Why do you think the Devils would move either of those guys? Genuine question

Honestly, I think size played a part in Middleton as well as skill. Russo has mentioned the size or lack there of, of our Dcore several times and I think BG (an old school guy) went out of his way to get bigger. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, just that’s what I’ve read / heard from the media. I don’t recall what BG said at the time of the trade tbh.

I think you can have good small players but you need size balance. Col went out and got Manson at the deadline and already has E Johnson. They balance out the smaller Makar and Toews.

I think Mercer or 2OA is who they would be targeting. I guess we’ll see how things shakeout. We should start hearing more rumors now since the playoffs are done.

I think Mercer is the most likely but Fiala fits the timeline better (they want peak impact now) and Fiala is what you hope that guy can become with no guarantees he makes it. I don’t think they want to, but if there are other teams in the bidding then it’s hard to see how either isn’t the main piece.

We have yet to see if OTT is really putting 7 OA on the table or if LAK or ANA are in the works. But as it sits, Mercer/Holtz are the value of the main pieces the rest of the market could put up. 2 OA is too valuable, 38 OA not enough, send the tier of prospects moves into mid 6 upside aside from Mercer/Holtz. I’m just looking at the market and making my best guess.

I agree on Benn.

But Desluariers was hardly a bust. He did his job, and did it well, and Elliott Friedman has basically said that he's going to be in very high demand this off-season. With at least 5 teams highly interested in him not including the Wild, who he also said Guerin is interested in bringing back.

If Foligno is our cruise missile for striking down the enemy. Deslauries was our ICBM, of M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) proportions. His basic job is to be a force deterrent.

Or did it escape your notice that the Blues stopped trying to pull sh*t whenever he was on the ice.

Holtz would most likely be straight up. But I doubt the devils will do that. Mercer most definitely would require another piece. Yes he’s promising but Fiala is a proven guy coming off of 85 points and he’s entering his prime! Sky is the limit and you don’t get a piece like that for free or the trash that most devil fans have been projecting. Time will tell what actually happens. But I will say this is an important step for the devils where they could jump into playoffs next year and even contention but if they screw up a step and grab a guy that keeps them from that then that GM could be out the door. They’ve got a good potential team that could go a number of routes. Whether it’s a trade for Fiala, debrincat, Miller, Pasternak or signing forsberg or Johnny hockey! Gonna be exciting leading up to the draft

That timeline thing isn't really that true, though.

Fiala would be our oldest core forward. Mercer fits in better for the timeline. Not sure why the Devils would want peak value right now. They would want peak value when jack is in his prime.

They want to be competitive next year and make playoffs. I don't think Tom is in any rush and I doubt he moves Mercer for Fiala. Even Holtz, who he drafted specifically to play on Jack's wing and be his trigger man, doesn't make a ton of sense.

Maybe Slafkovsky/Cooley changed things but I dont see any of those 3 as a piece Tom is willing to move for Fiala.

I see your point on Deslauries. I think I missed that in the playoffs since I was too busy focusing on the Blues dismantling us in regular play….

Fiala is /exiting/ his prime most likely. Hockey primes are typically ages 22-26

I definitely see your side of it. I’m just putting things together from MIN POV and rumors.

I think Minnesota certainly would like to aim that high. I'm not sure that's what will happen.

But we'll likely have a better idea in the coming week.

We aim higher so our disappointment gets bigger.

You can thank Deano for that.

The series was lost the moment Berube saw the ROR line was incapable of stopping Kaprizov and decided to say "f**k it" and switched to having them shutdown the GREEF line instead which had been our most dominant line in games 2 and 3.

Evason's decision to not make adjustments or try and get the GREEF line away from the ROR line despite having last change in game 5 is what sank the series.

You don’t even need to get me started on Dean. I really don’t think he’ll last the length of his contract unless he adapts very quickly.

I mean, to be fair to Dean. He's proven to be a extremely solid and good regular season coach so far and has shown the ability to improve, learn and adapt from his prior mistakes.

Which bodes well for him. He's shown a marked improvement in knowing what buttons to push and getting the most out of his players even just in the time since he took over from BB. Which isn't easy. And the team seems to love him and he has their ear for now.

Furthermore, he's definitely aware of his mistakes and bluntly stated that his lack of adjustments cost them the series. So he knows it's an issue.

So I'm hopeful he can improve next year. And it's still important to keep in mind he's still relatively inexperienced at the NHL level when it comes to coaching having only 2 and a half years of experience at this point.

All things considered, the fact that he was a Jack Adams finalist last year and finished 4th this year is encouraging at least.

Good points. Time will tell how he’s able to adjust. The telling sign for me will whether he moves Freddy away from Boldy and breaks up his baby blanket the GREEF line if the other lines need a shake up.

Just saw too much good luck on the ice and not enough adaptation when that luck dried up, even in the regular season. This is a good team, no question, but this will be an interesting year.

I disagree. He’s definitely got prime a few more years. Some guys don’t even reach the league until 23-24. So you’re saying they have a couple years of prime. Prime lasts until 28 and maybe even 30.

I agree for the most part. But given that the GREEF line was the best shutdown line in the league this past year, it would be incredibly hard to that unless it's as the very last resort. Move the other lines around if you have to, but try and keep them together as long as you can

Hopefully Rossi makes the roster out of camp and alleviates some of those issues next year.

He’s gonna have to, and I agree the GREEF line is special. But if the scoring lines aren’t scoring, I don’t really care about a shut down line. But now we’re diving into strategy that’s more suited for a beer.

Brother there are three links in that message you can click on and read. I’m not saying anything. The data is. Primes do not last until 28 or 30 for the vast, vast majority of players.

Well everyone has their own opinion. Personally I think you’re very wrong but hey you must be an expert. Lol

This…isn’t my opinion. You can read the work of actual experts in those links though (including the assistant GM of the Canes). Probably better than just spitballing, no?

Sorry....
I'm broke. 🤷‍♂️🙃

22-26 is peak for most players. The exception being that the decline is usually much more gradual for players at the top end.

If we take take Fiala as an example this is tracking. He’s been on a 60 pt pace two years prior and 85 pts this year (age 24). That means he has 2 more years of “peak” which is probably 70 pts. I think he’s a 60 pt guy except in a year 6/7 of his next deal where he’s probably a 50 pt guy. He’s the age to lock up a guy long term and get value over the deal.

I think Fiala is closer to the top of the distribution than the center meaning he’s a pretty safe bet. But you’re reading the same stuff I am.

Not to quibble, but Fiala was on a 30 goal 70 point pace the last two years before this one. He's a 70 point player on his own without top six linemate help.

Saying he's only a 60 point player is just... odd.