Not enough for oel.

Depends entirely on the situation. Does he sign an extension or agree to one before the trade (keep in mind this trade happens this summer) I might buy your argument then, but probably not. Otherwise? Its actually probably too much for the Devils to give up for a rental.

The ask is being alleged at two impact players and a 1st as of this very moment. I find it highly unlikely any decent team does that. A good roster player under control (thats Severson) a good prospect (thats McLeod) and a 1st rounder is probably not that far from reality.

Sorry, man. I love the Devils but there's no way that's enough for OEL, who is definitely a guy you overpay for. Plus, using Severson to upgrade to OEL is like 3 steps forward, 1 step back. We need a few upgrades to the defense and it would be a hard pill to swallow to lose our best defenseman just to gain a new best defenseman.

Would a Vatanen + adds be of interest

Its not a hard pill to swallow. He is good but OEL is a clear upgrade. He is a number 1 defender, full stop. Further, Severson plays the right side where we are stronger. If you look at my roster thats the idea. Greene is no longer a top pairing guy so you need a new guy on the left side up top. Besides... if its 3 steps forward 1 back... thats... still... 2 forward? Thats how any trade of value works, you lose something good to get better. If you meant 1 forward and 2 back as the saying usually goes, its absolutely not.

Whether its enough or not, thats up for debate. I really dont think a team gives them two impact players from their roster and a 1st rounder as is being reported as the ask. The thing that devalues him is that hes under contract for one more year and theyre obligated to make a move somewhat soon. If they can do it before the deadline this year a team gets two playoff runs with him. Not many teams can make that move either in my mind.



This is an option I have heard thrown around by fans as well. I would consider this too. Its the same concept as what I did, though I debate how much better Vatanen really is than Severson. Hes better no doubt, but Severson is younger and on a longer contract which I think presents value.

OEL is, without a doubt, a much better defenseman than Severson. In a vacuum, getting OEL for DS is a clear win. However, the Devils need a much better defense than what they currently have. I doubt that both adding OEL and keeping DS is enough to make them real contenders without upgrading a 4th defenseman as well (assuming OEL, DS and Vatanen are the top 3). Moore isn't that guy. Greene isn't that guy anymore. Butcher and/or Butcher might be that guy in the future but are both better suited for the 3rd pair now. Lovejoy was never that guy. So I stand by my assessment that OEL makes the team better on his own, but not as much as if DS is still there, too.

Realistically, I don't think the Coyotes would accept any trade from the Devils that doesn't include Hischier, DS, the 2018 1st and possibly something else (Blackwood?). Of courseif either Marc Bergevin or Peter Chiarelli were the GM of the Coyotes then all bets are off. NJ could get OEL for Jesper Bratt, a case of taylor ham and $100 of scratch off tickets.

Yeah, I mean I suppose we differ in that I do believe Butcher will be a passable middle pairing guy. I believe Greene likely can still play top 4, but not top 2 at all. If your top 2 is OEL and Vatanen, thats on par with many other teams, really better than most. I won't debate further what you think it takes to get him, because I keep repeating what the ask is according to the media. I believe the actual return for him will be less than the ask. It almost always is.

The other thing that is key to my argument here, don't forget I added JT. Is that realistic? I dont know. I think theres an 80 percent chance he just returns to Long Island, but this is hypothetical. If youre running JT AND adding OEL... then it absolutely is a Cup contending team next year. Yep, they could ice a better defense. But it doesnt matter if youre running a generational center and then Nico who is merely a great center, and Hall who is a top 3 LW in the league IMO. Ask the Penguins.

OEL is just that good. Hes a number one defender. There probably arent 12 true number one defenders in the league, and basically no team has won the Cup in the last decade without one. The Pens kinda did last year, but Schultz played way over his head and made up for it IMO.