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

[Guadana]

But the point is they already did, right? They've constantly moved material assets as if this team is a contender RIGHT NOW. As time has passed, now the top forwards are in their primes (aside from often injured Jack). So now if you pull back and start trying to build slow, you have an over the hill forward core and pretty much no one to replace them. Like I said in July, these type of contradictory moves by a GM put teams in purgatory forever. What made sense last offseason for THIS TEAM was to take a smaller swing at goalie (Allen trade never made sense either. This org blatantly doesn't understand the goalie market) like the Caps did and focus on adding C depth and a middle wing, both under 30. You certainly couldn't get NEITHER....but Fitz gonna Fitz. He's created a potential roster construction timing nightmare.

All the answers are in other post. You are making wrong conclusions, from my posts too.

 

[DrBSmooth]

Casey as winger when?

 

[NjDevsRR]

I said last night I was taking time off the boards until Friday night, but I am back.

After sleeping it off last night, here are my thoughts.

Last night may have been the toughest regular season loss I have witnessed in my 27 years watching this team. It was a tough pill to swallow because they really did play a good 40 mins yesterday after Hamilton went down, against a VERY good team on the road. Even though that is the kind of loss that may kill them, I still have some hope.

First is our upcoming schedule after Friday. Two versus Columbus which will be pseudo playoff games. Flyers, Pitt in that stretch as well. The team still controls their destiny.

With all of their warts, this team is still top 3 in goal differential in the East and top 3 in goals against in the entire league. That alone may drag them into the postseason.

Third, the TDL. With lots of cap to play with and with a GM who I think is feeling the heat, there will be moves made. This week I need a center and a winger. I like the guy but Haula is cooked. He is a detriment and he needs less minutes. Dowling tries hard but he isn’t NHL caliber. I also would target a Suter type rental player to help the backend.

Fourth, I see a fire in Timo’s game lately. I think the Nico Bratt Timo line will produce a lot this month. Get them some secondary scoring behind them.

Get some life into the team and I think they can hold down the fort in these last 19 games. If not then April will be UGLY at home. I understand they probably won’t make noise in the postseason, but I want postseason hockey. Us fans deserve it. The team also needs it so they can continue to grow.


I still have some hope left. LGD.

 

[guitarguyvic]

It would be nice if certain players didn't fall off a cliff this year. Haula is only 33 , Lazar around 30 , Bastian in his late 20's , Mercer not developing into a legit top 6 wing (stats wise)... Yeah stuff like that isnt really Fitzgerald's fault. None of those guys are really old either. I think some of the misses in the Draft like taking Chase Stilman and to an extent Nemec over Cooley/Wright are biting the Devils in the ass. That's not to say we have been bad overall at drafting though.

You can shoulder some of the blame on Fitzgerald but he addressed the goaltending, defense and getting bigger/tougher this past offseason. I'm not really to sure what I think about Keefe but he did bring in a coach who is an upgrade over Lindy. The hardest thing to do is build a high scoring team... You want him to keep trading away picks and prospects to patch holes ? If this team doesn't win anything then they will be back to rebuild mode in a few seasons. You think Jack will want to stay through that ?

The level of decline from those guys may have been a bit unpredictable, but some of us have been calling out the lack of forward depth on this team since after the 2022-23 season. How frequently were we saying, “This team is one top 6 injury away from being a lottery level team on offense”? You’re telling me that GM can’t be held responsible for an issue that regular fans on message boards identified two years ago?

This team is supposed to be in its cup contending window NOW. It’s nice that he addressed the defense and goaltending, but he did at the sacrifice of forward depth and even the mobility of the D which hurts offense further. And that’s just not good enough for where this team is supposed to be five years after drafting Jack.

 

[MadDevil]

Not sure I understand the discourse around Jack having an attitude problem. Maybe I’ve missed some things but he seems liked by his teammates and the staff.

But he's mean to the poor old reporters.

 

[Edmonton East]

All the answers are in other post. You are making wrong conclusions, from my posts too.

I mean I still disagree with 90% of what ya said, so no, I'm not drawing the wrong conclusions. You even defend the Palat contract TODAY somehow, which ironically is a big reason this team has no real depth and has had its hands tied for multiple offseasons. So we'll just have to agree to disagree and move on.

 

[Guadana]

Having Rossi or Jarvis would help a lot right now.

Absolutely. I think that was more realistic alternative than in Nemec-Cooley case.And I Nemec is looking much better for his pick than Holtz was.

 

[Zacha37]

Absolutely. I think that was more realistic alternative than in Nemec-Cooley case.And I Nemec is looking much better for his pick than Holtz was.

Shane Wright probably would be the realistic alternative, who in my opinion definitely should’ve been the pick in that spot.

 

[Guadana]

I mean I still disagree with 90% of what ya said, so no, I'm not drawing the wrong conclusions. You even defend the Palat contract TODAY somehow, which ironically is a big reason this team has no real depth and has had its hands tied for multiple offseasons. So we'll just have to agree to disagree and move on.

Im not a black and white guy. I dont see how Palat deal is really hurting us. It doesnt mean I like the deal now. Again - you are making wrong conclusions and you dont have right arguments for your takes. Trading top-4 level young defensemen (or even top-2 potentially) is wrong strategy because wingers are cheaper. There are nothing to agree or disagree. Its a fact. If we are not talking about Bratt-level winger or higher.

 

[Mgd31]

Speaking of goal differential, I wonder what the record is for highest goal differential for a team to miss the playoffs. We have been hovering around +30 for a while it seems, even while dropping games left and right.

Would be hilarious if we end up around there and miss.

Okay, I'll go jump off a bridge, thanks.

 

[Guadana]

Shane Wright probably would be the realistic alternative, who in my opinion definitely should’ve been the pick in that spot.

We needed defensemen, Nemec was a player with higher ceiling and he was even more NHL ready year ago. Wright isnt playing with pressure and with competition now. Cooley shown very promising skills and iq, between two players Fitz picked right defenseman for obvious reasons. Am I agree with him there? Its not that hard to not agree now, even with myself. Between Nemec and Wright - for now I still agree.

 

[Edmonton East]

Im not a black and white guy. I dont see how Palat deal is really hurting us. It doesnt mean I like the deal now. Again - you are making wrong conclusions and you dont have right arguments for your takes. Trading top-4 level young defensemen (or even top-2 potentially) is wrong strategy because wingers are cheaper. There are nothing to agree or disagree. Its a fact. If we are not talking about Bratt-level winger or higher.

???? Bruh, you haven't logically refuted a single point I made. Not a single one. But sure, I don't have the right arguments. Okay. But again, I'm debating with someone who won't even admit the Palat contract handicapped this team in possible moves over the last couple years. Because, you know, THE CAP EXISTS. Cya

 

[bossram]

Even after Jack's injury, I was still saying they need to play for this season and should be buying at the deadline (with the caveat that Jack would be back for the playoffs).

After last night....y'know, maybe they're just cursed. And that's how it is.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Not sure I understand the discourse around Jack having an attitude problem. Maybe I’ve missed some things but he seems liked by his teammates and the staff.

I’m not gonna say I buy into it either, but I can see where someone could have such a perception. There’s not any one glaring thing. When things aren’t going well he is prone to getting selfish on the ice and displaying some questionable body language. He’s displayed some tantrum-y behavior on the ice before, although not super frequently. There was the penalty box incident where he came across as really arrogant for someone still so inexperienced who hasn’t really accomplished any significant team level success in this league yet.

I can see how someone sees that and combined with the team’s collective tendency to fall apart during both individual games and through whole seasons, they question his leadership and/or attitude.

Again not saying I fully buy in. But these are symptoms of fans that have endured way too much disappointment and frustration for way too long. Benefit of the doubt is hard to come by.

 

[Guadana]

???? Bruh, you haven't logically refuted a single point I made. Not a single one. But sure, I don't have the right arguments. Okay. But again, I'm debating with someone who won't even admit the Palat contract handicapped this team in possible moves over the last couple years. Because, you know, THE CAP EXISTS. Cya

You will find arguments in one of previous posts. If you cant - sorry. I cant help, we can disagree here.
Cap exist, but we somehow have a cap for sign Pesche and Dillion. Somehow. And now we have cap. And evreything we didnt do is signing Stamkos. So you are talking about something I dont know. You can cyaing to everyone you want, no matter what kind of a deal you dont like or not, it doesnt make your lack of arumentations more proven or right.

If you think that my lack of religious confidence in the 100 % negativity of a particular player's contract somehow affects the detailed pricing in trades involving wingers and young talented defenders, so you're trying to connect unrelated things.

 

[NjDevsRR]

And I hate to say it but maybe our 5 v 5 play will improve without Hamilton? I like him a lot but I feel like he has been causing a lot of issues at even strength this season.

This was probably a stupid post so please someone tell me why I am wrong, but that’s been my gut feeling all season when he is on the ice judging by the ice test.

 

[Zacha37]

We needed defensemen, Nemec was a player with higher ceiling and he was even more NHL ready year ago. Wright isnt playing with pressure and with competition now. Cooley shown very promising skills and iq, between two players Fitz picked right defenseman for obvious reasons. Am I agree with him there? Its not that hard to not agree now, even with myself. Between Nemec and Wright - for now I still agree.

IMO that has been Fitz biggest problem: always drafting for need. I liked the pedigree of Wright and always felt like he’d figure out whatever his issues were in his draft year, which it seems like he has. Sure, they probably had pretty similar grades on the players and took Nemec because he filled their need, but Wright had always been superior in my eyes. However I respect your opinion on Nemec and hope he can somehow figure it out, whether it’s here or somewhere else.

 

[guitarguyvic]

And I hate to say it but maybe our 5 v 5 play will improve without Hamilton? I like him a lot but I feel like he has been causing a lot of issues at even strength this season.

Someone please tell me why I am wrong, but that’s been my gut feeling all season when he us on the ice judging by the ice test.

I mean, they did look better after he left the game last night. Guess we will find out. Has there been any update on his condition?

 

[Mgd31]

And I hate to say it but maybe our 5 v 5 play will improve without Hamilton? I like him a lot but I feel like he has been causing a lot of issues at even strength this season.

Someone please tell me why I am wrong, but that’s been my gut feeling all season when he us on the ice judging by the ice test.

Offensively we will be worse, which is kind of the problem.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Offensively we will be worse, which is kind of the problem.

What I said may make no sense given his metrics, I know. But idk why I have that feeling. As @guitarguyvic said, we shall see

 

[Guadana]

IMO that has been Fitz biggest problem: always drafting for need. I liked the pedigree of Wright and always felt like he’d figure out whatever his issues were in his draft year, which it seems like he has. Sure, they probably had pretty similar grades on the players and took Nemec because he filled their need, but Wright had always been superior in my eyes. However I respect your opinion on Nemec and hope he can somehow figure it out, whether it’s here or somewhere else.

I dont think that pedigree of Wright was really that good, I still not a big fan of how he is playing and what he is doing, what he did before. But its different topic. (I think both can develop in top-6/top-4 players, and I grade top-4 two way defensemen over second line centers 65ish points level, but its subjective, I can understand the opposite, but I think they are on the level) I agree that Fitz is trying to focus a lot on the needs. And his desire to find bottom line scoring physical winger later in the draft is really... not inspiring.

 

[MadDevil]

And I hate to say it but maybe our 5 v 5 play will improve without Hamilton? I like him a lot but I feel like he has been causing a lot of issues at even strength this season.

This was probably a stupid post so please someone tell me why I am wrong, but that’s been my gut feeling all season when he us on the ice judging by the ice test.

One thing I definitely noticed watching them live on Sunday is just how slow he looks. He kind of reminded me of PK at the end where he's basically interfering with guys because he's a step behind. Lucky for him the league has apparently decided only blatant interference gets called again.

 

[Triumph]

And I hate to say it but maybe our 5 v 5 play will improve without Hamilton? I like him a lot but I feel like he has been causing a lot of issues at even strength this season.

This was probably a stupid post so please someone tell me why I am wrong, but that’s been my gut feeling all season when he is on the ice judging by the ice test.

A lot depends on Nemec, who looked unplayable in his first 10+ games but has put together 3 good games in a row, with last night as perhaps his strongest.

One thing I definitely noticed watching them live on Sunday is just how slow he looks. He kind of reminded me of PK at the end where he's basically interfering with guys because he's a step behind.

The breakaway by Johnston last night almost turned into a 2 on 0 even though Dougie was two strides ahead of the Dallas forward.

 

[NjDevsRR]

A lot depends on Nemec, who looked unplayable in his first 10+ games but has put together 3 good games in a row, with last night as perhaps his strongest.



The breakaway by Johnston last night almost turned into a 2 on 0 even though Dougie was two strides ahead of the Dallas forward.

Nemec has been assertive the last few games. He wants the puck and wants to make plays. Night and day from earlier as you said

 

[Mgd31]

What I said makes no sense, I know. But idk why I have that feeling. As @guitarguyvic said, we shall see

yea i mean he is our worst defensively 5 on 5, so if someone (Nemec) can step up, we might be okay.