On Minni not affording him, that can only be used as leverage against them if other teams aren't making offers. If five to ten teams are making offers, then it's no longer leveraged against them.

Minnesota can also give teams permission to talk to the agent to work out a deal before the asset is traded. This enhanced Mark Stone's value in the trade to Vegas.

He only costs 7.5 if he accepts a QO. Teams can make deals with him for less if he says yes. The KK situation resolved in this way.

What determines his value the most... is him. If he's stubborn, his value goes down, but that's universally true with all players. Heatley got garbage returns because he only accepted one trade destination (when he went Ott to SJ).

Teams will also make their own assessment of why Minnesota lost their series and why Fiala was ineffective. I doubt that only two teams are calling for him. If so... better for NJ I suppose... they can send Guerin ridiculously little and he'd have to accept it like the Sharks ripped off Ottawa for Heatley... or how Tampa had to take on Ryan Callahan's contract in the Martin St Louis trade.
- archromat

It can be leveraged against Minnesota no matter what, because they literally need to move him and everybody knows it lol. Yes, more teams being involved should increase the return they get but the odds that up to 10 teams are involved here is pretty unlikely. As of right now the only two teams who have had reported interest are NJ and Ottawa. Nobody else. LA is a team that could possibly jump into the mix but the reports are they have their sights set on Forsberg first and foremost. There will likely be a few more teams who check in and see what a potential deal will look like, but again, the money its going to cost to sign him will take a lot of teams out of it.

Yes, teams will 100% NEED to talk to him before trading for him because they need to know they can sign him. But again, this could take teams out of a bidding war. He could flat out tell certain teams he wont sign with them, and that ends negotiations right there.

I'm well aware of what his qualifying offer is, but im not talking about that. He doesnt "only cost 7.5 if he accepts his QO" because all reports are that he wants 7.5M+ on a long term deal. Hes going to get more than Bratt gets. This isnt even remotely similar to KK because hes a much better player lol,

If somebody like Ottawa is going to be stupid and overpay for him then let them. Based on the entire situation, nobody should be giving up a top 15 1st and/or a top prospect. Even Russo who covers the team has been telling Minny fans that they need to calm their expectations on a return here. Buchnevic/Reinhart are a comparable for this. It's going to be a pick and either a young roster player or two non-top tier prospects. So for us we're looking at something like 2022 2nd and two of Foote/Zetterlund/Boqvist OR a 2023 protected 1st and like Ty Smith.

Combining multiple messages from our friend Todd Cordell in his discord today,(*all based on if the Devils keep the pick obviously*)"Cooley is almost certainly not going to be a Devil. I'm confident the Devils are taking Slaf."
- vlongo4419

You coming around to Slaf? I worry that he’s the hot hand right now and is playing himself into pick 2 when Cooley is the safer pick.

I’m starting to hope more and more that we trade it for a legit top line scorer.

You coming around to Slaf? I worry that he’s the hot hand right now and is playing himself into pick 2 when Cooley is the safer pick.

I’m starting to hope more and more that we trade it for a legit top line scorer.
- smellmyfinger

I think Fitz has shown that he's not willing to make trades unless he gets proper value back. Hasn't really "lost" any trades by a huge margin and most of them have had positive returns. I feel that he's only going to trade the pick if he's getting a proven, young, top talent (which is a pretty limited list of players).

You coming around to Slaf? I worry that he’s the hot hand right now and is playing himself into pick 2 when Cooley is the safer pick.

I’m starting to hope more and more that we trade it for a legit top line scorer.
- smellmyfinger

I've always liked Slaf, and would've been absolutely thrilled with him if we stayed at 5 and he fell to us. I just don't like him more than Cooley. The ceiling is very apparent with Slafkovsky with his size, style of play, and toolset(lots of scouts/prospect guys refer to him as a unicorn) but I truly believe he has the highest bust potential of any of the top 5 players. A lot of the concern with him is that his offensive production is not very transferable to the NHL game and that's a huge issue for me at #2. Theres no denying he fills a huge need up front and is a player that we dont really have in the system outside of maybe Foote and Zetterlund(but neither have legit top 6 upside imo), but i just cant get behind drafting for team needs/fit. So the hope is he becomes Rantanen, but the more likely outcome if he "hits" is that he becomes Valerie Nichushkin. Is that worthy of 2nd overall? I personally don't think so.

Agree that Cooley is absolutely safer. You can argue Slaf has the higher ceiling(maybe the highest in the draft?) but I see Cooleys floor being Clayton Keller. The center argument is one ill never understand, and I get it's a lot of what we have already have, but having a guy who can seemlessly slot into a top 6 center role if Hughes/Nico get hurt again and not miss a beat, that'll be huge for this team. And we can just play him on the wing like we did with Mercer this season. That type of flexibility if a bonus.

I wish Cooley also played in the Worlds, because I'm very interested in how he'd fare. All this talk out there about how the Habs have a real tough decision to make at #1 all because Slaf is playing well at that tournament while Wright nor Cooley are there is just crazy to me. But who knows, maybe the Habs go big dumb and take Slaf and leave Wright there for us to take lol.

I wish Cooley also played in the Worlds, because I'm very interested in how he'd fare. All this talk out there about how the Habs have a real tough decision to make at #1 all because Slaf is playing well at that tournament while Wright nor Cooley are there is just crazy to me. But who knows, maybe the Habs go big dumb and take Slaf and leave Wright there for us to take lol.
- vlongo4419

I know the media is having their fun trying to build drama if the Habs will take Slaf, but they are never passing on Wright solely on how thin their team has been at center for so long. A 1-2 of Wright and Suzuki is a really nice spot to start building a team around.

I know the media is having their fun trying to build drama if the Habs will take Slaf, but they are never passing on Wright solely on how thin their team has been at center for so long. A 1-2 of Wright and Suzuki is a really nice spot to start building a team around.
- Pomegrant

Absolutely, and they try to do it every pretty much year. Was the same thing with Hughes and Kakko lol. I just don't think that talk would be as loud as it is if Wright and Cooley played in the tournament too. A lot of Slafs production came against the weak teams, and outside of a few shifts here and there against the big boy countries he was pretty pedestrian in those games.

Absolutely, and they try to do it every pretty much year. Was the same thing with Hughes and Kakko lol. I just don't think that talk would be as loud as it is if Wright and Cooley played in the tournament too. A lot of Slafs production came against the weak teams, and outside of a few shifts here and there against the big boy countries he was pretty pedestrian in those games.
- vlongo4419

Nothing against Kakko but the fact that there was even a question to who should be picked first overall is comical. Also think there is something in which people are/were undervaluing players from the USNDT program from that draft class who have basically all outperformed their draft position.

Hockey media/fans have this idea of the mythical power forward from ages gone by that will one day be the best player in the league. So every draft they single out the best one and ask if that guy will be him. I think Slaf will probably be a good player but don't really see the big deal not taking him. "The too many centers debacle" just isn't a real problem in the league. Nobody was saying the Pens were in trouble because they had Crosby, Malkin, and Staal down the middle.

Nothing against Kakko but the fact that there was even a question to who should be picked first overall is comical. Also think there is something in which people are/were undervaluing players from the USNDT program from that draft class who have basically all outperformed their draft position.

Hockey media/fans have this idea of the mythical power forward from ages gone by that will one day be the best player in the league. So every draft they single out the best one and ask if that guy will be him. I think Slaf will probably be a good player but don't really see the big deal not taking him. "The too many centers debacle" just isn't a real problem in the league. Nobody was saying the Pens were in trouble because they had Crosby, Malkin, and Staal down the middle.
- Pomegrant

100% agree on everything.

NJ shouldn't trade #2... that's all
- archromat

Whoever they draft with it will bust or whoever they trade it for will have a career worst season

Whoever the draft with it will bust or whoever they trade it for will have a career worst season
- shvingter88

So you’re saying we’re doomed?

News but also kinda non-news. On the 32 Thoughts segment tonight Marek said the Devils are expected to fly Shane Wright out to Jersey for multiple extensive interviews after the combine this week. The plan is to also do that with multiple other prospects as well.(I would assume the others are Slaf, Cooley, Jiricek, Nemec, and Savoie)

Some rumblings that we could be seeing a Bratt extension announced soon, potentially in the next week or so post-holiday. The team social media person also updated the Facebook and Twitter cover photos to Bratt hugging Hughes.

Some rumblings that we could be seeing a Bratt extension announced soon, potentially in the next week or so post-holiday. The team social media person also updated the Facebook and Twitter cover photos to Bratt hugging Hughes.
- vlongo4419

Maybe they changed it to those pictures because they’re trading Hughes

Some rumblings that we could be seeing a Bratt extension announced soon, potentially in the next week or so post-holiday. The team social media person also updated the Facebook and Twitter cover photos to Bratt hugging Hughes.
- vlongo4419

A goodbye hug

I've always liked Slaf, and would've been absolutely thrilled with him if we stayed at 5 and he fell to us. I just don't like him more than Cooley. The ceiling is very apparent with Slafkovsky with his size, style of play, and toolset(lots of scouts/prospect guys refer to him as a unicorn) but I truly believe he has the highest bust potential of any of the top 5 players. A lot of the concern with him is that his offensive production is not very transferable to the NHL game and that's a huge issue for me at #2. Theres no denying he fills a huge need up front and is a player that we dont really have in the system outside of maybe Foote and Zetterlund(but neither have legit top 6 upside imo), but i just cant get behind drafting for team needs/fit. So the hope is he becomes Rantanen, but the more likely outcome if he "hits" is that he becomes Valerie Nichushkin. Is that worthy of 2nd overall? I personally don't think so.

Agree that Cooley is absolutely safer. You can argue Slaf has the higher ceiling(maybe the highest in the draft?) but I see Cooleys floor being Clayton Keller. The center argument is one ill never understand, and I get it's a lot of what we have already have, but having a guy who can seemlessly slot into a top 6 center role if Hughes/Nico get hurt again and not miss a beat, that'll be huge for this team. And we can just play him on the wing like we did with Mercer this season. That type of flexibility if a bonus.

I wish Cooley also played in the Worlds, because I'm very interested in how he'd fare. All this talk out there about how the Habs have a real tough decision to make at #1 all because Slaf is playing well at that tournament while Wright nor Cooley are there is just crazy to me. But who knows, maybe the Habs go big dumb and take Slaf and leave Wright there for us to take lol.
- vlongo4419

What is the basis for concern with him is that his offensive production is not very transferable to the NHL game?

What is the basis for concern with him is that his offensive production is not very transferable to the NHL game?
- MartysBetter88

It's the most common concern of him among from what ive seen among scouts/prospect guys. First, he just doesn't produce at the Liiga level, and that's a much slower paced and lower level game to the NHL. One of his biggest flaws is that his decision making is subpar and he has a "slow" mind when it comes to processing the game. That's only going to become more of an issue at the NHL-level where the pace even faster than what he's used to. Another reason is that without the puck in the offensive zone he doesn't do a great job of getting open. A lot of the time he's just gliding around the ice being very pedestrian. His transition game and neutral zone play in general leaves a lot to be desires and again, as the speed of play picks up in the NHL he's going to struggle. You were able to see it at this worlds alone. He played very well and put up all of his points against the bottom feeder/non-nhl player teams, but when the opponent was upped a notched and Slovakia played against nhl-level competition he was very noticeably a step behind and didn't generate much outside of a shift or two here and there.

Those issues have certainly improved over the season, but there's still a ways to go here. The lack of production at pretty much all levels he's played at is going to hang over his head though, and players with his lack of production rarely become stars. To put it into perspective, over the past 30 years there have been 405 players drafted that have similar production at a similar age to Slaf, and only 10 of them have turned into stars(a star in this reference is .75 PPG for their career, so 60ish points per season). That production threshhold is actually boosted by Slafs international play, and if you just took his liiga numbers then he drops down into another tier and there's even less stars out of a larger pool of players.

So in a sense, you're taking a risk at #2 and hoping he is a substantial outlier like Rantanen was. He will certainly be an NHLer, but the odds that he becomes Rantanen are not that great, so if he's Nichuskin is that worth #2 overall? What if he doesn't even become Nichushkin and he's Puljujarvi? Meanwhile you have Logan Cooley sitting there who I think has a floor of Clayton Keller(50-55 point player). NHLe obviously isn't the end-all-be-all, but just some more data. Cooleys current NHLe is a 1st liner/64 point scorer. Slafs is a 3rd liner/31 point scorer.

Unfortunately it seems super obvious that we're gonna pass on Cooley and take Slaf though. I've already accepted it, so let's hope he's that unicorn. Lol

Unfortunately it seems super obvious that we're gonna pass on Cooley and take Slaf though. I've already accepted it, so let's hope he's that unicorn. Lol
- vlongo4419

All we have to hope for is that he says he hates the team in his interview so we pick somebody else.

All we have to hope for is that he says he hates the team in his interview so we pick somebody else.
- Pomegrant

I’m beginning to hate this team, does that count?

I’m beginning to hate this team, does that count?
- Crushers68

not really if it's taken you this long

not really if it's taken you this long
- Pomegrant

lol

According to Mike Morreale the Devils didn't interview Logan Cooley at the combine. In regards to the #2 pick the team met with Wright, Slafkovsky, Gauthier, and Nemec. Also met with other players down the board who could targets later on.

According to Mike Morreale the Devils didn't interview Logan Cooley at the combine. In regards to the #2 pick the team met with Wright, Slafkovsky, Gauthier, and Nemec. Also met with other players down the board who could targets later on.
- vlongo4419

Either it was not a reported interview or they interviewed Cooley prior or have one set up

Otherwise that is just bad management. Even if you know you are leaning towards slaf they would still do their homework and interview Cooley

Either it was not a reported interview or they interviewed Cooley prior or have one set up

Otherwise that is just bad management. Even if you know you are leaning towards slaf they would still do their homework and interview Cooley
- dmarsden2988

Yeah it'd be straight gross incompetence to atleast not do the due diligence. I'm assuming Mike just misspoke or forgot to mention his name.

I'm fully convinced that if we didn't win the lottery that we would have taken Cutter Gauthier. I highly doubt Fitz would take him at 2, but I think theres absolutely a possibility of that happening. He's a Fitz guy through and through so I could also see him trading down a few spots to get Cutter.

Sucks that it takes winning the lottery to force this team into drafting good players.