That is a ridiculous trade. Make the Ducks send the 2nd and that's still not enough.

Also I think you're overpaying Skinner.. would be better to pursue Panarin instead

Devils are not trading Bratt for a declining 34 year old that comes with a 6.5 million cap hit after retention. They have to pay Butcher, MoJo and Zacha next summer, and Hall/Hischier/Bratt in 2020.

Thanks for the post!

My reasoning on this trade is that although Perry is older and still has a cap his of $6 mil, he brings experience and Cup experience that NJD doesn't have. He has been in a bit of a rut in ANA this past season and possibly playing with a new, younger team would help him. I agree with you and that I would be off on the trade. I might have to through in a 2nd and maybe a 4th for it to happen. I'll edit it.

A agree with you that $7.5 mil is definitely an overpriced contracted for Skinner, but whatever team signs him is going to have to overpay to get him to sign. That's typically how it goes in free agency. I think the Bread Man is going to get somewhere between of 8-9.5 if he ends up going to free agency, which could very well be a possibility and might be the most likely.

What are your thoughts? Thanks!

Thanks for the post!

I mentioned it in one of my previous posts, but my reasoning on this trade is that although Perry is older and still has a cap his of $6 mil, he brings experience and Cup experience that NJD doesn't have. You're right that the cap hit isn't ideal. But even with Perry's cap hit, NJD still has around $35 mil (maybe more with the increase in the salary cap) to sign 4 player (5 if you want to try to include Johansson) and all of those players aren't going to sign $5 mil contacts. So the team should still have some room to work with. Perry's contract is up in 20/21, so they will have cap space to sign Hischer the year after. Hall could be the tricky on and the team would have to move some money around at that point anyways to have enough money to re-sign hall to the kind of contract he will have earned.

My logic on moving Bratt is that although he looks like he was a steal of a draft pick, NJD has a good amount of skilled F's in the pipeline, that may have higher ceilings that Bratt. McLeod and Quennville are looking like they are going to be staples for their lineup in the near future. From a production standpoint NJD might be more willing to move Zacha at this point, but he is a higher draft pick and is thus, more of an investment for them. ANA would have to give up more in order to make that trade happen and Zacha has only played two years, so I think NJD would be hesitant to make that trade. But maybe they would be more willing to part ways with him and, if that were the case, ANA would still be certainly still be interested in making that deal.

What are your thought? Thanks again!

Devils fans think very highly of Bratt and rightfully so. They aren’t trading him for a declining overpaid winger and picks. If they want experience there are cheaper options.

True-Bratt is already becoming a fan favorite in NJ. He has a great year and is looking like he will be a solid top 9 player, who can play up and down the line up with skilled players. The reason I think NJD would take the time to consider this trade is because they have a good amount of F depth in their prospect pool and a good amount of those prospects are projected to have higher ceilings than Bratt.

I completely agree that Perry is aging and is on the wrong side of 30, he still had close to 50 points this year and nearly 20 goals. He is has also been a proven playoff performer and someone that could be good for helping the development of NJD young players who are set to be core players of the team in the near future. I don't know if you noticed that I edited the trade, but if NJD is now also getting a 2nd and 4th round for this upcoming year's draft, I think NJD would look at this trade a little more closely most might think at first glance.

I think Bratt could be moved in a trade, just not this one. As of now, the Devils have 5 players signed for 20-21, with 55 mil to spend if the cap stays the same. I calculate 35 mil to be spent on Hall/Hischier/MoJo/Zacha/Wood/Vatanen/Butcher. That leaves 20 million for 11 players to fill a roster. Giving Perry 6 plus means you’re filling out the team with a bunch of cheap kids. They definitely have some good ones, but not as many as we’re looking at here. I could run a mock-up on our end using your trade and see what works. Buying out Zajac would be an option, but he brings the stuff that goes unnoticed by the casual fan, which would thus create a problem while fixing another.

Thanks for the post!

You make some good points here. Do you think NJD would take the chance to bring in a player like Perry, who has experience, as a short term situation with his given contract length? It could serve has a good experience and could pay long term gains for a the young F core NJD has.

And you could be right about Zajac-he is a leader on the team, one that I'm sure the young players look at as an example on how to handle themselves as a pro. So dealing him might not be easy and could create some initial restlessness throughout the team. However, if they do move him, they might be able to put themselves in a situation where they could land Duchene in free agency. Bringing in Duchene, leaves your C core looking like: Hischier, Duchene, Zacha. That's pretty solid down the middle and is both a young and fast lineup-something that NJD is but is always looking to add to in the long run. Having that depth also allows McLeod to mature for a few more years if need be.

Thoughts? Thanks again!