Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2022-23 season thread part I

[Bleedred]

Spittin Chiclets season preview for the Devils is brutal. Whitney says they have zero chance of sniffing a playoff spot and Biz calling Prudential Center the most boring building in the NHL. Amazing how guys who are so out of it have such a huge platform.

You know players around the league (including our own guys) listen to it too, which doesn’t help the perception.

If they actually give good, valid and legit reasons for why they think we won’t a sniff a playoff spot (like our highly questionable goaltending, which is certainly a valid one. Or the lame duck coach/coaching controversy) then I can’t say I have an issue with those opinions at all.

If it’s because they think all or most of our players suck, well….. they sucked pretty badly as players too. Which is why as young as they are, they’ve been out of the game for quite some time now. Two guys that aren’t even 40 years old that haven’t played in the NHL in close to a decade.

 

[Nubmer6]

It mainly would be useful to keep my kids entertained while we try to piece things back together and they don’t have school. I have 3.5 acres with almost 3 of that being fenced in, so the past 4 days have been all about pine and oak tree cleanup from dusk till dawn. Basically, no time for TV for me anyways lol.

At least your house was salvageable. Did your cars make it? Or are you hoofing it?

 

[SKNJD9]

 

[Triumph]

We spend far too much time here explaining the reasons "why" the failure occurred.

This makes no sense. Yeah, it sucks that the team in the recent past has been bad, but I don't enjoy screaming about it. I want to know investigate why.

 

[JimEIV]

This makes no sense. Yeah, it sucks that the team in the recent past has been bad, but I don't enjoy screaming about it. I want to know investigate why.

You gonna fix it?

 

[Guttersniped]

We spend far too much time here explaining the reasons "why" the failure occurred.

This is a message board where we discuss this team, so I disagree.

Analyzing things is what’s interesting, the venting is repetitive and boring.

Pointing out past wins and losses is unnecessary, we all saw it happen.

 

[Triumph]

You gonna fix it?

No, but I'm curious what the people in charge will do to fix it; if they see the same problems I do, and if so, what they will do about them.

This place would be even more of a nightmare if people just acted like literal babies as you suggested in your earlier post.

 

[Guttersniped]

It mainly would be useful to keep my kids entertained while we try to piece things back together and they don’t have school. I have 3.5 acres with almost 3 of that being fenced in, so the past 4 days have been all about pine and oak tree cleanup from dusk till dawn. Basically, no time for TV for me anyways lol.

Wow, best to you and your family.

 

[My3Sons]

That 3C stuff is all @My3Sons Nico! He won’t shut up about it!

No. That moron is a permanent passenger on the Lovejoy hype train. You think someone would have gotten it through his thick skull that Lovejoy retired.

 

[JrFischer54]

Dom feeling Devilish

if this team hits 100+pts you should all put in holtz for roy (22-1) it would take that type of season from him to get this team to 100pts

 

[Cheddabombs]

Dom feeling Devilish

If I'm not mistaken he's rated us somewhat highly going into past seasons too. One of these days he's gotta be right, right?

 

[JimEIV]

No, but I'm curious what the people in charge will do to fix it; if they see the same problems I do, and if so, what they will do about them.

This place would be even more of a nightmare if people just acted like literal babies as you suggested in your earlier post.

It is exactly what everyone is doing... including yourself...I cry over the loss, you cry over the numbers...One baby crying because its hungry, other because it is teething...It's all an irrelevant past time with almost no meaning whatsoever.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Here is what you said in your first post:

"Nico got hit in the face with a puck. This gets dismissed as a freak accident, which I understand. But the reality is that different player may have reacted quicker, or moved a different direction that would result in the puck not hitting exactly where it hit Nico."

Okay, so apparently this isn't saying Nico is bad at avoiding pucks. What, then, is it saying? Some other player other than Nico might've made a different decision? Nico's head height happened to be in the path of the puck and a taller or shorter player might've avoided it? It's a nonsensical point. It's trying to cast this as Nico's fault somehow - yes, something might've happened differently, but it didn't. Some players and referees get hit with a puck, some don't, there doesn't have to be some big cosmological reason behind it - it's just a fluke play.



You are the one who is calling this a skill, that 'pucks are not bullets', and that 'you would be worse than an NHL player at doing this', which means that according to you, there are skill levels to this (I agree with this, but find it unconvincing for the argument you are trying to make), and that implicitly, there are gradations of skill in the NHL as well. I reject this last point, what I could say is that a player's head height might matter, but we'd really have no way of knowing because these sorts of things result in major injury so infrequently that we couldn't investigate it.



And this is again, an absurd slippery slope argument that buckets 'being hit in the face with a puck' with the other injuries Nico has sustained over the years. So you've learned nothing at all.

So your argument is that a specific injury shouldn’t be lumped in as similar to the rest - ok? I mean I’m not at all saying that getting hit in the face with a puck like that is exactly the same thing as a soft tissue injury, but ok, let’s pretend I didn’t try to explain how all these things are on a spectrum and largely subjective. You win the argument.

Does this change anything? Are we no longer concerned with Nico’s ability to avoid injury going forward, and how all this has and may continue to effect his development and the success of the team?

This is like the very definition of arguing just for the sake of it. No one would even be recalling him getting hit in the face with a puck if he didn’t have a host of other injuries along the way as well.

Additional context also matters. Would anyone be talking about this if he was an established 30 year old vet on a team that’s good enough to sustain wins in his absence, as opposed to a young still developing player that the franchise is relying on to get them out of the gutter?

This kind of ignoring of negative trends to focus on the minute details of singular incidents or stats or whatever…it comes across as copium more than anything.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

This makes it sound like Nemec might be sent down before the first game

 

[Hisch13r]

If I'm not mistaken he's rated us somewhat highly going into past seasons too. One of these days he's gotta be right, right?

These are his personal feelings. His model is lower on us. Model has us at I think 90.7 or 91.7

 

[Cheddabombs]

These are his personal feelings. His model is lower on us. Model has us at I think 90.7 or 91.7

Ah oopsies, that's what I get for not reading

 

[RangerDoggo]

 

[GameSeven]

Bucci is bullish on NJD's playoff chances

 

[Guttersniped]

It is exactly what everyone is doing... including yourself...I cry over the loss, you cry over the numbers...One baby crying because its hungry, other because it is teething...It's all an irrelevant past time with almost no meaning whatsoever.

We do what we find enjoyable and what we want to do, like most hobbies in life.

I’m a pretty analytical person and hate endless complaining. I’m not crying over numbers. What done is done.

I can be emotional/passionate when it happens but outside of distinct disappointments (key playoff loses, traded picks lol) I don’t whine about the past years later.

I’m a fan voluntarily and an older one who experienced two cup wins very vividly (the 1st one not so much). I feel lucky there.

I also by nature generally joke about stuff that went wrong in life in the past so I can’t treat any of this losing as some serious big deal on any human scale. It sucks but that’s sports for ya.

So I instinctually roll my eyes at what I see as any drama queen mourning over this team’s dark period and poke fun at it.

I have Knicks, Jets, Mets, Padres and Chargers fans in my family, not looking to winning as a key source of happiness is a good lesson.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

f***ing lol at leaving Bratt off of PP1

Tatar?!?!?

 

[NJDevs26]

Or we got snitched on again!

How many snitches do we have on this board anyway?!

 

[My3Sons]

We do what we find enjoyable and what we want to do, like most hobbies in life.

I’m a pretty analytical person and hate endless complaining. I’m not crying over numbers. What done is done.

I can be emotional/passionate when it happens but outside of distinct disappointments (key playoff loses, traded picks lol) I don’t whine about the past years later.

I’m a fan voluntarily and an older one who experienced two cup wins very vividly (the 1st one not so much). I feel lucky there.

I also by nature generally joke about stuff that went wrong in life in the past so I can’t treat any of this losing as some serious big deal on any human scale. It sucks but that’s sports for ya.

So I instinctually roll my eyes at what I see as any drama queen mourning over this team’s dark period and poke fun at it.

I have Knicks, Jets, Mets, Padres and Chargers fans in my family, not looking to winning as a key source of happiness is a good lesson.

There are so many bigger issues in life that I don't see how anyone can agonize over wins and losses for a team they only have a rooting interest in. As I've noted many times, this is supposed to be light escapist entertainment.

 

[Guttersniped]

Bucci is bullish on NJD's playoff chances

Not sure how many Presidents trophy to non-playoff team fall offs there have been historically so dumping Florida is kind of extreme.

They will definitely drop, their PP and 5g5 offense is up for a correction. I even get why people are less enthused, their coach choice was not sexy (to put it mildly), they lost big pieces and their left defense makes children cry. The Atlantic doesn’t look that competitive though.

The Eastern Conference is a bit of a mess this year, a bunch of teams have had big changes, several top dogs look weaker and several rebuilding teams aren’t going full out yet.

There should be more of a mushy middle (as opposed to none) and some opportunity to move up. It’s tough to pick the teams that will drop.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Spittin Chiclets season preview for the Devils is brutal. Whitney says they have zero chance of sniffing a playoff spot and Biz calling Prudential Center the most boring building in the NHL. Amazing how guys who are so out of it have such a huge platform.

You know players around the league (including our own guys) listen to it too, which doesn’t help the perception.

I’m convinced they actually see the Devils are ready to take the next step at any moment and they’re playing up the villain card to create a buzz and generate content.

They’ve done it before with the Islanders. They’ve dabbled with being hot and cold with Buffalo. The whole Calgary/Oilers bet. Biz constantly pumping up Toronto and Whit saying they’re frauds.

They also had Biz’s friend Pasha on the other week and he made all the great points we as Devils fans are well aware of (goaltending, the young talent that took the next step last year, injuries…)

 

[StevenToddIves]

These are his personal feelings. His model is lower on us. Model has us at I think 90.7 or 91.7

Right now, I'd say the Devils certainly have a reasonable shot at the playoffs this year, but there is a lot of volatility in the team chances.

First, we have to look at the Metropolitan Division. It's brutal -- easily the best division in the NHL. Every other division has an awful team or two, a patsy or two to pick up easy points against. The Pacific has San Jose, Seattle and Anaheim. The Central has Arizona and Chicago, who should be the two worst teams in the entire league. The Atlantic has Montreal, and although Buffalo has an exciting young group of talented kids I don't see them having much of a shot at .500. Meanwhile, the only "weak" team in the Metro is Philadelphia, but with John Tortorella coaching a low-event/tight-checking/physical style, they're still not an easy team to play against.

I'd go so far as to say -- and I don't see this as a "hot take" at all -- that every team in the Metropolitan (except Philly) would be a reasonable pick to finish top 3 in the Pacific. The discrepancy in divisional talent is that wide.

The Devils are very, very improved over last year. The weakest link on the regular roster was Ty Smith, and he's been replaced by an exceptionally solid defender in John Marino. This is a huge upgrade. 70+ games by Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier would immediately make the Devils a contender for a post-season spot -- the injuries hurt New Jersey as much as any team last year, and the odds are against that sort of awful luck bleeding (pun intended) into this season. And, most importantly, the upgrade in net -- Vanecek is an average NHL goaltender and a healthy Blackwood is just above this -- is tremendously key compared to the blatant and crippling tire fire between the pipes the Devils suffered last season.

This is a young team, and several players are certain to improve or add to the talent base -- notably Mercer, Holtz and Zetterlund. The blueline and bottom 6 offer more physicality and tenacity, making the team tougher to play against. Palat and Haula offer big-time upgrades over two simply awful players in Zacha (gone) and Johnsson (a likely scratch until injury strikes).

Of course, the divisional talent in the Metro must be factored in. Carolina and and the Rangers have emerged as cup contenders. Washington and Pittsburgh have their Cup-windows closing, but they are still not to be discounted. The Islanders may have been the only team with worse luck than New Jersey last season, and a bounce back is certainly possible. Columbus is another up and comer, and the addition of Johnny Gaudreau and a full season of Patrick Laine combined with a physical/tenacious team makes them a reasonable playoff dark horse, as well.

Here's how I'll call the 2022-23 standings, and we can all make fun of me later (* denotes playoffs):

PACIFIC
1 Calgary*
2 Edmonton*
3 Vegas*
4 Vancouver*
5 Los Angeles
6 Anaheim
7 San Jose
8 Seatlle

CENTRAL
1 Colorado*
2 Minnesota*
3 Nashville*
4 St. Louis*
5 Winnipeg
6 Dallas
7 Arizona
8 Chicago

ATLANTIC
1 Tampa*
2 Toronto*
3 Florida*
4 Ottawa
5 Boston
6 Detroit
7 Buffalo
8 Montreal

METRO
1 Carolina*
2 Rangers*
3 Pittsburgh*
4 Washington*
5 New Jersey*
6 Islanders
7 Columbus
8 Philadelphia

Hart: Matthews
Norris: Makar
Vezina: Shesterkin
Calder: Perfetti