New Jersey Devils mailbag: On Mikael Granlund, Ty Smith making the jump, and more
New Jersey Devils mailbag: On Mikael Granlund, Ty Smith making the jump, and more
Devils fans had plenty of good questions and I did my best to answer.
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You all know the drill by now. Every week you flood me with quality questions, and every week I do my best to answer them.
Let’s dive right in.
Q: Assuming the Devils are still pursuing another forward to strengthen their top 9, whom do you see them/would you like to see them targeting? Galchenyuk? Kovalchuk?
I wouldn’t consider it a lock because, if the Devils use Pavel Zacha alongside Travis Zajac on the 3rd line/shutdown unit, there is only one spot up for grabs and they may want the kids to have a shot at earning a spot where they’d get real minutes. I was also lead to believe their internal budget is in the $75 million range. Once they re-sign Mackenzie Blackwood and Jesper Bratt, they might not have much wiggle room.
All that said, Mikael Granlund would be my ideal free agent target if the two sides can make it work. I think he is gifted enough to play in the top-6, and he is a very good defender/forechecker so he could be used in a defensive role as well. He could help insulate Jack Hughes. He could help defend leads late. He could also hold his own alongside Nico Hischier on the top line. He can play anywhere, really, and I think it’d be good to have a guy like that.
Q: How realistic is it the Smith goes straight to NJ from juniors, without any time in the AHL?
I wouldn’t call it the norm but it is pretty realistic. Smith has been a dominant WHL player for three years. We know he has the skating and puck moving ability. His defensive results have really improved as well. Overall, he’s been on a clear upwards trajectory. He will also be a couple months shy of 21 when the season begins so he’s also had time to work on his body and fill out. I am pretty confident that, at the least, he’ll be able to handle ~15 minutes a night on a sheltered 3rd pairing.
Q: Is Andreas Johnsson a good expectation of what Jesper Boqvist will become? Do you think Boqvist will be better? Worse?
Boqvist needs to take that next step but I think it is a fair projection for what his career could look like. Although they play a different style – Boqvist has more raw talent and flash, in my opinion – I see a similar ceiling. If all goes well, he could be a 40-50 point forward who can play on the power play and move around the lineup.
Q: Any chance at a Haula signing? Seems like they could use his gritty play to fill in for Coleman’s absence.
I’ve learned to never say never but I would guess not. I think Haula is overrated as a player. He has also bounced around *a lot* and has a bit of a reputation. Tom Fitzgerald is clearly keen on surrounding the kids with the right pros, and personalities, so I’m not sure Haula will be a fit.
Q: We know that there are teams up against the cap. You are the great white aka Fitz. Who do you attack first and who is your target on each team? What do you give up to make the kill? (Sorry I'm watching Jaws as I ask this) #AskTodd #Njdevils
Tampa Bay would be option 1, 2, and 3. Clearly it isn’t going to be as easy for them to get off the hook as they hoped. Nobody wants their declining veterans making big money. Teams want the young, exciting pieces and are willing to wait in hopes of making that happen. I’d be very happy prying either Mikhail Sergachev or Erik Cernak free. I think the latter is a little more realistic but I don’t see Tampa Bay moving either of them unless they’re completely out of options and time. If it came to it, they’d almost certainly be looking for young, cost controlled players who can play now – or in the near future – like Boqvist. Obviously, it would take more but that’s a starting point.
Q: O/U 60.5 for Jacked Hughes this season?
I see what you did there and I love it. I lean under, though. While I am sky high on Hughes moving forward, and think we’re going to see him take a big step forward this season, that seems like too much of a jump at once. Is it possible? Sure! He will get more minutes in all situations – Fitz has already said he’s hoping to see him defending leads, for example – and he has an improved supporting cast. I just think it is a year too soon. Pencil me in for low 50s.
Q: What role do you see Miles Wood fitting into the Devils this year? What is your projection for him.
Let’s go step-by-step here. Wood is not a top-6 forward and the Devils have solidified that grouping. We know he won’t be playing there. He garnered downright garbage results alongside Travis Zajac last season – I’m talking ~42 CF%, ~32 GF% – so he should not be on the defensive unit. That leaves the 4th line. If he chips in 10-15 goals, plays physical, and can cut down on the needless offensive zone penalties, that’s alright.
Q: On paper, the Devils should have really good goaltending this year. How many more wins or how much more competitive does that make this team?
It is easy to point out games the Devils never had a chance in because of awful goaltending, but it’s generally not as simple as ‘they would have won with Goalie X in net!’. For that reason, it is hard to put an exact number on how many extra wins having Corey Crawford as the 1B will lead to. What’s not hard to say is it will lead to extra wins. I still don’t think the Devils are world beaters but they patched some holes in terms of the skaters and they can now look forward to competent goaltending almost every night. At the very least, it will help them stay in games and give us some excitement. Watching them lose 5-2 every night gets old in a hurry.
Q: Assuming no long-term injuries for either, what do expect the split of games played to be between Blackwood and Crawford?
Let’s say we get an 82 game season. I don’t think we will, but roll with it. If both perform well, and are healthy, I could see something like 45 for Blackwood and 37 for Crawford. That kind of split lets Blackwood know he is the guy and gives him enough minutes to continue developing. It also prevents Blackwood from getting overworked and keeps Crawford from getting to the point where you’re worried about rust every chance he gets to play. I mean, they’re not paying him $3.9M per to sit on the bench.
Q: Granlund is one of a few notable unsigned players that the Devils should probably be in on...coming off a down year but still only 28 and has been very productive in the past. Do you think it’s an issue of Fitz feeling like he’s not needed with our recent acquisition or do you feel like the Granlund camp is looking for more money/term than we are willing to part with?
I think with Granlund, and the other notables still available, it is a combination of things. Be it overplaying their hand, or simply not enough teams willing to spend, they are clearly not getting the kind of contracts that would be available under normal circumstances. As a result, there may be more teams interested but obviously at lesser prices. We’ve reached the point where players have to decide what to prioritize. Do they want to win? Do they want to play in a system that betters fits their style? Do they want to play on a lesser team where they can get more minutes and opportunities to post big numbers? I think that is what Granlund, Mike Hoffman, and co. are deciding right now.
Q: Is Sharangovich legit? I’ve never really watched him but captaining an above .500 KHL team at 22 scoring almost a goal every other game is nothing to bat an eye at...
There are a couple ways I could answer this. I don’t think his ceiling is sky high so, from that respect, he may not be ‘legit’. With that said, he has NHL size and tools, and has already enjoyed varying degrees of success in two of the top professional leagues in the world. He can get to the net and score some goals. He is also defensively responsible and can contribute on the penalty kill. I think he has a very real chance of carving out an NHL career as a bottom-6 forward. Looking at him from that perspective, he is ‘legit’. It’s just a matter of how you want to frame it.
Q: Been following you forever since I first read hockeybuzz. Never asked or knew how someone from Canada started to like the Devils. What made you like them or was it just a team you wrote about and never stopped?
Growing up, I always watched the Toronto Maple Leafs with my dad and brothers. I’d want them to win every game…except for when they played New Jersey. I really, really, really liked Martin Brodeur and that kind of got me interested in the team. The more I watched them, and saw them on the highlights (I used to get up at 5 am and watch until I had to get ready for school), the more I fell in love with other players. It kind of grew from there. As I got a little older, our family always ordered NHL Center Ice so I had the ability to watch Devils games on a nightly basis and really become a die hard fan. I still love the team but it is obviously a little different now that I have connections throughout the hockey world and try to look at absolutely everything through an objective lens.
Long story short, I was not assigned to write about the Devils. I wanted to.
Q: What is the best red bull and why is it blueberry?
Ah, finally the important stuff!
There was a time I would agree. In fact, blueberry was probably my favorite for a good three years. But now I am firmly back on the original train. I still have mad respect for blueberry. I get excited when I see somebody at the store picking up some of those beautiful, blue, cans (Red Bull truly killed it with their packaging). But I am the kind of guy who picks a favorite and goes back to that well almost every time – so original, it is.
P.S. please sponsor me, Red Bull.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and Pick224.com