Luke Hughes can not be top 4 next year. He's awful defensively and needs to be sheltered early in his career. Can't run both Hughes and Nemec as rookies same year. Let Nemec cook another year. Need another 2LHD and a 3C upgrade.

Best UFA option may be to resign Graves.

I'm fine with the player, but I've seen teams make longer term mistakes for shorter term gain and it doesn't work out. I'm looking at the window as a whole and see it is slowly cracking. I just don't see Graves signing to a three year contract, the longest I would go for him, because free agency causes GM to be dumb and hand out 4-6yr deals because they don't care if it doesn't work out as they might not be there to regret it.

Smart move would be to find a couple of RFAs who need to get paid and their team is strapped. Use some of the depth we have to get a bigger stronger player in return.

Timo M is probably the name most fans consider to be best option. I agree to a point. Are Bratt and TM gonna bankrupt the team, remains to be seen.

The out of left field move is Chychrun!
I know we have D, but do we. With Graves and Severson gone in FA, we are not what we think we are. We have the assets (if AZ lightens up a bit!)
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Chychurn-Marino
LHD3-RHD3 (Hughes in one of these slots)

2 more yrs to let Nemec get one more yr under his belt as well as Luke.
There are tons of flaws with it, but mostly the dip in D makes me think it might be a thought. You could always move JC at the end of the contract to recoup what you lost. Weak moment sorry

Agree, 3 max. If he thinks they can win & enjoys the area, maybe there's a shot. If not, you have to pass.

The D is definitely the top weakness when Graves and Sever walk. Too young.
JC would be great, but I can't wrap my head around the cost. I don't think they can afford to give up any players from the NHL lineup, it's already thin. I suspect Arizona will want at least one young NHL roster player along with the prospects & picks. Gotta hope scouting uncovers another trade opportunity less like Mirco Mueller and alot more like Siegenthaler.

The forward core should be set, especially if Gritsyuk comes over. Maybe add a vet for depth but nothing too significant

Defense is tricky with Severson and Graves both expiring. I hope we can get another LD to play with Nemec or even keeping Graves on a 1-2 year deal

If they stay staus quo, feels like a down year to me, while the kids get some experience... losing all that veteran experience/grit/depth will hurt. Particularly if any key pieces get injured. Basically Siegenthaler, Hamilton & Marino can't miss a game. Same for Hischier, Hughes and Bratt.

23 1st a given, maybe a 24 if they are going into this yrs POs in real good shape?
Former first rounder, take your pick (Stillman? Joke here, relax)
Probably a lefty defender, I think Bahl played for their coach in jr

If they are trying for Timo, I'd like to think Holtz (who has started to look better) is the piece so not to Coyotes.

In short:
No new D, just play Luke Hughes and the guys losing waiver exemption.
Either consider a move for a youngish impact winger via trade (Meier, Debrincat, Terry), compete for an impact winger in FA (Tarasenko or Kuzmenko preferably) or just resign Tatar on short term deal.
Let all UFAs walk.
Consider a move for a goalie (Vejmelka, Varlamov, Jarry).

I think Luke Hughes would work just fine on the 2nd pair given his speed and puck skills, he'd likely be a very effective player in transition and possession right out of the gate.
Two years of development should be more than enough for a 4th overall pick and especially one as talented as Luke, just pair him with Marino to make up for any defensive shortcomings.
I agree that Nemec should have one more year of cooking in the AHL.


Resigning Graves, Severson or getting another veteran D in would effectively mean that the Devils would have to trade two of Bahl, Okhotiuk and Walsh in order to not to lose them for nothing on waivers.
Finding one trade is surely doable but having to trade out two you're just asking for a valuable piece to just be lost for nothing.
Given that Bahl, Okhotiuk and Walsh will all be entering their peak years at 23 (Walsh 24) I think they'd be more than capable to provide on-ice value commensurate of a 3rd pairing defenceman come October.
I'd bet that at least one of them will have developed past Brendan Smith by start of next season, if not two.
They're ready for the NHL, let's play them.

Given that the Devils will also have Mukhammadulin, Nemec, Vilén, Casey, Edwards and McCarthy knocking on the door in subsequent years, trading for or resigning a veteran this summer will just cause further logjams later on as well.

I think you're underestimating the potential in development a lot of the young guys on the fringes have yet to realize.
I mentioned some defencemen above but there's also the cases of Foote, Thompson, Zetterlund and Holtz to consider.
The former three have the capability to completely fill the holes left by Wood and Haula, the latter two the potential to develop into complimentary top six pieces.

I'm not convinced in the slightest that letting Graves, Severson, Wood, Haula, and Tatar go and replacing them with the in-house options of Hughes, Okhotiuk, Foote, Zetterlund and Holtz would put the Devils in a significantly weaker position given how aging curves work.

If Luke has all those defensive skills you say will make up for it, why aren't they enough for college now?

I appreciate the confidence, but I don't see Thompson & Foote as anything more than fringe NHL players at best. I suspect they will spend the majority of their careers in the AHL. Walsh probably fits in this bucket as well. Great call up options short term, but not core NHL contributors. If that means they are claimed, so be it. Hopefully there is some trade value there to milk.

Holtz and Hughes have talent, no doubt, but it takes time to adjust to NHL time and space. Particularly for blueliners. To expect Hughes to carry 18 minutes a night effectively, in his rookie season, is a major gamble. If Hughes does pan out, Dahlin's career arc is a more likely scenario than Makar's. There will be exciting moments and major blunders, just part of the process for a young defenseman. Next year, Holtz will have had enough time as a caddy & hopefully will increase his level of play, as of now, he's not the top 6 they need to replace all that Tatar has given them.
I like both Zetterlund and Okhotiuk as well, but long term, they are no more than bottom line / pairing guys. Could Zetterlund give you Woods minutes, sure, but not Tatar's or Haula's ... And Okhotiuk (or Bahl) are not ready, nor do they have the skills, to replace Sever ... Maybe Graves, but again, that seems hopeful.

I'm certainly not advocating to resign the UFAs, but if they don't replace some of that veteran experience/skill I think this year's chemistry & performance will be a stretch to match.

I hope you are right & I've underestimated all these guys, but I don't see it working out across the board. Hopefully one or two pick up some slack & play at a high level, but most are unlikely next season.

Fitz struck a great balance this year of youth & experience... I suspect he will figure out how to do the same next year. Enjoying this season first, but really looking forward to see how he plays it. Intriguing as hell ...

If Luke's older brother keeps playing like this, maybe they won't need a defense.

I feel like not making any improvements would be a missed opportunity. Im not saying going after Patranak, Larkin, etc, but if we could find good value in trades or FA then its worth it. I trust Fitz to find a worthwhile trade like he has done with Graves, Siegenthaler, Marino, etc