If that was all it took to get Saros out of Nashville, I'm sure Fitzy would've done it by now. At this point the devils are desperate and Trotz has the bargaining power. I think it'll take more to get him out of Nashville

Agree with the comment above. This likely wouldn’t be enough even without retention

Ranger fan inferiority complex is alive and well

Muppet

From NJD side....
More has been reported about Markstrom than Saros
My guess, Holtz has probably been made available.
I imagine whatever that was offered to CGY, was probably offered to NSH too.
I do not believe it would be Holtz plus 1st. Just Holtz.

And my guess is Nashville doesn't consider moving him until his extension window opens July 1st.
And Holtz doesn't sound like he convinces them otherwise.

I think if there is any 'there' there, it occurs over the summer

If Fitzy is clutching a 1st and not willing to part with it to secure his goaltending, that blows my mind. NJ could be comfortably in a playoff spot with average goaltending let alone Saros or Markstrom.

The baffling thing to me is the unwillingness to part with prospects like Casey. You all have Hamilton, Marino and Nemec. All comfortably signed for the next couple of years. Then you have Seigenethaler, Bahl, and Hughes on the left. So where does a guy like Casey fit in?

Makes way more sense to part with him and Holtz who has been buried on the fourth line at times this year. Get the goalie you need and try and seize this window you're opening to contend.

I would not say he is "clutching the 1st"...we are just as far from a lottery spot than a playoff spot. Just not moving it now. At the end of the day, unless that pick is unexpectedly high, I don't think we hang onto it. But if we are in same spot at deadline, I think it gets moved at draft. If we are in playoff spot at deadline, it gets moved then.

Casey played LD for most of his draft year at US NTDP....and has appeared there some at Michigan. So he doesn't have to fit onto right side.

We lost Severson, Graves (UFAs), Hamilton, Siegenthaler (injuries) off our blueline this year. The reaction to this year will probably be hanging onto our defensive depth too long. But understandable.

No defenseman has to fit on only one side, I was trying to show the depth at both sides, meaning you're not lacking RD or LD.

I meant clutching as in, if you're a contending team and you want to win, you make sacrifices in the way of picks. Look at Tampa. Almost every year they've traded a first or more to win or extend their window. If he thought you all could've been contending this year, which I thought you all would be, he should've made the call.

Also Severson and Graves were his choice not to pay those guys and play younger guys, which we can all say was a bad move in hindsight with the injuries you all suffered

Over the long run...I am sure letting Graves and Severson go was probably the right call.
We have some good young dmen on roster. Its just a lot of rookie all at once. Ideally we could have eased one guy at a time into lineup.

If the season would have gone as planned, we would have already dealt the pick. But injuries to most of our top guys derailed us.

I imagine there will be opportunities to move the pick, or any prospects, over the summer.

Long term maybe, I just hate to think losing two top 4 dmen at the same time was the right call. One not both would've been smarter.

Injuries certainly derailed the season, but poor planning caused it to go much further off the rails than one might've thought possible.

I am sure if we could have signed them to 1-year extensions, we would have.
Had hoped for more out of Colin Miller too.
Cal Foote, I suppose, too (oof)

Never expected to have a 19-year old and a 20-year old as top two dmen in middle of playoff race.

But it is what it is.