I think the pick condition would be a deal-breaker.
Not trading for Christian Dvorak here.

Devils shouldn't be trading 1sts yet. Plus Holtz looks sick already. Devils should be concentrating on 3C (if Mercer isn't that) or a shut down RHD.

Until Eichel's medical situation is resolved, he's not worth a bag of pucks.

Fiala's a game breaker. He could net 35+ with a more developed Hughes or a healthy Hischier.

Fair enough, but I think a team would need some sort of protection just because of the injury risks.

For us to be able to absorb Zuccarello's cap hit, you'd have to take Olli Maatta on the way back.

Isles say yes. He probably will be taken for free on waivers though.

Maata would be off the books... this is for next offseason.

I was honestly thinking that he might just not be QO'd at the end of the year. Let's see what he does if he sees ice time this year.

Fiala is an excellent player, but entering his 25 yo season, he's likely at peak value now & prime years will soon be behind him. For a team like NJ, an acquisition like this is probably a year or two too early. They will want to save young near time assets / furures for an over the hump type trade, after they have experienced a few playoff knockouts (if ever)

Aha! I didn't notice that.

I have a disagreement with the underlying exchange, but now it would sound like I'm moving the goalposts. I was taking the quick way out.

I was going to suggest Wallstedt or Boldy as compensation. Maata’s hit is only one more year. 3 years of that cap hit needs a significant sweetener.

Of the teams that look like a fit for Fiala, the Devils are right there. If they’re legit in the hunt this year, I think a protected first could make a good amount of sense for them.

NB - I really like what they did this off-season and it does feel like the time is now.

I would do it as a 2022 1st.
And a 2024 1st if he plays 70+ games in 2023-24.

That doesn't seem accurate at all with how straightforward the procedure is and how much the stubbornness of the Sabres is delaying things

IIRC even the sketchier surgery was almost 100%

Very unique situation

Quality AGM overall

Nice to see

Curious to see how NJ do this upcoming season

I guess that comes down to what NJ management's goals are ... I agree with you, time is now to turn corner & establish themselves as a regular playoff contender. However, until they suffer some loses, gain playoff experience, it will be some time before they become Cup contenders, if ever. Does management want to spend futures now, just to solidify a run for the playoffs or do they continue to stockpile ypung assets for an ultimate push for a Cup run? Not sure what they want to do ... From GM jawboning, feels like the latter, but if not, Fiala would be an excellent acquisition for the here and now.

I'm not saying he's not good...what I am saying is the Devils have a bunch of wingers that are coming up and could be a big threat too and that the Devils are better off looking for their weaknesses in the systems that are depth C and RHD.

They may have cap room now, but paying Fiala, and then Hughes, and Ty Smith, and honestly eventually Sharangovich would be short-sighted over spending the money on defensive depth when their strength coming are wingers.

Zucc at $6M for 2 years doesn't have negative value. Especially if he gets 50+ points this season.

I guess it depends on who you’re trading him to. LA would need to be incentivized to take him because his age doesn’t fit with the youth movement and they’re not helping teams out of cap crunches for free. Getting rid of cap space in a flat cap era comes at a price. This feels more like a deal for Ottawa, Anaheim, or Arizona. I’m sure they would give you a better deal.

Likely to age dropoff any minute now though

35th oldest forward in the league currently

Kaprizov key to his production last year

The way I see it is that you only trade for Fiala if you plan to keep him and the Dougie signing means you’ve got about 4 years to bank on. I also think they’ve got their pieces as it’s unlikely any future draft picks are going to be main pieces in the current window. If they are sitting top 5 in the metro come TDL, I’d bet my pants they make a splash.

What kind of pants tho

If they're corduroys you're on

Jeans no 👖

Velvet corduroys.

the pick condition would be tied to eichel's ability to play post neck surgery. any team trading firsts would be protecting their own butt not giving the sabres better picks. like you get a conditional first if eichel plays 75% of games and scores 50 points or something in that nature. IF neither happen you get significantly lesser returns.