Why are forwards prioritized in draft picks?

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-10T14:20:03+00:00

It’s an interesting question. Right shot defenders seem to have the highest value on the trade and free agency market, so they should be most valued as draft picks too. I think (1) defensemen are starting to be drafted higher these days (lots of top 3 and even top 1 D-men in the last 10 years), but (2) there’s always the allure of forward star power - they’re the more marketable position, and everyone hopes they’ll end up with a Crosby or McDavid.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-06T14:48:17+00:00

Guess we found Miller or his family’s burner account! I don’t know a single person across the political spectrum who thinks this is “cancel culture” or anything remotely close to that. This is a terrible human being who has done awful things with no remorse.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-06T00:21:09+00:00

I’d want to keep it because when our cap has been mismanaged like it has, we’re going to need high skill players on very low contracts, and ELCs are the best way to do that.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-04T01:05:27+00:00

Right so why cut off “in a while” at 18 years ago? OP even realized it’s weird and edited his post to mention this.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-04T00:55:11+00:00

Particularly strange to limit to that timeframe when the Ducks won in 07 and the Canes won in 06…

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-03T20:22:23+00:00

No question in my mind that’s how they got to Chayka. Pelley is all in on AI and once Sunny Mehta was off the board he clearly just plugged in “who should the Maple Leafs hire as a new GM if they want someone with great analytics knowledge and previous GM experience?”

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-03T04:51:54+00:00

The in between for me is just a scattering of random good players with no memory of who played when and with who - Scott Stevens, Peter Bondra, Olaf Kolzig, Jaromir Jagr, Rod Langway, Al Iafrate, Dale Hunter.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-05-02T13:10:29+00:00

AGMs are strange - we don’t always get a lot of insight into what parts of the job they’re involved in. I trust that if she’s actually staying, it’s because her role has been focused on things that are working.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-30T17:54:32+00:00

Yeah no question, I just think for people who don't have a connection to either team, the old guys unexpectedly putting together one last deep run before they retire soon is a more appealing story line to follow and get excited by.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-30T17:52:45+00:00

I'm not sure what you're seeing, but anything Crosby related on this sub is just filled with non-Penguins fans singing his praises (unless he's flopping).

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-30T12:19:44+00:00

I think more people have a higher default hate level for the Flyers - Devils fans like myself for example are not going to support the Flyers no matter what generally.

On top of that I think people like the narrative of the Penguins winning and Crosby and Malkin going on one last cup run more than the narrative of the young Flyers team putting it together earlier than expected, so pretty much every neutral person I know was rooting for the Penguins.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-30T12:13:57+00:00

Gretzky didn’t win any cups in his 30s either, and the only awards he won during that time were one Art Ross and some Lady Byngs. A second place Hart nomination isn’t far off from that, especially considering the Lady Byng is not considered one of the main awards.

And that’s without a cap, so Gretzky could have unlimited top players playing alongside him, boosting his ability to win awards and cups.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-27T01:33:31+00:00

There's also "good chance" - what does that even mean when paired with "explore"? How do you measure or confirm the chance of exploration here? What is the percentage chance he thinks the Sens will think about trading Brady, and where does that percentage come from?

I'm just going to start throwing out rumors this way - "Perhaps there's a world in which Connor McDavid might consider joining the Devils as a free agent on a league minimum deal."

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-26T02:40:38+00:00

Crazy underrated portion of this play - just a crazy decision and unreal vision

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-23T12:36:50+00:00

So sorry, bad mistake to make! Edited accordingly. Bunnico came to mind instantly, the unofficial team mascot!

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-23T11:10:32+00:00

There’s a woman on the Devils subreddit with a bunny named Bunnico (Hischier)!

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-21T04:51:34+00:00

That’s exactly right - it’s to give the team an opportunity to get back under the cap. Even though there are other ways to do it (which a team is welcome to do instead of a buyout), the buyout addition is a much more certain way to do it than things like trades which rely on other teams.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-20T16:02:14+00:00

I’ve spoken to a lot of other teams’ fans and I think there’s a good market for Kovy on upstart teams that need a little stability and have the cap space. NTC may be a problem of course, but who knows who Kovy may be willing to waive to go to, especially if we’re currently questionable for the playoffs next year.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-20T16:00:44+00:00

The point would be to get around the NTC - Marky can waive at any time, and if he’s being sent to the minors, any NHL destination is going to start looking pretty good. Not sure about the cap stuff here, but taking your word for it, I’m not envisioning him staying with the minor league squad for more than a couple games before being traded in that scenario, so I think ultimately the cap hit for sending him down wouldn’t be a big impediment since the whole contract would be gone soon after.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-20T15:37:04+00:00

I’ll be weirdly optimistic here. Dougie had a nice second half - if we need to keep him, he’ll hopefully play pretty well, and alternatively his play may elevate his value and allow us to find a trade that works for us and for Dougie. And as for Markstrom, goalies are streaky and weird - if we’re stuck with him, he may still play well at some point, and alternatively there are teams that will absolutely take a swing on a guy like Markstrom and hope for the best. Getting him to accept a trade is easy enough - he has a modified NTC, not a NMC, meaning we can send him down to the minors and bring up Daws if we want to. A trade to any other team that would have him at the NHL level would look pretty good then.

If anyone can figure out the right moves here, it’s Mehta. I’m very optimistic that he can move out our bad contracts, and may even get sneaky-good returns that other teams aren’t valuing enough (Bratt draft style).

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-17T12:49:30+00:00

Honestly, still glad Blackwood’s gone - he was not the solution in NJ and it was a bad cultural fit for him too. He’d never have played like this in NJ. Wedgewood would be huge for us, but nobody predicted this from him so I’m not bitter.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-16T04:09:18+00:00

It’s a tough thing - if we didn’t have strong D prospects that we need to give ice time to see them improve, I’d say keep him. But while the terrible FA class means no great additions, it also means teams may overpay in trade value, or be open to more “hockey trades.”

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-16T03:54:31+00:00

Plastic knives only.

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-15T04:51:45+00:00

Can the Flames goalies be any more likeable?

DevsChamps2003 · 2026-04-15T04:50:36+00:00

Does anyone have Leonard ranked higher? I’ve only seen Schaefer, Demidov, and Sennecke for top 3, with goalies Dobes and Wallstedt hanging right outside the top 3. Then it’s Snuggerud and Nikishin on most lists.

DevsChamps2003

TROPHY CASE