Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part II

[RSeen]

I think this is going to be the move.

I wonder if there would be any targets with two or three more years left like McCann or O’Reilly that might be a better short and long term fit.

I know your lineup is just the base assumption, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Meier ends up on line 3 to diversify the offense especially if we add a top six option.

I'd like either of those adds. Probably going to cost you at least Casey. McCann though I can't see the Kraken trading.

Meier also I think has been too good with Nico at even strength.

 

[GameSeven]

Who's the guy who writes the book on team defensive schemes? I'd like to see how he assesses this year's team compared to last. We've certainly had some overall personnel improvements, but structurally they are far more sound than they were under Lindy.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

okay some of these are actually pretty good (thread)

 

[Zippy316]

Who's the guy who writes the book on team defensive schemes? I'd like to see how he assesses this year's team compared to last. We've certainly had some overall personnel improvements, but structurally they are far more sound than they were under Lindy.

Jack Han, @jhanhky on Twitter.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Who's the guy who writes the book on team defensive schemes? I'd like to see how he assesses this year's team compared to last. We've certainly had some overall personnel improvements, but structurally they are far more sound than they were under Lindy.

Speaking of Lindy, I wonder how his new team is doing defensively.

 

[JimEIV]

Speaking of Lindy, I wonder how his new team is doing defensively.

Not too good. 120 goals against in 35 games. Only 4 teams in the East have given up more... Montreal, Columbus, Philly and Pittsburgh.

They're currently 12th out of 16 teams in Goals Against in the East...but they are 16th out 16 in point percentage.

 

[britdevil]

Lindy Ruff is an abhorrent coach.

 

[Saugus]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you reprobates! May you all have a happy, healthy, and restful holiday season.

I’ve had a good day with my family, and I’m looking forward to taking in a Devils win with my hockey family on Friday!

 

[devilsblood]

I think this is going to be the move.

I wonder if there would be any targets with two or three more years left like McCann or O’Reilly that might be a better short and long term fit.

I know your lineup is just the base assumption, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Meier ends up on line 3 to diversify the offense especially if we add a top six option.

O'Reilly turns 34 in Feb and has 2 years left on his deal after this one.

5v5 pt rate as well as his individual shot rate are very low. Has a few pp points to help his overall totals but he won't be getting pp1 here. Doesn't even play a whole lot on the PK.

His on ice numbers 5v5 are good, and he's still a good faceoff guy, but I'm passing on this deal.

 

[NjDevsRR]

 

[Satans Hockey]

View attachment 951390

This should just be Kreider crying from the players suite watching Monday's game lol

 

[Guttersniped]

 

[Incharge1976]

My brother's Christmas tree.

 

[Lou is God]

Hey that Newark hockey youth baseball cap Jack was donning after the Rangers game, any idea how I can get one?

 

[MadDevil]

you were wrong about:

Adam Larsson
Jack Hughes
Jesper Bratt
Nico Hischier

should I go on?

Considering how all of those worked out for us, let Jim cook.

Anywho...Merry Christmas everybody!

 

[Forge]

His team was putrid to start the year. Struggling to score = +/- and assist totals probably won't be great. It isn't excuse for him to be standing out or not but it will effect his point totals. He also wasn't known to be a player who was going to rack up 70 plus points a season. His ceiling is a smooth two way defensmeman who gives you 50ish points a season. He is still young and he looked good at times last season , better than Luke defensively too.

Can't give up on him too early but if he can be a part of a significant trade for a big piece to really strengthen the Devils roster for a cup run, then do it. Maybe another team is desperate for future defensman and are willing to swap him for a forward prospect as well.

Honestly, I don't think he's a 2 way, 50 point guy. I don't think he's ever going to have the PP time for that and he hasn't shown that he's good enough on the PP to earn that time.

I think he's most likely a 2 way D who snags 30 5 on 5 points a year. May be a few years where he spikes some more points in higher shooting years, but I'm really not expecting prominent point totals from him.

 

[Bleedred]

Lindy Ruff is an abhorrent coach.

I think he's alright and the team was effective in 22-23 under him. I even think it should have been better under him in 21-22, but all the shitty goalies completely tanked that season. I'm pretty sure the expected save percentages were considerably above last season's team, though not as high as 22-23 or this year's team.

Though I was also a huge proponent of firing him after the 21-22 season. I thought he was lucky to get a 22-23 season.

His days as a head coach are likely over after this season, unless the new GM keeps him.

 

[Xirik]

Its been a long long long time of Being a Devils fan and now I finally got a Devils Jersey. Can't wait to don it for a game with all you guys.

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

Its been a long long long time of Being a Devils fan and now I finally got a Devils Jersey. Can't wait to don it for a game with all you guys.

And to all…

 

[Incharge1976]

 

[Dialamo]

Merry Christmas to all!

When we were struggling early on this season and some fans were in despair, I mentioned I always wait until the 30-ish game mark to really assess the performance of the team before throwing in the towel.

With a new coach where the players have to get used to a new system, plus two of our top 4 D in Pesce and Luke being out for the first few weeks, it was evident we needed to wait at least 1/3 of the season in before we made any serious judgements.

Now look at us! 37 games in we are on pace for 108 points. The defense has improved immensely and has been outright dominant for large stretches of games. The offense from the top 6 has been fantastic. Goaltending has also improved despite the valid concerns about Markstrom/Allen. Playoffs are essentially a lock now barring a historic collapse. While fully acknowledging we don't have much playoff experience yet, and that there are a small handful of teams that have better odds of winning it all this year, I like our odds of us being a serious contender for the Stanley Cup.

Currently, our bottom 6 seems to be the main weakness and we are lacking offensive production from there. We are far too reliant on the top 6. Fitz will have to shore that up before or at the trade deadline. I can't recall a single team off the top of my head that went far in the playoffs with little to no impact from the bottom 6.

Then from there, we just got to avoid injuries, hope that our goaltending doesn't implode, and that our defensive structure stays strong. If you combine all those factors, we got a real shot at going far.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Currently, our bottom 6 seems to be the main weakness and we are lacking offensive production from there. We are far too reliant on the top 6. Fitz will have to shore that up before or at the trade deadline. I can't recall a single team off the top of my head that went far in the playoffs with little to no impact from the bottom 6.

I don't really think it's the "bottom 6" that needs improving, more like the 3rd line. This team's 3rd line is kinda crap (if we're talking about team weaknesses). It'd be hard to improve it with the cap issues though.

Getting an upgrade in a 3rd line center and either a top 6 LW to push Palat down or a really solid 3rd line LW (idk which would be more realistic) should probably be on the shopping list.

Meier-Hischier-Nosesen
X-Hughes-Bratt
Palat-X-Mercer
Cotter-Haula-Bastian

or

Meier-Hischier-Nosesen
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
X-X-Mercer
Cotter-Haula-Bastian

something like that...

Me personally, I don't think we need to move Palat down as much as some others here really think it's needed but it'd be another way to "upgrade" the 3rd line

 

[TheBeerNerd]

What do you get for Christmas for the team that has everything? Not just the PDOcast but the CBS Sports power rankings gave us that title. Obviously, middle six help would be ideal. But for now, just enjoy the ride, chums.

 

[Unknown Caller]

What do you get for Christmas for the team that has everything? Not just the PDOcast but the CBS Sports power rankings gave us that title. Obviously, middle six help would be ideal. But for now, just enjoy the ride, chums.

The next step is seeing what this team does in the playoffs. The initial "pressure" was just showing that they could put it all together in the regular season and become a true contender. They're getting their regular season accolades for that now.

The script will completely change in April when all of the power rankings and hype will turn into massive expectations and pressure on this group. We saw teams like Washington, San Jose, Tampa, Colorado, Edmonton, etc. struggle with playoff expectations for years before they finally converted in the playoffs (if ever, in the case of San Jose and Edmonton to date).

Washington against Montreal in 2010 and Tampa against Columbus in 2019 are two prime examples of how regular season hype can quickly convert to an entirely different type of postseason pressure.

It will be interesting to see how this team responds, because they'll likely be a trendy pick to make a deep run and they won't be able to just fly below the radar with minimal expectations like they did in '18 and '23.

 

[TheBeerNerd]

Teams like Florida and Tampa scare me in the playoffs. Florida, because they are mean and tough on all lines. We just don't have the horses to deal with that on our top six unless we've got Noesen with Hischier, and even then, not in a seven game series. Tampa, because they are battle hardened and have our number.

We're on the right track but I think the 14% Cup odds for this year right now are quite a bit too high. That's fine. It's barely ever a straight shot to the top. A deep playoff run is what we need. From there, Fitz will take stock of what we need for that last push and go get it. He's more than earned the benefit of the doubt.