So is Roger not doing a pre draft post ?

So is Roger not doing a pre draft post ?
- cu45161

You're looking at it.

Hey, maybe we can offer Tampa Bay our third round pick for Blake Coleman. They need to clear room and he doesn't have a NTC... although his salary is pretty small.

Arizona shopping the rights to Taylor Hall. We can offer them that Keith Kinkaide 5th rounder in two years...

You're looking at it.

Hey, maybe we can offer Tampa Bay our third round pick for Blake Coleman. They need to clear room and he doesn't have a NTC... although his salary is pretty small.

Arizona shopping the rights to Taylor Hall. We can offer them that Keith Kinkaide 5th rounder in two years...
- Queenie_5_hole

Word is that Tampa is trying to offload Johnson. Clearing up 5 mil will help them a lot, just don't think a lot of teams are biting on taking back salary right now.

Word is that Tampa is trying to offload Johnson. Clearing up 5 mil will help them a lot, just don't think a lot of teams are biting on taking back salary right now.
- Pomegrant

It's a tough situation to try and make decisions in. Clearly a huge opportunity to buy at a discount but there is so much uncertainty it is scary. Feel a little for Fritzy. His first offseason calling the shots and it's got to be the hardest to navigate since the last player strike.

It's a tough situation to try and make decisions in. Clearly a huge opportunity to buy at a discount but there is so much uncertainty it is scary. Feel a little for Fritzy. His first offseason calling the shots and it's got to be the hardest to navigate since the last player strike.
- Queenie_5_hole

I wouldn't be surprised if the team didn't make the type of cap acquisitions we'd expect just because of how the economy as a whole has been impacted. Team was already really light on player salaries and if you're the owners there has to be a piece of you that is okay just taking your draft picks and signing a few cheap pickups and calling it an offseason.

Gimme gimme! I'll be thrilled if we take one of Holtz, Raymond, Rossi, Drysdale, or Sanderson at 7. Perfetti would be fine too, but i just prefer those 5 over him. But any of those guys and i'll be very excited. No Askarov and no Quinn, please.
- vlongo4419

Holtz is my favorite of the realistic available players at 7. He is the #1 ranked RW, and slotted to drop in our lap. Its a VERY deep top 10 in this years draft and I am confident that he could be a star, especially as a guy who has many similarities to his potential mentor, Palms. If Askarov is available later in round 1, that is a no-brainer to draft. Doubt it happens, but even our 3rd rd selection will likely see the 3-5th ranked goalie available. But do we even do that, or take a stab at one of the MANY tendy's in search of a new home for a discount?

Lots of questions are about to be answered and I am pretty fired up to be a dev fan right now!

Word is that Tampa is trying to offload Johnson. Clearing up 5 mil will help them a lot, just don't think a lot of teams are biting on taking back salary right now.
- Pomegrant

I'd pass on Johnson. Already in his 30's and his 3rd year of declining stats are not promising. I would hope that in their position, we could force someone bigger like Palat/Gourde out of their grasp.

Holtz is my favorite of the realistic available players at 7. He is the #1 ranked RW, and slotted to drop in our lap. Its a VERY deep top 10 in this years draft and I am confident that he could be a star, especially as a guy who has many similarities to his potential mentor, Palms. If Askarov is available later in round 1, that is a no-brainer to draft. Doubt it happens, but even our 3rd rd selection will likely see the 3-5th ranked goalie available. But do we even do that, or take a stab at one of the MANY tendy's in search of a new home for a discount?

Lots of questions are about to be answered and I am pretty fired up to be a dev fan right now!
- bikeguy99

Holtz fits what the team needs more than anyone except Sanderson, but IMO he has the lowest upside of the second tier. He's a shooter but he's no Laine.

yea I'm not for trading 7th for Sergachev. I feel like Sanderson could easily be a Sergachev, who I'm not exactly sure how good he actually is. A legit #1? no. A #2? maybe. Definitely a #3, we know that.
I'd rather roll the dice with a potential top line or top pair player that will be 18 and on the ELC for a bit. We're not contending anytime soon and we NEED another young guy for the core.
If we brought in Pietrangelo.. maybe in 3 years it would be worth it, for another brief 3 years of his window. Maybe he would help our other guys improve. Maybe a legit top player/captain would be something that would make those around him better, plus dmen wouldn't have to face the top competition and develop at a better pace. This would give the top and 2nd pairs each a decent/great dman to be paired with.

Sanderson-Pietrangelo
Smith-Severson
Butcher-Subban

suddenly the defense doesn't look too terrible. It's not great, but as Sanderson and Smith develop it could be quite nice. If we don't get Sanderson, maybe give Bahl a look. We'll still likely retain Colton White, Mermis and Mueller, so they could be an option if we don't draft Sanderson. White is just 23.. so you never know.
- MartysBetter88

Thanks to all for the Svech discussion. Good stuff

So is Roger not doing a pre draft post ?
- cu45161

Doesn’t post a whole lot, so probably not.

Holtz fits what the team needs more than anyone except Sanderson, but IMO he has the lowest upside of the second tier. He's a shooter but he's no Laine.
- rmdevil313

I’d be pleased with one of Holtz, Rossi or Perfetti there. Got a feeling Sanderson is going to go #4. Detroit is in a massive rebuild and has the time for Sanderson to develop in the NCAA. I’m thinking it goes:

1- Lafrenière (NYR)
2- Byfield (LA)
3- Stutzle (OTT)
4- Sanderson (DET)
5- Askarov (OTT)

If Anaheim doesn’t go with Drysdale at 6, it would be very tempting to take him at 7.

You're looking at it.

Hey, maybe we can offer Tampa Bay our third round pick for Blake Coleman. They need to clear room and he doesn't have a NTC... although his salary is pretty small.

Arizona shopping the rights to Taylor Hall. We can offer them that Keith Kinkaide 5th rounder in two years...
- Queenie_5_hole

Lol, Hall is going to test free agency, he’s never had the huge contract and this is his last chance. Unfortunate for him that it happened in a year that the cap wound up being nowhere near where it was projected to be. Sucks to be him.

Holtz fits what the team needs more than anyone except Sanderson, but IMO he has the lowest upside of the second tier. He's a shooter but he's no Laine.
- rmdevil313

Good. My thoughts on Laine are not positive in any way. I think he is a 3rd line ECHL player until he shoots the puck. Easily the most useless player I have ever seen in the NHL when in the defensive zone. I would happily take a Palms over a Laine with our team. Jets are shopping the sniper for a reason.

Sanderson is a solid option as well. I won't complain if we draft the kid. I just feel that our RW prospects pool is incredibly weak, and with Smith/Bahl coming up in the system, we could get a log-jam at LD. At the end of the day, we want the best player, not what our current need are, but Holtz looks like a stud in my books.

Lol, Hall is going to test free agency, he’s never had the huge contract and this is his last chance. Unfortunate for him that it happened in a year that the cap wound up being nowhere near where it was projected to be. Sucks to be him.
- smellmyfinger

Read Hall would consider a short term deal if the market isn’t good because of Covid. No reason to discount your next seven years!

Thanks to all for the Svech discussion. Good stuff

- Crushers68

Thanks for appreciating me!! lol

Today is the day

I wonder if the NHL will try to hold off on any trade news until the draft starts just to build suspense

Between covid, flat cap, teams not making money for a forseeable future and expansion draft things could be interesting

Tampa will find a sucker for someone like Johnson and still get a good return


Biggest faller in the draft?
Biggest riser or surprise pick?

Does Fitz trade one of the later first for a 2nd and other assets if player he wants isn't on the board or if a trade can't be made for a young player under control

Does Fitz trade one of the later first for a 2nd and other assets if player he wants isn't on the board or if a trade can't be made for a young player under control
- dmarsden2988

If it was Ray Shero I'd expect one of the later firsts to get traded for more draft picks. I don't mind if that happens but no idea if Fitzy is likely to do that. We need to get two major prospects in the first round. If you pick up an extra pick it could be your ticket to one of the non-Askarov goalies which the team really needs. Daws, Commesso, and a few others look promising.

Side note; hope we draft Calle Clang in the late rounds because it's an awesome goalie name.

Does Fitz trade one of the later first for a 2nd and other assets if player he wants isn't on the board or if a trade can't be made for a young player under control
- dmarsden2988

Im expecting us to stay pretty quiet and stay put to make all 3 picks unless the board plays out to where we aren't high on anyone at 20, in which case i could see us moving back. I don't think we'll move up or move those picks for immediate help

The day of the draft and I'm low on opinions. So many unknowns with how these guys will pan out. I'm just ready to see what happens and what we'll be working with.

Read Hall would consider a short term deal if the market isn’t good because of Covid. No reason to discount your next seven years!
- Queenie_5_hole

I believe Colorado is the front runner. They may get lucky and steal him for a short term affordable deal.

I believe Colorado is the front runner. They may get lucky and steal him for a short term affordable deal.
- bikeguy99

We are 100% not trading for Hall's rights. We had them and that didn't work out, remember! haha

I think it would be a mistake to help out TB with Johnson. There are few teams with the cap space needed to alleviate TB's current pickle. Why help them out when we want to make a run at the young talent they're currently scrambling to make the room to keep? With a few players as RFA's, unless one of those players come to NJ and they sign, no way we should help the team with the cup. Same with Blues. Cap space is the biggest leverage we have. Hoping Fitz finds a way to get some young talent, draft a strong player at 7OA and keeps 1 of the later picks to swing for the fences.

B/c of the cap situation, is this the year an offer sheet is more than clickbait?

Holtz, zary, Schneider is what I’m hoping for.

But for real who’s ready to have buffalo draft the guy we should have?

Happy draft day boys! Today we learn the direction of our franchise. Hoping it’s a successful day.

Side note: hoping Lafreniere turns out to be the next Alex Daigle