We are gonna lose a significant piece to the cap in a few years if we do this.
Rather just draft Cooley and sign someone like Nichushkin or Copp in FA.

If the devils use the #2OA they have to take Slaf.

I hope not.
But it wouldn't be the end of the world if they did.

We can still fall under the cap. We can’t worry about cap space every single year. We need to start competing. Has Tampa been worrying about the cap?

Where would Cooley play

They cannot under any circumstance use that pick to draft a center. They are full at center and they need to start improving the rest of the team. This is a case where you draft slaf for position and he has just as much potential and is more of the type of player they need. Using that draft pick to take a center would be like them signing the top center in free agency 10 mil. It’s a waste. They either trade it for an elite goaltender or winger or they bring in slaf

I doubt it.
I think Devils will be more competitive with Cooley + Holtz + Nichushkin + Campbell than with Campbell + Tkachuk for a longer period of time.
Tampa worried about the cap so much that they traded multiple 1sts in acquiring Goodrow, Hagel and Coleman (also when the time was right to make these type of trades).
No other GM in the league worries about the cap more than Brisebois.

At center probably.
You draft him to terrorize the metro with lines centered by three elite centers over the next ten years.
I only want the Devils to draft Cooley (or Nemec or Jiricek) ahead of Slaf because I think he'll be the better player.
I would also want the Devils to draft Slaf ahead of trading the #2 pick + Holtz (!) for Tkachuk.

This is what the forward line could look like opening night 24-25:
Holtz - Hischier - Bratt
Sharangovich - Hughes - Mercer
Gritsyuk - Cooley - Zetterlund
Foote - McLeod - Bastian

This could easily be the best forward corps in the salary cap era.

1st: holtz is gonna play with Hughes if he makes the lineup.
2nd: Wood will be on the line with mcloed and bastian and if he is not Fitz should be fired for not signing him.
3rd: gritsyuk will not be in the NHL next season
4th: if Cooley plays his entire career as 3C he will never be elite because he won’t be able to live up to his potential.
5th: draft slaf, let Mercer play 3C, and sign and/or trade for winger depth.
6th: Cooley is just more of the talent they already have, slaf is just as good and is the type of player that will make the team more versatile

This is for 24-25, but could just as easily be 25-26 and beyond.
It's not next season anyway.

It's difficult to project line combinations out 2-3 years into the future so if you want Holtz to play with Hughes I wouldn't argue.
But I don't see why you must have a 1C - 2C - 3C hierarchy.
With Cooley added you'd suddenly have three 1st lines getting close to equal ice time, like 18 minutes or so.
Imagine an opposing coach having to shutdown three 1st lines for about 55 minutes of a game, it's close to impossible.

Anyway, if you think Slaf is gonna be better than Cooley then god bless, I can respect that opinion.
But steering clear of Cooley just cus he projects as a center and you think we have too many already, well that's just baffling.

I think the Flames would have a tough time saying no to this if Gaudreau doesn't sign