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

[jkrdevil]

Jesper Boqvist has 12 goals / 22 points in 57 games this year. I know points aren't everything. But letting him go isn't a gamble we lost majorly.

That’s more points than Haula, Dowling, and Lazar combined.

 

[Billdo]

Jesper Boqvist has 12 goals / 22 points in 57 games this year. I know points aren't everything. But letting him go isn't a gamble we lost majorly.

I'd absolutely prefer him over Dowling, Haula, Tatar, Bastian, and Lazar. We let him for nothing.

Nemec for JJ P plz

Pageau?

 

[McDuffz88]

Jesper Boqvist has 12 goals / 22 points in 57 games this year. I know points aren't everything. But letting him go isn't a gamble we lost majorly.

It wasn't a major loss but it was unnecessary. I know we had a few centers at the time but there's no such thing as too many centers because they can always play wing if center is crowded. Boqvist isn't a superstar but he adds an element to a bottom 6 which we don't have and definitely need.

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

That’s more points than Haula, Dowling, and Lazar combined.

that's more of a problem about Haula, Dowling and Lazar

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I'd absolutely prefer him over Dowling, Haula, Tatar, Bastian, and Lazar. We let him for nothing.


Pageau?

Paterka

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Holtz sucked because of Jack developing a shot, I'm tired of people using hindsight with Holtz to the umpteenth degree, he was the right pick at the time.

This is false. It was a terrible pick the moment it was made. Anyone with two eyes saw it a mile away.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Dillon-Nemec is a defensive pairing that may be wandering in a forest, getting lost chasing after whatever shining thing catches their eye.

They're going to get dominated. Let's just hope they don't cost us the game.

 

[bossram]

Yanni Gourde and Ryan Donato. See if you can grab 'em Fitz and call it a day.

Or check in on the cost of ROR.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Ahh we are back to the pining for lost JAGs part of the HF cycle

 

[BostonDevil]

Another thing the probably needs to happen is to stop rolling 4 lines to start a game. Give extra shifts early to the Jack and Nico lines and try to get a lead. It’s risky because if they don’t get a lead and fall behind you are burning them out. However, I think they probably get better opportunities to start a game when a team isn’t sitting back than getting those shift late in the game when the other team is in a defensive posture.

The team needs to get leads.

Jack can play all 60

 

[tailfins]

I'd absolutely prefer him over Dowling, Haula, Tatar, Bastian, and Lazar. We let him for nothing.


Pageau?

It wasn't a major loss but it was unnecessary. I know we had a few centers at the time but there's no such thing as too many centers because they can always play wing if center is crowded. Boqvist isn't a superstar but he adds an element to a bottom 6 which we don't have and definitely need.

Boqvist was UFA this past year. We didn’t qualify him and in 2023 and then the Bruins (!) didn’t qualify him in 2024.

Meaning:

1. The Devils had a chance to sign him post McLeod (which is really the relevant timing - Boqvist has no role of McLeod is here). Either he didn’t want to come back or the Devils didn’t want him.

2. The Bruins with their center depth decided no thanks to JBo after seeing him for a year. Take that as you will.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Highly disagree, Fitz is pretty average when it comes to GM's. He's pretty good at trades, dogshit at UFA, pretty good at building at defense, pretty dogshit at building a forward core. Any positive he has is met with a disturbing negative.

He can't play the games too.

He literally checked every box with just about the best available fit for this team. At Coach, in goal, on defense.

At some point you just have to rely on the guys who look so good on paper to actually produce on the ice

Except Fitz drank the kool-aid and got those type of guys by any means necessary after Carolina, guys that were mediocre bums elsewhere but since they ticked that box he signed them for the bottom 6. Curtis Lazar went from playoff scratch to a regular last year/this year pre injury. Guys like Bastian/MacDermid making around 2M when you could adequate depth pieces in UFA for a single player for that price. And correct, trading Zetterlund was a mistake because he's the exact piece that this team has been looking for in the bottom 6 but it's one of his lesser mistakes because he still added someone of value in Timo Meier. Fitz's bigger mistakes is when he goes into UFA or traded for bozos like MacDermid who add no value to this team. Fitz's obsession with Blake Coleman also led him to over drafting Chase Stillman, the guy is a complete dunce on the forward side of the puck and I don't see how anyone has legit faith in him turning that side of the puck around.

Except it isn't the grit guys who are the problem. It is our high priced stars

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

This is false. It was a terrible pick the moment it was made. Anyone with two eyes saw it a mile away.

Kind of Disagree. The devils needed a goal scorer at the time of the draft. Holtz had a lot of attributes that the Devils needed. But the skating and lack of defense was something the scouts bet on New Jersey to fix in developing Holtz, and in hindsight they got the development of Holtz and the pick wrong.

 

[dzubrus8]

Nemec for JJ P plz

Not to single you out but can someone give the scouting report on Peterka? His counting stats are reminiscent of Mercer early years

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Kind of Disagree. The devils needed a goal scorer at the time of the draft. Holtz had a lot of attributes that the Devils needed. But the skating and lack of defense was something the scouts bet on New Jersey to fix in developing Holtz, and in hindsight they got the development of Holtz and the pick wrong.

He just lacked the talent to justify being selected that high. Weak, slow players almost never translate into effective NHLers. I had him ranked outside the top 25. He had no business being a top 10 pick in what was a fairly deep draft.

These are the kind of stupid mistakes that happen when you draft for a specific role instead of BPA. We made the same moronic decision when we took Nemec over Cooley.

This isn't revisionist history either. This was very obvious to tons of other posters at the time.