NHL Free Agency is officially underway!
The New Jersey Devils have signed defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon.
I discuss this and more in this video.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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26 Comments
Were scoring a shit ton of goals and the goaltending and defense is upgraded this is a win. Also the depth on offense got better. If you want another top 6 guy were just luxury shopping at that point. We have 5 guys in the top 6 that can pot 30 goals.
So much for big game hunting…. Do we go into the season w less up front than we did last year? Looks like it…. Hopefully Hughes never gets injured.
Fitz is brutal.
We got a good market contract for Pesce but overpaid for Dillon bc of a bidding war.
Sorry bud but you got a lot to learn
I like the moves at the end of the day stamkos wasnt coming here nashville got money to blow we werent gonna b able to spend like that… im hearing devils in on tarasenko ofcourse so are the rags who just had him though hahha
Im happy we didnt drop 8 million on stamkos
Ace wants an all star level top 6 and Marty in net with beer league defenders lol. Fitz addressed the worst Devils defense in 20 years and added gritty bottom 6 players. Last year proved you can't win games with just two lines. They got wore down every game even though they are one of the youngest team in the league. Fitz did good today. Not great but good.
Hard to compete with a team that plays in a city with no state tax. Getting stamkos would have been great but would have been a massive overpayment
Ace you think there gonna add another foward?
Bro, we don’t need another top 6 forward. Devils have that sorted out. Palat has great talent too. He just wasn’t utilized correctly by Lindy. I feel like everyone is forgetting abt him.
After signing Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, the Devils will look to sign Kevin Labanc and trade Jake Allen, Dougie Hamilton, Arseni Gritsyuk, Seamus Casey, and a 2026 1st-rounder to the Senators for Brady Tkachuk.
We drinking yet? 😅
Nashville paid out the ass for those two. Glad Fitz didnt bite.
Would you be happy with Tarasenko?
Stamkos would have killed the budget with that contract he signed. Anyone else that people were hoping for and signed elsewhere had more reasons to sign to other teams other than "Fitz failed", which is the most ridiculous way to look at it. There are other factors involved and if money is the reason for some, then I'm glad we don't have them eating up more of our cap space. The most important thing was to beef up the defense with guys who focus on the defensive aspect of their position and Fitz did exactly that with the guys he picked up over the last two days. Noesen fills a need for that middle 6, he's been playing his best hockey the last 2 seasons and will be able to contribute some offense along with bringing sandpaper. For everyone losing their shit because some massive splash didn't happen today, you have to remember that there's the entire summer to work out a trade for the right player to fit next to Jack.
FIRE Tom Fitzgerald 🗑 🔥
Zadorov to Boston for 5M is such a gut punch. But if he wasn't looking for much my guess is the stats geeks didnt want him here. That's all i can think of, because Fitz has now passed on him twice (and the analytics geeks are his brain).
I get the frustration at losing both Stammer and Marchessault, but Fitz successfully upgraded the 2 biggest problems for the team. Goaltending is a night and day difference and the defense got bigger and tougher to play against. I wish we could've added HOF leadership and experience with Stammer or a proven playoff performer in Marchy, but I'm not mad about how today went. Bottom 6 added more sandpaper and toughness (still time for Rico to join!), so now the only missing piece is a top 6 winger. I would've liked to see Duke play alongside Jack, but I'm fine with Fitz' moves and I'm excited to see how he addresses that top 6 spot. Also, our in division opponents either stayed the same or got worse. Canes lost a lot of players and the Rangers, still handcuffed by Igor and Trouba, didn't do anything. Think today was a good day for the devils, cant wait for the live later!
I think we are stacked on the bottom 6 players and on defense now.
But i do think we could use a top 6. Not saying he would still make sense but toffoli for term and money in San Jose seems pretty doable. Headscratcher there.
I wonder if they could move out a couple people and go for a trade still. Bastian and Siegenthaler potentially.
Good to have depth
They got some grit and size and help on defense and in goal. Can't afford some of those big names and sign Mercer. I think they will be much improved from last season.
I'm a Devil fan. But what are talking about being disappointed in Stamkos cause he went for the cash grab instead of trying to play for a cup with Devils?!? The Predators made the the playoffs last year and Nashville just signed Stamkos, Marshessault, and Brady Skjei. I guarantee you that their Stanley Cup odds will be better than NJ's cup odds. Making it sound like Stamkos is a sellout just because he chose to go for a cup with a different team other than the Devils is such a Homer take.
They were never gonna get Stamkos who was overpaid which the Devils was never gonna do. Yes, they should do more in yet like Johnny Gaudreau, money talks and like Johnny Steven will be in a crappy team. Barry Trotz and his team aint going anywhere. New Jersey will have a better record than them.
Fitz kinda screwed us on this. What I mean is his comments of Big Game hunting and "Bigger, More Violent" made me think the Devils were going to make this huge earth shattering splash. Sure, at this moment the Devils are a completely different looking team but the expectations set by Fitz made us expect so much more. To use a car reference, He made us think we were getting a Ferrari and in the end all we got was a Mustang. The Mustang isn't bad but its no FERRARI> If you take away Fitz'z stupid embellishments this was a pretty good couple of weeks for the Devils, But is too late to retract his comments and I'm sorry but the deals do not live up to those lofty expectations. Nothing to do now but put it behind us and look forward to the season. The fact is the Devils really are a much better club then last years version.
Not alone man in the disappointment, been moping around all day. Everyone acts like Fitz sucks in air pollution and farts perfume for 2 players we were already rumored to get. (Really curious if Pesce’s agent let this leak to help negotiate – pure speculation of course.) Does it upgrade the D? Yes. Is it a Cup winning move – I personally don’t believe it is. I’ll be happy to be wrong about that, but it seems like our new MO is if things don’t go the way we want make minor changes (and claim they’re huge.) The fact that the Devils instagram is referring to Pesce as a “big fish,” makes me wonder if they think he qualifies as “big game hunting.” Like you said “upgrade” for both but let’s save the parade for Fitz until he gets a bigger name, or they prove something. I will also accept a Brady Tkachuk acquisition in compensation.
How about a 2 yr deal for Tarasenko?