Post-Game Talk: Devil VII

[Kovalev27]

I’m sick over this

I see us further away than ever. A failed rebuild. Stars thst don’t perform in the playoffs and a bloated cap.

Gallant has to be fired. We need to be able to rely on systems when things get tight. We have no system. A chimp could have coached this collection of talent to 100 pts.

In retrospect Drury will admit he added to many chefs to the kitchen when he needed more potato peelers. Guys like goodrow and vesey prob should have been playing top 9 mins. Supporting their skill guys.

Othmann Cuylle Jones all must be on this team next year.

Panarin has to be traded. Everyone is seeing why the Blackhawks moved him. They were right. And everyone laughed at them. Well he’s an empty calories guy. A performer nothing more. Not a winner that’s for sure. At minimum his A should be stripped by the next coach.

If you get out of Panarin you trade for a real top 4 dman and move lindgren. He’s awful. If not for Fox he’d be a 3rd pair plugger. This team needs a major shakeup.

We waited all year for them to turn it on. They teased it but the signs were there all year. That no show loss to the devils with the Division on the line. They laughed it off that they didn’t care. Well it was ominous.

This group just doesn’t work hard enough to get goals. They refuse to shoot the puck. They don’t come up the ice together out of their zone. These are coaching issues. We’ve had 3 player buddies in a row in AV Quinn Gallant. That needs to end now. Laviolette is an obvious. As is Sullivan who I am sure the penguins just don’t want to give up to the rangers at this point. But one of those two will be here.

 

[mas0764]

I don’t always agree with @mas0764 , but this is surely the worst Devils team we will see for at least five years. If the Rangers we’re going to win the Cup with this core, this was the year.

"Anything can happen" - just look at the Bruins. It's true.

But come on. The Devils are the favorites from here on out.

It's stupid to build your chances around "maybe we can upset them." If you are close to equal, maybe role that dice.

We aren't close. We are so not close that we had to import 2 top 6 RWs.

We need a core that doesn't require multiple forward rentals every year.

We need to build a team that is a FAVORITE. Otherwise we are just hoping for good luck. See how that has worked out for us.

And... I've been saying this for years now.... this team isn't good enough.

Zibanejad/Panarin/Kreider are now all on the wrong side of 30 and will decline.

What young talent do we have?

The Devils have Hughes, Hischier (who also skated circles around us last night), Bratt, Mercer, maybe Meier, and Holtz at forward. All under 27.

We have.... Chytil, Kakko, Lafreniere, Othmann. Their top 5 are better than any of ours.

And on defense they have Luke Hughes, Nemec, Mukhumalladin, etc, coming to supplement Bahl (just 22) and Hamilton.

We have... Adam Fox? Our D prospects have stagnated and we cannot say they are equal to L Hughes and Nemec.

We are so far behind them it's not funny.

BACK TO THE LOTTERY. WE NEED 5-6 MORE YOUNG STUDS.

 

[Paulie Walnutz]

Don’t even bother to go on social media. The Spittin Chiclets are making fun of us, the devils social media is making fun of us, their trailer park trash fans were singing our goal song after the game, if we’re going to be hated we might as well assemble a team of assholes who don’t take shit.

 

[mas0764]

Don’t even bother to go on social media. The Spittin Chiclets are making fun of us, the devils social media is making fun of us, their trailer park trash fans were singing our goal song after the game, if we’re going to be hated we might as well assemble a team of assholes who don’t take shit.

It's time to admit that Drury and Sather were wrong.

Gorton had the right idea, but screwed up too much of it. And JD, when he came in, was wrong.

BACK TO THE LOTTERY.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

To think that a year ago we were “playing with house money”.

We are so f***ed lol.

We drafted 7 first rounders between 2017 and 2020, 4 of which were top 10 picks. 2 decent/good players and literally 5 busts. That is remarkable.

It’s basically like having a Fortune 500 company that is run by a bunch of college kids.

 

[mas0764]

I’m sick over this

I see us further away than ever. A failed rebuild.

You are correct.

We are further away than ever.

This team, as I've been saying for 2+ years now, is not capable of winning 4 straight playoff rounds.

We beat an aging Pittsburgh team on it's last legs (on their third string goalie and without their #1C for 2 games! And that still took us 7 games!!) and then won another 7 game thriller against a team we appear to match up well against, Carolina.

We are like, a second round playoff team IF we hit the right matchups.

That might as well be an eternity away. The gulf between us and the elite is just as wide as the gulf between us and the teams in the top 5 of the draft. Half the league makes the playoffs. We are not special.

 

[chosen]

Better skating, quicker decision-making, all kinds of stuff. Figure out what he needs to be a top offensive player & work on it. Does he get that here? My impression the Rangers' concept of "development" is to teach young players they have to hit & be defensively responsible. Which is OK, but not the major piece.

I suspect that development is handled pretty much the same way on every team. If one way works in sports, it gets copied.

I think you're looking at results and assuming other things based on that.

Who in the top 6 hits on a consistent basis?

Who on the team hits on a consistent basis?

The Rangers are almost the opposite of a team that hits.

 

[bernmeister]

Play Chytil in the top 6 for one. I could also see miller or lafreniere moved for a speedy top 6 caliber player. I defend the kids but acknowledge moves need to be made and no one is untouchable after an embarrassing 1st round exit.

KAM part of the solution, not the prob
is it conceivable some youth needs to be moved as part of the equation?
Yes
but not KAM
KAM + is not getting Byfield
no reason to trade KAM w/o an upgrade

 

[UnparalledPark]

Would love to be able to get inside Panarin's head. Is it age? Tom Wilson? General unwillingness to risk the body for post-hockey life?

I think it’s mostly his teammates. When the slowest guy on the team carries the puck into the ozone and constantly needs to wait for his teammates to show up, something is wrong.

 

[irishlaxburger2]

KAM part of the solution, not the prob
is it conceivable some youth needs to be moved as part of the equation?
Yes
but not KAM
KAM + is not getting Byfield
no reason to trade KAM w/o an upgrade

You’re probably right, but KAM was pretty dreadful the back half of the year and in the playoffs

 

[mas0764]

I suspect that development is handled pretty much the same way on every team.

I suspect it isn't.

I think you're looking at results and assuming other things based on that.

Who in the top 6 hits on a consistent basis?

Who on the team hits on a consistent basis?

The Rangers are almost the opposite of a team that hits.

We had two can't miss picks lined up.

Lafreniere and Kakko both missing is near impossible.

This is on the team, at some level. Both of them being sub-40 point players is near impossible given their stature as prospects coming out. You never see guys that highly regarded bust TWICE in a row.

Then consider Kravtsov and Andersson.

It's a pattern.

Occam's Razer suggests the team has a hand in this mess. It's not four straight forward busts in the top 10.

 

[rangersfansince08]

I suspect it isn't.



We had two can't miss picks lined up.

Lafreniere and Kakko both missing is near impossible.

This is on the team, at some level. Both of them being sub-40 point players is near impossible given their stature as prospects coming out. You never see guys that highly regarded bust TWICE in a row.

Then consider Kravtsov and Andersson.

It's a pattern.

Occam's Razer suggests the team has a hand in this mess. It's not four straight forward busts in the top 10.

I think we can reset in 3 years. By then Trouba and Panarin will be gone. Goodrow can be traded with one year left. And trade Shesterkin in his final year too. Giving him 10 M would suck. This would prevent that and we can likely get good assets for him. In the meantime try to get as many draft picks as you can, don't trade any and go into a rebuild in 3 years. Figure out the coaching, training staff, scouts and developmental coaches in the meantime too.

 

[will1066]

You are correct.

We are further away than ever.

This team, as I've been saying for 2+ years now, is not capable of winning 4 straight playoff rounds.

We beat an aging Pittsburgh team on it's last legs (on their third string goalie and without their #1C for 2 games! And that still took us 7 games!!) and then won another 7 game thriller against a team we appear to match up well against, Carolina.

We are like, a second round playoff team IF we hit the right matchups.

That might as well be an eternity away. The gulf between us and the elite is just as wide as the gulf between us and the teams in the top 5 of the draft. Half the league makes the playoffs. We are not special.

 

[Machinehead]

The Devils depth has a bit of skill and their skill has a bit of depth.

We have scorers who fall off the face of the earth against good teams and depth that couldn't score if you gave them three pucks.

All of their defensemen can move the puck.

We still have our Brian Leetch and everyone else does nothing but hit.

Your top six being the talent and your bottom six being the meatbags is from the 90's. Your defense corps being mostly linebackers is from the 90's. The is an old organization that has old thinking and it shows.

 

[Crease]

I suspect it isn't.



We had two can't miss picks lined up.

Lafreniere and Kakko both missing is near impossible.

This is on the team, at some level. Both of them being sub-40 point players is near impossible given their stature as prospects coming out. You never see guys that highly regarded bust TWICE in a row.

Then consider Kravtsov and Andersson.

It's a pattern.

Occam's Razer suggests the team has a hand in this mess. It's not four straight forward busts in the top 10.

Definitely an organizational issue. A combination of poor developmental infrastructure and wrong culture.

 

[bernmeister]

You’re probably right, but KAM was pretty dreadful the back half of the year and in the playoffs

not so sure about 'back half of the yr'. Maybe odd game, coupla games, but not like he phoned it in or less all those games.
He did not have a stellar playoff.

 

[Chytilmania]

4 top 10 picks wasted in Lias, Kravstov, Kakko and Laf. What did we get out of the Lundkvist pick too? A lower pick years later?

Jesus, it’s so bad I forgot about Lias and Krav. Not one difference maker in the top 10. Doesn’t matter about coaching and system if we whiff on FOUR top 10s in a row.

 

[rangersfansince08]

Jesus, it’s so bad I forgot about Lias and Krav. Not one difference maker in the top 10. Doesn’t matter about coaching and system if we whiff on FOUR top 10s in a row.

How do you have picks 7, 9, 2 and 1 and get NOTHING out of it? What a f***ing joke.

 

[will1066]

The Devils depth has a bit of skill and their skill has a bit of depth.

We have scorers who fall off the face of the earth against good teams and depth that couldn't score if you gave them three pucks.

All of their defensemen can move the puck.

We still have our Brian Leetch and everyone else does nothing but hit.

Your top six being the talent and your bottom six being the meatbags is from the 90's. Your defense corps being mostly linebackers is from the 90's. The is an old organization that has old thinking and it shows.

Like I said, you can't composite attributes across players to make a team. Each player has to have that mix of attributes that you're looking for to some degree.

It just hit me that this organization is WCW, also.

 

[Chytilmania]

How do you have picks 7, 9, 2 and 1 and get NOTHING out of it? What a f***ing joke.

Is Laf the first #1 overall to get blanked in a 7 game series?

 

[mas0764]

Four straight top 10 forward misses.

Then consider Chytil's lack of development. Yeah, he was a "hit." Let's take a look at who else was selected in that range in the same draft year. Oh, Robert Thomas for the Blues, who has TWICE AS MANY f***ING POINTS as Chytil.

How about JT Miller? Leaves here and becomes a 90 point player.

How about the success story that constantly gets thrown around for us, Chris Kreider?

Took the dude till age 30 to become a 30 goal scorer. He spent 10 years underachieving. His career is practically over. He should have been a 30-30 player from age 21 on, given his pedigree coming out, like Tarasenko was. Kreider had that ability. Instead he piddled around for nearly a decade and his lack of being an impact forward may have cost us a Cup.

THIS ORGANIZATION HAS A PROBLEM

 

[Crease]

How do you have picks 7, 9, 2 and 1 and get NOTHING out of it? What a f***ing joke.

Four straight top 10 picks and all they got were a pair of third line forwards. Big yikes.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Glad to see you've embraced that coaches matter little.

They didn't screw up on Lafrenniere. Every team in the league would have selected him first. So far, it seems like in a league built on speed he can't excel.

Similarly, they made the absolute right choice in Kakko at number 2, based on evidence available at the time. I still think he will have a very good NHL career.

The team was incredibly lucky to get those 2 picks and incredibly unlucky to get those picks in the wrong years.

Chytil is the most baffling player on the team. His game looks so different from one group of games to anither.

Miller is the 2nd most baffling player on the team. He looks his best when he's aggressive offensively, but his defensive game also goes through wild swings.

I disagree with you about Schneider's future.

I don't think we'll have a full handle on where the Rangers are until we see how the Devils do the rest of the playoffs.

If they lose to Carolina, the Rangers situation is bleak. If the Devils win the Cup, it's not bleak at all.

The only certain thing is that this team needs forechecking speed added ASAP.

Excellent post and fully agree with you on the three highlighted kids you discussed.

Neither laf nor Kakko were reaches and every GM in the league would have made those draft picks.

 

[rangersfansince08]

Four straight top 10 forward misses.

Then consider Chytil's lack of development. Yeah, he was a "hit." Let's take a look at who else was selected in that range in the same draft year. Oh, Robert Thomas for the Blues, who has TWICE AS MANY f***ING POINTS as Chytil.

How about JT Miller? Leaves here and becomes a 90 point player.

How about the success story that constantly gets thrown around for us, Chris Kreider?

Took the dude till age 29 to become a 30 goal scorer. He spent 10 years underachieving. His career is practically over. He should have been a 30-30 player from age 21 on, given his pedigree coming out, like Tarasenko was. Kreider had that ability. Instead he piddled around for nearly a decade and his lack of being an impact forward may have cost us a Cup.

THIS ORGANIZATION HAS A PROBLEM

Don't forget Chytil, Lundkvist and Miller. One guy who we traded for 30 games of Tarasenko. And the other two aren't that impressive either.

Othmann can't skate either.

 

[LOFIN]

What else can you do really, but change the coach? You can basically only trade Goodrow, that doesn't move the needle in any direction. I'm basically open for all ideas but there are not that many things you can do realistically.