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

NJDevs26 said:
I'm about a 1 as far as worrying about making the playoffs at this point, beating Columbus twice with the Rangers imploding did a lot to lengthen the margin for error - but still pretty blase about the team as a whole not believing this group can really do anything IN the playoffs.

It's like we're stuck in limbo at this point...which is better than the four-alarm fire missing the playoffs would have been, but still sucks in comparison to how much promise the season had in late December.
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I admit, I sometimes struggle with irrational anxiety and paranoia, which is probably why I'm not 100% on a playoff berth right now, but it's still gotta be pretty high. 90 points will probably do it UNLESS MULTIPLE teams behind us also finish with 90 points. I went over the scenarios last night in the OOT of what we need to do to get to 90 points and what everybody behind us needs to do to get to 90 points. 5-8-0 gets us to 90, I know that. I think it's 8-6-1 for Montreal to get to 90 from here, they have two more games left. Rangers have to go 9-4-0 to get to 90 from here. We're dead even in games played. 10-5-0 gets both Columbus and the Islanders to 90. 10-4-0 for Detroit.

I don't think I even need to go over the numbers for Boston or anyone below them, but Boston is even in games played with us and has exactly 69 points in 69 games. So they'd have to be 10-2-1 to get to 90. And just for PK Subban and his ''Maybe'' comment about the Pens making the playoffs on the intermission of our game the other day. They already have 70 games played. They'd have to go 12-0-0 to get to 90 points.

And as I said last night, it's been a very long time since a team with 30 regulation losses by game 69 made the playoffs. Even the 09-10 Canadiens who made it in with 88 points had only 29 regulation losses and 2 more points than the Rangers after 69 games. The 09-10 Flyers who made it in with 87 and got to the cup finals had 77 points after 69 games. They faded the rest of the way, but beat the Rangers in the regular season finale in a shootout with the final playoff spot on the line. Even the Hamburglar Sens had 79 points in 69 games that year, but they were in a really bad spot around the 50 game mark.

Barring mutiple heaters at once, especially with Metro teams, we should be good. I'd like to shoot for 93 points, but right now wild card 2 in both actual points and points percentage is on pace for 89 points. All 3 of the Rangers, Blue Jackets and Islanders are pacing for 86 points. Detroit's pacing for 85.
 
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My3Sons said:
A Wood Glass comparison is apples and oranges to some extent. Both are role players but they occupy different roles. They have different strengths and flaws as players and as noted are separated by several years in age.
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Each also had different career trajectories. Wood came barreling into the league with relatively low expectations, but right out of the gate, via blazing speed and his ultra aggressiveness, he created havoc, (admittedly both good and bad), and he created his own chances and scored goals in a bottom 6 role. People can act like that doesn't have value but it does. The problem is, and there was always this concern, his body has deteriorated faster then his game could develop.

Glass came into the league with higher expectations, drastically underwhelmed, and bounced around the league. But it does seem, unlike Wood, that he can play a sound defensive game. And as a center that carries a fair amount of value. The question now is, at 25 years old, can he still tap into his offensive potential, and teams often acquire players of his ilk hoping a change of scenery can help the player do just that. But unlike most situations where a team acquires an under performing former high pick and sticks him in a 3rd or 4th line role, Glass is the beneficiary of walking into a scenario where a couple games in he is playing with Jesper Bratt. We shouldn't get overly optimistic based off his impressive results in his first 5 games in NJ, but I can't help but think the stars have aligned nicely for Cody Glass. The Jack Hughes injury may be a key turning point in his career.
 
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NjDevsRR said:
Woods play is never sustainable. He was benched in the playoffs for a reason. At his current contract its awful. When he was here he served a niche role and was fine as a 4th line energy guy. It never worked out when he played up the lineup.
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Bad penalties yes, but the Rag's abusing our PK was also at play as to why he was pulled from the lineup.

Was effective when he got back in the lineup
 
JimEIV said:
Absolutely...a better comparison would be McLeod.
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Glass and McLeod would be a decent comparison. To my eyes McLeod was faster and more physical and better on draws but Glass is better at everything else like shooting passing vision and positioning. It’s a bit of a stylistic difference and I could see why either style of player might be more attractive. In the role he is occupying now Glass’s finesse skills are needed to work with Bratt. In a true third line maybe he will return to being a bit of a fish out of water. Assuming he returns I’d keep Glass with Bratt while Hischier plays with Meier. Let Jack play with Gritsyuk. Mix in Mercer and Noesen and Cotter as needed and Palat and Haula on the fourth line with a UFA or maybe Halonen.
 
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devilsblood said:
You don't need AHL All star types in order to be merely competitive. As you say hopefully they sign a decent center. That sounds like an awfully low bar.

I would think having one of the worst AHL teams in the league 2 years running would have mgmt thinking, maybe we can improve upon this.
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"I would think having one of the worst AHL teams in the league 2 years running would have mgmt thinking, maybe we can improve upon this."

Thank -you. Amazing that a NJ fan can grasp this. All I ever hear is the Devils are not going to sign top AHL players for the Comets. While the good teams in the AHL do just that, I and any of the fans here and many in NJ, with Guttersniped leading the list, have not requested All Star types, but there are plenty of of veteran top level AHL players who will not be All Stars, but are available on the free agent market every season.

There are also European players, some who have been over here before, as well as many NA players playing over there, who would simply like to come home again. They find the AHL is a welcome landing spot. Some even wish to try to impress an NHL team enough to get another shot. They have made the bucks over there and $250-500K contract is just fine with them. Dowling hasn't even been over there and he was paid $500K to play here this season. The Devils have not signed one of those centers types since they put roots down here.

The first year in town, '21-22 NJ did provide some good wingers to go along with their prospects:
Chase De Leo 56Pts/55GP
A.J. Greer 52Pts/53GP
Joe Gambardella 35Pts/55GP(acquired by NJ)
Frederik Gauthier 32Pts/51GP (whom they played at center)
Tyce Thompson 15Pts/16GP (Nj prospect injured all season until these 15 games at the end of the season.


They were also blessed with high expectation prospects up front:
Alex Holtz (51Pts/52GP0
Fabian Zetterland (52Pts/58GP)
Nolan Foote (32Pts/55GP)
Graeme Clarke (24Pts/52GP)
Marian Studenic (10Pts/13GP - He played 17 games with NJ and 13 with the Comets and was then claimed off waivers by Dallas)
Jesper Boqvist (8Pts/7GP) - played the majority of the season in NJ.

The centers that season were:
Frederik Gauthier 32Pts/51GP (acquired by NJ)
Ryan Schmelzer 32Pt/64GP (In his 4th year with NJ already becoming a journeyman AHLer)
Aarne Talvitie 24Pts/68GP (NJ prospect)
Nate Schnarr 26Pts/43GP (NJ Prospect. Claimed by Montreal off waivers)
By Playoff time DeLeo was playing #1C.

The Comets finished the season as the #1 team in the North Division, but the taem was decimated with injuries by playoff time, They received aby in round 1 and were eleminated by the Rochester Americans in the North Division Semifinals 3-2.

The following season,'22-23, the good prospects were gone, the returning ones, Graeme Clarke especially, would never meet expectations to the point that Foote is the only one left in the system in '24-25.

Halonen was signed as a freee agent and is still here.
Tyce Thompson, Aarne Talvitie, Jeremy Groleau all burned out.

NJ's acquisitions:
Jack Dugan 27Pts/51GP (acquired by NJ and later traded to the Chicago Wolves for Zack Hayes)

Zack Hayes (4Pts/15GP)
****
*Will Edit this later
 
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Nashville and Vegas fans have said that injuries derailed Glass in the middle of vet teams pushing for the playoffs. I think it's easy for a skeptic to spin that as him never running with his opportunities but sometimes bad luck is bad luck. People keep acquiring him because there's a lot of skill there. He belongs in this league.

One thing I'll say about fourth lines in general: stats aside, sometimes you need guys who will get the team emotionally involved in the game, who will cause chaos, be reckless. I don't pine for Wood, glad he's gone. And I don't think much of Cotter either. But both guys play a dumb and intense game that'll give you some anecdotal moments to fuel hate. One of my least favorite things about this group and core as a whole is probably their lack of emotional intensity, which is a 180 from how this franchise used to be. I respect the classy, we're above it all thing, but they haven't had a truly balls to the wall guy since Coleman, let alone multiple guys like that.

It's tough to thread the needle on these kinds of players between the toughness the GM wants, the impact the quant guys want and the price you need to pay to get them. But a Coleman, Lekhonen, etc. is almost always the finishing touch on a cup winner.
 
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I never agreed with the logic to let the AHL team rot, whether it was Lou then or Fitz now. Obviously you don't want to block kids from playing but I mean if nothing else, you want the most optimum conditions for your prospects to develop. You really think you can develop a young goalie in the AHL if they have a rubbish blue line and get pumped with shots? You really think you can develop young forwards if nobody finishes the chances they create, or can facilitate chances for them to take? Can you develop young defensemen if every mistake winds up in the back of the net?
 
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ZachaFlockaFlame said:


@Emperoreddy @NjDevsRR Nah they saw our uptick use of WWE memes and talk on here :laugh::laugh:
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IMG_1361.jpeg
 
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NJDevs26 said:
I never agreed with the logic to let the AHL team rot, whether it was Lou then or Fitz now. Obviously you don't want to block kids from playing but I mean if nothing else, you want the most optimum conditions for your prospects to develop. You really think you can develop a young goalie in the AHL if they have a rubbish blue line and get pumped with shots? You really think you can develop young forwards if nobody finishes the chances they create, or can facilitate chances for them to take? Can you develop young defensemen if every mistake winds up in the back of the net?
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There is only so much you can do if you don't have prospects there. There's the veteran limit and then there's just a question of how much you're willing to pay.

So just taking the 2002-03 Albany Devils as an example, the top 7 scorers are non-prospects. Berglund, Bicek, and Rupp were all contributing when they were in Albany, but they didn't stay there very long.

This season's team's best forward 'prospect' is probably Xavier Parent, maybe Brian Halonen, but otherwise it's a lot of guys who've passed through waivers. It is tough for that kind of team to be very good. You need the prospects to chip in, and Utica really doesn't have them up front.

There's obviously better decisions Utica can make around the edges, but you're talking about a team that can sneak into the playoffs versus one where they are at right now.
 
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My3Sons said:
Are the players ok with the kids when they do this?
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They were pretty good with the kiddos for sure, Nico is definitely one of the happiest guys there, I cropped out some random kids in the picture as we walked by.

the usual suspects, Timo, Lazar, Dillon Tatar, Bratt, Palat, Kovo were all good, Allen and Noesen, and even Haula.

I missed out on Luke, Glass, Sprong, Mercer Cotter, Nemec, ran out of time, and Dowling, Marky, Pesce too. Nico I have a few of his so I purposely didn't see him as I had never gotten Bratt or Timos before

Jack and Sieges (as imagined) were not there.

Dougie (2nd time in 3 seasons) was not really that engaging with me (again maybe random , but with my kid he was a bit more. But I brought his jersey up and he didn't acknowledge. A bit contrasting compared to others. Granted he was chatting with Kovo, but Kovo took the moment to acknowledge. The rest of the players were engaging for the split moment you have.

Gonna pull an "theoptimist" rant on Dougie lol. Nah it was jammed pack so I will give him another chance next season if he's around
 
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