5. Are the Devils’ assets really worth as much as we think?
While Palmieri, Coleman, and Vatanen are important pieces to the Devils, how is their value assessed by other teams around the league? Taking a step back from Devils fandom, a true Stanley Cup-contender probably isn’t acquiring Palmieri to be their top-line right winger. Coleman probably isn’t getting power-play time or playing with talents like Nikita Gusev on a true contender. Finally, Vatanen probably isn’t going to be employed as a top-pair defenseman on a playoff team.
If the Devils do wish to trade Palmieri and Vatanen, it would be nice to get something in the ballpark of a first-round pick for either of them. Palmieri is the team’s best pure goal-scorer and has a full year left on his deal; similar can be said of Coleman. Vatanen is the team’s best all-situations defender. Last week, LeBrun speculated that Vatanen could be worth a hard second-round pick with salary retained by the Devils in a potential deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.
It would be nice for the Devils to recoup some of the picks they dished out in the P.K. Subban and Nikita Gusev trades last summer, but is it worth it at the cost of some the team’s best players? If the Devils are open to trading these players and they don’t get offers better than what has been speculated, it may be better if they just hang on to them.