With the fact that paying a Connor McDavid cap hit for a guy like Mitch Marner is something I would say “NO!” Giving the Toronto Maple Leafs four 1st rounders that the Devils could use just compounds the issue. However, if the cost to get Mitchell Marner is lesser than the cost basis of four 1st-round picks, it’d be better to give Toronto a ready prospect, a 1st, and two 2nd’s.
Marner is an excellent playmaking winger and someone that is very shifty and speedy. The kid is a magician. If he can play on a Hall-Hughes-Marner line, that can create a lot of offense.
Patrik Laine to me is a winger who is at his all-time low. Some say his cap hit should be $10 million. With Winnipeg being in the situation they are in, the Devils could take advantage. Laine is someone we should be super high on for a trade. His sniper mentality can take a lot off of Kyle Palmieri‘s plate. Palmieri is a guy that needs someone to lift the weight so that way he’s not always being guarded by opposing players.
Just think about Hall-Hughes-Laine or Bratt-Hischier-Laine. Hall is a speedy sniper who can dangle around when healthy. Hughes is a fast attacking, supportive, and a self-starting player that can dish the puck to Patrik Laine. Also think about when PK Subban feeds Laine a slap pass on a power play I’m sure that puck by Laine would bomb a one-timer probably at 108 mph.
Ray Shero should assess this team and realize he could use another winger. Just look at the possible lines:
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Hall-Hughes-Laine/Marner (via trade if it occurs)
Bratt-Hischier-Palmieri
Wood-Zajac-Simmonds
Bastian-Zacha-Coleman
Greene-Subban
Butcher-Severson
Ty Smith-Vatanen
Cory Schneider should be healthier for a minimal of 41 games, and Blackwood should be able to manage the other half of the season. The looks of Gilles Senn haven’t impressed so far. Senn is a goaltender who has played in a AHL and semi-NHL level in the NLA for HC Davos. Development camp will only fine tune Senn for pre-season games. Those pre-season games will only get him ready for an upcoming call-up to The Rock.
My biggest concern throughout the season is if there is another really good goaltender available via trade before February trade deadline. The Devils must be darn sure they give Schneider time off, Blackwood a breather, and get Gilles Senn more games played for experience. One extra goalie can help put the Devils over the hump into the playoffs, and maybe get deeper than winning just 1 game in a best of 7.
This team can “fly, fight, and crow” as a reference from the movie Hook. This team has speed, smarts, skill, creativity, grit, durability, and perseverance. It could be a very fun season.