Button released his first mock and has us taking Raymond. Has Rossi going 5, Perfetti 6, and Holtz 8

so..
1. stupid team- Laf
2. LA- Byfield
3. Ottawa- Stutzle
4. Detroit- Rossi. I think they take Rossi.
5. Ottawa- Drysdale. They can't possibly pass him up, right? Chabot and Drysdale?
6. Anaheim- Perfetti
7. NJ- Raymond. It screams Raymond. But is he really that much worse than Holtz/Perfetti?
8. Buffalo- Holtz to crush the game with Eichel. Or maybe they trade the pick..
- MartysBetter88

Man i really dont know how to feel about Raymond tbh. All of these rankings sites and TSN's rankings are incredibly high on him, but then i read a tweet from Scott Wheeler earlier today saying that he spoke to a few people that have said a "few non-insignificant" number of NHL scouts dont like Lucas Raymond like twitter does.

I just dont get how he can be ranked so highly by many reputable ranking sites, like on every ranking listed on eliteprospects.com he is listed between 3 and 8, and he was ranked between 5 and 11 from TSN's scouts. Some people think he could be the steal of the draft if he falls outside of the top 5, yet theres also a number of people who are just lower on him and have him borderline top 10 or even just outside. I dont think i'd hate it if we picked him, but i think i just prefer like 7 or 8 other players over him

I'm not sure how people feel about Steve Kournianos here but i like a lot of his work and think he's decently accurate on projecting prospects. He's big into prospect rankings, and has a pretty high view of our prospect pool(he ranks us as a top 5 prospect pool). But he put out a pod earlier today before the lottery going over the teams and when talking about the Devils(i guess he heard some devils fans complain about certain guys) he said if we walk out of this first round with Raymond and Askarov that Devils fans should not be greedy about it and we shouldnt complain, just shut our mouths and go home and pop open champagne then wait to see how it all unfolds. So just a different perspective on that

I would like to see Todd's takes on the players in our range. I know on twitter he already said as of now he prefers Holtz or Rossi with that pick, but i cant wait to read more into what he thinks

Still having hard time figuring process out is team that won lottery pre determined already as far as they are an “unopened” card winner or is it that the team thats won first pick the worst record among teams that don’t advance in first round?

Still having hard time figuring process out is team that won lottery pre determined already as far as they are an “unopened” card winner or is it that the team thats won first pick the worst record among teams that don’t advance in first round?
- RussH1964

Its a completely new lottery. All 8 teams that lose in the play-in round go into a lottery where they all have an equal 12.5% chance to win the pick.

Its a completely new lottery. All 8 teams that lose in the play-in round go into a lottery where they all have an equal 12.5% chance to win the pick.
- vlongo4419

i can't get over how beyond stupid this is. it's like a taste you can't get out of your mouth.

Its a completely new lottery. All 8 teams that lose in the play-in round go into a lottery where they all have an equal 12.5% chance to win the pick.
- vlongo4419

Thanks for clearing that up I was completely lost on process...What a joke that you can play for Cup and if you lose have shot at first pick!

i can't get over how beyond stupid this is. it's like a taste you can't get out of your mouth.
- MartysBetter88

Yeah i just dont understand the thinking behind it. Upsets are likely to happen if the games are played, so it just blows my mind that theres a chance a team like Pitt or Edmonton or any other team that should have zero business being in the lottery running will actually have a higher chance at Lafreniere than any team that wasnt Detroit or Ottawa. That doesnt sit well with me

Well Nico can’t break 20 goals and Jack can’t play in the NHL so I guess we are (frank)ed...

Yes these owners blow because of how they run this poop show of a team. But they also blow because they don’t spend on this team despite the arena the DEVILS built make a ton of money.

And the way you get free agents to come we here is MONEY! Sure we made offers but if you aren’t an attractive option then you need to attract people with CASH. It’s not that complicated. And really it’s not all about free agency. It’s just an example of how we aren’t really trying to compete.

Right now it seems like we aren’t hiring a president, GM or head coach to save money.
- Queenie_5_hole

Thats just not true. Nico is a stud, and his numbers will continue to grow. He is just 21, and was easily our top C. What was upsetting was that Zacha Henrique, and Zajac did such a poor job sheltering the kids role, that he was our 1C almost instantaneously after being drafted. I was hoping we could have better sheltered the kid, but he has done great as a Dev, and I have no regrets in drafting that kid.

As for Jack, he is 18. His skillset is there and he will continue to add weight and become the player we hope he can become. This kid could be a star. I can't think of any 18 year olds that had a stellar year. He was still better than Kakko. Nico is way better than Patrick. So why all the hate? Our ownership tries there best to acquire stars. We brough in Hall for an absolute steal, and traded him at the optimal time. Coleman was a nobody 3 year ago, and now the 29 year old fetched us 2 1st rounders!

This club isn't afraid to spend on ufa's, but would you want to be at the cap ceiling with Meyers 6M AAV, and Skinner's 9M AAV. There is a big difference between being cheap, and being smart. Our management has taken risks which largely paid off, and been responsible enough to put us in one of the strongest trading positions going into next season. Almost every team is at the cap ceiling, should it remain the same, and we are on a short list to bid on ufa's, trade with cap crippled teams, or acquire more picks in exchange for a cap hit. It's ok to look at Tampa/Pitts/Boston and say that they are better than us. Wait 2 years and the tides will change.

i can't get over how beyond stupid this is. it's like a taste you can't get out of your mouth.
- MartysBetter88

We defied the odds twice in the past 3 seasons, so i am ok with it. Plus, if the players were drafted in order of TSN's rankings, our 7th pick would see the #1 overall RW, D, G all still available. If you were to rank our weakest positions, I think those would be the three. Not knocking Blackwood, he is great but it would be great to have another tendy in our prospect pool.

We defied the odds twice in the past 3 seasons, so i am ok with it. Plus, if the players were drafted in order of TSN's rankings, our 7th pick would see the #1 overall RW, D, G all still available. If you were to rank our weakest positions, I think those would be the three. Not knocking Blackwood, he is great but it would be great to have another tendy in our prospect pool.
- bikeguy99

I don't care about what happened with our pick. I think what the NHL did with the play-in teams and the lottery is almost as stupid as the 5th and 12th seed teams having to play each other to qualify for the playoffs. stupid. .. but it makes money.

So basically Holtz and Sanderson/Schneider? + Dillon and maybe another UFA up front? 2022-23 will be the year to get excited about.
- MartysBetter88

Absolutely! Who wouldn't be thrilled? Not to mention Smith joining the club after winning 2 WHL D of the year titles..... Some reliable D paired with Blackwood will boost this club. Also excited to see how Bahl and Foote compete in the AHL to start the season out. They could both play large roles with the Devs going forward. And this draft could see us take the #1 D, #1 RW, and #1G as per rankings. How does that not excite you?

And I still think Butch could be swapped for a better LD simply due to his friendly cap hit, and the fact that his numbers look impressive. I am thankful he chose to sign with the devs, but I have little faith in his defensive capabilities, and think some cap-crunched team will be open to swapping a higher salary for Butch. Take it and run. Also, not a big Dillon fan. Demelo/Gustafsson/Edmonson/Sbisa/Shattenkirk/Hutton would be welcomed if we could ink 1-3 of them. I feel they could be acquired for short term and reasonable AAV's.

I don't care about what happened with our pick. I think what the NHL did with the play-in teams and the lottery is almost as stupid as the 5th and 12th seed teams having to play each other to qualify for the playoffs. stupid. .. but it makes money.
- MartysBetter88

So you think this makes them more money? They had to make the best of a terrible situation, and I feel they are doing a decent job. Sure it's anticlimactic, but it is what it is. Teams that were not expecting to make playoffs, and face an uphill battle (yotes/Wild/Canucks) deserved to be in the mix with a small percentage, and that was represented in the lottery. It is surprising that they won their way into the #1 pick, but someone had to make the difficult decision to find a "fair" method of continuing the season. That being said, if Tampa loses in round 1 again, and end up with Laff, people will be rioting.

So you think this makes them more money? They had to make the best of a terrible situation, and I feel they are doing a decent job. Sure it's anticlimactic, but it is what it is. Teams that were not expecting to make playoffs, and face an uphill battle (yotes/Wild/Canucks) deserved to be in the mix with a small percentage, and that was represented in the lottery. It is surprising that they won their way into the #1 pick, but someone had to make the difficult decision to find a "fair" method of continuing the season. That being said, if Tampa loses in round 1 again, and end up with Laff, people will be rioting.
- bikeguy99

playoff teams make money from the playoffs. so good for them, but it's at the expense of .. i guess the integrity of the game really.

So who are we looking at?

What type of player is

Raymond?

Holtz? Heard he may have the best shot and a goal scorer

Perfetti?

Probably not the time for this, but Friedman just now on our coaching situation, "I have heard that Ruff has a really legitimate shot at that job."
- vlongo4419

That would confirm that ownership is completely incompetent.

so..
1. stupid team- Laf
2. LA- Byfield
3. Ottawa- Stutzle
4. Detroit- Rossi. I think they take Rossi.
5. Ottawa- Drysdale. They can't possibly pass him up, right? Chabot and Drysdale?
6. Anaheim- Perfetti
7. NJ- Raymond. It screams Raymond. But is he really that much worse than Holtz/Perfetti?
8. Buffalo- Holtz to crush the game with Eichel. Or maybe they trade the pick..
- MartysBetter88

I would take Holtz over Raymond.

Hopefully Arizona gets us the 10th pick. Then my choices if available would be Holtz and Sanderson. I also wouldn't oppose taking Askarov with the second pick.

Hopefully Arizona gets us the 10th pick. Then my choices if available would be Holtz and Sanderson. I also wouldn't oppose taking Askarov with the second pick.
- devilspep

Not a lot of talk of the curse of Taylor Hall! He is doing it again... AZ loses and Coyotes lands #1 overall! He walks and we miss out on a second pick. Go Vancouver!!!

So who are we looking at?

What type of player is

Raymond?

Holtz? Heard he may have the best shot and a goal scorer

Perfetti?
- dmarsden2988

Raymond Will be our next Zacha. We'll hire Ruff. And what could be a transformative summer for the next decade.. Will instead remind us that we will always be mediocre until McMullen is resurrected to run this team.

Raymond Will be our next Zacha. We'll hire Ruff. And what could be a transformative summer for the next decade.. Will instead remind us that we will always be mediocre until McMullen is resurrected to run this team.
- MartysBetter88

So far I gather the consensus is don't pick Raymond even if he falls to us. Then our likely pick is between Holtz or Perfetti if they are available. However if Rossi or Drysdale fall then run up to the podium and grab them asap. Would you all agree that's an accurate assessment?

So far I gather the consensus is don't pick Raymond even if he falls to us. Then our likely pick is between Holtz or Perfetti if they are available. However if Rossi or Drysdale fall then run up to the podium and grab them asap. Would you all agree that's an accurate assessment?
- devilspep

I read perfetti is almost like RNH and holtz is like boesser

Not sure if that's accurate of good

I read perfetti is almost like RNH and holtz is like boesser

Not sure if that's accurate of good
- dmarsden2988

Well we need goal scorers to compliment our centers especially if we lose Palmieri. So I'm team Holtz in that regard.

Button released his first mock and has us taking Raymond. Has Rossi going 5, Perfetti 6, and Holtz 8
- vlongo4419

yup. Rossi isn't going to make it to us, and neither will Drysdale. We're going to pick freaking Raymond and have a 50lb lighter version of Zacha.

So far I gather the consensus is don't pick Raymond even if he falls to us. Then our likely pick is between Holtz or Perfetti if they are available. However if Rossi or Drysdale fall then run up to the podium and grab them asap. Would you all agree that's an accurate assessment?
- devilspep

you forgot that we're putting out a low offer to a few coaches and whoever takes it will be the next coach. why else would Ruff be interviewed?

Raymond and Ruff 2020.

you forgot that we're putting out a low offer to a few coaches and whoever takes it will be the next coach. why else would Ruff be interviewed?

Raymond and Ruff 2020.
- MartysBetter88

You obviously arent the biggest fan of Raymond, atleast compared to the other forwards in this range. So i ask, would you be more irritated if we drafted Raymond or Sanderson at 7? Lol