IMO it should be trading Grit or a 1st rounder. Can’t have both there

I like the idea of trading for Casey M though. That’s a good option for a guy that needs the change of scenery

Pass on dumba. Hes not particularly good, and he'd have all the leverage being one year out from FA. Thats how they got in the skinner mess. Would rather just see if they could swap mittelstadt for a similar aged RHD.

Think that's a well constructed deal

Can't imagine the Devils have much interest in 2 pending UFAs

You’re kidding me about Gritsyuk, right? I realize NJD fans found an obscure prospect that popped in his D3 year and want him to be the centerpiece of everything, but they want that because he’s unlikely to play for NJD (lineup, development, or contract reasons). If he was 1st RD material, he’s be playing in NA.

this is incredibly rich coming from a fan of the team whose best player in the last 15 years is a guy who didn't touch North American ice until his D+6

I’m saying nothing about what the Wild have done or how they handle their prospects. Gritsyuk is a guy that profiles like Nikita Gusev or other small Russian wingers. That’s not really something I’d value too much. Both guys scored well D-1 and then weren’t KHL regulars until D2, when they were good but not great.

Just kinda insanely ironic to be saying a prospect isn't "first round quality" or whatever for not playing in NA in his D+3 while your best player started in NA in his D+6. Especially when, outside of the covid season, their production/NHLe looks pretty similar.

He didn’t really “pop in d+3” though. It wasn’t like he was just some random kid that got lucky. He really emerged as legit NHL talent after world junior tournament a couple of years ago. Two seasons back, he tore up Russian juniors and his linemate was subsequently drafted in 1st round by Columbus as an overager. Last year, he was basically a 13th forward on the team that won KHL championship (with a roster loaded with veteran forwards). Minutes were hard to come by. This year, he led KHL in scoring for his age group and was youngest forward on Russian Olympic roster and featured in their top-6.

You don’t have to take him seriously, but do not deride those that do.

Kaprizov played mainly KHL minutes his D-1 year and scored the same rate as Grit in his D1 year. They are nowhere close to the same.

I’m not deriding him or people who hype him, just questioning his upside. I know we’ve talked about this before but it’s not personal in anyway.

NHLe by year:
d0 KK: 22 AG: 20
d1 KK: 43 AG:31
d2 KK: 72 AG: 14 [COVID]
d3 KK: 73 AG: 61

They're very much so similar.

Gritsyuk D+3:
KHL 39GP 16G 12A 28PTS +9
Team Russia (Olympic Games) 6GP 1G 2A 3PTS +4

Kaprizov D+3
KHL 46GP 15G 25A 40PTS +22
Team Russia (Olympic Games) 6GP 5G 4A 9PTS +7

Kaprizov then went on to lead the KHL in goal scoring in his D+4 and D+5 seasons. I think it's fair to say that Gritsyuk has his work cut out for him if he's gonna match Kaprizov.

2023 1st+Gritsyuk is the lowest I go for Fiala. A likely mid 1st and a nice prospect that's probably years away from coming to NA is a fair deal. And it fits the Reinhart example of 1st+prospect (prospect is better because Fiala>Reinhart at the time of trade). Neither of those assets seem that important to NJ given the prospect depth they have. I don't understand the holdup.

Well that’s an easy no, and move onto UFA then. I wouldn’t let BG dictate the price in any situation here. Make the offer, move on. I’d rather keep the premium assets anyway since they include ELCs

Alright, you do you.

Sure, but the Kaprizov benchmark is a hard one to match. In comparison, no one will measure up (for starters, because a lot of top guys were in NHL by D+3)

Looking at D+3 seasons in KHL:

Kaprizov : 65gp 17g 33a 50pts (0.77 ppg)
Gritsyuk: 53gp 23g 16a 39pts (0.74 ppg)
Kuznetsov: 76gp, 24g, 31a, 55pts (0.72 ppg)
Gusev: 55gp, 21g, 16a, 37pts (0.67 ppg)
Nichushkin: 45gp, 12g, 17a, 29pts (0.64 ppg)
Marchenko: 55gp, 18g, 14a, 32pts (0,58 ppg)
Buchnevich: 72gp, 17g, 23a, 40pts (0.56 ppg)
Kravtsov: 54gp, 18g, 10a, 28pts (0.52 ppg)
Panarin: 57gp, 13g, 15a, 28pts (0.49 ppg)



Now do Panarin

Kaprizov performed better than Gritsyuk for each of his D+1 D+2 and D+3 seasons. The issue I see happening is Devils fans want to conflate how Kaprizov turned out with what they project Gritsyuk will be. I don't think many considered Kaprizov an elite prospect until he was leading the KHL in goal scoring. He was certainly a guy to watch though.

I'd definitely value Holtz more than Gritsyuk at this stage. Button didn't even rank Gritsyuk in his top 50 prospects across the NHL when he released his list about three months ago.

To be fair.

Button's an idiot.