A look at possible offseason moves by the New Jersey Devils, which could include trading one of their young defensemen.
Could the Devils trade a young defenseman like Eric Gelinas this summer for a scoring forward?
NORTHJERSEY.COM: Tom Gulitti reports New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello faces a tall task rebuilding his club this summer. Among his priorities will be trying to add two scoring forward to a team desperately in need of more offense. Noting this summer’s UFA market is thin on scoring forwards, Gulitti speculates Lamoriello will have to go the trade route to address this need. The Devils GM admitted he was shopping for a scorer at the March trade deadline but couldn’t find a willing trade partner. It remains to be seen if Lamoriello will use his first-round pick in this year’s draft as trade bait or if he’ll shop one of his young defensemen with a draft pick or two.
Gulitti speculates pending UFA forwards Scott Gomez and Jordin Tootoo might be re-signed, while Michael Ryder and Martin Havlat probably won’t be back. To get younger and faster at forward, Gulitti speculates a buyout of Dainius Zubrus might be necessary. It remains to be seen if oft-injured forward Ryane Clowe will retire or attempt a comeback. It also appears unlikely defenseman Bryce Salvador will be re-signed.
NJ.COM: Rich Chere recently reported Devils blueliner Eric Gelinas acknowledged the possibility he or another of his fellow young Devils defensemen (like Adam Larsson, Damon Severson and Jon Merrill) could be shopped this summer for a scoring forward.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As Chere points out, the Devils have a solid defensive corps in goalie Cory Schneider and their young blueliners. They can afford to part with one of those defensemen if there’s a deal for a young scoring forward to be had. The problem, however, will be finding a club deep in scoring which needs blueline depth. Lamoriello might have better odds if he puts his first-round pick on the trade block. He’s shown a willingness to do this in the recent past, using his first rounder in the 2013 NHL draft to land Schneider from Vancouver. Unless the Devils win the draft lottery, their pick will likely be sixth overall, which could prove enticing for teams lower in the first round or to those without a first rounder. If the Devils win the lottery they’ll undoubtedly select Connor McDavid, making their quest for more scoring that much easier.
Send JVR home to NJ, pick up a young D man, possibly a very good pick or both. Win Win.
Adam Larson for JVR-straight up.
bring jvr back to philly to play with G and voracek….maybe they would take back luke schenn in the deal…lol…
Why would the Devils trade away young blue liners or 1st round picks when they’re starting a rebuild? If you want scoring depth then use your high draft pick. Kyle Connor, Mathew Barzal, Pavel Zacha, Lawson Crouse (not a scoring winger but still a great pick) will all be available at picks 5-10 and are great pieces to build around moving forward.
Not sure building around Crouse is a great idea, but ya I see your point.
Ive said all along having a scoring winger is fantastic but with out other pieces its kinda a non point. The Devils are good and goal and on the blueline I question all the forwards, centers and wing. Crouse will be a good nhler but cant see him being something that is missing in NJ Or couldnt be addressed by another route, and I am a Fronts fan.
Where I do see Crouse being a great piece would be with the Panthers, Sens Oilers or Flames
adam larsson for tomas jurco and a pick or prospect
Can I have some of whatever it is you’re drinking?
Kessel for NJ 1st! (Go ahead leafs haters….lol)
Not one mention of the leafs I’m the article and first post a dumb leafs trade!! Geez I think the Devils will make a big move at the draft
haha jello, no kidding. it gets sickening at times….all the time. leafs leafs leafs trade trade trade sign sign sign, jvr this jvr that kessel this kessel that blah blah blah!!!
Agreed, leaf fans act as if one trade will turn it all around. The leafs suck now, they have sucked for 50 years, and it will take years of good management if they ever want to no longer suck. And the leafs getting the number one pick is the single worse scenario for mcdavid. That media and that fan base will chew him up and spit him out so fast he ll wish he never heard the word hockey.
Fair enough Jello, but talking about how you hate people talking about them is still talking about them. You’re doing just as bad at keeping this thread on topic.
Jello, oprah sucks and Deeee stop being Foolish. Agree to disagree with the Leaf’s fan trade proposal but to suggest a Leaf fan or another fan of any other team can not relate the story of the Devils possibly trading a player to their team is fool hardy.
I for one would not mind if Ottawa found a way to add Larson or another of the Devils D to their team.
None of the names mentioned so far will get Larsson and I doubt Ottawa would offer what it would take since plugging a hole in one area while creating one or two in another is hardly a smart approach.
so whats the big deal
schticky trade makes absolute sense and it was only 1 comment (his) until yours (3 complaints)
Don’t discount the Devils hitting the jackpot at the draft. The NHL draft lottery simulator comes up with all kinds of crazy results and New Jersey winning the McDavid sweepstakes is just one of them. That would be a pretty good start on a re-build.
So just thinking about the draft last night (Canucks and Leafs fan) and wouldnt it be GREAT if Buffalo won the draft but the Leafs picked 2nd?
The rumors would go in overdrive. Who will Buffalo pick? the Canadian McDavid or American Eichel? Leafs trade Kessel & #2 for for #1 and Kane…..lots of fun….
A couple of points. Its going to bemathematically impossible for the leafs to have pick #2. And if the sabres get first pick they are taking Mcdavitt-no matter of nationality.
It’s not mathematically impossible just yet. Highly unlikely, but not impossible. But I agree on whoever gets #1 is taking Mcdavid.
One more leaf win or 1 more coyote loss-it will be mathematically impossible.
Nah. They’ll wind up pleasing one half their devoted fans by beating the Sens again in their remaining game, and those 2 points will be just enough to break the hearts of those who want the highest pick possible.
Best thing that can happen to reduce this drive to lose is for one of the teams outside the bottom 5 to win the lottery.
Lets all hope
Best thing to reduce the drive to lose would be quit weighting a lottery, and guaranteed picks.
The best way would be to eliminate the draft and all players sign as free agents out of junior.
Then it would be upon the organization to attract playersto their teams.
i know my opinion is in the minority but i have never liked the draft in principle. Fun to watch but i feel sorry for those kids that have perfected highly valuable skills and then get taken by an organization that potentially hinders their development by how they are treated and then hurts their long term value.
but we are talking New Jersey Devils here….they have a cool name and uniform.
lol
I dont mind the idea of the worst teams getting top picks in a draft just dont like guarantees or the current set up, it makes winners out of losers. lottery off the bottom 4 or 5 picks, or an even odds lottery for the botom 4 or 5 teams and first 4 or 5 picks go in order from there,not certain you would have teams “blowing up” if they had an equal chance of getting the 5 pick or the no 1 pick on any given year, I think it would encourage more GMs to go for it if they were close to a playoff spot at the deadline as opposed to stripping down or doing nothing.
LOL yes guys the best way to prevent the tank would be to change the whole system all together. But I am talking about this year in this system and how it will effect next year assuming all things will remain the same.
So I’m going to bring up “Leaf talk” basically cause I feel like it and it’s been very hard to get any time to view this page lately…But in regards to Kessel, the guy is a cancer survivor, so he’s pretty tough in my books and has probably endured more than most of anyone currently reading this…also a basic lesson here… He had testicular cancer, which means he most likely had the cancerous testicle removed. As the testes are the primary site of testosterone production, Phil doesn’t make as much naturally. I have no idea what treatment he is on, however, many men that have suffered from low testosterone are treated with Androgel. It is another hormone, androgen, a pre-cursor of sorts to testosterone. One of the side effects on Androgel is bloating and fluid retention. It also causes that round “pudgy” looking face. So while maybe his conditioning is or isn’t a problem, but I’d bet that you are making a judgement based on photo’s you’ve seen making fun of hi rather than watching him. I don’t know what your experience is, but having to practice and perform every night for 7 mos a year means he is probably in better shape than you or I.
Well initially I am sure he would go on Testosterone pills or the gel one can apply but I am also sure one testicle would be enough to produce a sufficient quantity of testosterone. There are many men out their with one testicle due to many events that has caused damaged to one or another they go through life fine.
Both of which are banned substances in professional sports…
Now everyone will be accusing Kessel of “juicing” LOL
bet the league has an approval process to allow this in certain circumstances. taking this stuff puts a guy at a higher risk of developing prostrate cancer. the treatment might be worse than the ailment.
lol surprised some genius hasnt already actually.