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

[Lou is God]

dougie was never one of the worst players on the team. His first year was meh, which was concerning given his contract, but he was never horrible like Meier. We did not give up assets for Hamilton and his contract is up while the core is still in their prime.

Meier is an untradeable contract that will drag the team down for the entire primes of their young core.

In fairness I don't think Dougie played out of position. Would be nice to move Timo back to RW and see what happens.

 

[Nocashstyle]

dougie was never one of the worst players on the team. His first year was meh, which was concerning given his contract, but he was never horrible like Meier. We did not give up assets for Hamilton and his contract is up while the core is still in their prime.

Meier is an untradeable contract that will drag the team down for the entire primes of their young core.

Which irreplaceable assets are the Devils sorely missing? Meier has played like 10 games fully healthy this season, and that’s probably rounding up. There’s still 574 games on that contract after this season for him to get fully healthy and look like the Meier the team traded for.

Let’s calm down a bit.

 

[Devs3cups]

dougie was never one of the worst players on the team. His first year was meh, which was concerning given his contract, but he was never horrible like Meier. We did not give up assets for Hamilton and his contract is up while the core is still in their prime.

Meier is an untradeable contract that will drag the team down for the entire primes of their young core.

Dougie was absolutely one of the worst players after his injury in year 1.

I highly doubt Meier just forgot how to play hockey. I’d like to see him 100% healthy and put in a position to succeed/be used to his strengths (like was in SJ) before making conclusions after 50 games into his contract.

 

[Triumph]

dougie was never one of the worst players on the team. His first year was meh, which was concerning given his contract, but he was never horrible like Meier. We did not give up assets for Hamilton and his contract is up while the core is still in their prime.

Meier is an untradeable contract that will drag the team down for the entire primes of their young core.

Bullshit. When Hamilton came back from his jaw injury, he scored 2 goals in 32 games and did not score a power play goal on a power play where he was quarterbacking PP1 every night. It was just not something people were reacting to because A: he was obviously dealing with limitations, wearing a jaw guard and B: there were other enormous problems with the team.

If Meier plays this way next season, I will be concerned. I don't think he will - he might not be the guy he was in San Jose, but I don't think his career is over at age 27.

 

[Billdo]

Bullshit. When Hamilton came back from his jaw injury, he scored 2 goals in 32 games and did not score a power play goal on a power play where he was quarterbacking PP1 every night. It was just not something people were reacting to because A: he was obviously dealing with limitations, wearing a jaw guard and B: there were other enormous problems with the team.

If Meier plays this way next season, I will be concerned. I don't think he will - he might not be the guy he was in San Jose, but I don't think his career is over at age 27.

That would be a huge problem.

 

[BostonDevil]

Not trying to stir the pot but....

The ONLY thing Fitz should do is sit on his hands.

Modification aren't going to turn this season around. And even if by some miracle we should make the playoffs we are going to get bitch slapped.

Doing nothing is a much better option than wasting assets now.

You might be right but doing nothing to this point is concerning.

He made moves last year and in the summer that indicated he thought this was a team past the rebuild stage and moving on to contender status.

His inactivity as the team circles the drain is contrary to those actions.

Which is it? Is this a contending team that trades for Toffoli and Meier while locking up players long term or a rebuild where firing the coach and running out terrible goaltending is just part of the growth process?

As for the playoff bitch slapping. All I heard last year when they got steamrolled by Carolina was that they needed playoff experience. You don't get that by being a lottery team.

 

[Devils Trap]

we gave up huge assets and a massive chunk of cap for a guy that has been one of the worst players on the team. He has played 73 games for us and scored 40 points. He‘s -20 at 5v5.

at this point its catastrophic



I would love to trade Jack too. I know that will never happen, but he’s right at the top of the list of problems

Lmfao, what type of crack do you need to take to want to trade probably the most talented player the org has ever had ?? JFC

 

[NjDevsRR]

Well we have officially lost our minds on here

 

[None Shall Pass]

I still think the Timo contract was a mistake. The trade itself wasn't so bad, but that much cap to a guy who never hit a PPG (And because of aging curves, likely never will) is a problem to me.

I sincerely hope next season is better for him. Or he has a baller playoffs this year.

 

[Devs3cups]

Looking back, I think what Fitz did last year/this summer was cement the core.

Not sure having 2 rookie D-men in the lineup on opening day and one right on the edge in Nemec was any indication he was going all in to contend this year. Pair that with VV being the starter.

I dunno, doesn’t smell going all in to contend right now. Down the line? In 2-3-4 years? Absolutely.

But at the same time, he said it was time for the team to contend. So who knows?

 

[BostonDevil]

Looking back, I think what Fitz did last year/this summer was cement the core.

Not sure having 2 rookie D-men in the lineup on opening day and one right on the edge in Nemec was any indication he was going all in to contend this year. Pair that with VV being the starter.

I dunno, doesn’t smell going all in to contend right now. Down the line? In 2-3-4 years? Absolutely.

But at the same time, he said it was time for the team to contend. So who knows?

4 years?!? You start losing guys like Nico and having to pay some of the younger guys. In 4 years half of this team will be turned over.

Cheap Luke and Nemec is the time to make the most of things. Like having a great QB on his rookie contract.

 

[Nocashstyle]

I still think the Timo contract was a mistake. The trade itself wasn't so bad, but that much cap to a guy who never hit a PPG (And because of aging curves, likely never will) is a problem to me.

I sincerely hope next season is better for him. Or he has a baller playoffs this year.

The contract certainly has the potential to not age super well, especially in the latter years, but Meier’s skillset was something this team sorely needed. I don’t know of many other ways a true impact power forward could have been acquired and retained. We saw how effective he could be at points last year and in the Rags series (even with his historically bad puck luck).

He just needs to get fully healthy. I also agree with others that Ruff is not utilizing him correctly either.

Side note:

This team is also missing Dougie much more than any of us talk about

 

[JimEIV]

Nemec would still be in Utica if Dougie were healthy.

Bullshit. They were never going to stash a #2 overall in Utica this entire season. It was NEVER EVER going to happen. It was a matter of "when" not if.

On top of that, a lot of people here were complaining that he didn't start the season here.

 

[Devs3cups]

4 years?!? You start losing guys like Nico and having to pay some of the younger guys. In 4 years half of this team will be turned over.

Cheap Luke and Nemec is the time to make the most of things. Like having a great QB on his rookie contract.

I don’t disagree with this, but our core is very young and most of it is signed long term. I also don’t think Nico is going anywhere.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Looking back, I think what Fitz did last year/this summer was cement the core.

Not sure having 2 rookie D-men in the lineup on opening day and one right on the edge in Nemec was any indication he was going all in to contend this year. Pair that with VV being the starter.

I dunno, doesn’t smell going all in to contend right now. Down the line? In 2-3-4 years? Absolutely.

But at the same time, he said it was time for the team to contend. So who knows?

The FO was arrogant that's the vibe I got. They had the hard to find, elite talent pieces in place for the next 5 years. They thought Meier was that elite elusive power forward you "need" to win in the playoffs, and with him in the fold the window was open. Missing the playoffs was not even a consideration, and I don't think it was one they seriously considered until the loss to Detroit on 11/22. Then it was "oh shit we need a goalie," "oh shit our guys are really hurt," and "oh shit maybe our complimentary defensive players aren't as good as we thought."

It's why you hear rumors that the devils are looking for help everywhere.

I don't believe for a second they thought a season like this was coming, and missing the playoffs increases the likelihood of a dumb "job saving" trade going down this offseason. Ruff needs to go yesterday and the team needs to get some data to see how players respond to a different coach before the offseason, where at the very least goaltending needs to be overhauled.

 

[glenwo2]

Blame goes directly to Timo Meier... injured or not.

Short synopsis:

This past summer the decision was to forgo Defense to sign Bratt and Timo to big contracts.. the defense suffered and Timo didn't deliver.



There are the cliff notes.

Signing Bratt was the better decision, though.

You can't say it wasn't after what he's done so far this season.

Timo is another story entirely.

 

[JimEIV]

Signing Bratt was the better decision, though.

You can't say it wasn't after what he's done so far this season.

Timo is another story entirely.

Bratt should've been signed to a better deal for us three years ago.

 

[longislanddevil]

We have problems that go way beyond goaltending. If you think Markstrom or Saros will magically transform us into a legitimate Cup contender this year, you are going to be disappointed.

- Our 8.75 million dollar man looks like a 4th line player

- Jack is not 100% and has limitations

- Nemec is our only defenseman that has been consistently really good. Luke is up and down, as you’d expect with a rookie.

- Marino has regressed significantly this year.

- With Hamilton’s injury, defensemen are being slotted higher out of necessity and are in over their head having to eat more minutes/tougher matchups IE- Bahl, Siegs

- Smith is one of the worst players in the league and hurts us most of the time he is out there

I get no joy in saying this. It just makes little sense to me to give up premium assets NOW. Summertime? Different story….prices will come down.

 

[Devs3cups]

The FO was arrogant that's the vibe I got. They had the hard to find, elite talent pieces in place for the next 5 years. They thought Meier was that elite elusive power forward you "need" to win in the playoffs, and with him in the fold the window was open. Missing the playoffs was not even a consideration, and I don't think it was one they seriously considered until the loss to Detroit on 11/22. Then it was "oh shit we need a goalie," "oh shit our guys are really hurt," and "oh shit maybe our complimentary defensive players aren't as good as we thought."

It's why you hear rumors that the devils are looking for help everywhere.

I don't believe for a second they thought a season like this was coming, and missing the playoffs increases the likelihood of a dumb "job saving" trade going down this offseason. Ruff needs to go yesterday and the team needs to get some data to see how players respond to a different coach before the offseason, where at the very least goaltending needs to be overhauled.

Oh, I absolutely agree they didn’t envision being out of the playoffs. I think they expected some sort of step back, but that’s about it.

My only point was that I think the decisions made by the FO don’t necessarily scream going all in right now. They’ve cemented the core, brought on young pieces that will be part of the core as well.

 

[Zippy316]

f*** VV

Either trade for someone and roll with them and Daws or roll with Daws and Vanecek when he gets healthy again. And very little Vanecek if possible.

f*** Daws having to pay by having to be sent down while Vanecek stays up and sucks like he has for a year now.

I do wish we could get rid of Vanecek, should happen in the off-season.

But where this team is at, it makes much more sense to ride him out until the end of the year and preserve some games of Daws/Schmid waiver eligibility.

If the team makes the playoffs, you can do the same thing you did last year and call up Daws to be the backup and Vanecek can watch from the press box.

 

[glenwo2]

Bratt should've been signed to a better deal for us three years ago.

True.

And it would've been far more team-friendly, too.

 

[theoptimist]

Said it after the Calgary game that this team needs to go on a run but its unlikely due to inconsistent goaltending. You could see it from a mile away that once someone (Daws) got hot, Ruff was gonna run him to the ground. And now were not even scoring goals anymore.

Someone pointed out that we dont have win streaks lately. Its like win 1, lose 1, win 2, lose 2 kinda stuff. Cant make the playoffs like that when youre already chasing.

Atleast the PP is consistent.

Sounds like you’ve been busy elsewhere. God bless. I should be like you.

 

[glenwo2]

Sounds like you’ve been busy elsewhere. God bless. I should be like you.

He's talking about the POWER PLAY, not his...uhh...you know what? Nevermind.

 

[Devs3cups]

2024-2025 is gonna be an absolute banger. Everyone healthy, new coach, issues taken care of, young guys with another year under their belt.

Still love the core moving forward. Can’t wait.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Bullshit. They were never going to stash a #2 overall in Utica this entire season. It was NEVER EVER going to happen. It was a matter of "when" not if.

On top of that, a lot of people here were complaining that he didn't start the season here.

What's the difference to the main point, though? If Dougie were healthy, Nemec wouldn't be thrusted into playing the minutes he's been playing. He'd be rotating in for Miller most likely.

Losing Dougie to such a significant injury drastically impacted everything on the defensive side of things. That includes our PP, even if he wasn't being used on the top unit. I agree with @Nocashstyle that his loss has been really understated by many. He may not be the best defender, but he provides so much else and eats so many minutes that his loss forced everyone to take on an even greater role.