I really wouldn't put Romanov in the list of untouchables for the 2nd overall pick.

Unless Guhle is determined to be an insane top 4 next year, I would put Romy as untouchable.

I would, only because he’s only going to get better but thank you for your feedback. I’m trying to hit a home run, seeing it’s in Montreal. Just curious

A 2nd overall pick means a 100% possibility of drafting Simon Nemec, whose potential is significantly higher than Romanov's.

I think Guhle will eventually be a top 4, in 2 to 4 years from now.

I definitely see Slafkovsky ahead of Nemec, so I was more focused on that player.

Prepare for Jersey fans saying it starts with Zuke, Wright or Caufield +!

I figured, that’s why I said they’re not available. Jersey has some nice pieces. Hab fans keep trading petry there, but jersey is set on the right side. They don’t need petry. They have some skilled forwards as well. So I’m curious if there might be a possible trade.

In my honest opinion I think a deal could be struck for a package but Devils fans will balk at anything not including Zuke or Caufield. They have grown tired of the Petry trades and understandably so. So now they don't want to consider anything other than Zuke and CC

I dont think theres anyway to make it work on both ends. The devils will demand cauf or suzuki, and habs wont part with either. Also doesnt help that they will snag Slafkovsky at number 2 which fils a need for them. If i was MTL i would look at acquiring the 3rd OA pick, and draft Slaf first then you get one of Cooley or Wright with the 3rd, but thats also a very difficult trade to agree too.

It would have to be something big.

A young (age 20-24), controllable, "heavy skill" top-line forward.

Not sure if there is anything that fits from Habs.

We would then thank you guys for giving us Wright.

In reality though, it would be just as hard to trade for #3, maybe even harder. The Devils would see at least a little value in guys like Anderson and Dvorak, while those guys would not fit Arizona's timeline at all.

Oh for sure Devils probably come out with the best overall player, but i think Wright and Cooley may not be that far off in reality. I agree with you Arizona package would be a much different look and be filled with picks/prospects but i dont see that as being harder for the habs to put together, they have plenty of picks to put in there, it does however mean they need to hit it big on both those picks.

In the end i dont think either is going to happen, top 3 picks rarely get dealt, MTL may try and move up on draft that but they will probably find it diffcult to even land a 2nd pick in the top 10.

Its really hard to see a path to Habs getting #2 pick. Just looking at Habs best assets, none really seem to fit.

1. 1st overall pick
2. Suzuki (doesn't make sense for NJD as we have tons of centers)
3. Caufield (doesn't fit our GM's "heavy skill" description)
4. Romanov (hard to see where he would fit)

...and then what? What else is a potential top-line, under 25 piece?

Gallagher, Petry, Hoffman, Drouin...not sure Devils would have any interest in the vets.

So it would have to be a whole long list of Barrons, Poelhlings, Primeaus, Guhles, etc and I don't think that serves either team well.

It really depends on where you see the holes are in the Devils lineup. Is it LW, RW, LD, RD or G?

For me, as an outsider, I see both wings needing an upgrade, the D and a tandem goalie for Blackwood. Guys I think the Devils could use to fill those roles are Anderson and Edmundson are really the only vets I could see fitting. For prospects Ghule (but he is likely not available from our side), Struble, Farrell (but he doesn't bring the size aspect), Roy (likely not available), Smilanic (has size and is a decent NCAA prospect) Tuch and we have quite a few picks. Not saying that all of these are great assets on their own or that they would be enticing enough. Just throwing some examples out there of players/prospects/picks out there that may be worth considering. Perhaps something like Anderson + Farrell + Florida's 1st (top 10 protected) + Struble could have enough value. It is just my opinion but I think you would have to look at your team and figure out where your holes are before just throwing out every offer. See how those prospects or players would influence your lineup. Would having Anderson line up on Nico's wing really be a bad thing? Would having Eddy playing beside Damon be a liability? Would adding Farrell to Jack's line be the end of the world?

If the Devils are trading the #2 pick to Montreal, and Suzuki/Caufield/Romanov are not part of the return, here is the ask :

2023 unprotected 1st round pick
Kaiden Guhle
Justin Barron
Christian Dvorak

Holes are Top-6 winger, RHD and goaltending.

Struble and Farrell aren't anything honestly. Devils already have too many LHD with more on the way and Farrell is yet another undersized left-handed forward who easily gets beat out by several of the guys in Utica, never mind on the Devils.

Edmundson is fine, but he'd be on the 3rd pairing clogging up the LHD pool I've already mentioned. I'd much rather see Bahl/Smith/Okhotyuk/Mukhamadullin/Vukojevic (see what I mean by too many LHD?) fighting for that position.

Also in the context of the late firsts that Montreal has, I would assume Fitz wouldn't be drafting with them. No reason to trade down in the draft for a player that's likely a depth piece 2-3 years away at best when what the Devils are really lacking is high-end pieces. I assume any picks coming back would be flipped for a guy like Fiala, which makes the trade even messier (and even less likely).

I think its just the 2023 unprotected first.

You don't get #2OA with just a 2023 1st, even without protection. There's a much larger chance that the Devils wind up with a lower pick next year than getting one of the top 2 picks, so you gotta do more there. Sorry.

Ya but Slaf is maybe top 10 next year, let alone top 3. There is a good chance that MTL are a bottom 10 team next year.

If you're going to ask the Devils to give up the chance to pick an impact player at #2 but then say "oh, our best young players are off-limits", do you know what happens?

You don't get #2.

"a good chance" =/= "guarantee at the same value". If you're asking Jersey to take the gamble, you need to give them more. There's no way they would trade #2 for just a 1st next year without something being added. Any GM that did that trade would be run out of town by their fanbase (and most likely their owner as well.)

LMAO!! You can't be serious! 4 1st round picks worth of value for 2nd overall in a weak draft! At that price we may as well trade for McDavid!

Ok, since you seem to be the most reasonable person to reply and at least provided some insight into what the Devils needs are, how about this for value\need

Barron + Allen + Ylonen + 2022 1st (Calgary) fills all needs and the Devils get back a 1st.

Risky, but not a bad idea.