Josh Biringer: Signings and Rumblings / Free Agency: UFAs - Jonathan Bernier

Definitely was hoping he'd take a pretty big discount considering how much he said he wanted to be here. I figured he'd come in at ~2.5M but i wont complain about 500k. He still took under market value and took less than he would've gotten on the open market(for the extra year of potential security), so im cool with it. Glad he's back. Hopefully the team starts to actually use him full time in the proper spot at 3C.

Cant wait to see what Fitz does. Gotta assume multiple moves are coming over the next couple of weeks, between shipping players out(Shara? Bo? Anyone else?) and bringing someone in via trade or FA. Plenty of space to get that cheaper vet D to cushion Nemec as well as add a middle 6 forward or two. I'm expecting/hoping to see a winger or two brought in, so Palat and Haula get rightfully placed on the 3rd line.(Unless they finally plan on giving Holtz a long/hard look in the top 6 from the start?)

Speaking of Holtz, nice article from Novo on the teams thoughts about him. Fitz was honest with him at exit interviews and told him this upcoming year could be career defining. He needs to find consistency in his 5-on-5 game for Lindy to keep throwing him over the boards. Essentially a make or break year, atleast as a Devil. Training camp and the first ~20 games of the season are going to be huge for him, time to make an impact if he wants to stay here.

He's apparently responded well to the challenge. Changed his trainers this summer and has been putting in extra work with Bratt and his skating coach to try to help gel in our system.

Speaking of Holtz, nice article from Novo on the teams thoughts about him. Fitz was honest with him at exit interviews and told him this upcoming year could be career defining. He needs to find consistency in his 5-on-5 game for Lindy to keep throwing him over the boards. Essentially a make or break year, atleast as a Devil. Training camp and the first ~20 games of the season are going to be huge for him, time to make an impact if he wants to stay here.

He's apparently responded well to the challenge. Changed his trainers this summer and has been putting in extra work with Bratt and his skating coach to try to help gel in our system.
- vlongo4419

I'm not feeling optimistic about Holtz, but it would be a great help if he could get himself into NHL shape. No doubt he's got a lot of scoring potential and skill.


I didn't really mind when we signed Palat last year, but for six million bananas, hopefully he shows more now that he's healthy.... Anyway, if he does end up on the third line with Haula, that should be pretty nice pair.

AHL trade. The Devils have acquired Shane Bowers from the Bruins for Reilly Walsh.

AHL trade. The Devils have acquired Shane Bowers from the Bruins for Reilly Walsh.
- vlongo4419

Any info on bowers

Any info on bowers
- dmarsden2988

6'2 former first round pick. Pretty much fell off a cliff and never recovered, he'll never play for the Devils. Just forward depth for Utica. This is pretty much a gift to Walsh though. Send him home and let him try to fight for a spot there, since he was never going to get a chance here.

Theoretically.. we could swing Vanecek for Hell, and sign Meier, and have enough to fill the roster with either our own youth (who are now a few years experienced in the AHL (Foote, Clarke, Holtz, a surprise guy lol) or cheap veteran depth. It is possible.. I think. Didn’t use a calculator but just estimating. It’s next year that gets tough with Mercer and Schmid needing a deal. And then good luck when Luke, Nemec and Holtz are due.
Helle is obv a UFA after this season. So do we swing for him as a 1yr rental and give the keys to Schmid/cheaper veteran next year?

Theoretically.. we could swing Vanecek for Hell, and sign Meier, and have enough to fill the roster with either our own youth (who are now a few years experienced in the AHL (Foote, Clarke, Holtz, a surprise guy lol) or cheap veteran depth. It is possible.. I think. Didn’t use a calculator but just estimating. It’s next year that gets tough with Mercer and Schmid needing a deal. And then good luck when Luke, Nemec and Holtz are due.
Helle is obv a UFA after this season. So do we swing for him as a 1yr rental and give the keys to Schmid/cheaper veteran next year?
- MartysBetter88

Yeah, lets say Sharangovich and Boqvist are traded away for just picks for the sake of this. Realistically we could run something like:

Timo-Nico-Mercer
Holtz-Jack-Bratt
Palat-Haula-??
Foote-McLeod-Bastian
Lazar as the extra

Siegs-Dougie
Luke-Marino
Bahl-Nemec/?
Smith

Helle
Vanecek(Schmid in Utica)

This roster, even keeping Vanecek, would leave the Devils with ~3M in cap space to fill out atleast one of the two question marks. Obviously the available cap space would rise if Vanecek is going the other way in the deal and they run a Helle/Schmid tandem. If Vanecek is gone, that leaves ~5-6M in cap space to use. People have been playing around with the numbers for a while on capfriendly. It starts to get tight, but we'd still have room to make another addition.

Should be interesting to see what Fitz does. We have the room to add another fairly priced contract if Fitz chooses. It'll obviously be either a top6/middle 6 winger or Hellebuyck. Would be real tough to fit both if you still want to have money to spend on some depth, so kinda gotta choose one or the other there. We'll see what happens over the next weekish, if anything actually happens! Me personally? I'd look into Helle as a rental for sure depending on the cost, but I think I'd rather go for a scoring winger or two and a solid vet D. Round out that middle 6 and have a cushion for Nemec.

Instead of Hellebuyck I'd like to see them talk to Nashville abiit Saros who are also cleaning house. He has two years left at a very reasonable 5 mil. We have prospects and picks as well as a few interesting RFA types if they are want to take flyers on guys who might improve with expanded roles.

Instead of Hellebuyck I'd like to see them talk to Nashville abiit Saros who are also cleaning house. He has two years left at a very reasonable 5 mil. We have prospects and picks as well as a few interesting RFA types if they are want to take flyers on guys who might improve with expanded roles.
- Pomegrant

Trotz said Saros isn't available a day or two ago. He said him, Forsberg, and Josi are the foundation they're building around. Obviously things change and all it takes is one phone call, but it's going to cost a ton to get it done. LeBrun reported at the deadline that they wanted at a minimum two 1st round picks and two blue chip prospects to even get them to think about it.

Trotz said Saros isn't available a day or two ago. He said him, Forsberg, and Josi are the foundation they're building around. Obviously things change and all it takes is one phone call, but it's going to cost a ton to get it done. LeBrun reported at the deadline that they wanted at a minimum two 1st round picks and two blue chip prospects to even get them to think about it.
- vlongo4419

If they want to rebuild on the fly they can be a fringe playoff/first round exit team again. I think their couple of core players are better than Winnipeg's but not sure that is really worth much seeing how much money they have tied up in bad contracts.

If they want to rebuild on the fly they can be a fringe playoff/first round exit team again. I think their couple of core players are better than Winnipeg's but not sure that is really worth much seeing how much money they have tied up in bad contracts.
- Pomegrant

For sure. They should definitely be trying to tear it down and do a proper rebuild, but that's not their plan. They want to compete. Trotz made that very clear.

On Insider Trading, Dreger says things regarding Hellebuyck are starting to percolate. Didn't mention any specific teams though.

On Insider Trading, Dreger says things regarding Hellebuyck are starting to percolate. Didn't mention any specific teams though.
- vlongo4419

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t cost that much to get him and resign for a few years. He publicly wants out and will probably sign for a discount to play for a competitive team that’s up and coming.

Instead of Hellebuyck I'd like to see them talk to Nashville abiit Saros who are also cleaning house. He has two years left at a very reasonable 5 mil. We have prospects and picks as well as a few interesting RFA types if they are want to take flyers on guys who might improve with expanded roles.
- Pomegrant

That would be awesome but the price has to be cray

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t cost that much to get him and resign for a few years. He publicly wants out and will probably sign for a discount to play for a competitive team that’s up and coming.
- RubberBiscuitz

That would be pretty chill of him

Overpaying for a goalie is the worst return on investment. Only 1 team that’s won a Stanley cup since 2006 has spent 10% of the salary cap or more on a goalie. Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Holtby, Binnington, all were cheap contracts when they won their Cups.

There’s no way Hellebuyck is signing for less than $8M (10% of current cap). Add in he’s 30 already and it just feels like a bad long term move.

I think some people are forgetting that Winnipeg has to be willing to trade him. If there’s not an offer that satisfies them for a rental trade, they could easily say (frank) it and make teams wait until next year when his contract is up. It’s not just up to Connor.

Overpaying for a goalie is the worst return on investment. Only 1 team that’s won a Stanley cup since 2006 has spent 10% of the salary cap or more on a goalie. Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Holtby, Binnington, all were cheap contracts when they won their Cups.

There’s no way Hellebuyck is signing for less than $8M (10% of current cap). Add in he’s 30 already and it just feels like a bad long term move.

I think some people are forgetting that Winnipeg has to be willing to trade him. If there’s not an offer that satisfies them for a rental trade, they could easily say (frank) it and make teams wait until next year when his contract is up. It’s not just up to Connor.
- jtylerm

Yes but that cap is going up 10 mil each of the next 17 season so there should be plenty of space