Devils discussion (news, notes and speculation) - playoff edition

[FooteBahl]

I'd have Jack spend whatever time he needs after his shoulder rehab to work on overall strengthening before his return. Even if he starts the season a bit late. They need him more at the end of the season than at the beginning.

Jacked Hughes agrees

 

[Cheddabombs]

A lot of Rags talk in my Devils team thread. Bunch of RangersDoggos in here or what

 

[theoptimist]

Jake should be resigned for two years

 

[Devs3cups]

Would’ve liked to hear from Jack and Luke before the end of the year. But I understand the reasoning why not.

 

[NJDevs26]

Would’ve liked to hear from Jack and Luke before the end of the year. But I understand the reasoning why not.

Actual updates on their injuries are more important anyway, I think we got that with Luke but not sure about Jack

 

[Lou is God]

Would’ve liked to hear from Jack and Luke before the end of the year. But I understand the reasoning why not.

Jack posted this in March:

 

[thebeernerd]

View attachment 1031402
Jacked Hughes agrees

Jack Piana

 

[Devs3cups]

Jack posted this in March:

For the record I wasn’t complaining, I understand why he didn’t speak.

 

[NJDevs26]

Their injuries (and the fact neither finished the season on the active roster) were a rather convenient excuse for shielding them from the Quinn nonsense lol

 

[RandoDoomer]

Would it be weird to talk about a "load management" strategy for a 23-year-old to try to make sure he's healthy for April/May/June? I just wonder how many more injuries that shoulder can take.

 

[NJDevs26]

Hockey players don't do load management, especially in their early 20's...the closest thing you'll see to that is when Jack didn't take any faceoffs or play center two years ago playing with a bad shoulder.

They're just going to have to figure out how to keep Jack/Luke out of harm's way more often and strengthen the area around their shoulders more - this isn't flag football here. Quinn seems to be managing that just fine and he's been in the league longer than either.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Ya the Rangers youth isn’t anything to worry about at all. Even if those guys find their way in the NHL they aren’t needle movers who will push the Rangers into the playoffs. Maybe Lafrenière but his ceiling seems a lot lower now than originally thought. At most they can probably hope the young guys can partially offset their aging core.

I wouldn’t even count on a Shesterkin bounce back. It’s entirely possible but goalies are always Voodoo and he’d be far from the first elite goalie to fall off.

The general sentiment that they are probably in the playoff mix/hunt but not likely a serious contender is reasonable.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Hockey players don't do load management, especially in their early 20's...the closest thing you'll see to that is when Jack didn't take any faceoffs or play center two years ago playing with a bad shoulder.

They're just going to have to figure out how to keep Jack/Luke out of harm's way more often and strengthen the area around their shoulders more - this isn't flag football here. Quinn seems to be managing that just fine and he's been in the league longer than either.

I don’t think you can really do too much to strengthen the area around their shoulders. They are 100% more susceptible no matter what they do than they were pre shoulder injuries. They are gonna have to find ways to avoid the injuries. I’m not really sure how.

Think it’s worth nothing that Quinn Hughes moves and plays in a completely different manner than Jack and Luke. They play with a lot of flow and glide and not much stop and start. The way they skate makes it easier to knock them off stride or catch them in a bad spot. Quinn Hughes is all quick feet and quick edgework. His skating is smooth too but he moves very different from Jack and Luke and also plays a lot more through his stickhandling.

I think this may be a pretty major factor in him being seemingly more durable.

 

[FooteBahl]

Hockey players don't do load management, especially in their early 20's...the closest thing you'll see to that is when Jack didn't take any faceoffs or play center two years ago playing with a bad shoulder.

They're just going to have to figure out how to keep Jack/Luke out of harm's way more often and strengthen the area around their shoulders more - this isn't flag football here. Quinn seems to be managing that just fine and he's been in the league longer than either.

After Elon completes neurolink, he’s going to work on shoulderlink on behalf of our fanbase.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Yeah i dont think there is a ton that can be done to protect them from future injuries like that except for them not to crash shoulder first into the boards or net at high speed

 

[FooteBahl]

Yeah i dont think there is a ton that can be done to protect them from future injuries like that except for them not to crash shoulder first into the boards or net at high speed

Airbags in the boards? That would be annoying with all of the delays

 

[guitarguyvic]

Can they even be fully effective if they’re that focused on avoiding injury? Opponents are going to be targeting them/their shoulders intentionally.

Just a shit situation.

 

[dgibb10]

Ya the Rangers youth isn’t anything to worry about at all. Even if those guys find their way in the NHL they aren’t needle movers who will push the Rangers into the playoffs. Maybe Lafrenière but his ceiling seems a lot lower now than originally thought. At most they can probably hope the young guys can partially offset their aging core.

I wouldn’t even count on a Shesterkin bounce back. It’s entirely possible but goalies are always Voodoo and he’d be far from the first elite goalie to fall off.

The general sentiment that they are probably in the playoff mix/hunt but not likely a serious contender is reasonable.

Shesterkin had 29GSAx this past year he was still elite.

 

[glenwo2]

Airbags in the boards? That would be annoying with all of the delays

That would actually encourage the NHL to go back to non-automatic icing. lol

 

[MadDevil]

Can they even be fully effective if they’re that focused on avoiding injury? Opponents are going to be targeting them/their shoulders intentionally.

Just a shit situation.

Take Jack's last injury. He was going to the net on a 2-on-1 while they were down 2-0 late. Should they tell him to not go to the net there because he might get tripped from behind and go flying into the boards? Are more shoulder workouts going to prevent that injury? Is he supposed to not use his edges so much because it makes him more susceptible to falling down?

There's only so much you can do to mitigate the chances of him getting injured without asking him to change the way he plays. As much as it sucks, there's really not much the team can do other than hope he doesn't get injured like that again.

 

[Shakir ONeal]

I thought Jack played a lot more aware this year after the surgery and it didn’t affect his impact, the only lesson to learn here is maybe not go 100% in a 2-0 game with a minute to go

 

[Triumph]

I thought Jack played a lot more aware this year after the surgery and it didn’t affect his impact, the only lesson to learn here is maybe not go 100% in a 2-0 game with a minute to go

That's not a lesson I want him to learn, or any player.

 

[MadDevil]

I thought Jack played a lot more aware this year after the surgery and it didn’t affect his impact, the only lesson to learn here is maybe not go 100% in a 2-0 game with a minute to go

Right, so then people can complain that he's soft, doesn't play hard, doesn't want to win, etc.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Can they even be fully effective if they’re that focused on avoiding injury? Opponents are going to be targeting them/their shoulders intentionally.

Just a shit situation.

It’s probably something you should be very concerned about. It should kill any excitement for anything the team ever does. It’s over already.

 

[RSeen]

Right, so then people can complain that he's soft, doesn't play hard, doesn't want to win, etc.

Does any player in the league fall down as much as Jack? He is one of the best skaters in the league but yet falls down probably more than anyone else - because he is weak.

Doesn't mean he would avoid all injury risk, but getting stronger would make a clear difference. He has yet to make meaningful strides here in the last couple of seasons.