It is an interesting dynamic. With the New Jersey Devils winning the draft lottery for the fourth time over the last 11 years, third time over the last 6 drafts, it is a super exciting time. I jumped out of my seat when I saw the Flyers logo turn over for 5th overall pick, and I knew the Devils had won the lottery once again. Three top 2 picks in 6 years is massive; the first two picks have already proven to be slam dunks, and if the this next one is as well, that means seriously improved odds at having a legit contender in New Jersey for the near and maybe even not-so-near future. Now, we know that the high picks do not guarantee anything, just look at Edmonton for proof. Their successive picks of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov did minimal to turn their franchise around. But if you can make the right choices, and the Devils are 2-for-2 so far, then it signifies a return to legitimacy.
However, at the same time, you hope the team isn’t in a position to win the lottery again any time soon. Winning the lottery means the team isn’t in the playoffs, isn’t competing, isn’t that playoff contender that you’re looking for. And many people thought that the team this year could be a contender, so it is a gift that comes with some caveats.
Because of that last point, and because New Jersey, on paper, is close to really turning the corner and competing for playoff glory soon, many will want to use this pick to fill a need right now. Stephen already talked the other day about this, and why trading the pick for a goalie right now is not a good idea. I agree with him on this. That being said, I am not against trading the pick if the return is right. I personally would lean towards not trading the pick, but if you’re telling me that I can get Kevin Fiala and Minnesota’s first rounder this year, I would probably pull the trigger on that. I would not be a fan of just Fiala for #2, but if the Devils are also getting a late first rounder with Fiala, that is a really good deal. I doubt Minnesota wants to offer that, but you never know, right?
That being said, what I really want to discuss today is the danger of keeping the pick, but using the pick to take a positional need as opposed to taking the best player available. You will most likely hear arguments that the Devils should not take someone like Logan Cooley because, well, the Devils are stacked at center and really do not need another diminutive, playmaking player at the position when they really need wing scoring and defense, never mind goaltending. To me, that is the wrong way of thinking. If you think Cooley isn’t the pick, but instead it’s Juraj Slafkovsky or Simon Nemec or someone else, I have no problem with that if you make the case based on the merits of the player and what they project to be at the NHL level. They could both end up being better than Cooley, who knows, and it is a worthy debate to have pre-draft.
However, if you think Cooley will be the best player of the bunch, but you wouldn’t take him because the Devils have Hischier and Hughes, I disagree with that argument. The second overall pick should not be a place to take positional need. It is a position to take the best player available. As John noted in his reaction to the lottery, this is not a terribly deep draft. The luxury to take someone purely on position is not here. The second pick needs to be a player that is going to be an all-star one day on your team, not just a complementary piece. If the Devils get the next Damon Severson, a minutes-eating defender who probably best slots in as a second pairing guy, that isn’t a smashing success for the second overall pick. Yes, it’s better than Nolan Patrick, but it still isn’t what you could be getting. A true success is finding the next Jack Eichel (the healthy version who doesn’t want to be traded). Now, you might counter that Eichel was considered a generational talent, some…
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