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

[My3Sons]

Yeah that’s true. But there was no surprise like 25% price jumps during the year and I was able to just cancel FuboTV as soon as the Devils season was over…no returning a cable box or added hassle. If I still wanted to keep live TV in the off-season I could have shopped around and settled on a cheaper provider like Sling too. Obviously there are very few options when it comes to finding a service with MSG though.

At the end of the day, it’s still much better than being held prisoner by the cable company.

I agree at least there is competition but once you add a full slate of channels that you need with a full family I find it’s six of one half dozen of the other

 

[JrFischer54]

And having young, marketable stars with a high octane offense. Our dynasty teams seemingly didn’t get much love in terms of national broadcasts lol

Maybe it was asked but how many are on espn+ outside the home opener

Espn+ for the opener? F that. How can they not have the opener with our boys Bill and Dano

Yeah screw that. I might be the only one refusing to pay for espn+

 

[JimEIV]

I don't have a problem with any of streaming services really...

It's just so fragmented and disjointed that is a major chore to figure which service has what offerings. I feel like it was a major quest just trying to get what I want.

I wish I could go back to Comcast/Xfinity. I loved their service everything I wanted one place - internet, cable, phone.

 

[britdevil]

College hockey is a lot of fun. I find the games very exciting and the atmosphere is super fun.

It's worth checking out if you have access to it.

Yeah, just a no from me dog.

Self inflicted sleep deprivation for one team is enough.

I always had a soft spot for Leetch and Richter after we beat Canada for the gold at 1996 World Cup.

Seeing as you are American...

 

[Bleedred]

I’m a big enough Richter that you would think we were related.

 

[Bcap88]

Which one?

I have used xtremehdiptv without any issue. I mainly get it for football season but it comes in handy when blackouts occurs. I usually buy it in three month increments to avoid the long term commitment

https://xtremehdiptv.org/

It came super in handy last playoffs instead of hopping from free trial to free trial

Can’t beat it for roughly 15 bucks a month

 

[MadDevil]

Poor Islanders fans lol

 

[Hisch13r]

Poor Islanders fans lolView attachment 739979

I'm shocked their fanbase polled so low. Every time I see Isles fans talking about their team they're beyond delusional. They will jump on you if you say anything negative at all

 

[Triumph]

I'm shocked their fanbase polled so low. Every time I see Isles fans talking about their team they're beyond delusional. They will jump on you if you say anything negative at all

Everything is siloed, including this place. People who subscribe to the Athletic are more likely to be the kind of fans who think about e.g. 1st round picks and the like. Also I can imagine Islanders fans having these opinions but also telling people from other fanbases to f*** off.

I also don't agree with them, I'd give Lou a solid C, he's doing his Lou thing.

 

[Antiillafire]

27 Days to the first preseason game vs Montreal.

Lots of Slovaks will be staying up late to watch that one. Likely the first time Slaf and Nemec play against each other in 5-6 years, when both of them were 13-14 in the Slovak U18 league.

 

[Guttersniped]

I'm shocked their fanbase polled so low. Every time I see Isles fans talking about their team they're beyond delusional. They will jump on you if you say anything negative at all

These aren’t fanbase grades, these are total grades which combine separate “fanbase” grade and a “public” grade from a general poll of all fans.

That is the Isles fanbase’s grade because both polls ended up with D- but they often don’t match.



Also, #31 in 2022. Link for 2022 Rankings

And 6th this year

Whoops.

Also, Devils were #11 in 2022.

And #1! this year.

For fun (it is!), I listed the teams that don’t have matching grades. I listed any specific categories (the six on the cards above) where the grade disparity really stood out. (I was more thorough until I got tired lol).

Spoiler: Fanbase more negative than “public”

31/ Calgary Public D Fanbase D-
Fanbase gives “Draft & Develop” a higher grade (C- vs D+) and a lower grade to everything else.

28/Winnipeg Public C Fanbase D+
“Roster building” C- vs D
“Vision” is C vs D+ (32nd, lowest fan voted score too)
A lot of Jets fans are sick of Chevy and whatever he’s doing.

27/ Toronto Public C+ Fanbase D+
“Vision” C vs D+
“Roster Building” C+ vs D+.
Treliving hasn’t won the fans over yet.

25/ NY Rangers Public C+ Fanbase D
Hot Take: The fanbase borderline hates this team for no good reason.
“Roster Building” B- vs D-
Free Agency B vs C+
“Vision” C+ vs D+. Bunch of crybabies.

22/ Columbus Public C+ Fanbase C
Columbus fans know their team.

19/ Boston Public B- Fanbase C-
Well, the fanbase clearly took the playoff disappointment well.
“Roster Building” B vs C+
“Free Agency” B vs C+
“Vision” B- vs C

17/ Ottawa Public B Fanbase C-
Sens fans know their team better, Dorian sucks. They were brutal though.
“Draft and Develop” A vs C+ (ouch)

13/ Los Angeles Public B+ Fanbase B-
Playoffs and big trades have not won this fanbase over.
“Cap Management” B vs C
“Draft and Development” B vs C+ (I can see that.)

8/ Buffalo Public A- Fanbase B+
The public went gaga over them but the fanbase has been hurt before.

6/ Vegas Public A- Fanbase B+
See Card

5/ Colorado Public A Fanbase B+
The cap crunch hasn’t been kind to their depth but fans are most testy about non-top picks failing to develop
“Draft and Develop” B vs C-

4/ Dallas Public A- Fanbase B+

2/ Carolina Public A+ Fanbase A
“Trading” A vs B+

1/ New Jersey Public A+ Fanbase A
See Card

Spoiler: Fanbase more positive than “public”

30/ Vancouver Public D Fanbase D+
“Roster Building” D vs C-
“Free Agency” D+ vs B-

29/ San Jose Public D Fanbase C
Vision is C+ vs D+ as fans like that the team is at least self-aware enough to know that they’re in a rebuild.

26/ Washington Public D+ Fanbase C-
It’s the Caps, it’s always this.
“Draft and Develop” D+ vs C
“Vision” D+ vs C

24/ Philadelphia Public D+ Fanbase C
Fanbase is comparatively over the move to have new management.
“Vision” C vs B-

21/ St Louis Public C- Fanbase C+
Blues fans love Armstrong as a trader and have been happy with the drafting.
“Draft and Develop” C+ vs B
“Trading” C+ vs B+

20/ Edmonton Public C Fanbase C+
Some success has caused the fanbase to warm up to Holland.
“Roster Building” C+ vs B-
“Free Agency” C+ vs B
Well except this part, the fanbase doesn’t like this so much:
“Cap Management” C- vs D+

16/ Arizona Public C Fanbase B
Fans happy with the rebuild.
“Roster Building” D+ vs B-
“Vision” D+ vs B

15/ Chicago Public C+ Fanbase B
Fans happy with Bedard.
“Free Agency” C vs B- (kind of generous lol)

14/ Montreal Public C+ Fanbase B+
You knew this was coming, like sun rising in the morning.
“Roster Building” C vs B
“Trading” B- vs A-
“Free Agency” C vs B-
“Vision” C+ vs B+

12/ Detroit Public C+ Fanbase B+
“Roster Building” C+ vs B
“Draft and Develop” B vs A-
“Trading” B- vs A-
“Free Agency” C vs B-
“Vision” C+ vs B

11/ Minnesota Public B- Fanbase B+
“Cap Management” C vs B+

10/ Pittsburgh Public B- Fanbase B+
It’s ding dong the witch is dead all over Pennsylvania, and fans were buying what Dubas was selling.
“Roster Building” B vs A-
“Draft and Develop” D vs C
“Vision” B vs A-

7/ Florida Public B+ Fanbase A-
They had a fun run.
“Roster Building” B+ vs A

3/ Tampa Public A- Fanbase A+
Well, this a fanbase still in love lol.
“Cap Management” B+ vs A
“Draft and Develop” B vs A
“Trading” B- vs A-

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I'm shocked their fanbase polled so low. Every time I see Isles fans talking about their team they're beyond delusional. They will jump on you if you say anything negative at all

I went to college on LI and I started to hate them more at the same level as the Rags/Flyers when I was there..., their fanbase is the equivalent of the person who has their head stuck in the sand with a wave 20 foot wave about to crash right on their hands.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

16 games broadcast to a national audience! We are now Gary Bettmans new darlings! Goes to show that even though hockey is a lower scoring game the offense and star power will always sell. Nobody wants to see just all-out defense with a conservative offensive approach no matter how much that team wins. Buffalo was fun to watch in the Hasek heyday because he had to stop 35 to 40 shots and save his teams bacon. That is the lone exception. Routine 3-0 wins with 25 saves don't move the needle like 4-3 in OT.

 

[JimEIV]

Nevermind it's too early for this

 

[forceten]

I agree at least there is competition but once you add a full slate of channels that you need with a full family I find it’s six of one half dozen of the other

This is why you setup a NAS, use a newsgroup downloader fed by programs like Sonarr and just manage your own DVR.

 

[Devs3cups]

 

[AfroThunder396]

Taylor Hall during his MVP year contributed 16% of the teams goals...14.76% of the total offense 93/630 total points

Jack was 15% of the team goals. ...12.87% of the total offense 99/769 total points

It wasn't that far off.

In 2018 only 32 players scored 30 or more goals

In 2023 54 players scored scored 30 or more goals.

The rest of the team just kept up with inflation. Jack was the needle mover

And yet the season before, in the games Jack Hughes was playing and healthy (November 30 - April 3):

Devils scored 152 goals (not counting shootouts)

Hughes: 24 goals, 29 assists, 53 points

Hughes personally scored 15.79% of the Devils goals and got a point on 34.86% of all goals the Devils scored.

So healthy Jack Hughes in 2022 was at the same level as healthy Jack Hughes in 2023 (and Taylor Hall in 2018).

Yet the Devils had the worst record in the league during those 50 games - 15-33-2, 32 points, .320 points percentage. Even though Jack Hughes was playing like an all-star. I wonder why that is?

(trigger warning - this is a goaltending post)

Perhaps it could have been the fact that during the same time period, 11/8/21 - 4/3/22, we had to deal with:

Daws: 7-10-0, .893%, 3.34 GAA
Blackwood: 5-8-2, .877%, 3.58 GAA
Gillies: 3-10-0, .882%, 3.88 GAA
Schmid: 0-4-0, .833%, 6.80 GAA
Bernier: 0-1-0, .813%, 9.00 GAA (not a typo)

The goalies gave up 190 goals in 50 games. Compare with Vanecek giving up 119 goals in 48 starts/52 appearances. That was far more important to our record than Hughes, who had already been at that elite level for a year despite you being the last person on the planet to recognize it.

 

[JrFischer54]

16 games broadcast to a national audience! We are now Gary Bettmans new darlings! Goes to show that even though hockey is a lower scoring game the offense and star power will always sell. Nobody wants to see just all-out defense with a conservative offensive approach no matter how much that team wins. Buffalo was fun to watch in the Hasek heyday because he had to stop 35 to 40 shots and save his teams bacon. That is the lone exception. Routine 3-0 wins with 25 saves don't move the needle like 4-3 in OT.

low scoring games aren't the problem and i dont think ever were. when the goal of the team/teams playing is to limit the scoring and try to win 2-0 2-1 then thats the problem.

 

[Triumph]

The Islanders have been some lev

And yet the season before, in the games Jack Hughes was playing and healthy (November 30 - April 3):

Devils scored 152 goals (not counting shootouts)

Hughes: 24 goals, 29 assists, 53 points

Hughes personally scored 15.79% of the Devils goals and got a point on 34.86% of all goals the Devils scored.

So healthy Jack Hughes in 2022 was at the same level as healthy Jack Hughes in 2023 (and Taylor Hall in 2018).

Yet the Devils had the worst record in the league during those 50 games - 15-33-2, 32 points, .320 points percentage. Even though Jack Hughes was playing like an all-star. I wonder why that is?

The thing is, you don't even need to use last year's Devils. There are all kinds of examples -

Mario Lemieux played in 292 games his first 4 years, scoring 215 goals and adding 389 assists. Ridiculous, ridiculous numbers. The Penguins didn't make the playoffs any of those years, despite them only needing to be the 4th best team out of 6. A hockey team is always a lot more than one player, and especially last year's Devils.

 

[Better Call Sal]

View attachment 740091

This is a fun new tool!

Makes me realize I'll miss the Tatar-Nico-Mercer line though. Timo should fit in there nicely, though!

 

[JimEIV]

And yet the season before, in the games Jack Hughes was playing and healthy (November 30 - April 3):

Devils scored 152 goals (not counting shootouts)

Hughes: 24 goals, 29 assists, 53 points

Hughes personally scored 15.79% of the Devils goals and got a point on 34.86% of all goals the Devils scored.

So healthy Jack Hughes in 2022 was at the same level as healthy Jack Hughes in 2023 (and Taylor Hall in 2018).

Yet the Devils had the worst record in the league during those 50 games - 15-33-2, 32 points, .320 points percentage. Even though Jack Hughes was playing like an all-star. I wonder why that is?

(trigger warning - this is a goaltending post)

Perhaps it could have been the fact that during the same time period, 11/8/21 - 4/3/22, we had to deal with:

Daws: 7-10-0, .893%, 3.34 GAA
Blackwood: 5-8-2, .877%, 3.58 GAA
Gillies: 3-10-0, .882%, 3.88 GAA
Schmid: 0-4-0, .833%, 6.80 GAA
Bernier: 0-1-0, .813%, 9.00 GAA (not a typo)

The goalies gave up 190 goals in 50 games. Compare with Vanecek giving up 119 goals in 48 starts/52 appearances. That was far more important to our record than Hughes, who had already been at that elite level for a year despite you being the last person on the planet to recognize it.

Something is not right or I might be misunderstanding your methodology?

Jack scored 26 goals in 2022. The Devils scored 245 total goals. That's 10.6% of the Devils goals. He did 15% this year.

And 56 points of 658 total points is 8.5% of the total offense. He did just about 13% of the total offense this year.

 

[Devils731]

Something is not right or I might be misunderstanding your methodology?

Jack scored 26 goals in 2022. The Devils scored 245 total goals. That's 10.6% of the Devils goals. He did 15% this year.

And 56 points of 658 total points is 8.5% of the total offense. He did just about 13% of the total offense this year.

You are missing something, he’s only counting the games Hughes played in.

It would be silly to use a percentage of goal metrics and use the whole season rather than use the games the player participated in.

 

[Devs3cups]

I’ve watched a lot of Luke Hughes these last 3 years. Is it just me or is his skating stance/posture oddly similar to Niedermayer’s?

We all know Luke’s skating is elite, I just thought, watching Nieds skate in that clip, that they looked very similar skating wise there.

 

[JimEIV]

You are missing something, he’s only counting the games Hughes played in.

It would be silly to use a percentage of goal metrics and use the whole season rather than use the games the player participated in.

It's not silly at all...taking a subset of the season when talking about making the playoffs is actually the silly exercise.

The total number of goals is not irrelevant.

 

[Saugus]

I’m a big enough Richter that you would think we were related.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I liked them, but I've always respected Rangers goalies. Richter, Lundqvist, and now Shesterkin. All excellent goalies, deserving of their hype, and I have no compunctions against admiring them for it. Particularly while gleefully shitting on the rest of the Rangers who hold them back.

Eventually the Rangers will run out of elite goalies that they pulled out of nowhere, and trot out some scrub who I can happily hate with no reservations. But not yet, apparently.