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

[njdevils1982]

The problem isn’t the green jersey. It is the red pants. If you go green jersey, green pants, red socks (kind of like the Bruins used to do with yellow socks with black jersey) it would look better.

agree, red pants are terrible

i've posted about it so many times according to the search function

 

[Whaddagoal]

Him and Skoula were just back-to-back trade deadline acquisitions in years that we flamed out in the first round. They weren't necessarily bad, but they brought nothing to the table. Easy cop out for me to list them.

Skoula too....lol.

Havelid was a good core D guy while with thrashers, so I just guess we got him on his last legs.

Yeah those I guess it falls in line with the grabner-esque trade. Bunch of nothing.

 

[Patrik26]

I thought for certain he was going to be out much longer.

Wait for the medical/training staff to get a hold of him.

 

[Whaddagoal]

I simply can't stand Blackwood. He ruined so many games for us numerous times that I hope he eventually flounders in Colorado as well.

Salmela was garbage, sucked defensively and was on the ice for so many goals for that 2010-11 season. That OT goal vs the Islanders was great but that's all he had.

Stephen Gionta represents everything wrong with those garbage teams post 2012. He got way too much credit for helping during that run that it gave him way too long of a leash for all the season after where we had to watch him skate around and do f*** all offensively no matter how much the coaches tried to make him into something he wasn't.

Jacob definitely gets heat for being a #1 for me and cause he sucked. He represents so much of the bad drafting we had in the later years post all the playoff runs. So many better players were drafted after him too.

Thanks for the details. I am with you on the YAYO and Gionta symbolism, but hard for me to be on S gio. He tried and tried... Probably better then than Bastian is for us today.

 

[Whaddagoal]

We went from "oh it's just a mild sprain probably", yesterday, to 4-6 weeks.

I mean I get it isn't like surgery break/tear major sprain but I mean... Sorry guys 4-6 weeks is not mild to me, so the NJD media + msg upselling that kinda funny.

Mild would be, missed a week or two max.

 

[Emperoreddy]

We went from "oh it's just a mild sprain probably", yesterday, to 4-6 weeks.

I mean I get it isn't like surgery break/tear major sprain but I mean... Sorry guys 4-6 weeks is not mild to me, so the NJD media + msg upselling that kinda funny.

Mild would be, missed a week or two max.

That is mild. Major is surgery and the season most likely done or at best back by late March.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

We went from "oh it's just a mild sprain probably", yesterday, to 4-6 weeks.

I mean I get it isn't like surgery break/tear major sprain but I mean... Sorry guys 4-6 weeks is not mild to me, so the NJD media + msg upselling that kinda funny.

Mild would be, missed a week or two max.

Not having structural damage and being able to come back at all is a huge relief to me.

 

[Smitty426]

It was one data point, but I thought Dowling had a good game. I hope he doesn't get bumped out. Dowling thinks the game pretty quickly and doesn't seem like a defensive liability at all. If he was a bit larger, I would be more excited about him.

Huy finally got a shot in a game.
I guess there's that
The bottom of this team needs a refresh

 

[Bleedred]

If it’s on the lower end of the 4-6 weeks then he could be back in the first game back from the break, which is 4 weeks from tomorrow night.

 

[billingtons ghost]

JP Gambatese had a Twitter thread on this but the best performing bottom sixes in the league are FLA, DAL and VGK, who get about 1/3rd of their goal scoring from those guys. Multiple conference finals, not to mention cup finals, for all of them. Our bottom six accounts for 1/4th. It is a problem and in the playoffs you need unsung heroes. I don't think the current group is capable of that.

The cap is what it is, you have to deal with it. You're trading a 50-60 pt d-man with middling defense to add 100+ points up front with that cap space. The team is good defensively and I'd argue that has far more to do with Keefe than the personnel playing in the bottom six.

Luke will have an uptick in points - his kind of luck always reverses itself. Nemec will be sheltered with Dillon and you can roll the other two pairs for 22 minutes a night.

If you take the empty nets out of it, we have lost quite a few one goal games. That extra jump up front is absolutely the difference. You can look at the latest game against Boston and how good things happen when you get the third line going and the top two lines still control play, even if they're cold at 5v5.

I agree with all of this.
I just don't think we need to acquire a better bottom 6 player. I think we need to add a top6 player to the mix that pushes a 15-20g Noesen, Palat, Mercer, Haula permanently out of the top6.

What we saw last night is great but not sustainable with Cotter/Basty alongside Jack, but by pushing Timo and Mercers game forward it shows what could happen if our talent filters down. But Zucker, Palms etc would be the right type of player.

(I can't imagine it, but if the Bruins/Pens collapse further.. Marchand as a rental would be a cup-winning type move.. or Rust would slot in sooo nicely)

 

[Billdo]

We went from "oh it's just a mild sprain probably", yesterday, to 4-6 weeks.

I mean I get it isn't like surgery break/tear major sprain but I mean... Sorry guys 4-6 weeks is not mild to me, so the NJD media + msg upselling that kinda funny.

Mild would be, missed a week or two max.

I think having an issue with the terms as it relates to the injury is obviously subjective but this is mild. Major would be months not weeks, mild is weeks, and day to day is a week or two IMO.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Not having structural damage and being able to come back at all is a huge relief to me.

That is mild. Major is surgery and the season most likely done or at best back by late March.

I think having an issue with the terms as it relates to the injury is obviously subjective but this is mild. Major would be months not weeks, mild is weeks, and day to day is a week or two IMO.

Oh it's a relief too, I'm happy about that.

I'm just questioning the usage of mild the way it was reported just prior. I guess medically it is a "mild grade sprain", but as a fan I don't consider a guy who misses a month and a half to have a mild injury..

No point in really debating too much, it's more an interpretation / semantics on my end

Good he is not needing surgery or the like, at least not yet.

 

[Normal Devil]

Site is back to being unbearable on mobile with all the ads smh

Yeah .. it's terrible. Also embedded tweets aren't showing up for me. Can't read what people are posting .. annoying!

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

Martin Skoula? We talking about puck poise ?!

 

[tailfins]

Martin Skoula? We talking about puck poise ?!

I was always amused that Lemaire called him Skoulala. I thought there was a thing behind it. Just googled, though, and Lemaire says it's just a French thing

Martin Skoula, Andrew Peters in for NJ Devils; Mark Fraser, Jay Pandolfo will sit

Martin Brodeur in goal against Oilers

www.nj.com

 

[NjDevsRR]

Martin Skoula? We talking about puck poise ?!

 

[NjDevsRR]

 

[HoliksGhost]

I agree with all of this.
I just don't think we need to acquire a better bottom 6 player. I think we need to add a top6 player to the mix that pushes a 15-20g Noesen, Palat, Mercer, Haula permanently out of the top6.

What we saw last night is great but not sustainable with Cotter/Basty alongside Jack, but by pushing Timo and Mercers game forward it shows what could happen if our talent filters down. But Zucker, Palms etc would be the right type of player.

(I can't imagine it, but if the Bruins/Pens collapse further.. Marchand as a rental would be a cup-winning type move.. or Rust would slot in sooo nicely)

Absolutely, if you have playoff success in mind, you add so you can push players down !

Yeah .. it's terrible. Also embedded tweets aren't showing up for me. Can't read what people are posting .. annoying!

I’ll never understand why I can’t stay logged in

 

[devilsblood]

Can you find one player from last season that scored 35 goals without playing the majority of the time on their team's first PP unit? Seriously. One. Just one.

Name a newly minted $9mil winger who is not on their teams top PP unit.

 

[bossram]

Name a newly minted $9mil winger who is not on their teams top PP unit.

So the answer to my question is no, you can't find one then, correct? Players who score 35+ goals typically get a large chunk on PP1.

Sure. To your question, Meier is one. Because it is unusual a club would commit $9M to a winger and then decide not to use them on the PP, when ostensibly a large chunk of their value would come on the PP. That'd be like signing Brett Pesce or Brendan Dillon and deciding not to play them on the PK.

 

[Devs3cups]

Name a newly minted $9mil winger who is not on their teams top PP unit.

That's a good question that got me thinking. Found a few very good forwards (with high AAVs) who don't play on their team's 1st PP unit, some with recent extensions. From what I can see, that list includes Brayden Point, Pavel Buchnevich and William Nylander.

Not trying to make a point, was just curious about who were the highly paid forwards in the league who didn't play on the top unit.

 

[devilsblood]

That's a good question that got me thinking. Found a few very good forwards who don't play on their team's 1st PP unit, some with recent extensions. From what I can see, that list includes Brayden Point, Pavel Buchnevich and William Nylander.

Not trying to make a point, was just curious about who were the highly paid forwards in the league who didn't play on the top unit.

I was shooting from the hip. I've got the top paid list up. Still need to cross over to the PP.

One player I saw who was just signed to a big contract and who has underwhelmed is PL Dubois. I'm doubting he's on the top PP unit.

Edit: all 3 of the guys you mention are on their teams top pp units.

 

[Andre Palot]

all the bolded above (ryder, matteau, corrente, boucher, brunner, grabner) plus:

andreas johnsson
drew stafford
mike cammalleri
joseph blandisi
juri tlusty
beau bennett
will butcher

Tedenbust

Alleged NHL defenseman Brendan Smith

JON 'POWERHOUSE OF CARDS' GILLIES

Krys Barch

'THE OG GREEK FREAK' Tom Kostopolous

Oh and dishonorable mention to Andrew Peters

 

[devilsblood]

So the answer to my question is no, you can't find one then, correct? Players who score 35+ goals typically get a large chunk on PP1.

Sure. To your question, Meier is one. Because it is unusual a club would commit $9M to a winger and then decide not to use them on the PP, when ostensibly a large chunk of their value would come on the PP. That'd be like signing Brett Pesce or Brendan Dillon and deciding not to play them on the PK.

Not being on the top PP is part of not meeting expectations. He's not on PK'r and he's not scoring goals at 5v5 at a good rate either.

But again, we get a reset here with his big game on the 3rd line. If he drives that line and changes the narrative from "our bottom 6 sucks" to "our top 9 is great" then that is serious value added.

 

[bossram]

Not being on the top PP is part of not meeting expectations. He's not on PK'r and he's not scoring goals at 5v5 at a good rate either.

But again, we get a reset here with his big game on the 3rd line. If he drives that line and changes the narrative from "our bottom 6 sucks" to "our top 9 is great" then that is serious value added.

I don't think Timo decided to go to the coach and say, "hey, don't put me on PP1". If you sign an offensive player, don't play him on the PP, and wonder why he isn't scoring as much, that's on you.