Are there alternatives to Skjei in Palmieri deal?
NJD can take back short-term salary

i originally had foegele in there but took him out, hes on a one year deal

Canes IMO decline. No way that they give up a piece with that much team control for a rental. Someone like Clayton Keller, Viktor Arvidsson, or Jake DeBrusk, though? That's a different story.

What about Fleury

Devils accept

Palmieri isn’t a great fit in Carolina IMO. He has too many lapses defensively. Skjei has been great in his role.

Gards has his back issues flaring up. What’s plan B defensively if Gards can’t play? J.Ryan?

If you are giving up that package go get Taylor Hall. KP not worth that.

As a Lightning fan:

Carolina is our biggest threat in the Central Division, without a doubt. Trocheck, Aho, Svechnikov, and (to my surprise) Jordan Staal are tearing it up. Nino Niederreiter has already matched his goals total from last season. Carolina and Tampa Bay are, as of when I'm writing this, 2nd and 3rd in goals for at 88 and 87 respectively. The Lightning have played one less game though. Both teams are clearly doing well offensively. Tampa Bay is 2nd in goals allowed with 51, while Carolina is 8th with 66. I realize that goals allowed isn't the be-all-end-all when it comes to evaluating defense, but it helps. I think it's fair to say that both the Lightning and Hurricanes have two of the best blue lines in the league, at least on paper.

The glaring difference between these two teams lies in goal.
Hurricanes fans have been quick to point out how well Mrazek was playing this year before he got hurt. And I understand why they're excited - Carolina hasn't had a good goalie in years. But I don't buy the hype around him. He's faced 63 shots this season, and 31 of them were against Detroit. Credit where it's due, he had a shutout against the Lightning and a shutout against the Red Wings. However, I don't think it's realistic to say he's going to be anything too special this year. In seasons where he's appeared in 10 games or more, he's finished above .920 once.

James Reimer can win games, but I see it more as the offense carrying him.
In all the games Reimer has gotten the W for so far this season, here's how many goals Carolina has scored:
3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 5, 7, 5, 4, 4, 4.
And when he's lost?
4, 2, 1.

Carolina has the offense and the defense to hang with the best in the NHL. But they will not get past Tampa Bay or any other contender with a goaltending tandem of Mrazek and Reimer.

You make some good points, yet you forget Nedejlkovic. Ned is currently 8th in the league for save percentage at .926 and has a 2.21 GAA in 8 starts. He's played very well. When Mrazek comes back, I think the tandem will be Mrazek and Ned, with Reims as the 3rd goalie. And if Petr gets hot again, that's as good as anybody's goaltending.