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

[My3Sons]

You’re not crazy. Would anyone be shocked to see Philly have an awful stretch? They are not a good team.

Just when I thought I’d seen the worst of all takes on this board you drop this garbage on us. Of course @NjDevsRR is absolutely crazy and you’ve been here long enough to know that. Sheesh.

 

[Comparison Ford]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

 

[My3Sons]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

Based on his age and his history it shouldn’t be bad at all. He just had a tough season as have a number of the players. As has been pointed out he’s been injured and played on his off wing for whatever reason. His ability didn’t all just evaporate after the trade.

 

[NjDevsRR]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

I’m hoping year 2 will be much better and that the new coach will play him on the actual wing where he was a top power forward in this league.

 

[Oneiro]

But the problem is a guy you make the highest paid forward shouldn’t need any situation to be close to ideal to make an impact. I’m choosing to believe he’s still injured and we need to give it time (and a new coach) but the criticism is completely warranted. He needs to make his presence known on a nightly basis. Palat and Haula do it far more often.

 

[NJDevils17]

Was at the game tonight. Really fun. Felt the most positive I have in a while.

 

[glenwo2]

Was at the game tonight. Really fun. Felt the most positive I have in a while.

Yeah.

For the first time this season, it didn't feel like a chore watching the Devils play.

It was an up-and-down high-flying hockey game with both teams getting plenty of chances from the first period to OT.

Unfortunately for me, I was sitting there just waiting for the other shoe to drop as far as Vitek goes (and him giving up a softy) and for us to lose.

But the goal he gave up was a bad rebound and not an actual softy (though @Bleedred may argue that point).

Anyway, to my utter surprise (pleasantly so), we managed to get the loser point (is that the first time we've gotten the loser point this season?).



Oh and Bratt is living up to his Allstar status like I hoped his selection would do for him psychologically.

 

[MadDevil]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

Between the injuries and everything else that's gone wrong this season, I'm pretty much just writing this up as a lost season for him. I still think he'll be fine long term. It just might take an off-season of recovery and a new look behind the bench before we see the real Timo. He doesn't have a history of injury really outside of this season so I'm not too concerned about it being a chronic issue with him, at least yet.

It's definitely been a disappointment so far though.

I'd also point out that Dougie's first season with us wasn't all that impressive after all the hype, and then he had a career year the following year when he was healthy.

 

[Forge]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

I feel good it won't be

Jonathan Huberdeau Contract, Cap Hit, Salary and Stats - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Jonathan Huberdeau contract, salary, cap hit, salary cap, aav, career earnings, lifetime earnings, aav, advanced stats, transaction history, trade history, and rfa or ufa free agent status

www.capfriendly.com

 

[NJ07102]

hard to be positive right now, can someone tell me that this timo meier contract WONT be the worst contract in the league?

what a disappointment he’s been

The one good thing out of this horrific trade is Hatakka, who has looked surprisingly good so far.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I remember reading your profiles in his draft year and being sad because you were high on Chesley and he was taken by Washington with the pick we swapped them, but then super excited when we nabbed Casey because you were so high on him.

That's why I wrote those profiles. Wish I had the time now.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

But the problem is a guy you make the highest paid forward shouldn’t need any situation to be close to ideal to make an impact. I’m choosing to believe he’s still injured and we need to give it time (and a new coach) but the criticism is completely warranted. He needs to make his presence known on a nightly basis. Palat and Haula do it far more often.

I absolutely disagree with this, the entire point of getting Meier was to play him where he was in SJ to make an impact. Who cares how much he gets paid? If you're put into a shit situation, you're not gonna be good. We saw an almost identical situation with Dougie and he was bad his first full year to the point where people were saying the same thing. This guy just didn't forget to play hockey overnight.

 

[Team Concept]

The Devils hit the 50 game mark and from time to time I look at player performance over 10 game stretches.

The Good:

Nico Hischier 10-3-8-11 +2
Jesper Bratt 10-4-5-9 +2
Ondrej Palat 5-3-2-5 +2
Santeri Hatakka 6-0-1-1 +6

The Bad:

Luke Hughes 10-1-2-3 -8
John Marino 10-2-0-2 -5
Simon Nemec 10-0-6-6 -8
Alexander Holtz 10-2-1-3 -5

The Ugly:

Timo Meier 9-0-4-4 -9
Dawson Mercer 10-1-2-3 -12
Vitek Vanecek
Nico Daws

Obviously, we can not blame Hughes and Nemec for regressing. Injuries thrust them into more important roles.

Holtz has seen mostly 4th line minutes with inferior linemates.

Meier, Mercer, and Vanecek are the poster boys for why this season has gone so horribly wrong along with the injuries to Hamilton-Siegenthaler which had a ripple effect in the defensive corps.

The home ice record is also mind boggling. What is up with that? Is there an explanation?

 

[TheUnseenHand]

The Devils hit the 50 game mark and from time to time I look at player performance over 10 game stretches.

The Good:

Nico Hischier 10-3-8-11 +2
Jesper Bratt 10-4-5-9 +2
Ondrej Palat 5-3-2-5 +2
Santeri Hatakka 6-0-1-1 +6

The Bad:

Luke Hughes 10-1-2-3 -8
John Marino 10-2-0-2 -5
Simon Nemec 10-0-6-6 -8
Alexander Holtz 10-2-1-3 -5

The Ugly:

Timo Meier 9-0-4-4 -9
Dawson Mercer 10-1-2-3 -12
Vitek Vanecek
Nico Daws

Obviously, we can not blame Hughes and Nemec for regressing. Injuries thrust them into more important roles.

Holtz has seen mostly 4th line minutes with inferior linemates.

Meier, Mercer, and Vanecek are the poster boys for why this season has gone so horribly wrong along with the injuries to Hamilton-Siegenthaler which had a ripple effect in the defensive corps.

The home ice record is also mind boggling. What is up with that? Is there an explanation?

The home ice record has to be an indictment of the coach. That a situation where he should have a noticeable advantage over the other coach.

 

[Call Me Al]

The system is why this isn't a contending team and that won't change until Lindy goes.

But talent alone makes it a playoff team, except in net. We aren't a playoff team because of goaltending. Also even if you fix the system, we still wouldn't be a contending team also because of the goaltending. You simply can't win a cup with the way our goalies play. I'm not sure we are a playoff team in a better system but with the same goaltending. Maybe with the kids who haven't been good, but haven't been other worldly bad, but I don't think any team in the league could go anywhere with the way Vitek has been playing.

I thought Boyle and Rupp laid this out as clearly as possible, it's absolute five alarm fire time in net.

the margin for the playoffs is so slim that you can point to any number of our glaring deficiencies as “the” reason we aren’t a playoff team -

- habit of slow starts and playing from behind almost every game

- horrible home record

- losing to crappy teams because there’s no killer instinct or sense of urgency to earn every single point

- unnecessarily complicated D structure/coaching in general

- injuries (not anyone’s fault)

- worst goaltending in the league

you fix any one of those problems and i’d guarantee we’d be sitting in a spot. yes the goaltending’s bad but aside from injuries, the other problems aren’t things that good teams deal with - at least not all of them compounded

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

the margin for the playoffs is so slim that you can point to any number of our glaring deficiencies as “the” reason we aren’t a playoff team -

- habit of slow starts and playing from behind almost every game

- horrible home record

- losing to crappy teams because there’s no killer instinct or sense of urgency to earn every single point

- unnecessarily complicated D structure/coaching in general

- injuries (not anyone’s fault)

- worst goaltending in the league

you fix any one of those problems and i’d guarantee we’d be sitting in a spot. yes the goaltending’s bad but aside from injuries, the other problems aren’t things that good deal with - at least not all of them compounded

4/6 are strongly linked to bad coaching

 

[Blackjack]

That's why I wrote those profiles. Wish I had the time now.

I wish you were able to monetize it somehow. I’d pay for it. Heck, I’d subscribe to Steve’s stuff if he hired you.

 

[Call Me Al]

4/6 are strongly linked to bad coaching

i’m inclined to agree but i’m not letting the players completely off the hook for the lack of killer instinct and not being ready to start games, even if coaching is a factor

 

[devilsblood]

I absolutely disagree with this, the entire point of getting Meier was to play him where he was in SJ to make an impact. Who cares how much he gets paid? If you're put into a shit situation, you're not gonna be good. We saw an almost identical situation with Dougie and he was bad his first full year to the point where people were saying the same thing. This guy just didn't forget to play hockey overnight.

Didn't @Guttersniped post the other day that Meier played mostly on LW for SJ last year?

the margin for the playoffs is so slim that you can point to any number of our glaring deficiencies as “the” reason we aren’t a playoff team -

- habit of slow starts and playing from behind almost every game

- horrible home record

- losing to crappy teams because there’s no killer instinct or sense of urgency to earn every single point

- unnecessarily complicated D structure/coaching in general

- injuries (not anyone’s fault)

- worst goaltending in the league

you fix any one of those problems and i’d guarantee we’d be sitting in a spot. yes the goaltending’s bad but aside from injuries, the other problems aren’t things that good deal with - at least not all of them compounded

How much does the bottom 2 help feed the first 3? I'd say a fair amount.

 

[Call Me Al]

i wouldn’t pin slow starts on the goaltending - how many times have we been outshot 10-2 in the first 10-15 minutes of a game?

and the home record isn’t just goaltending - they play a simpler more effective game on the road whereas it looks like sometimes they try to be the harlem globetrotters and pass up shots in favor of trying to score a pretty goal for the fans. that dates back to last season

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

How much does the bottom 2 help feed the first 3? I'd say a fair amount.

The slow starts happened when they were fully healthy against the anemic Caps, Sharks, Ducks and most of the early season. Wake the f*** up.

i wouldn’t pin slow starts on the goaltending - how many times have we been outshot 10-2 in the first 10-15 minutes of a game?

At this point, it's utterly tiring to deal with this fanbase just shouting goaltending every 2-3 seconds. Yes, it f***ing sucks but it's not the biggest issue and it's going to be most correctable thing this summer. Fitz had no reason to bend the knee last summer after the year Vitek had + Schmid's decent playoffs, now he has all the reason to cave which is probably going to cost us unless there's a glut of goalies on the market.

 

[Triumph]

i wouldn’t pin slow starts on the goaltending - how many times have we been outshot 10-2 in the first 10-15 minutes of a game?

I think the answer to this is not that often but also more often than it should have. I don't know when I'll get time to do this but I have been meaning to break down every 0-0 score state in the Devils' season so far.

 

[devilsblood]

The slow starts happened when they were fully healthy against the anemic Caps, Sharks, Ducks and most of the early season. Wake the f*** up.



At this point, it's utterly tiring to deal with this fanbase just shouting goaltending every 2-3 seconds. Yes, it f***ing sucks but it's not the biggest issue and it's going to be most correctable thing this summer. Fitz had no reason to bend the knee last summer after the year Vitek had + Schmid's decent playoffs, now he has all the reason to cave which is probably going to cost us unless there's a glut of goalies on the market.

Injuries and goal tending are absolutely the biggest issues.

It's not our fault you get tired arguing against it.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Injuries and goal tending are absolutely the biggest issues.

It's not our fault you get tired arguing against it.

They got goaltending last night and Timo Meier/Alex Holtz are playing in the bottom 6 in a game they got shutout in. And they're literally middle of the league of man games lost this year. Keep being obtuse. I really don't give a shit anymore lol

 

[devilsblood]

They got goaltending last night and Timo Meier/Alex Holtz are playing in the bottom 6 in a game they got shutout in. Keep being obtuse. I really don't give a shit anymore lol

It's not like they get shut out often and last night was any way indicative of our issues this year.

They played a good game against a good team last night. Even Vitek played well.