Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2023-24 season part II

[Guttersniped]

What are you talking about? That totally supports the argument that when it comes to haircuts the team is bad. If he had some hair sticking up in the back he'd be a dead ringer for Alfalfa. Honestly, why he walks around with that mess is beyond me.

Not going to lie, Fitz shipped out a great head of hair here.



And it was for whatever is happening on top of Haula’s head.

 

[bossram]

Nah, we need another forward with McLeod "missing" a center especially.

Henrqiue makes a lot of sense right now, but it's a question of cost.

I wouldn't mind a Rico reunion, but I would be very wary of bringing him in to solve the center depth issue. He's almost exclusively played wing in ANA. I'm not sure he really can play center at this point, with his declining speed.

If healthy, they can run Jack, Nico, Haula, Lazar/Nosek at center. Which is fine.

 

[Blackjack]

I'm curious why you think they'll be bad next season.

Because I don’t think Ruff will be fired and he’s a terrible coach

 

[Devs3cups]

 

[Guttersniped]

I should have stated it a little differently. We won’t be good in the immediate future. I think we’ll be bad the rest of the season and next season, then probably good.



I assume you’re agreeing with my point since you posted a gif of the guy we got in a disastrous trade we made with second round picks because we thought we were going to be good.



View attachment 812807

“We thought we would be good”. Well I didn’t, considering we just had a season where we were the 3rd worst team in the NHL, with a 72 points and a .439 win percentage.

Our goaltending is worse now, .901/3.09 vs .889/3.28, but we had 31 Wins from 39 Quality Starts in 2018-19 while we currently have 24 wins out of 18 Quality Starts this season.

So weird comparison.

You don’t think we’ll get healthier? You think Luke and Nemec are going to have sophomore slumps next season?

Goalie Hell sucks obviously but teams, including us last season, often find temporary solutions even when they can’t get that special someone to fill the crease.

I don’t particularly like rentals, maybe other than depth for actual contenders. If you have actual flaws you aren’t fixing them at the TDL and try hard teams that try to make a splash usually just end up pissing away assets.

But Fitz doesn’t like rentals either so I’m not worried he’s going to do something dumb there.

You do fix flaws in the off-season though.

 

[forceten]

Unbelievable. How does this league f*** everything up? These jerseys should be widely available right now.

 

[HBK27]

Unbelievable. How does this league f*** everything up? These jerseys should be widely available right now.

If the league were remotely competent, these jerseys would've all been available back in November so fans could pick them up as Holiday gifts.

Not like this game hasn't been planned for a very long time.

 

[Blackjack]

“We thought we would be good”. Well I didn’t, considering we just had a season where we were the 3rd worst team in the NHL, with a 72 points and a .439 win percentage.

Yeah, that’s fair. I think Ray thought we would be good.

Our goaltending is worse now, .901/3.09 vs .889/3.28, but we had 31 Wins from 39 Quality Starts in 2018-19 while we currently have 24 wins out of 18 Quality Starts this season.

League wide save percentage is down six points from 18-19, so it is worse but only by a bit. If you’re arguing that we’re better team outside the crease than then I agree.

So weird comparison.

You don’t think we’ll get healthier? You think Luke and Nemec are going to have sophomore slumps next season?

I think Lindy will still be the coach.

Goalie Hell sucks obviously but teams, including us last season, often find temporary solutions even when they can’t get that special someone to fill the crease.

I don’t particularly like rentals, maybe other than depth for actual contenders. If you have actual flaws you aren’t fixing them at the TDL and try hard teams that try to make a splash usually just end up pissing away assets.

But Fitz doesn’t like rentals either so I’m not worried he’s going to do something dumb there.

You do fix flaws in the off-season though.

My overall point is that I think Lindy will still be here and therefore there is a significant risk of underperformance next season which would mean that giving up another 2nd round pick would be painful.

 

[Guttersniped]

Yeah, that’s fair. I think Ray thought we would be good.



League wide save percentage is down six points from 18-19, so it is worse but only by a bit. If you’re arguing that we’re better team outside the crease than then I agree.



I think Lindy will still be the coach.



My overall point is that I think Lindy will still be here and therefore there is a significant risk of underperformance next season which would mean that giving up another 2nd round pick would be painful.

Yes, that was true about Shero and I wasn’t a fan of his approach to team building.

I don’t think Lindy is that bad, we succeeded last year with him. (Not arguing that we should keep him, I just don’t believe he’s actively ruining everything.)

I’m not particularly interested in Henrique either. I also have no idea what he’ll cost though, at a complete loss there lol.

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

Henrique would be nice but he’s a luxury. Jack, Nico, Haula, Nosek/Lazar is perfectly fine down the middle if we ever get healthy. If we’re gonna be spending assets this year, a goalie or defenseman are both much bigger needs than a middle six LW/C

 

[Saugus]

If the league were remotely competent, these jerseys would've all been available back in November so fans could pick them up as Holiday gifts.

Not like this game hasn't been planned for a very long time.

Is it only up to the league though? Given their reputation, I wouldn't be surprised if this bullshit was partially or even mostly Fanatics' fault.

Maybe it's a bit of both. Incompetence all around!

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Meier is in Tulum with Nico, Siegs, Pius Suter, and Kurashev

 

[Nubmer6]

Meier is in Tulum with Nico, Siegs, Pius Suter, and Kurashev

Nice. I'll have to get a report. I'll be there in a few weeks.

 

[OmNomNom]

Meier is in Tulum with Nico, Siegs, Pius Suter, and Kurashev

JJ Moser:

"What am I, chopped liver?"

 

[HBK27]

Is it only up to the league though? Given their reputation, I wouldn't be surprised if this bullshit was partially or even mostly Fanatics' fault.

Maybe it's a bit of both. Incompetence all around!

It's not just the NHL - they're saying that logistical issues with Adidas are also a factor.

Still, feels like a complete blown opportunity to not have these available months ago.

Not like the NHL has a great track record with this type of stuff though.

 

[njdevil26]

Meier is in Tulum with Nico, Siegs, Pius Suter, and Kurashev

The other group just happened to show up in my two favorite vacation spots.
Marino, Bastian, Toffoli, and Lazar were in St John USVI now they are in Virgin Gorda BVI.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Such a pain in the ass, it's from the email I got today....

"With Friday's NHL and Adidas reveal of the 2024 NHL Stadium Series uniforms, as Devils Black and Red Members, we would like to provide details regarding how you can purchase these special event jerseys.


The Devils will wear these special jerseys at the Stadium Series and also at the March 19 home game. Devils Black and Red Members will have exclusive access to purchase these jerseys in-venue at the February 6 contest against Colorado. Please note, available on-site inventory will be extremely limited and specific sizes and player availability cannot be guaranteed. Additionally, we have been informed that due to production delays with Adidas, authentic Jack Hughes jerseys will not be available in-venue at this time. We have been working with the League and Adidas on their distribution plan and will provide details to Devils Black & Red Members when they become available.

Devils Black and Red Members are limited to two (2) Stadium Series jerseys per account based on availability and your Black and Red Member discount will be applied at checkout.

In addition to the on-site retail opportunity at Prudential Center, NHL Stadium Series jerseys will go on sale via online retailers on Monday, February 5. Fans who wish to purchase via these outlets in advance of the exclusive Devils Black and Red opportunity on February 6 are encouraged to do so. Please note that local and online retail inventory is separate from the Devils in-venue inventory at Prudential Center and Black and Red Member discounts are not valid at these retailers.

Following the Members-only exclusive on-site sale during the February 6 home game against Colorado, any excess Stadium Series jersey inventory will be made available to the general public via the Devils Den Team Store starting on February 7.

Complete details relating to the February 6 on-site Black and Red Member sale will be shared over the next week.

 

[theoptimist]

Henrique would be nice but he’s a luxury. Jack, Nico, Haula, Nosek/Lazar is perfectly fine down the middle if we ever get healthy. If we’re gonna be spending assets this year, a goalie or defenseman are both much bigger needs than a middle six LW/C

We need another center odb

 

[OmNomNom]

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

hes probably pissed he has to leave his vacation early tbh

 

[Devs3cups]

Good for Bratt!

Wonder how Jack feels about this.

Edit: Read he’ll still attend festivities. That’s cool.

 

[Devils Trap]

Ive gotten to the point where, these next 2 weeks post ASG decide for me:

IF the Team Wins a few games + Gets Healthy - Trade some picks and get help

IF they continue losing, Jack is still out and Dougie/Siegs have no progress - Just give the year up. Keep our 1st round pick and come back next year with more prospects etc

 

[NjDevsRR]

Ive gotten to the point where, these next 2 weeks post ASG decide for me:

IF the Team Wins a few games + Gets Healthy - Trade some picks and get help

IF they continue losing, Jack is still out and Dougie/Siegs have no progress - Just give the year up. Keep our 1st round pick and come back next year with more prospects etc

The 11 games before the west coast trip will tell all

 

[Devils731]

This seems like good news for Jack’s injury, whatever it is. I won’t be surprised if he plays in the first game back on the 6th.

 

[Billdo]

While I think he ultimately would've been rushed this year or last, I kinda wish we took Askarov instead of Holtz. And I love Holtz but man Askarov has been solid.