Quoting: Devsfan25
Mercer is not ANYWHERE. He's not a prospect anymore either; he's a proven integral player in our top 6. Holtz has played 20 games mostly in the bottom 6, but has shown flashes at times. Make a Eklund-Hertl-Holtz line, he'll pot 20 next year. Walsh is also a B level prospect who I've been begging for the Devils to call up all year; he's going to be a Matt Dumba type of player. And finally, ur getting a 1st in a stacked draft. Maybe NJ adds a 2024 3rd, but no more than that
Not sure why you're trying to force a Holtz-to-SJ deal if you're that sure he'll be a top-line 20-goal scorer player. He could be, but I see enough risk there to argue against making that trade and that's a fair take if we're trading Meier for him. SJ shouldn't target him as the centerpiece of a Meier deal. You're forgetting that SJ resigning Meier is still very much in play -- I'd rather hold on to Meier and have him play with Eklund and Hertl if it's not Mercer -- a quality middle-6 NHL young player -- coming back the other way.
One thing NJD fans need to understand from SJ's perspective is that this'll basically be Holtz for Meier because SJ is soooo terrible with their mid-to-late 1st round selections (Merkley, Weisblatt, Roy, Goldobin, Mueller, Petrecki, Wishart), which is what NJD's 2023 1st will be. SJ does NOT need quantity, so adding a few other B-level prospects doesn't make it work.
What's more, SJ can and should try to compete again as early as next season because of how their roster is constructed. Their hand is forced and can't really commit to a rebuild. Mercer fits perfectly in that sense, so I'd even be fine for a Meier - Mercer straight up trade. Mercer, for the record, will never be as good a player as Timo Meier.