there is a big range of that. If Luke is a 45 point defender who is amazing in transition that is still a great player, even if he is not a 60 point defender who is even more amazing in transition.

I will say that right now, it's hard to second guess the Luke Hughes selection. He had a great freshman season and was so young, that he could very easily have been in this draft in the conversation for first overall. My guess is that he'd be picked by NJ at two if MTL didn't take him. That's all on his own merit. I think the brother connection is a sort of tie breaker, where it's as fair as any other tie breaker.

I agree that posters can overrate the value of these connections but they aren't wrong that it matters to the players. Why do Vancouver fans keep suggesting a trade of Jack to NJ? It's don't think it's because they hope Jack will make Quinn play better; it's because they are concerned that Quinn will leave to join Jack and Luke when his contract is up. Jack was pretty explicit when he said he'd stick with NJ since they drafted Luke. Obviously, on some level it matters to him. In the past, the example of the Niedermayers is also an instance where it mattered to some degree. It's not a sole reason to do things but it shouldn't be completely discounted either as I see it.

luke wasn't a bad pick in itself. but it made ty smith immediately expendable (same role, less pure talent) and potentially messed with his confidence.

 

[My3Sons]

luke wasn't a bad pick in itself. but it made ty smith immediately expendable (same role, less pure talent) and potentially messed with his confidence.

I agree that he made Smith redundant, but I doubt Smith is looking at that. My guess is Smith was scouted and teams easily figured out his game and he showed up hurt and didn't adjust this season. He needs some top level coaching and a skating instructor. That said, he should be moved for a similarly situated right handed defender that NJ will put in the time and effort to develop since they can use one. Either that or a goalie prospect they like.