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

[Setec Astronomy]

When are we going to hear the term “enigmatic Finn”?

 

[StevenToddIves]

When are we going to hear the term “enigmatic Finn”?

The next time someone brings up Laine.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

When are we going to hear the term “enigmatic Finn”?

Good point though. Laine, Kakko, Kotkaniemi, and Puljujarvi have all had their struggles relative to hype and draft position.

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Listen, the problem is the “3rd line”not the Super Buddies line. If Mikey was actually playing 4th line center and not 2nd line (21’ Season) or 3rd libe (22’ Season) then we are fine.

The real issue is Boq, he did well down the stretch but he is better suited for a top 6. I am not saying the Devils need a traditional “1checking line” but if it’s not a scoring line then…

This is were a top 6 wing could help. It could bump Shara back down to 3. Also is Mercer a Center or wing?

Like others have said having Wright start out as a 3rd line center, wouldn’t be the worst problem.

I've been banging on this for a while but signing Trocheck fixes the 3rd line C problem. He's good at faceoffs and he can PK and PP. He's also much better offensively than Boqvist. And he played a lot in defensive zone situations for Carolina so it would mean that McLeod isn't over used. He solves both problems and at age 28, is right in his prime.

Signing Trocheck allows you to rotate Boqvist and McLeod at 4C depending on matchups. If we need a more defensive lineup, then McLeod stays in. If we need more offensive jump then McLeod sits and Boqvist plays.

Boqvist can also play wing, so he can slot on 3rd line wing role too.

If we are signing a free agent for $5.5m per season and the choice is between Nichushkin and Trochek. I'm taking Trocheck.

I actually think we might be fine at wing going forward if we draft Slafkovsky and are content to leave Mercer at wing.

 

[Hisch13r]

Good point though. Laine, Kakko, Kotkaniemi, and Puljujarvi have all had their struggles relative to hype and draft position.

For Laine it kind of seems like an effort thing. For Puljujarvi he probably needed a full season or two and more importantly I imagine the way the Oilers handled his hip situation really set him back. Expectations for Kakko were that he was ready but he quickly made it evident that he very much was not. I remember in JFresh’s article after on him after his rookie year he said Kakko had the worst WAR season on record and it wasn’t even close. He had a good sophomore year when it came to playdriving at least though. He obviously should’ve been sent down in his rookie year before they burned a year. Then who knows how things turn out. Kotkaniemi did have a pretty decent rookie year but he also probably should not have played that year.

Though Slaf might not be Finnish all of these signs to me point to “KEEP HIM THE f*** OUT OF THE LEAGUE NEXT YEAR”

I've been banging on this for a while but signing Trocheck fixes the 3rd line C problem. He's good at faceoffs and he can PK and PP. He's also much better offensively than Boqvist. And he played a lot in defensive zone situations for Carolina so it would mean that McLeod isn't over used. He solves both problems and at age 28, is right in his prime.

Signing Trocheck allows you to rotate Boqvist and McLeod at 4C depending on matchups. If we need a more defensive lineup, then McLeod stays in. If we need more offensive jump then McLeod sits and Boqvist plays.

Boqvist can also play wing, so he can slot on 3rd line wing role too.

Why would Trocheck sign on to be a 3C? There’s going to be teams out there who will sign him to be a 2C. Nuke at 5.5 would also be crazy good and is much better than Trocheck

 

[My3Sons]

I've been banging on this for a while but signing Trocheck fixes the 3rd line C problem. He's good at faceoffs and he can PK and PP. He's also much better offensively than Boqvist. And he played a lot in defensive zone situations for Carolina so it would mean that McLeod isn't over used. He solves both problems and at age 28, is right in his prime.

Signing Trocheck allows you to rotate Boqvist and McLeod at 4C depending on matchups. If we need a more defensive lineup, then McLeod stays in. If we need more offensive jump then McLeod sits and Boqvist plays.

Boqvist can also play wing, so he can slot on 3rd line wing role too.

If we are signing a free agent for $5.5m per season and the choice is between Nichushkin and Trochek. I'm taking Trocheck.

I actually think we might be fine at wing going forward if we draft Slafkovsky and are content to leave Mercer at wing.

How does Trocheck fix the third line captain problem? Is NJ making him captain?

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Though Slaf might not be Finnish all of these signs to me point to “KEEP HIM THE f*** OUT OF THE LEAGUE NEXT YEAR”

If Devils draft Slaf, in no way should he get any amount of games in the NHL that either burn an ELC or start the free agency clock. He's not a can't-miss prospect, and I don't care if his body is mature and he handles the NHL, the team won't benefit enough from the 20 or so points he provides. He won't be a game-breaker right away so it's better to keep him cheap for later on when the team is competing and facing cap decisions.

 

[Xirik]

If Devils draft Slaf, in no way should he get any amount of games in the NHL that either burn an ELC or start the free agency clock. He's not a gamebreaker, and I don't care if his body is mature and he handles the NHL, the team won't benefit enough from the 20 or so points he provides. He won't be a game-breaker right away so it's better to keep him cheap for later on when the team is competing and facing cap decisions.

I'm along the lines of thinking that if he does good at camp he gets his cup of coffee and 9 games before being sent to the AHL.

 

[MartyOwns]

 

[Better Call Sal]

You're a gem.

 

[StevenToddIves]

For Laine it kind of seems like an effort thing. For Puljujarvi he probably needed a full season or two and more importantly I imagine the way the Oilers handled his hip situation really set him back. Expectations for Kakko were that he was ready but he quickly made it evident that he very much was not. I remember in JFresh’s article after on him after his rookie year he said Kakko had the worst WAR season on record and it wasn’t even close. He had a good sophomore year when it came to playdriving at least though. He obviously should’ve been sent down in his rookie year before they burned a year. Then who knows how things turn out. Kotkaniemi did have a pretty decent rookie year but he also probably should not have played that year.

Though Slaf might not be Finnish all of these signs to me point to “KEEP HIM THE f*** OUT OF THE LEAGUE NEXT YEAR”



Why would Trocheck sign on to be a 3C? There’s going to be teams out there who will sign him to be a 2C. Nuke at 5.5 would also be crazy good and is much better than Trocheck

If Slafkovsky is the NJ pick, and I think we've both been saying this awhile, he should start the year in the AHL. I don't care how good he is in training camp, really. Take a bit of the pressure off, let him acclimate to North American hockey and rink-size, let him develop the finer aspects of his game.

If Slafkovsky is tearing it up through a few months of the AHL season, then I'd be willing to revisit this. But Holtz should be ready for a top 6 role next year, and there's no pressing need to rush Slafkovsky.

 

[devilsblood]

If Slafkovsky is the NJ pick, and I think we've both been saying this awhile, he should start the year in the AHL. I don't care how good he is in training camp, really. Take a bit of the pressure off, let him acclimate to North American hockey and rink-size, let him develop the finer aspects of his game.

If Slafkovsky is tearing it up through a few months of the AHL season, then I'd be willing to revisit this. But Holtz should be ready for a top 6 role next year, and there's no pressing need to rush Slafkovsky.

I understand the idea of letting him develop, and most signs do point to him needing time in the AHL, but if he does have a great preseason, I'd give him the chance to start the season with NJ.

 

[devilsblood]

I'm along the lines of thinking that if he does good at camp he gets his cup of coffee and 9 games before being sent to the AHL.

3-4 games early which gives him a chance for a few more games later in the season.

I'm of the opinion that if he earns more then great.

But are we sure he comes over? Or is there a chance he plays another year in Finnland.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Kakko is like 20 lbs lighter than Slafkovsky today and skates horribly. He doesn’t have the beef or willingness to engage physically to get the most out of his one great skill, puck protection. That’s a big reason why his Liiga success hasn’t carried over. I doubt what’s holding Kakko back is what will hold Slafkovsky back. I’d still prefer him to start in the AHL though.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

3-4 games early which gives him a chance for a few more games later in the season.

I'm of the opinion that if he earns more then great.

But are we sure he comes over? Or is there a chance he plays another year in Finnland.

I think it would be a bad idea to play in Finland again and I doubt he will. It’s not like it’s his home country and it would make more sense for him to come over and get acclimated to NA.
But he will probably be coming over with the idea in mind that he’ll get a chance to make the NHL and he probably will have that opportunity.

 

[Mgd31]

I think it would be a bad idea to play in Finland again and I doubt he will. It’s not like it’s his home country and it would make more sense for him to come over and get acclimated to NA.
But he will probably be coming over with the idea in mind that he’ll get a chance to make the NHL and he probably will have that opportunity.

What do we think Boqvist gets? The Kuokkanen deal?

 

[Hisch13r]

What do we think Boqvist gets? The Kuokkanen deal?

Somewhere around there. I think Kuokkanen was a bit better so I think like 1.75x2 is fair

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I would imagine Boqvist will get like $1.25 or $1.5 AAV

also this new beat guy seems promising

 

[Guttersniped]

Bellemare was 51% on faceoffs in the postseason. Copp was 44%. The skill that matters so much is barely even detectable over the course of a game. You found one faceoff that “mattered”. What about the dozens that meant absolutely nothing? Tampa even had an “advantage” in the dot there and lost.

I don’t even understand what the debate is about.

I mean, everyone agrees it’s delightful to win face-offs, particularly in what are agreed upon “key moments”.

There’s just disagreement on how “important” they generally are. (I guess? )

But so? I seemingly missed the origin of the debate, is there some specific point to this?

Is this about certain players? About the value and/or necessity of face-off specialists? How much handwringing should be done over Hughes or someone else’s FO win %?

Defensive centers are expected to be good at them, McLeod’s career survival does involve FO win % and PKing skills. (Some more offense would help too, but that’s asking for a lot.)

Boqvist has to get better at them if he wants to stay at center in the NHL. It is part of the job.

I’m more interested in us doing better with FO wins (keeping possession, more success with set plays, etc) and better with FO losses (getting possession back faster, losing them less cleanly so we don’t get f***ed by set plays).

That fits under “play better hockey”, which is more important than raising our team FO% win %. We already have a good FO PP guy & PK guy. It would be nice to have more but that’s not going to be on top of my off-season wishlist.

I just don’t get what set this off, is this just a general debate because of the Rangers goal? Shit, as I typed that out, I suddenly realized that’s what this probably is lol. Not sure why I thought this was based on something pertinent. (Well, I went to a party and had a few drinks.)

 

[Saugus]

If Slafkovsky is the NJ pick, and I think we've both been saying this awhile, he should start the year in the AHL. I don't care how good he is in training camp, really. Take a bit of the pressure off, let him acclimate to North American hockey and rink-size, let him develop the finer aspects of his game.

If Slafkovsky is tearing it up through a few months of the AHL season, then I'd be willing to revisit this. But Holtz should be ready for a top 6 role next year, and there's no pressing need to rush Slafkovsky.

If Slafkovsky is our pick, I think he will get a fair chance to make the team out of camp. If he goes to the AHL and impresses, then he might be the first injury call up on the wing.

I don't think he's likely to be an NHL regular next season, playing every game as a rookie like Mercer. But I also think he will get at least a few games at the NHL level.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

I can't be the only one to say this, for laughs. Once available - should we offersheet Shesterkin? Flame away

 

[Hisch13r]

I can't be the only one to say this, for laughs. Once available - should we offersheet Shesterkin? Flame away

He’ll be a UFA

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

He’ll be a UFA

that's right. they have a pretty good contract for 3 years. FML

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I don’t even understand what the debate is about.

I mean, everyone agrees it’s delightful to win face-offs, particularly in what are agreed upon “key moments”.

There’s just disagreement on how “important” they generally are. (I guess? )

But so? I seemingly missed the origin of the debate, is there some specific point to this?

Is this about certain players? About the value and/or necessity of face-off specialists? How much handwringing should be done over Hughes or someone else’s FO win %?

Defensive centers are expected to be good at them, McLeod’s career survival does involve FO win % and PKing skills. (Some more offense would help too, but that’s asking for a lot.)

Boqvist has to get better at them if he wants to stay at center in the NHL. It is part of the job.

I’m more interested in us doing better with FO wins (keeping possession, more success with set plays, etc) and better with FO losses (getting possession back faster, losing them less cleanly so we don’t get f***ed by set plays).

That fits under “play better hockey”, which is more important than raising our team FO% win %. We already have a good FO PP guy & PK guy. It would be nice to have more but that’s not going to be on top of my off-season wishlist.

I just don’t get what set this off, is this just a general debate because of the Rangers goal? Shit, as I typed that out, I suddenly realized that’s what this probably is lol. Not sure why I thought this was based on something pertinent. (Well, I went to a party and had a few drinks.)

 

[Jack Be Quick]

I think if he would've gotten traded, it would've been this past deadline. Also the rumors him taking a discount should help us, at the absolute worst he gets traded at next year's deadline but we won't get saved like the Palmieri with Lou being senile unless someone goes crazy for Sevo at 50% retained. I'd love to keep him as well, I think he gets a bad rep from some Devils fans that he had to be a 1D in one of worst stretches in franchise history. He's more of a 3-4D who can do a lot that goes unrecognized but his first mistake in like 4-5 games tends to be really bad.



Powerplay + empty net situations are the only times they matter because possession is vital for both. You're making others peoples point even more indirectly by arguing this, lmao.

Dog, @Triumph literally posted in response to me that faceoffs cannot win games. Mere hours after the team who had just potted one kept their hopes alive by, you guessed it, winning a faceoff.