Necas and the 23 1st

Spot on for the Devils

I wanted to include the Canes and that was gonna be my high end return, but I wasn’t sure for the medium and lows.

I think I’ve got to agree. It’s kind of mind boggling to me that Holtz is the high end prospect, I think he’s worth more than NJD would want to give up.

Isles best offer is Holmstrom and a 2023 1st. I'd trade Bellows and 13th overall if Brad Lambert is gone.

It's boils down to the same reason we dealt Zucker to make a roster spot for Kaprizov.

There are only so many roster spots open in a top six.

If they add Fiala, they have...
Sharangovich-Hughes-Bratt
Fiala-Hischier-Holtz*/Slafkovsky/Cooley*

So if they draft either Slafkovsky or Cooley with the 2nd OVA they're going to be needing to figure out who goes where and have too many pieces to try and plug into that spot. Holtz therefore becomes somewhat redundant, especially when his ceiling is basically Fiala to begin with and your potentially trading him for the finished product as it is.

Your own beat writer at the Athletic thinks it'll probably take the 13th OVA and one of Wahlstrom or Raty to get it done.

To be fair, Kevin Kurz is a bit dense.

He's brand new to the Isles beat.

According to you maybe, but there’s just not enough credible information that suggests Holms + 1st is the Isles highest offer. The point of this GM is to explore the spectrum of possible returns. Capping it at that would be disingenuous with what we as fans know.

Where would you put Holmstrom/13 OA in this? Above/below the Bellows deal? Personally (for obvious reasons) that's the sweet spot for what I'd be happy to send out as the headline part of the deal, with room to add another B tier prospect and a 2nd or 3rd rounder for additional value.

My Future Lines if they add Fiala (for Gritsyuk and 2023 first)
Slafkvosky-Hughes-Holtz
Fiala-Hischier-Bratt
Foote-Mercer-Sharangovich

Loaded top 9

Some entirely reasonable offers from the SoCal teams.

I think Los Angeles is happy with Turcotte and the 2022 first for Fiala, maybe with an add like Grans (highball) or a third (medium). Kings won't be including Kaliyev because he's the only quality shooter we have in the entire system (other than Martin Frk, who is an AHL lifer). Anaheim would certainly offer the #22 overall and Tracey. I wonder what the Ducks will do if Minnesota asks for the #10.

I would rank Holmstrom+13th as higher than 13th+ Bellows, but admittedly I don’t know the nuances between those two prospects very well.

So I’d put that as like medium-to-medium high

Good job for the Devils. I think that's exactly the range.

As much as I love Turcotte, the concussions are too much risk. I think Kupari is probably the offensive guy they’d target but I like Grans a lot too.

I’d bet 10 OA relative to 22 OA is what would put the ducks offer ahead. I’m just really interested in seeing what the prospect ends up being. I could see anything fro Tracey to Holtz accompanying a 1st.

No more so than Russo, who he came to that same conclusion to after talking it out with. 🤷‍♂️

Was that in the what’s Fiala worth article? I just remember scrolling twitter just this morning, seeing a tweet he made, and just thinking, “what a goon.”

Makes sense, good feedback. I was really waffling between Kaliyev and Turcotte, but decided to keep Turcotte off bc I was worried the convo would devolve into concussion talk. But I think what you suggested is a good compromise.

As for ANA, that’s probably the team I feel least confident in understanding their needs, wants and plans. I took a stab bc I can see them being a buyer of some sort this summer, but i was guessing on a lot.

I'd say Bellows has a lower ceiling but a higher floor than Holmstrom - he looks like at worst he's going to be a good 3rd liner who can be physical and score a few points if you give him the ice time - it's just that Barry Trotz was notorious for jerking around young players' ice time if they made any mistakes, and I think that stalled his development a little bit.

Holmstrom has some big upside to me though - the Islanders AHL team in Bridgeport is coached by Brent Thompson - as I like to joke, the only way Brent Thompson can develop a good forward is working together with his wife (his son is Buffalos' Tage Thompson), so the fact that Holmstrom actually put up decent numbers (12-31-43 in 68 GP) in Bridgeport this season as a 20-year-old is very intriguing.

At the end of the day, if it means Raty & Wahlstrom stay in NY, I think you could drag both out of Lou plus 13 OA, and some fixings around the side(an extra 2nd, perhaps? Or a side of Sam Bolduc?). Raty feels special enough to me that I'd prefer keeping him in the org, and moving Wahlstrom feels like selling low on a guy that really got buried in the second half of last season for some unspecified Trotz reason.

Really good and really really fun to watch.

He started getting to know the Isles organization the moment he knew he was going to take the position as their new beat writer, which was before the season started. The only reason he didn't start right away was because both he and Arthur had to get their affairs in order.

Just because he's new to it, doesn't mean he wasn't prepared and ready to take the job.

That feels like a pretty fair compromise and likely a competitive offer. 13th OA + Bellows and/or Holmstrom + sweetener. Obviously as a Wild fan, I’m hoping for the moon. But the pragmatic side of me appreciates the value there. Feels close. Not overwhelming or underwhelming for either side.

Yes, and Russo confirmed it during his own article when he went over possible trade destinations for Fiala last week.

FLAT OUT NO for the first Ottawa package. Greig is a no go

Interested in the other 2