Quoting: NHLfan10506
But Bratt does not play for a team with cap issues. And Bratt is not potentially 1-year from UFA. Maybe if Bratt signs 1-year deal this year and we spend like crazy this summer, we would be in similar situation.
But if we were forced to move him some some reason, I don’t think I would be targeting a team with a top-5 pick. They are never traded.
You say cap issues like we can't re-sign him. We can. We just have to choose between him and Dumba, and I imagine we choose Dumba if Guerin gets the package he wants for Fiala, but he chooses Fiala if the packages are lackluster. Put it this way: if we get lowball offers on Fiala and Dumba, the smart move is to to take the lowball offer on Dumba.
Devils fans keep saying top 5 picks are never traded, which is true. But what is the value of a player taken 5th overall? Here's a list of 5th overall picks the last 14 years:
Year Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
2021 Kent Johnson
2020 Jake Sanderson
2019 Alex Turcotte Los Angeles Kings 8 0 0 0 2
2018 Barrett Hayton Arizona Coyotes 81 10 14 24 26
2017 Elias Pettersson Vancouver Canucks 233 87 115 202 48
2016 Olli Juolevi Vancouver Canucks 38 2 1 3 4
2015 Noah Hanifin Carolina Hurricanes 503 39 148 187 130
2014 Michael Dal Colle New York Islanders 112 8 13 21 18
2013 Elias Lindholm Carolina Hurricanes 649 173 263 436 156
2012 Morgan Rielly Toronto Maple Leafs 640 68 295 363 173
2011 Ryan Strome New York Islanders 609 124 224 348 370
2010 Nino Niederreiter New York Islanders 719 178 181 359 338
2009 Brayden Schenn Los Angeles Kings 766 214 299 513 421
2008 Luke Schenn Toronto Maple Leafs 851 36 130 166 666
Honestly somewhat of a lackluster list. Only "star" players are Petterson and Lindholm. Rielly, Hanifin, and Schenn have been very good players too. The only guys on that list that I think I'd take over Fiala are Pettersson and Lindholm.
Edit: for some reason the list is readable in the html, but looks terrible when I post.
Here's a link to the table.