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

[Emperoreddy]

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Yeah what @ Markstrom when the Flames are in better spot to make the playoffs than we are, he's gonna be a summer trade if at all. You guys are going to get Jake Allen for a 4th and get the same shit goaltending just to realize it's the HC's awful system.

I'm already preparing for this loser to somehow keep his job in the summer.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I'm already preparing for this loser to somehow keep his job in the summer.

Then Fitz deserves to be screamed at for following the same path as Shero with Hynes

 

[NjDevsRR]

They are 6th in goals forced per game. I don’t consider them a very bad team. Some less injuries to our stars and .900 goaltending gets them comfortably in Metro 3/WC

It is what it is

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Then Fitz deserves to be screamed at for following the same path as Shero with Hynes

If he identified the issue as you and I see it, he would have already made the move. So the fact that he hasn't, tells me he either doesn't see the problem for what it is or is allowing some type of misplaced loyalty to cloud his decision-making. Either way, I'm rapidly losing my confidence in him, despite the fact that I was a devotee on the team-building front going into the season.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If this team needs everything to break perfect to be a consistent playoff team then that's a whole issue in itself

 

[Bleedred]

They are 6th in goals forced per game. I don’t consider them a very bad team. Some less injuries to our stars and .900 goaltending gets them comfortably in Metro 3/WC

It is what it is

They don’t look like as dangerous of a team as last year on the rush. They’ve somewhat compensated by having a better power play than last year.

I’m not sure if that’s Travis Green’s influence/Brunette’s departure or just that it’s a slower team.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If he identified the issue as you and I see it, he would have already made the move. So the fact that he hasn't, tells me he either doesn't see the problem for what it is or is allowing some type of misplaced loyalty to cloud his decision-making. Either way, I'm rapidly losing my confidence in him, despite the fact that I was a devotee on the team-building front going into the season.

Eh, who knows. If he doesn't fire the living f*** out of Lindy this offseason then yeah, Fitz is on the hot seat regardless of that extension as well. You built this monster of a team and you allow the one thing that everyone from the outside can see is the issue. The goaltending issue doesn't bother me, that will get fixed. Like, @AfroThunder396 said before, Fitz has made an effort to fix everything that has plagued NJD the past few years. If he fires Ruff then we're going to be a easy in playoff team next year imo

 

[hidek91]

The hard truths:
-We lost the Toffoli trade
-We lost the Timo trade
-Palat’s contract was a disaster the day it was signed
-Timo’s contract has negative value
-Jack Hughes is injury prone
-Nico is one concussion away from Nolan Patrick
-Our 4C is going to prison
-We have the worst goalie in the league

Did I miss anything?

Even though your post was generally perceived as overly negative, I think I agree in general. What people don't get is that, while that's true that Fitz has been able to address needs, the problem is that instead of doing it in smart and creative way, he generally sacrificed cheap, young depth and cap space for the most shiny pieces available. The whole McLeod problem doesn't help because he legitimately turned into very good 3C with a quite cheap contract.

If you believe that 2023/24 was supposed to be transition year because of replacement of Severson and Graves by two young d-men and also increasing the role of #7D guys like Bahl, Smith and Miller, how do you see us contending with:
a) Hamilton, Palat, Meier taking up 24M of cap space,
b) Mercer, Nemec, Hughes getting their 2nd contracts,
c) Not having cheap depth because our picks/prospects are traded away?

 

[Emperoreddy]

Idk you got the stats to back it up. You have league wide analysts saying our goaltending is atrocious. Fitz allegedly scouring the earth for a goalie.

I'm not sure how deep in the sand your head has to be to not see our absolute biggest weakness is in net.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Interested? If we don’t have to give up any of that to get him it’s a fireable offense to not get him.

Yeah because are window is closing right....So trade the young guys because this is our vets last shot at a cup....Oh wait we are one of the youngest teams in the league so Fitz making a stupid trade of a 22 year old for a 34 35 year old should be a deal that gets him fired.....

 

[Emperoreddy]

If this team needs everything to break perfect to be a consistent playoff team then that's a whole issue in itself

They don't need that. They just need saves

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Idk you got the stats to back it up. You have league wide analysts saying our goaltending is atrocious. Fitz allegedly scouring the earth for a goalie.

I'm not sure how deep in the sand your head has to be to not see our absolute biggest weakness is in net.

Doesn't mean you go scorched earth to save a season that might already be lost.....

 

[Bleedred]

Then Fitz deserves to be screamed at for following the same path as Shero with Hynes

Honestly, it’s as good of a time as ever to can him. I’m talking at season’s end. And absolutely not for his jackass fool of an associate coach this season. I’m fine with retaining Green as an assistant, because if we hire somebody else then Green is no threat to become head coach anytime soon.

Too late to get anything out of a coaching change this year.

Because if we don’t fire him after this year, then how long are we really gonna keep him? We run it back with him next year and make the playoffs, then we keep extending him every year until we miss the playoffs again? Or is it maybe after 1-2 years straight of first round exits?

I still think we can make the playoffs next year if we run it back with him. I don’t think he can FUBAR a fairly healthy lineup, and I think the chances of losing this many players to injury next year (at least this many important players) is as close to zero as it gets.

But you know it and I know it. He’s lucky he survived 2022 to be able to come back and have last season.

Fitz had to have already had his finger on the button during the 1st intermission of game 3 of last season.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Doesn't mean you go scorched earth to save a season that might already be lost.....

We need a goalie beyond this year too

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Goaltending throughout the whole league literally sucks besides Adin Hill, Hellebuyck and Demko. The Rags elite starter is hovering .899 right now and they're in first, Avs have a sub .900 from Georgiev, Canes have a WORSE save percentage and have been fine this season. Yes, this team's goaltending is absolutely atrocious but you're an absolute dolt if you think a goalie is fixing this team's issue especially an absolutely mediocre one like Jake Allen. Why give Rogalski/Lindy a life jacket when they don't deserve it? The team doesn't either.

 

[NjDevsRR]

They don’t look like as dangerous of a team as last year on the rush. They’ve somewhat compensated by having a better power play than last year.

I’m not sure if that’s Travis Green’s influence/Brunette’s departure or just that it’s a slower team.

I never said they are close to the same team last year.

But they are easily a playoff team if they could get .900 goaltending and didn’t lose Hamilton for the season.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Honestly, it’s as good of a time as ever to can him. I’m talking at season’s end. And absolutely not for his jackass fool of an associate coach this season. I’m fine with retaining Green as an assistant, because if we hire somebody else then Green is no threat to become head coach anytime soon.

Too late to get anything out of a coaching change this year.

Because if we don’t fire him after this year, then how long are we really gonna keep him? We run it back with him next year and make the playoffs, then we keep extending him every year until we miss the playoffs again? Or is it maybe after 1-2 years straight of first round exits?

I still think we can make the playoffs next year if we run it back with him. I don’t think he can FUBAR a fairly healthy lineup, and I think the chances of losing this many players to injury next year (at least this many important players) is as close to zero as it gets.

But you know it and I know it. He’s lucky he survived 2022 to be able to come back and have last season.

Fitz’s had to have already had his finger on the button during the 1st intermission of game 3 of last season.

If Jack saves him again with a "I like Lindy's system and as a coach" then we need a discussion him having to grow up similar to Ovechkin pre Barry Trotz

 

[Emperoreddy]

FFS Vitek is below .890 on the season with the worst goals saved above expected you can find.

Even by this year's league standards he is extremely below average.

There are 80+ goalies around the league better then Vitek.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

>says goaltending is bad
>understands they need to get a goalie but not in attempt to save Lindy/company
>"we needz a goalie asap lolz"

They don’t look like as dangerous of a team as last year on the rush. They’ve somewhat compensated by having a better power play than last year.

I’m not sure if that’s Travis Green’s influence/Brunette’s departure or just that it’s a slower team.

The bigger issue is everyone regressing on the entire team, for the most part

 

[Emperoreddy]

We need a goalie now and next year. What a f***ing loser attitude to not get one just sk Ruff gets fired.

That team building suicide to tank to toss a coach.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

The hard truths:
-We lost the Toffoli trade
-We lost the Timo trade
-Palat’s contract was a disaster the day it was signed
-Timo’s contract has negative value
-Jack Hughes is injury prone
-Nico is one concussion away from Nolan Patrick
-Our 4C is going to prison
-We have the worst goalie in the league

Did I miss anything?

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

FFS Vitek is below .890 on the season with the worst goals saved above expected you can find.

Even by this year's league standards he is extremely below average.

There are 80+ goalies around the league better then Vitek.

Very funny and ironic that 2 of those 80 are Blackwood/Wedgewood, huh? Oh wait, it isn't

 

[Emperoreddy]

Very funny and ironic that 2 of those 80 are Blackwood/Wedgewood, huh? Oh wait, it isn't

Considering the Sharks play worse team defense then anyone in the league...yeah it might be the goalie

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

We need a goalie now and next year. What a f***ing loser attitude to not get one just sk Ruff gets fired.

That team building suicide to tank to toss a coach.

It has nothing to do with just getting Ruff fired, why does this team deserve a goalie trade in the first place? What have they literally shown in the first place to deserve it? When they were healthy and losing to dogshit teams with slow starts. Stop thinking this is NHL 24 where you can get a goalie and randomly go on a W13.