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

[Killing Joke]

Pageau sucks and is old. Stay away from him.

Also this team has to make a move.

 

[Saint Beaurivage]

The GM needs to sell, you all will be happier next year.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

Man, it’s going to get ugly here if the Jackets and Rangers get in and we’re out. That’s why I believe Fitz will make a move. Because if the above happens he’s probably gone. I can only pray he doesn’t do something stupid!

 

[guitarguyvic]

Some of the takes here in my Devils community are a bit, um how shall we put it... cliff-jumpy?

Let's drink a stiff mug of reality for a moment.

The Devils were -- even before the Hughes and Hamilton injuries -- a very unlikely possibility of winning the Stanley Cup this year. This does not represent a "failure" of management or coaching or personnel or anything of the sort.

Prior to the injuries, New Jersey was primed to make the playoffs, with a very winnable first-round matchup against a swiftly fading Carolina team. Though these possibilities are certainly more remote without Jack Hughes (and possibly Dougie Hamilton), they are not impossible. And even making the playoffs this year would represent a huge step forwards for the organization, while simultaneously highlighting the needs for the team going forwards in order to build into an actually realistic Stanley Cup threat.

"Selling" at the trade deadline is probably a bad idea, in that the 2025 draft class is not especially strong and the Devils essentially need to tread water for the rest of the season to make the post-season. Is that possible given the recent injury news? I guess we will have to see.

Next season, I'd expect the Devils to be greatly improved. They will have the cap room to sign their only UFAs of value in Kovacevic and Allen. The Devils will likely get another very talented scoring winger coming into the fold in Gritsyuk, and GM Tom Fitzgerald has a huge trade chip in Simon Nemec to dangle to address the center depth.

For the most part, I would say the current management has done a very good job. This Devils team has been, for many years, among the weakest in the league in both goal and on the blueline. Now and going forward, NJ is very strong in both areas. The combination of Hischier and Hughes gives the Devils a powerful 1/2 punch up the middle, and they are complimented by some outstanding Ws in Bratt and Meier.

Clearly, there is need for another scoring winger or two. The bottom 6 needs to be improved, as does the center depth. These are the organization's foremost tasks for the off-season. But the organization has also built a strong framework to build with. Have they been perfect? No, of course not -- the mid-to-late-round drafting has not been strong and Fitzgerald ran out of cap room before he could add another scoring winger this year. But they have also -- very clearly -- put the NJ franchise in a much stronger position than when they took over the reins a few years back. And also -- very clearly -- the Devils future remains stronger than the present or recent past. That's a win in and of itself.

Needless to say, I am also crushed by the Jack Hughes injury, and worried about the Hamilton injury. But I also realize that a team which was pretty much unwatchable for many years is now very talented and intriguing, and the future remains bright. I'm equivalently intrigued to see what Fitzgerald does at the trade deadline.

How many sentences in this post are basically just copy/paste from the end of previous seasons?

Jack is the franchise and isnt going to stop being thr franchise.

So if you think he is officially done as a productive NHL player then it's time for you to jump off this ship and find a new one.

What a shitty thing to say to other fans.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Pageau sucks and is old. Stay away from him.

Also this team has to make a move.

He’s having a very good season

 

[JrFischer54]

What also sucks is these upper body injuries prevents Jack from really hitting the gym over the offseason of he does want to get stronger. Its tough

Has he ever done that

The GM needs to sell, you all will be happier next year.

Until Jack gets hurt again

 

[NjDevsRR]

Has he ever done that

‘A chip on his shoulder’: Jack Hughes’ long offseason transforming his game

Hughes spent nine months away from the Devils watching film, honing his shot and pushing through grueling workouts five days a week.

www.nytimes.com

He added 15 pounds of muscle in 2021

What I am saying is these last few years of offseason rehab will put a damper on adding on more mass, if he wanted to do that

 

[Edmonton East]

Some of the takes here in my Devils community are a bit, um how shall we put it... cliff-jumpy?

Let's drink a stiff mug of reality for a moment.

The Devils were -- even before the Hughes and Hamilton injuries -- a very unlikely possibility of winning the Stanley Cup this year. This does not represent a "failure" of management or coaching or personnel or anything of the sort.

Prior to the injuries, New Jersey was primed to make the playoffs, with a very winnable first-round matchup against a swiftly fading Carolina team. Though these possibilities are certainly more remote without Jack Hughes (and possibly Dougie Hamilton), they are not impossible. And even making the playoffs this year would represent a huge step forwards for the organization, while simultaneously highlighting the needs for the team going forwards in order to build into an actually realistic Stanley Cup threat.

"Selling" at the trade deadline is probably a bad idea, in that the 2025 draft class is not especially strong and the Devils essentially need to tread water for the rest of the season to make the post-season. Is that possible given the recent injury news? I guess we will have to see.

Next season, I'd expect the Devils to be greatly improved. They will have the cap room to sign their only UFAs of value in Kovacevic and Allen. The Devils will likely get another very talented scoring winger coming into the fold in Gritsyuk, and GM Tom Fitzgerald has a huge trade chip in Simon Nemec to dangle to address the center depth.

For the most part, I would say the current management has done a very good job. This Devils team has been, for many years, among the weakest in the league in both goal and on the blueline. Now and going forward, NJ is very strong in both areas. The combination of Hischier and Hughes gives the Devils a powerful 1/2 punch up the middle, and they are complimented by some outstanding Ws in Bratt and Meier.

Clearly, there is need for another scoring winger or two. The bottom 6 needs to be improved, as does the center depth. These are the organization's foremost tasks for the off-season. But the organization has also built a strong framework to build with. Have they been perfect? No, of course not -- the mid-to-late-round drafting has not been strong and Fitzgerald ran out of cap room before he could add another scoring winger this year. But they have also -- very clearly -- put the NJ franchise in a much stronger position than when they took over the reins a few years back. And also -- very clearly -- the Devils future remains stronger than the present or recent past. That's a win in and of itself.

Needless to say, I am also crushed by the Jack Hughes injury, and worried about the Hamilton injury. But I also realize that a team which was pretty much unwatchable for many years is now very talented and intriguing, and the future remains bright. I'm equivalently intrigued to see what Fitzgerald does at the trade deadline.

1) Ah, give me some of that kool-aid! Hughes still a "GENERATIONAL" prospect? I bet you still claim he is/was. I bet any valid concern about his game is still akin to calling someone's baby ugly and spitting on them.

2) This management team has done a good job? Oh, ok, like trading material assets for a 35 year old goalie while the team still had significant holes on the roster AND you were coming off missing the playoffs? Aka trading material assets for an old player when you aren't ready to contend. Nevermind the goalie debacle last year. Palat contract. Fitz is a legit idiot. If I could say this on July 1st, what's his excuse for being ignorant to it?

"So I'm open to a lot of different viewpoints regarding what remaining moves the Devs have to make before opening night. However, not making any more additions is not one of them. That isn't acceptable. It'd be batshit insane to go into the season banking on a rebound+ breakout from Mercer AND 100% perfect forward health.

Especially when you just added a 35 year old goalie with 2 years left and have no 1st round pick next year. Rolling into the season with 1-2 holes in your top 6 and no C depth isn't acceptable considering the circumstances. Contradictory moves are how organizations end up in purgatory for a decade+.

I'd be very surprised if there isn't an addition prior to opening night. Wouldn't be the first time though."

If your answer is they didn't have the assets or the cap, perhaps, then you can't make that Markstrom trade. You take a swing on cheaper options like competent teams like the Caps did.

3) You say everything was great and the team was primed to make the playoffs, it's just these damn injuries!!!!! You've gotta be joking. I wish I could be this oblivious to the reality of this team, it'd honestly be more enjoyable. Dude, they've been playing at a 75 point pace since Christmas. The get boat raced by nearly every other playoff team and certainly by every real contender. Relative to the rest of the league, they were actually healthier than most teams up until very recently. These are FACTS. Additionally, even when they were "good" early in the season, their ES scoring and differential metrics were still average and far behind contender status. It was mainly the product of near perfect health and an unsustainably hot powerplay.

 

[bossram]

Pageau sucks and is old. Stay away from him.

Also this team has to make a move.

The point of @SteveCangialosi123's post wasn't to acquire Pageau. It was that they could still look at players with term that could help next season (or beyond).

I said I agree with pursuing players with term, but they shouldn't go out of their way to do it now because the deadline prices are high.

 

[Bleedred]

Of all the times we could have gotten blown out and lost 4-0 or 5-0 it couldn’t have been that Vegas game.

But since we had to be down only 2-0 they got Jack out there in the final minute frantically trying to get something out of that game.

And of course we can’t be on the right side of a 2-0 game. It’s always gotta be the wrong side of it. If we want a shutout apparently it has to be a 4, 5, or 6-0 game most of the time.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

So are we able to use LTIR pool money when retaining money as the 3rd team in a trade? Since we have more money than we could even spend, should we try to pick up another asset by retaining again?

 

[guitarguyvic]

If Jack Hughes was on any other team, there would be absolutely unanimous consent on this board that these repeated serious shoulder injuries are a real risk to Jack’s career and by extension the long term success of the team. It is grotesque that we have posters attempting to ostracize anyone that wants to vent about it or discuss it, and telling them they need to find a new team. This board may be more pathetic than the team’s bottom six.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Some of the takes here in my Devils community are a bit, um how shall we put it... cliff-jumpy?

Let's drink a stiff mug of reality for a moment.

The Devils were -- even before the Hughes and Hamilton injuries -- a very unlikely possibility of winning the Stanley Cup this year. This does not represent a "failure" of management or coaching or personnel or anything of the sort.

Prior to the injuries, New Jersey was primed to make the playoffs, with a very winnable first-round matchup against a swiftly fading Carolina team. Though these possibilities are certainly more remote without Jack Hughes (and possibly Dougie Hamilton), they are not impossible. And even making the playoffs this year would represent a huge step forwards for the organization, while simultaneously highlighting the needs for the team going forwards in order to build into an actually realistic Stanley Cup threat.

"Selling" at the trade deadline is probably a bad idea, in that the 2025 draft class is not especially strong and the Devils essentially need to tread water for the rest of the season to make the post-season. Is that possible given the recent injury news? I guess we will have to see.

Next season, I'd expect the Devils to be greatly improved. They will have the cap room to sign their only UFAs of value in Kovacevic and Allen. The Devils will likely get another very talented scoring winger coming into the fold in Gritsyuk, and GM Tom Fitzgerald has a huge trade chip in Simon Nemec to dangle to address the center depth.

For the most part, I would say the current management has done a very good job. This Devils team has been, for many years, among the weakest in the league in both goal and on the blueline. Now and going forward, NJ is very strong in both areas. The combination of Hischier and Hughes gives the Devils a powerful 1/2 punch up the middle, and they are complimented by some outstanding Ws in Bratt and Meier.

Clearly, there is need for another scoring winger or two. The bottom 6 needs to be improved, as does the center depth. These are the organization's foremost tasks for the off-season. But the organization has also built a strong framework to build with. Have they been perfect? No, of course not -- the mid-to-late-round drafting has not been strong and Fitzgerald ran out of cap room before he could add another scoring winger this year. But they have also -- very clearly -- put the NJ franchise in a much stronger position than when they took over the reins a few years back. And also -- very clearly -- the Devils future remains stronger than the present or recent past. That's a win in and of itself.

Needless to say, I am also crushed by the Jack Hughes injury, and worried about the Hamilton injury. But I also realize that a team which was pretty much unwatchable for many years is now very talented and intriguing, and the future remains bright. I'm equivalently intrigued to see what Fitzgerald does at the trade deadline.

Honestly and genuinely enjoy your posts but I'd rather be punched in the face than read another the future is bright post, especially today.

I think some people just need to read the room and understand that people are just going to be pissed off and upset about another year thrown on top of the garbage pile of wasted years and this year is sure looking like a team that will miss the playoffs too or bow out in 5 again.

Everything can be spun positively but factually this team has 1 playoff series win and 2 playoff appearances since the 2012 run. People are sick of watching losing teams and hearing the future is bright and next year is finally gonna be our breakout year. We finally saw a glimpse of it in 22-23 and it's been completely snuffed out now.

I just thank goodness they didn't raise season ticket prices for next year or my attitude would be even more sour than I already am.

 

[NjDevsRR]

This board may be more pathetic than the team’s bottom six.

Id go to war with this group

 

[SoupNazi]

Thread 'Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part V'

Yesterday at 6:16 PM

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

Take a deep breath, relax and quit flaming each other.

• SoupNazi
• Replies: 162
• Forum: New Jersey Devils

•