Devils 2020-21 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part XVI

[Camille the Eel]

how the f*** did this happen

Really that has to be a serious question - whatever they were doing to try to avoid this within the program and locker room and practices and team meetings plus after hours living situations . . . Well clearly it didn’t work. They really need to think this out.

 

[Darkauron]

I love that first pair. Love me some sausage and Sal.

 

[OmNomNom]

with how earl moves his hips, i expect him to throw a ton of hip checks

side note, hope he's doin alright

 

[Arthur Morgan]

And Lovejoy was, and almost certainly remains, a top pair defenseman so what's your point?

well it's pretty simple really... he's no longer playing with Tennyson. now he's on the 2nd line playing with Severson.
So why is Lovejoy needed to mentor Smith?

 

[Nubmer6]

But which devil is the most likely to be an Alien? I think wood is good candidate. Along with Gusev.

I always thought Rafalski kinda looked like a space alien, but that's the past.

 

[Emperoreddy]

with how earl moves his hips, i expect him to throw a ton of hip checks

side note, hope he's doin alright

If these f***ers somehow got Earl sick, I would go after all of them.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Quest for Seney is going to be so excited about this.

 

[My3Sons]

Quest for Seney is going to be so excited about this.

I might move him up a line

 

[My3Sons]

well it's pretty simple really... he's no longer playing with Tennyson. now he's on the 2nd line playing with Severson.
So why is Lovejoy needed to mentor Smith?

I get the impression you took me seriously. Hint: when I talk about Lovejoy it’s never serious.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I get the impression you took me seriously. Hint: when I talk about Lovejoy it’s never serious.

Liar. You want him to be the next captain.

 

[njdevils1982]

I might move him up a line

speaking of lines…...ric flair is penciled in it seems

 

[Nubmer6]

So...

QuestForStanley is Seney
Glenwo2 is Bratt
My3Sons is Lovejoy

Am I missing anyone?

 

[Emperoreddy]

Also High 5 Dancing Escalator lady is top pairing.

 

[My3Sons]

So...

QuestForStanley is Seney
Glenwo2 is Bratt
My3Sons is Lovejoy

Am I missing anyone?

Oh good gravy. I couldn’t begin to be Lovejoy. His soul would be overwhelming. That would be like a mortal in the Marvel movies holding an infinity stone.

 

[glenwo2]

Gary Bettman is being willfully obtuse here. It’s like saying there is no correlation between head contact and CTE.

Many studies have proven that an ice hockey rink is a fertile ground for coronavirus spread. It spreads both in the locker room and during team practice. There is no grounds on which it makes sense to infer it would respect team identity during a game.

You mean Bill Daly.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

So...

QuestForStanley is Seney
Glenwo2 is Bratt
My3Sons is Lovejoy

Am I missing anyone?

Jim is Jon Merrill

 

[Guttersniped]

Jim is Jon Merrill

How can he be both Reid Boucher and Jon Merrill?

 

[JimEIV]

Butcher still not good enough to make the lineup.

 

[JimEIV]

Jim is Jon Merrill

Jim was right when he said Mueller would be out of hockey before Merrill. We gave up a 2nd, protectect that loser in the expansion draft and the other loser Moore for absolutely nothing.

 

[Guttersniped]

So do they go through game footage and try and determine who sits beside each other on the bench? Sure doesn't seem so, or more than just Palmieri and Zajac would have went on the list on Saturday and Sunday.

I don’t like to play amateur internet immunologist but that sounds ludicrous. “Six feet” isn’t some magical barrier and it isn’t likely enough when players are indoors with circulated air, heavily breathing without masks.

The NHL obviously doesn’t want to postpone games unless it “has” to so they are letting potentially infected players continue to play and hiding behind negative test results.

I sympathize with the NHL in so far as I don’t actually have any good suggestions on how this could be done well. Starting the season sooner and having more time for postponed games would have helped but that wasn’t really a possibility.

 

[Edmonton East]

Apparently some people still don't understand that, on average, it takes 5ish days to show symptoms (if you aren't asymptomatic entirely). You are also very likely to test negative in the first few days of having the virus...even though you are contagious during much of this time.

So all the hindsight stuff on here (mainboard included) is pretty funny. Apparently some misinformed people had unrealistic expectations. This could have happened to any team.

And common sense should deter people from comparing to other sports. Let's see:

• baseball - minimal contact. lots of space
• football - games only once a week. Much larger facilities generally (more sqft/per person). Often practice in position groups.
• basketball - way less people. Also easier to be more "protective" when not 1/5 on the court. Likewise, you are interacting with less people on the other team.

Hockey has it the worst because:

• lots of games in a tight window
• lots of contact
• constantly engaging with the ENTIRE TEAM due to nature of the game. Line changes/short shifts. Unlike any other sport, obviously. Constantly engaging with more opponents as well.

TL;DR - Context needs to be applied. Hockey is the toughest game to prevent spread since you interact with more teammates and opponents, while playing a concentrated schedule. Stop whining about the league's protocols. There aren't any perfect solutions.

 

[JimEIV]

This was almost inevitable...every single year the flu runs through NHL teams like clock work.

 

[Guttersniped]

Jim was right when he said Mueller would be out of hockey before Merrill. We gave up a 2nd, protectect that loser in the expansion draft and the other loser Moore for absolutely nothing.

Did Vegas get something of value for Merrill? I seem to remember him playing one playoff game in the bubble for a team that went to the Western Conference Finals and then they got nothing.

In his 4th season after the Expansion Draft, Merrill signed 900k deal to play on the second worst team in the NHL. That’s a player you don’t mind losing, I hope we lose the equivalent player in the Seattle draft.

 

[JimEIV]

Did Vegas get something of value for Merrill? I seem to remember him playing one playoff game in the bubble for a team that went to the Western Conference Finals and then they got nothing.

In his 4th season after the Expansion Draft, Merrill signed 900k deal to play on the second worst team in the NHL. That’s a player you don’t mind losing, I hope we lose the equivalent player in the Seattle draft.

Id much rather have kept the 2nd , 4th and Merrill. Do we know we those picks were? I don't.

 

[Guttersniped]

Id much rather have kept the 2nd , 4th and Merrill. Do we know we those picks were? I don't.

The Mueller trade was bad, I won’t defend that. In fact, I bitch about Shero trading seven 2nds (4 of our own!) away pretty often.

San Jose turned that pick into Mario Ferraro who’s actually already solid young defenseman for them. A real good pick.