Quoting: dgibb10
Brady was not anything close to the best player on the ice in that devils game lmao
Every. single. Time.
A true star is traded, fans are shocked that it is isn’t for more. They never learn.
In the 2 years pre trade. Meier had the same PPG as Tkachuk does the last two years, with more goals per game and better defensive metrics. That is what I mean by better production.
I’d rather have more goals and better defense
You apparently would rather have more hits and fights
I was at that game at Brady was a spark plug. The only reason Ottawa got back into it after the Devils tried their best to collapse. The same game he set the hit record.
Your whole argument is apples to oranges. Meier's first three years in the league were on significantly better teams than any single team that Brady has played on in his career. You think its a coincidence that his best statistical year before two seasons ago was the same year they went to the conference finals?
Presently you should expect Meier to be producing better considering that he's 27 and in the middle of his prime where Brady is just entering his at 24. But you're here talking about how Meier had "more goals" the two years leading up to the trade as if it was some massive gap. It was one goal. One. And if expand the criteria to 3 years pre-trade then Brady has more, 4 years pre-trade and Brady still has more. He also has more this year again and on a worse team then Meier is playing on so youre not making the point that you think you are. Even accounting for the games Meier missed he's only on a 33G pace. Not to mention the Devils have a top 10 offence in the league while the Senators are dead middle of the pack.
Brady's also had almost everyone around him miss time this year, affecting his stats in much the same way the Im sure Bratt wouldve breezed past 90P if Hughes/Meier/Hischier etc didnt all miss chunks of time.
Objectively, I dont think any NHL exec's or neutral fans would take Meier over Brady. If the swap was one for one NJ would have to add so its only natural that, even without taking circumstance into consideration, the return for Brady would be more than what Sj received for Meier.
But speaking of that trade specifically, the wild part is that I did leave the circumstances of the Meier trade out but since youre adamant about continuing the discussion lets talk about it. San Jose looked terrible. Meier was due a massive raise as a RFA that the Sharks werent interested in paying considering the direction of the team. So they actively looked to move him. NJ acquires him at a significantly lower price than they would have paid if Meier had term on his deal and they were trying to pry him out of SJ. Trading for a player that could potentially try to walk in a year or two if they force a bridge deal, a la DeBrincat, is not as appealing as a young player with term on their deal.
They basically traded a 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, an okay prospect, and a bottom 6 warm body. You make that trade ten times out of ten and that was reflected in the open poll attached to the trade. No objective fan thinks thats equal value let alone SJ coming out on top.
And to your point about star players not getting what fans expect. I'm not sure how often captains get traded and what the returns look like but I read a devils article mentioning the possibility of a Brady/Hischier swap and that the last time two captains were swapped was St Louis and a 2nd for Callahan and two 1sts. I would say that was more than fair value for Marty and realistically both teams won. More recently, the Chychrun trade comes to mind as Ottawa paying more than fair value for a young 'star' with term. Obscure references, sure, theyre just the first ones to come to mind but I also know if i combed through trades it certainly isnt every single time that teams take less for young talent, especially when there is term attached to the young players involved.
Sorry if the reply is long again but I do have to say that as much as we disagree I appreciate the discussion and I wish nothing but the best for the Devils. I think we all know that Brady can't really ever be moved unless the team wants fans to burn the arena down and even though the deal we're discussing doesnt include Nemec, the Devils arent really in a position to be moving dmen out but it is interesting getting into these hypothetical discussions nonetheless so thank you.