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

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Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Jack Hughes aren't the problem. They cannot do it all on their own. I don't know how many times we need to re-hash this.

They are getting basically no depth scoring this year. Haula turned into a corpse. Mercer has regressed even more. Noesen has been good but basically has been a PP merchant. Tatar is what he is. Bastian stinks. Dowling is an AHLer.

They also basically get no offense from the back-end.
 
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JimEIV said:
A shift in management ain't changing the core. And this core has been disappointing.
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I don’t have a problem with the core, I have a problem with how Fitz negated the bottom 6. Nico, Jack, Timo, and Bratt beat the Rangers. We know they can win a round. The bottom 6 helped immensely in that series, and Fitz did a poor job retooling (McLeod potentially being a rapist notwithstanding). I don’t trust them to make the right moves for the team next year.
 
Yes, the same core that won 52 games two years ago is bad and hasn't proven anything. Never mind the fact that our #3 center is a guy who was literally just acquired because our regular #3 center is a washed 34 year old. Or that another broken down 30+ year old regularly plays in the top 6. Or that Justin Dowling, a 34 year old career journeyman has somehow played 43 games this season.

Yes, our core guys can be better, but let's not pretend like they've been given great support and are just lollygagging around out there.
 
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RNCDevil said:
I dunno. I am recalling a couple separating hits this year and last. It's hard for players to hit him and he's stable. He is the least if my complaints, even in the grit category.
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3 goals in the last 30 games is my complaint.

You gotta do mental gymnastics to make believe that isn't a problem.
 
Poppy Whoa Sonnet said:
I think he'd return less than Jiricek today...maybe a single late 1st from a team that's not enamored with the board and wanted an RD with potential in their lineup. Devils could then swing that in a package. He needs to get better very quickly or he might not even return a late first.

Edit: Thinking it might be like the Lundkvist trade, which was a late 1st and a 4th actually, so maybe a bit more than a late first. Still not a great return.
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I think you're underrating what he'd return. The majority of mid to late 1st round picks fail, getting a player that's NHL ready and has had success early in the NHL with top 4 potential is going to be valuable league wide due to his ELC cap hit and team control. Any team from a contender looking for cheap production to a rebuilding team looking for long term potential is going to be interested and that will naturally inflate the price.

Tampa gave up a haul for Tanner Jeannot even though he was struggling that season because of his age, team control and play the previous year.
 
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JimEIV said:
Jiricek got traded D+3, really only D+2 as it was only November D+3 when he got traded. He only played 53 games for Columbus before he was traded. He had just turned 21 years old two days before he was traded

This would be like if we traded Nemec in November. Nemec has had an another full year of regression going into D+4 when he will turn 22 years old. That extra year is a big difference and it's not going to get better for him with Pesce, Hamilton and Kovacevic in front of him.

You're also talking about a 6'4'' 207 lb defender that is a strong skater and good physically in Jiricek. There's a whole lot of room to work with for a player like this.
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Jiricek was traded November 30th, if the Devils trade Nemec in the offseason that will be a 7 month difference. That isn't going to be the difference between a quality haul that Jiricek got to basically nothing for Nemec like you're suggesting.
 
Mercer - I honestly think his iron man steak is why he’s not playing like he did or something else mental. He’s not a DAWG like he was years ago. I remember the Carolina game in Raleigh where he scored two goals in the 2023 season and was like damn this dude is Parise-lite. Not even the same player right now.
 
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Poppy Whoa Sonnet said:
I think he'd return less than Jiricek today...maybe a single late 1st from a team that's not enamored with the board and wanted an RD with potential in their lineup. Devils could then swing that in a package. He needs to get better very quickly or he might not even return a late first.

Edit: Thinking it might be like the Lundkvist trade, which was a late 1st and a 4th actually, so maybe a bit more than a late first. Still not a great return.
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I don't think this is true at all. Jiricek was selected 6th overall and has a very obvious issue with his NHL future, and has significantly worse NHL results than Nemec - Nemec was leaned on as a top 4 defender and succeeded last year, he's cratered this year, but his AHL results blow Jiricek's out of the water.

I don't think the Devils will be trading Nemec for a 1st, so I don't want to put his value in those terms (and also 'a first-round pick' means a lot of different things when the 20th overall selection is basically worth twice that of a 30th overall)
 
RNCDevil said:
Fair but the whole team became composure disjointed on the 12th day of Hanukkah. 11 assists in last 10 games. But he is what he is and I am happy he is a Devil. I know you are not suggesting otherwise.
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It's the same story with everyone on the team... "good but...".

It's tiring to watch the shortcomings come to the forefront of every single season...it would be one thing if we were getting by and winning regularly but we're not. And we continue to make believe that key guys going months without a goal or it needing 20+ shots a game to score a goal isn't a problem. Breakaway after breakaway, full periods of dominant possession with nothing to show for it... I mean this has been going on for years
 
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JimEIV said:
3 goals in the last 30 games is my complaint.

You gotta do mental gymnastics to make believe that isn't a problem.
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I think the guy isolating the amount of goals a player has over a 30 game span and ignoring his 70 points in 64 games, 299 points in 304 games over the last 4 seasons and his elite playdriving metrics while making under $8M would be the one using mental gymnastics.
 
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Lou Bloom said:
I think the guy isolating the amount of goals a player has over a 30 game span and ignoring his 70 points in 64 games, 299 points in 304 games over the last 4 seasons and his elite playdriving metrics while making under $8M would be the one using mental gymnastics.
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I'd trade him for Brady in a split second. He's a complimentary player.
 
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Theres also the concept of a better bottom 6 taking pressure off of and even taking on harder minutes from the top 6, which in turns makes a more productive top 6.

Idk why thats ignored by some. I remember many 3rd lines taking on opponents 1st lines in previous Devils teams.
 
JimEIV said:
Everything I've ever read about him talks about good mobility.

David Jiricek's Player Profile
Adam Kimelman - NHL.com - June 29th: " A knee injury sustained at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship sidelined Jiricek for almost four months, but he recovered to have a strong showing for Czechia at the World Championship where he had two points (one goal, one assist) and averaged 10:28 in ice time in five games."

Mike - Morreale - June 29th: "He's got a cannon for a shot, defends well and can transition from defense to offense quickly."

Peter Harling - NHL Rumors - June 27th: "An injury slowed his season down, but Jiricek brings size, mobility, heavy shot and offensive upside to the table. He has all the tools NHL teams dream of adding to their blueline."

Jeff Svoboda - NHL.com - June 27: "His size will surely be attractive to teams, and he's more of a two-way defenseman than Nemec, though he has the puck skills and shot to get on the board as well. He should have a pretty high floor as a blueliner who will be able to lean into a physical game while also providing some offense along the way."

Samuel Tirpak - Dobber Prospects - June 18th: " But what he lacks on defense, he has on offense. Jiricek is excellent with the puck on his stick, a great puck distributor, and even a better shooter. We fully expect him to lead his team’s first powerplay unit to great success with that Burns-esque shot from the blue line."

Scott Wheeler - The Athletic - June 6th: "He’s a strong and sturdy defender who plays a staunch man-to-man style, moves his feet well for his size, and thrives in transition with his ability to both close out on gaps with his length through neutral ice and lead a ton of rushes as a puck transporter."

Corey Pronman - The Athletic - May 31: "You combine that with very good vision and a hard point shot, and inside the offensive zone he can make a lot happen and be dangerous on a power play. His skating won’t dazzle, but for his size he gets around well enough."

Chris Peters - Daily Faceoff - June 10th: "A highly mobile, 6-foot-3 defenseman with a bomb of a shot and solid puck-moving capabilities, Jiricek has incredible upside relative to the class. He missed the second half of the season due to a knee injury, needing more than three months to rehab. "
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I’m too lazy to find it but I’ve seen criticism of his skating. I will add that Jiricek gave an interview their draft year where he admitted Nemec was a better skater than he was so take that for what it might imply. Neither are setting the world on fire so far.
 
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