2011 Trade Deadline: The New Jersey Devils as Sellers. What Kinds of Return Should They Expect?

I don’t have any particular trades in mind, but I would think that Arnott and Langenbrunner may be the most trade value since they both have Stanley Cup winning experience along with expiring contracts.

If I could trade one for a 2nd round pick and the other for a 3rd rounder and maybe a solid 3rd/4th line player I think that would be pretty solid. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be a young player but just someone who you know can play on the 4th line and not be a liability, basically someone who would be an improvement over Tim Sestito.

I like your trade observations but Lou is always looking to make a killing. I believe that he should try to move our dead wood as soon as possible before other GM unload theirs.

Nice. I’ve been hoping someone would do an analysis like this.

I’m surprised how a 2nd rounder is the standard return no matter who the traded player is. That said, there are a few players who were pending UFAs and who earned their teams a 2nd rounder plus something extra: Nik Antropov, Matt Cullen, Dennis Seidenberg, Raffi Torres, Lee Stempniak, Joe Corvo.

Maybe I’ve been drinking the Kool Aid for too long, but frankly I think Langenbrunner, Arnott, and Greene are all comparable to all those players – better than Torres and Antropov, about equal to Seidenberg, Corvo, and Stempniak, and perhaps a little less than Matt Cullen.

While I expect the return for Langenbrunner and Arnott to be a 2nd rounder+ each, I think Greene could net us a better return than either of them. Defensemen as cheap as Greene on selling teams who can step into top-4 roles are rare, and more teams are right up against the cap right now than in prior years. I look to Boston and Chicago as potential destinations for Greene – teams that lack defensive depth beyond their top-4, who believe they could contend now, but lack the cap space to make a deal without dumping salary. While I doubt those teams would want to part with a 1st rounder not knowing whether it’s in the middle of the round or late in the round, I hope Greene could return a good, NHL-ready prospect at C or RW with 2nd-line potential.

I like what you said about the Boston trade. I would definately like to see them try to get a mid-late first rounder to go along with the high first rounder they hopefully already are going to get.
Could would see Arnott heading back to Nashville? You think they would give us that second pick back?

Whats Salvidor’s status? If he were to get back in the lineup soon, he would be someone else to trade.

I think you have to look at where we’re at and where we’re going. If Lou thinks we need a complete re-tooling, then these guys are going to get moved for picks and the rebuild will be under way. I doubt that though. I think Lou believes that we just need to tinker, perhaps get a little younger and faster. That’s not necessarily going to happen from simply clearing out dead space and promoting all of our youth. That’s not how the Devils do things.

So, with a tweaking in mind, I think Lou is going to free up some space and instead of picks, might be looking more towards prospects as compensation. For example, the rumors about NJ wanting Voinev from LA. A prospect is more likely to make the team in the next year or two rather than an 18 yr old kid drafted this year or next. We’ll keep a solid core but I’d say Lou will look to add some faster skating d-men, a RW who could replace Langenbrunner, and possibly another center to back up Josefson.

We have a glut of d-men and to make room to upgrade, someone is going to have to go. I’d expect White, Tallinder, and A-Train. If Salvador is untradeble, look for one of Corrente, Salmela, or Fraser to get moved. Especially if they think Taormina can hold a spot.

Corrente to Florida for a 2nd rounder.
Langenbrunner to Boston or San Jose
Arnott possibly moved now to Ottawa or Washington.

I’m thinking Clarkson might also fetch us a decent prospect.

Based on history, you’re right but in that case, these teams cleaning house are those that tend to be habitual bottom feeders (like the Islanders) and not a team coming off a 100 point season just 1 year prior. Injuries, under-performing players, lack of confidence, whatever you want o say about this year, I believe LL thinks it’s a fluke and with the right tweaks, especially to the defense, we could be contenders again next year.

Allow me to play devil’s advocate here.

I don’t foresee a problem with getting Langenbrunner, Arnott, or Hedberg to waive their NTCs for 2 or 3 months. It’s financially advantageous to them to display their skills in the playoffs to help boost their free agency values.

I don’t know that any of these guys really have anything to gain financially. They’re all going to have issues with their next contract going forward, because each of them will be into the 35+ realm. When you consider Brian Rolston (among others), I don’t know that you’re looking at sizable deals. I don’t know that any of these three are going to get long-term deals…. two years, maybe three at most. The dollars shouldn’t move very much, either, barring an injury. To quote a former NFL coach, “They are who we thought they were!”

Let me argue the opposite, in fact. It might be to the benefit of Arnott, Langenbrunner, et al, to block any trades. This way, their agent can position them as guys whose numbers would have been better, but they got stuck with a really crummy situation on a team that didn’t score a whole heck of a lot. Then, you pitch another GM something like “If they get on your team, who is an offensive juggernaut in comparison to the 2010-2011 Devils, their numbers will return to form and you’ll look like a genius for taking them on!” More than that, the one thing any of these players cannot afford is an injury, because that could destroy their bargaining position entirely. No playoffs means they’d probably get rested a little down the stretch and not have the risk of an April/May injury. Sure, they miss out on the playoffs, but two of the three guys in question already have Cups on their resume, and it might not mean quite as much to them to win another.

That being said, I don’t really believe the above applies…. but it is a potential line(s) of reasoning to work from if things don’t go where we’d like them to.

On to the logic of the article…. I don’t know that Langenbrunner can fetch a #2 at this point. I view him as an Alex Ponikarovsky sort of pickup, and he didn’t exactly reap the Maple Leafs significant returns last year…. a second-tier prospect (Luca Caputi) who hasn’t been able to keep himself at the NHL level, and a depth defenseman (Martin Skoula) who was spun off for a 5th-round pick. I could see Arnott netting a #2, however, especially for a team that needs a center…. Jason has played well this year.

As much as I like Parise, there is one trade I’d make with him that makes perfect sense for both teams involved: straight up for Shea Weber. We’re relatively stacked at LW, but need a #1 D-man. Nashville is stacked at defense but needs top-end scoring. Weber is their captain, but Parise is without a doubt captain material. Both are RFAs. Suter can take over as Nashville’s top D-man.

It would be tough to see Parise go, of course, but we desperately need a #1 D-man, and I can’t see how else we’d get our hands on one. Weber-Volchenkov would be a brutal shutdown pairing. Who would want to cross the blueline against those two?

I wouldn’t trade Parise for any combination of players of picks. Nothing less than another superstar.

I would love for New Jersey to somehow find a way to pry the LA Kings backup goaltender Bernier. He is young, talented, and possibly available. With Jonathan Quick established as the number one goalie there, that would be an obvious asset for them to move and an area of concern for the Devils in the near future. I just don’t know if there is a good match for LA.

i am not saying that i would want to see parise traded/moved, but if they reall wanted to move him they should let the word get out to ‘encourage’ any interested teams to sign him to an offer sheet next summer, he’d likely be offered a lot of money and the devils would wind up with some #1 draft choices from the signing team which might be the way to go if they wanted to reorganize the franchise, he is the asset that they could actually move and this would be the best way to maximize their return even if the return would be a long term matter…what do you folks think?

I think Lou should wait a few more games let the players prove that their poor play was the result of bad coaching decisions. But not wait too long that possible trading teams already fill voids. If the players show they are starting to get back on track I think what we get back might be a little higher then if we just tried to move them now.

Maybe I’m missing something but could someone explain to me why we should go through the hassle of trying to trade Hedberg, and why a team would try and take him off our hands?
I mean he has a NTC, and he is only here for one year and is pretty close to being overpaid for. Why wouldn’t the team in question just wait for free agency and grab him for free and possibly at a lower price?