Devils 2021 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part XXII

[Lou is God]

Agree that Johnsson is not a top 6 forward. We don’t exactly have much in terms of top 6 forwards tho and if he was good enough to play on a line with Austin Matthews(which he did quite a bit from my recollection), than he’s good enough to play with Jack Hughes. someone like a Patrick Laine would be better obviously but we don’t have anyone like that.

Matthews is a goal scorer and a totally different player than Jack, you can't compare the two. Damn, you really have it for Hughes. You do realize you're crapping on a 19-year old, right?

 

[Omar Little]

Eh the projection of the team next year relies heavily on improvements from Nico and Hughes, way more than it does anything else. Picking up some 40-45 point veteran winger won't make near as much a difference than it will if we have two lines with 50+ point centers. If they don't make improvements we'll be horrible either way.

Both things can be true. This teams needs players it can rely on game in and game out on offense.

That used to be Palmieri, Coleman, and to a lesser extent Zajac. We need people who can be looked to contribute consistently while young guys find their games and to your point the bigger guys (Hischier, Hughes, Bratt, and maybe Zacha) find a next level

 

[Lou is God]

I can read a birth certificate... doesn’t change the fact that it’s a horrendous lineup. Are we spending money to win games or have the youngest lineup in the league?

Wow..... have a good day.

 

[Blackjack]

Is this a hypothetical line-up for 2021-22?

I don't see Gusev or Zajac back with the team. I think Maltsev will be the third-line center next season, he's looked very good. I also see Kuokkanen sticking in the line-up, he's also done an admirable job all year long slotting all over the line up. I'm going to repeat -- without making it the point -- that I feel Johnsson will be bought out or traded with some salary retained over the off-season. We also have to keep in mind that -- no guarantees of course -- Mercer, Foote and Holtz will also be vying for line-up slots next season.

Here's my guess for the line-up, barring of course trades and/or UFA signings:

Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Sharangovich-Hughes-Mercer
Wood-Maltsev-Kuokkanen
Foote-McLeod-Bastian

It's probably worth pointing out that this forward lineup wouldn't even come close to hitting the cap floor unless we spent like $20-$30 million on the defense (and that includes keeping PK). Zajac, Palmieri, and Gusev alone are like $15 million coming off.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Gotta love arguing semantics about what “injury prone” means to avoid any kind of discussion around concerns with Nico’s durability. Because him playing a style that involves recklessly going into the dirty areas (not necessarily a bad thing mind you) and reacting like he’s been hit by a Mack truck anytime he takes some heavy physical contact on the ice and missing double digit games every year...certainly none of that is enough to make you even consider it...not when it involves one of the prized young toys! Anything remotely negative about them must be attributed to randomness and/or the fault of others, and saying otherwise makes you hockey ignorant.

Peak HF.

literally WHAT are you even talking about? My god.

 

[hidek91]

Is this a hypothetical line-up for 2021-22?

I don't see Gusev or Zajac back with the team. I think Maltsev will be the third-line center next season, he's looked very good. I also see Kuokkanen sticking in the line-up, he's also done an admirable job all year long slotting all over the line up. I'm going to repeat -- without making it the point -- that I feel Johnsson will be bought out or traded with some salary retained over the off-season. We also have to keep in mind that -- no guarantees of course -- Mercer, Foote and Holtz will also be vying for line-up slots next season.

Here's my guess for the line-up, barring of course trades and/or UFA signings:

Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Sharangovich-Hughes-Mercer
Wood-Maltsev-Kuokkanen
Foote-McLeod-Bastian

Agree on Gusev and Johnsson, if the latter keeps his current level of play, we'd be better off buying him out, also I feel that the he should have been scratched few times already. I think that Maltsev has still a lot to prove, especially if we were to slot him as a top9 forward, I don't think he creates opportunities and out of 4 goals he scored, one was ENG and two were flukes. I think potential is there but as of today, I'd like to see more to give him a nod to be top9 center. Regarding Zajac, I actually like his recent play and how he silently makes Kuokkanen and Sharangovich better, if he was willing to take cheap one year deal (and it doesn't seem like he will have better options), I'd be more than happy to keep him as a #4C or in the worst case scenario, as an extra forward.

I also think that this team could use one UFA signing a'la Boyle, some positive bottom six forward presence to help develop the kids.

 

[Lou is God]

Yeah but that’s what I’m getting at. The line mateexcuse can only get us so far. At the end of the day, if the team is going to build their offense around Hughes as an elite player, elite players produce no matter who is on the ice. And it’s not like his wingers are Cam Janssen and Eric Boulton. Johansson was able to produce playing with skilled players in the past.

Yes, Hughes is young and there’s some middle ground between understanding he’s still learning and expecting him to produce. But even with that in mind, 8 points in 23 games getting top line minutes is completely underwhelming, especially with what we saw he is capable of at the beginning of the year.

He's 19-years old, I know some of you guys know that but you talk like you don't. This will get better with him but it's not going to happen overnight especially when you got him surrounded with players his own age and veterans who are playing like they're over the hill.

Hughes is going to a very good player for us, there is no reason doubt that at this juncture.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Between Nico, Gusev, and Palmieri we might as well be missing half of our projected top-6. Zacha can be in the top-6 if and only if he plays wing. Bratt is fine in the top-6, even when he's "bad" he's still one of the most productive forwards on the team and still has room to grow.

Johnsson and Wood are bottom-6 players. Kuokkanen, Sharangovich, and Maltsev are all fine young players but neither is a top-6 talent. Maybe Foote and Boqvist can be, but that remains to be seen. Mercer and Holtz will be top-6 forwards but we shouldn't expect them to come in and immediately play at that level.

We need at least two good forwards from trade or UFA. There are slim pickings in terms of quality free agent forwards this year but some potentially interesting cap casualties to take advantage of through trade.

 

[StevenToddIves]

No offense Steven but if that’s what our roster looks like next year, we’re fighting for another top #5 pick.

That is a horrible set of forwards to be competing with at the NHL level and the fact that you didn’t even bother to throw up our d pairings is pretty telling. We have prospects and that’s great but we need proven talent to get the best out of our prospects because judging by the 2021-22 roster listed above, I think we have an even worst team then we do now.

Not crapping on your roster because you’re just going based off what we have, I’m just saying that we can’t head into 2021-22 with what you’ve listed.

Oh, I believe the Devils will acquire a top 6 winger this off-season, whether by trade or UFA. But I'm just going with the players the Devils already have, minus the players they will likely lose (Palmieri, Zajac, Gusev) or likely try to lose (Johnsson).

Looking at the 2021 UFA list, there are no easy answers. Landeskog is very likely to stay in Colorado. I don't see Hall coming back. Nugent-Hopkins is an interesting candidate. The under-the-radar name which appealed to me most was Jaden Schwartz. I also like the idea of getting a young RFA from a team with cap issues like Jakub Vrana. Vancouver also strikes me as a team for the Devils to watch -- they already have cap issues and Pettersson is a RFA. Maybe they'd be willing to part with a guy like JT Miller in the right deal?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Matthews is a goal scorer and a totally different player than Jack, you can't compare the two. Damn, you really have it for Hughes. You do realize you're crapping on a 19-year old, right?

I’m really not crapping on him, I think he has tons of talent and potential but he hasn’t been playing well enough since that hot start and I hope for more from him. This opinion seems to be upsetting you.

 

[StevenToddIves]

It's probably worth pointing out that this forward lineup wouldn't even come close to hitting the cap floor unless we spent like $20-$30 million on the defense (and that includes keeping PK). Zajac, Palmieri, and Gusev alone are like $15 million coming off.

I was thinking the Devils would put all of us on their HFBoards threads on their payroll to get over the cap floor.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I've posted this before, but here is the ideal "future" top 9 lineup IMO, as we stand right now...

XXX-Hughes-XXX
Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Wood-Mercer-Kuokkanen
(4th line is whatever to me)

I think you need to find players for those few XXX slots. Obviously, you have a bunch of guys like Sharangovich, Foote, Holtz, Clarke, Thompson, etc coming up who may or may not be able to fill those roles.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Agree on Gusev and Johnsson, if the latter keeps his current level of play, we'd be better off buying him out, also I feel that the he should have been scratched few times already. I think that Maltsev has still a lot to prove, especially if we were to slot him as a top9 forward, I don't think he creates opportunities and out of 4 goals he scored, one was ENG and two were flukes. I think potential is there but as of today, I'd like to see more to give him a nod to be top9 center. Regarding Zajac, I actually like his recent play and how he silently makes Kuokkanen and Sharangovich better, if he was willing to take cheap one year deal (and it doesn't seem like he will have better options), I'd be more than happy to keep him as a #4C or in the worst case scenario, as an extra forward.

I also think that this team could use one UFA signing a'la Boyle, some positive bottom six forward presence to help develop the kids.

I really like the idea of UFA Ryan Nugget-Hopkins as the Devils 3C and top LW on the 1PP. But there's sure to be a ton of competition for him, he's a really terrific player.

 

[Lou is God]

Between Nico, Gusev, and Palmieri we might as well be missing half of our projected top-6. Zacha can be in the top-6 if and only if he plays wing. Bratt is fine in the top-6, even when he's "bad" he's still one of the most productive forwards on the team and still has room to grow.

Johnsson and Wood are bottom-6 players. Kuokkanen, Sharangovich, and Maltsev are all fine young players but neither is a top-6 talent. Maybe Foote and Boqvist can be, but that remains to be seen. Mercer and Holtz will be top-6 forwards but we shouldn't expect them to come in and immediately play at that level.

We need at least two good forwards from trade or UFA. There are slim pickings in terms of quality free agent forwards this year but some potentially interesting cap casualties to take advantage of through trade.

This is a good point in the sense we're doing a good job drafting the talent but when it comes to signing or trading for top talent, we're missing the boat.

We can't have another quiet off season where our biggest move is a borderline Top 6 forward (Johnsson).

 

[Nocashstyle]

He's 19-years old, I know some of you guys know that but you talk like you don't. This will get better with him but it's not going to happen overnight especially when you got him surrounded with players his own age and veterans who are playing like they're over the hill.

Hughes is going to a very good player for us, there is no reason doubt that at this juncture.

I know how old he is. It doesn’t change the fact his production has basically remained the same since last year. It’s not outlandish to point that out as a concern. I’m not saying I don’t think he will be a star player, but I also just don’t understand why the excuses constantly get piled on when anything remotely critical of Hughes is said. Let’s call a spade a spade...his production has been underwhelming and regardless of linesmates/luck/age/schedule/whatever you want to argue...he’s capable of producing more than he has.

 

[StevenToddIves]

This is a good point in the sense we're doing a good job drafting the talent but when it comes to signing or trading for top talent, we're missing the boat.

We can't have another quiet off season where our biggest move is a borderline Top 6 forward (Johnsson).

I'll agree with "borderline top 6 forward" if you edit out "top 6".

 

[Lou is God]

I'll agree with "borderline top 6 forward" if you edit out "top 6".

You at the get go called Johnsson for what he is, hats off to you.

 

[jkrdevil]

I've posted this before, but here is the ideal "future" top 9 lineup IMO, as we stand right now...

XXX-Hughes-XXX
Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Wood-Mercer-Kuokkanen
(4th line is whatever to me)

I think you need to find players for those few XXX slots. Obviously, you have a bunch of guys like Sharangovich, Foote, Holtz, Clarke, Thompson, etc coming up who may or may not be able to fill those roles.

I still think you need more. Primarily because I’m not sure if Zacha and Bratt are second line type players on a good team. At the very least one of them would have to be slotted lower.

Needless to say there are a lot of holes to fill on this team.

 

[hidek91]

I really like the idea of UFA Ryan Nugget-Hopkins as the Devils 3C and top LW on the 1PP. But there's sure to be a ton of competition for him, he's a really terrific player.

RNH is a much bigger commitment than Boyle, I think that a player like him may get 7 years even in a COVID era. A terrific player but the risk would also be there.

 

[guitarguyvic]

He's 19-years old, I know some of you guys know that but you talk like you don't. This will get better with him but it's not going to happen overnight especially when you got him surrounded with players his own age and veterans who are playing like they're over the hill.

Hughes is going to a very good player for us, there is no reason doubt that at this juncture.

The bolded statement is where I just scratch my head at the pure homerism. There can be “no doubt”? Based on what? He hasn’t proven jack shit. He may still because he’s 19, but to say there’s no doubt about it? Also how do you define “very good”? Dainus Zubrus was a very good player for us...if Jack maxed out at similar production we are not going to be winning more games than losing anytime soon.

What I notice is that there’s very little honest discussion of what’s actually happening in the present. Everything in the present is either dismissed by some excuse unrelated to the player himself or is deflected to talk about the future.

I hope Jack becomes the kind of player that can turn the fortunes of this team (ie live up the expectations of a 1st OA). But what I’ve seen from him so far, last year and presently, doesn’t give me “no doubt” that he will. And I honestly have no idea how anyone can objectively make a statement of such confidence.

 

[Clam Jensen]

Fitz has to go and make trades.

Get rid of the deadwood first. Then bring in some talent at the draft/free agency. Time to start spending.

 

[Lou is God]

I know how old he is. It doesn’t change the fact his production has basically remained the same since last year. It’s not outlandish to point that out as a concern. I’m not saying I don’t think he will be a star player, but I also just don’t understand why the excuses constantly get piled on when anything remotely critical of Hughes is said. Let’s call a spade a spade...his production has been underwhelming and regardless of linesmates/luck/age/schedule/whatever you want to argue...he’s capable of producing more than he has.

I'll call him a spade when he's ready to be a spade, for all intents and purposes this is Jack's rookie year, he's not a young player like Lafreniere or Kakko where they were physically more ready for the NHL, he's going to get stronger and he's going to get better based on his work ethic. I guess I'm the only one in the room not worried about this kid, but I've been wrong before.

 

[MartyOwns]

people i would target as UFA's:

tier 1: hall (2 year max), pearson, coleman (never going to happen), tatar, hoffman

backup/tire kicking tier: galchenyuk, hinostroza, sheary, sheahan, hoffman, chiasson

 

[NJDevs26]

All of you knock off the name calling and sniping on the board before we start thread banning people and giving out suspensions.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

The bolded statement is where I just scratch my head at the pure homerism. There can be “no doubt”? Based on what? He hasn’t proven jack shit. He may still because he’s 19, but to say there’s no doubt about it? Also how do you define “very good”? Dainus Zubrus was a very good player for us...if Jack maxed out at similar production we are not going to be winning more games than losing anytime soon.

What I notice is that there’s very little honest discussion of what’s actually happening in the present. Everything in the present is either dismissed by some excuse unrelated to the player himself or is deflected to talk about the future.

I hope Jack becomes the kind of player that can turn the fortunes of this team (ie live up the expectations of a 1st OA). But what I’ve seen from him so far, last year and presently, doesn’t give me “no doubt” that he will. And I honestly have no idea how anyone can objectively make a statement of such confidence.

Hughes has struggled a bit the past 2-3 weeks to get points up and has had some bad puck luck and even WITH That he has increased his points per game like 75% since last year. What did you expect him to be this year, exactly? How many 19 year old players not named McDavid actually go out there and totally dominate games?

Did you expect Hughes to be a ppg player at 19 years old, on this shitty roster? Maybe thats your own fault?