Quoting: NHLfan10506
Young centers are the most valuable asset in hockey.
Goaltenders are voodoo.
So I’d want either a condition on that deal (Wallstedt starts x games by 2025) or to see him play NA pro hockey first.
At the end of the day, Daws could be as good as Wallstedt.
Wallstedt is the best possible scenario for us acquiring a goaltender, and Mercer is basically worse Cooley. Pulling this trade could get us a franchise goaltender and a solid piece like Korchinski or Firkus, while keeping our 2nd overall selection to pick up Cooley, Slaf, Jiricek, or best-case Wright.
If Wright falls to us, there is not a devils fan on earth lamenting the loss of Mercer. If Cooley pans out, if
Slafkovsky pans out, if Luke Hughes and David Jiricek are
our second defense pair and they're playing in front of a Wallstedt who is even half as good as his ceiling, Mercer will have been proven a pittance.
Young centers are not the most valuable asset in hockey. Young goaltenders are.