Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason edition

[Eggtimer]

I have faith that they rid as many of the passengers as they possibly can and add the right ones to support the core . Several players and Brodeur etc have alluded to that.
No more just slapping players out there and hope it somehow clicks . Time to construct a roster to ice the best “ team”
Brodeur said they want to add “ heavier” type players. With the way things are now , how can they as we have way too many players expecting roster spots . I have a feeling ( good feeling ) that Zacha Johnson and hopefully Tatar is gone .

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Agree I am not certain Ruff gets fired because I think he executed what the FO wanted by and large. I think exit interviews will play a part, also I don't really know who available Fitz is willing to put his foot down to fire Ruff for.

 

[Hisch13r]

Agree I am not certain Ruff gets fired because I think he executed what the FO wanted by and large. I think exit interviews will play a part, also I don't really know who available Fitz is willing to put his foot down to fire Ruff for.

Rangers steamroll the Pens and fire Sullivan as a reactionary move. I'm going to try and speak that into existence. I don't really think the Rangers steamrolling the Pens part is all that unlikely

Yeah I think Ruff goes either way. I don't think firing him for the sake of firing him is the move to make. He's a meh coach who won't make or break this team. If you're going to fire him then you need to bring in a guy who will do a good job and not just be another meh coach.

 

[JK3]

I f***ing HATE twitter so f***ing much.

It only lets you read so many quotes before it makes you sign in or sign up.

I have no interest in having a twitter account, but I did make one once and I forget the password and all that. I don't feel like going through the bullshit.

I just wanna read the quotes.

I hate it too and I’m not gonna sign up, it’s a pain in the ass that you can’t read anything now but I have a solution.

I’ve been using Nitter, it’s great. Just type in who you want to see and they’ll pop up and read away. They’re supposed to have a better version eventually where you have a list of accounts you want to follow.

nitter

nitter.net

 

[Mgd31]

We love our captain!

 

[Eggtimer]

They aren't gonna be comfortable signing mid-market UFAs though given what we've seen, and trades are very difficult way to remake a roster. The only guy going via trade that really would be a major shakeup is Blackwood which let's say is 50/50 to happen. Zacha and Subban will go also most likely but those are "major moves" only on paper 3 years ago at this point.

It is a difficult way to make a roster if you are looking for main or big pieces like #1/2 C or top pairing D . We don’t need that . We are looking for players like a Nicushkin ( UFA) and a defensive bottom pairing RHD . Those parts are not impossible to get but absolutely needed right now . I know Fitz said before he wouldn’t make trades for anyone under a certain age . I think now it’s a matter of filling the roster out regardless of age . The core is there and around the same age group . Build around that . As long as you keep the core together , you supplement the roster around them with players you get via trade or UFA . Fill as many spots as you can internally. However you cannot expect to ice a complete roster from within . You are forcing players into roles that are not ideal then . You have to get a little outside help to complete the roster . No way it’s all internally . Look at the composition of the better teams in the league …..
Panthers have their core - Barkov Hubberdeau Ekblad Lundell Weegar(?) . They added a ton since around their core via trade and UFA . Reinhart Bennet Duclair Gudas Marchment etc etc etc
NO good team has a roster made of majority of home grown talent . I’d say we are one of the teams with the most players on the roster that we drafted ourselves

 

[Bleedred]

I guess we can’t fire Ruff, at least not until Hughes signs that nice long term extension this summer, because he may otherwise refuse to….. oh wait.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

A few more years away from being competitive?? Thats absurd. What are we gonna wait until Nico has 3 years left on his contract before we make strides? If we're still a few years away then Hughes & Nico will be miserable along with the whole fanbase. We got our top 2 centers in their primes. We need to compete now not 3 years from now.

2 to 3 from contending year in year out my bad...What I meant to say was at that point we are considered a lock to compete in the playoffs

 

[Devils731]

Reads like a kiss of death to me.

 

[Eggtimer]

So far I e liked what I’ve heard today .
I think a lot of roster moves are going to happen . At the very least , Fitz is going to bust his ass to give Hughes Bratt Nico the players they need to be as good as they possibly can .
I think he sees that kid is the time where he knows what / who he is building around and he is going to go out and build an actual roster with identity and stylistically a better build team .
Those who say that’s not the way to do it - look at the Panthers . Have a deadly fire but also brought in a lot of players via trade and UFA . No , trying to get top 2 centres and top pair D diesnt work , however we have a very very good core in place already . Now it’s time to bring in help for that core

 

[Bleedred]

Reads like a kiss of death to me.

Sure, but Hughes gave him a big vote of confidence (at least Ruff, no one else in particular) today in his interview.

If the GM goes around leaving a coaching staff intact because their best player likes him (especially when he’s already signed for 8 years and we’re not dependent on bringing back Ruff/said staff to get him to stay. What’s he gonna do, hold out and refuse to play next year because Ruff got fired?) then that’s something that will get a GM fired and he has to worry about his own ass, rather than placating a guy that’s already locked up for 8 more years anyway.

That said, I remember wondering if Hynes was kept around at least until we saw what Taylor Hall was doing and before seeing if h would re-sign or not, as Hall went out of his way to talk about how much he liked Hynes.

Looking back on it, I’m not sure if that was ever the case because I don’t even know if Shero ever actually wanted to keep Hall by that point anyway.

 

[Oneiro]

Whatever criticisms I’ve had re: Nico are gone. Dude answered every single question mark in my mind, got compared to a baby Siberian husky, put the flash back in his game and he no commented that question about the staff. That’s my captain.

 

[Hisch13r]

iT iSnT sTiLl AfFeCtInG hIm

 

[Darkauron]

Of course he was still injured and in pain. Another horrible decision by our medical staff as usual.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Some great suggestions here!

That's why they pay me the big bucks.

 

[RSeen]

iT iSnT sTiLl AfFeCtInG hIm

There was such a significant difference pre injury vs post injury that I can't just dismiss the after effect. He was solid before the injury so I'm optimistic he will return to that level next year.

 

[Hisch13r]

Of course he was still injured and in pain. Another horrible decision by our medical staff as usual.

I really don't see the issue with playing him. It's not an injury where playing him was going to make it worse so it's fine that he was playing.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Yeah no he has to go

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Now that Hughes is signed long term, it’s not as risky to piss him off for a year and bring in a good coach with a solid defensive system and who preaches discipline and accountability. Hughes probably loves the fact that Lindy won’t bench him when he makes a bad turnover that leads to a goal against. But if both he and the team are to grow into a winner, these types of mistakes need to be removed and defensive structure needs to be put into place. Yes that might result in Jack going down from a 90-point player to a more well rounded 60-point player for a year as the growing pains set in, but in the long term it will help him.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

BERNIER:

On this season:

"It's not the way I wanted to come in. I wanted to be apart of the solution, and this team and unfortunately I had to go to surgery, and try to fix my hip. It was hard to watch and not be able to be there with the guys and I've never missed a full season pretty much and it's been a hard year."

On the injury:

"It happened probably over time but I really got hurt quite a bit in preseason against New York and then I did an injection to try to help it and after a couple weeks it went back to where it was. The pain wasn't sustainable to play at a high level so we made a group decision to make a surgery."

"I've been working since the day I left the hospital. It's slow but I think we're making progress every day every week. I'm very hopeful to be ready for training camp … I started last week just to skate around no equipment, starting to build the strength in the hip. I think I'm a little behind schedule but it's been improving … I'm very confident I'll be ready for training camp.

 

[Bleedred]

Yeah no he has to go

I'd actually like to use him as an insurance policy, rather than start drilling through the Gillies/Hammond well when things go wrong. As it is now Blackwood can't be counted to stay healthy for long, and that's not even considering how poorly he could still play if he is actually healthy enough to get on the ice or stay on it.

But there's no way I want him as one of the ''Top-2 goalies'' on the team to start the season.

I'm already seeing a real Rask or Price performance from this year if he plays, but he could have a good game or two. Or he could be even worse than the the Gillies/Hammond trash heap.

The fact that he ''Hopes'' to be ready for training camp, but is also not ''Where he would like to be'' in terms of recovery and rehab tells me don't count on him to even be healthy for training camp.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

A few more years away from being competitive?? Thats absurd. What are we gonna wait until Nico has 3 years left on his contract before we make strides? If we're still a few years away then Hughes & Nico will be miserable along with the whole fanbase. We got our top 2 centers in their primes. We need to compete now not 3 years from now.

I don't think anyone thinks the players and fanbase would be good with another bottom-5 finish next season. But it's absolutely true that this team could make HUGE strides the next season or two and still struggle to make the playoffs. And while that might not bode well for Fitzgerald, it's simply the reality of where the Devils are in their development of young players and also the state of the league right now.

 

[theoptimist]

"Rebuild is over" LMAO

Severson is having the best quotes and he's 100% right

 

[Hisch13r]

I don't think anyone thinks the players and fanbase would be good with another bottom-5 finish next season. But it's absolutely true that this team could make HUGE strides the next season or two and still struggle to make the playoffs. And while that might not bode well for Fitzgerald, it's simply the reality of where the Devils are in their development of young players and also the state of the league right now.

Healthy Jack, healthy Dougie, improved PP, and average goaltending should be enough to get them in the playoff picture. There's going to be other unforeseen variables that pop up and the goaltending is tricky fix but they're not far off.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I agree they're not far off, but we're basically asking the Devils to nearly double their wins from this season. That's not easy in a tough division. I get Severson wanting to feel like the rebuild is over, he's a lot closer to the end of his career than most of the roster. But even with a massive improvement, they could still reach 90-95 points and be golfing in May again.