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

[njdevil26]

I am willing to accept Ruff being here for one more year.... ONLY if the rest of the staff goes and Ruff is actually given the chance to hire his own assistants for the last year of his contract.

 

[Japam]

If Ruff is so good at developing young talent then maybe they can get a new coaching staff while keeping him on as one of those "special assignment" coaches or whatever they're called? Idk, at his age maybe that makes more sense. Keep him as our Jack Whisperer.

 

[Hisch13r]

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.

You need a massive improvement in net. That's a tricky fix. You don't need a massive improvement from the skaters. You need a competent PP coach and health from your key players and it's right there as a playoff caliber skater group

 

[glenwo2]

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

Yeah...Nitter is great :

And Wholesome, too.

 

[theoptimist]

Need that Clowe/Ryder offseason

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

What makes the coaching issue so tricky is I don't think it's Ruff's fault the Devils were one of the worst teams in the league this year. That was mainly due to injuries/covid and the special teams problems (pk was trash for months before Nas supposedly turned it around).

However, that doesn't mean I think Ruff shouldn't be fired. I don't think he's the guy to turn this team into a contender. He hasn't really been that coach for ANY team in like 15 years. The Devils probably should've been a 75-85 point team this year but that's more about Fitz's improvements to the roster and the development of the core players. I think canning this coaching staff is arguably more important than new goalies. To me, there's a higher probability of Blackwood and Bernier being a successful tandem next year (or at least hovering around league average) than there is of Ruff/Recchi/Nasreddine helping this team improve in the right ways. Fitz needs to find this team's Jon Cooper.

Need that Clowe/Ryder offseason

No way, we need Brunner and Loktionov.

 

[RangerDoggo]

I am not at all convinced that Ruff is getting fired. And Recchi isn’t getting the heave ho with the same HC staying in place.

I fully expect this to happen

 

[Hisch13r]

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

God damn, I knew it.

And Hischier seems like the kind of guy that would never offer up an injury as an excuse (not saying Dougie did this either), but I'm pretty certain he was dealing with a nagging lower body injury for a good portion of the season. He wasn't skating like the Hischier we're used to from like November to February.

EDIT: yes I understand the perils of arbitrary picking and choosing, but since February 1st, Hischier had 36 points in his last 32 games. A 92 point pace. I feel like I need to spend the entire offseason knocking on wood, but I get the feeling Hischier and Hughes are gonna be absolute monsters next season if they can stay relatively healthy.

 

[Bleedred]

What makes the coaching issue so tricky is I don't think it's Ruff's fault the Devils were one of the worst teams in the league this year. That was mainly due to injuries/covid and the special teams problems (pk was trash for months before Nas supposedly turned it around).

However, that doesn't mean I think Ruff shouldn't be fired. I don't think he's the guy to turn this team into a contender. He hasn't really been that coach for ANY team in like 15 years. The Devils probably should've been a 75-85 point team this year but that's more about Fitz's improvements to the roster and the development of the core players. I think canning this coaching staff is arguably more important than new goalies. To me, there's a higher probability of Blackwood and Bernier being a successful tandem next year (or at least hovering around league average) than there is of Ruff/Recchi/Nasreddine helping this team improve in the right ways. Fitz needs to find this team's Jon Cooper.


No way, we need Brunner and Loktionov.

I agreed up until the part of there being a higher probability of Blackwood/Bernier being a successful tandem next year than this staff helping the team improve.

BOTH need to be fixed and if we go into next year with the best coach in the league and this tandem we're f***ed.

Blackwood is toast IMO, his days of being good (and his days of being good weren't very long in the first place) I'm giving are a 60% chance of being over. Maybe the chances are greater of him resurrecting his career as a backup goalie of some sort.

Bernier literally probably is toast due to being 34 (by next year) and a bad hip.

 

[Devs3cups]

I've been told injuries were an excuse though.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I agreed up until the part of there being a higher probability of Blackwood/Bernier being a successful tandem next year than this staff helping the team improve.

BOTH need to be fixed and if we go into next year with the best coach in the league and this tandem we're f***ed.

Blackwood is toast IMO, his days of being good (and his days of being good weren't very long in the first place) I'm giving are a 60% chance of being over. Maybe the chances are greater of him resurrecting his career as a backup goalie of some sort.

Bernier literally probably is toast due to being 34 (by next year) and a bad hip.

It's more a statement of how little confidence I have in the current coaching staff. I'd be extremely worried if Blackwood and Bernier are the pairing when the season starts.

 

[Billdo]

So we only have more wins that one team in the league over the last two years. The Kraken have fewer... because they only played one season of those two. I didn't realize it was THAT bad.

 

[MadDevil]

So Jack backed Ruff, but Nico basically gave a no comment on the coaching. Controversy!​

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

15 player exit interviews to go plus coaches and Fitz. Maybe we'll get some Mukhamadullin news tomorrow:

Johnsson
Bratt
Zacha
Sharangovich
Kuokkanen
McLeod
Boqvist
Mercer
Bastian
Vesey

Smith
White
Geertsen

Hammond
Gillies

 

[Bleedred]

15 player exit interviews to go plus coaches and Fitz. Maybe we'll get some Mukhamadullin news tomorrow:

Johnsson
Bratt
Zacha
Sharangovich
Kuokkanen
McLeod
Boqvist
Mercer
Bastian
Vesey

Smith
White
Geertsen

Hammond
Gillies

Do they actually give a media interview with every player though? I can’t really see them doing an interview with guys like Kuokkanen, Vesey, Bastian, Hammond, Gillies and especially not Geertsen or White.

Perhaps a couple of those guys might get an interview, but I’d assume most of them won’t.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Do they actually give a media interview with every player though? I can’t really see them doing an interview with guys like Kuokkanen, Vesey, Bastian, Hammond, Gillies and especially not Geertsen or White.

Perhaps a couple of those guys might get an interview, but I’d assume most of them won’t.

Yes.

Devils Exit Interviews: Day 1 Recap - The Hockey Writers New Jersey Devils Latest News, Analysis & More

Devils prospect Nolan Foote is already looking ahead to next season: Guys are going to be wanting to take other guy’s spots. And I’m one of those guys I think.”

thehockeywriters.com

Devils Exit Interviews: Day 2 Recap - The Hockey Writers New Jersey Devils Latest News, Analysis & More

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald: I hope everyone is excited about the big steps Jack Hughes took, what he’s going to bring & what the future looks like for his game.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[Guttersniped]

Post automatically merged: May 1, 2022

So Jack backed Ruff, but Nico basically gave a no comment on the coaching. Controversy!​

Fight!

Post automatically merged: May 1, 2022

Apparently Severson passed the annual broken toe off to Hamilton this season. Sorry to who’s toe is next!

 

[Mgd31]

Damn, he's going to be back.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

 

[jkrdevil]

I am willing to accept Ruff being here for one more year.... ONLY if the rest of the staff goes and Ruff is actually given the chance to hire his own assistants for the last year of his contract.

The time to just fire the assistants was last year. Ruff has a year left on his deal, you won’t be able to find assistants worth a shit because they know the coach is on the hot seat.

Have to clean house.

 

[Devils731]

Damn, he's going to be back.

Giving your exit interview to the media is not a guarantee a coach returns.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

I wish we could get a modern day Jaques Lemaire like coach behind the bench. Teach this team how to play defense properly. The game has changed so much since Lemaire was last here though. They need some sort of guidance on how to play when leading games , it's been something we have struggled with for so long. I'm sure we lead the league in blown leads ever since Deboer took over. Alot of teams blow leads nowadays but it is what it is. I miss this team being in the rop of the league when it comes to defense , it was our identity. Deff like the way our offense is heading , hopefully a new coach can help cut our GAA down while our GG rises.

 

[Mgd31]

Giving your exit interview to the media is not a guarantee a coach returns.

Why give him media availability if you are going to can him?

 

[Devils731]

Why give him media availability if you are going to can him?

Because you haven’t canned him yet.

We know the Devils process is collaborative, which can also means it runs slowly.