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

[Cheddabombs]

I'm not as concerned with the defense itself, I think the actual defensive zone play as a 5 man unit needs work. That's why I was leaning towards Ruff being fired, but maybe some new assistants can help in that area too.

Personally, I think the steps Siegs took might be one of the bigger takeaways from the season in general. He's exactly what this team needed and will play a big role on this team IMO.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Isn’t he already minority owner in Pittsburgh? Or is that Blitzer? Hard to keep track since these guys have their fingers in so many pies.

They both own the 76ers and Crystal Palace, and are also one of the interested owners in Chelsea.

 

[Eggtimer]

Add Boqvist too. He finally seemed to turn the corner this season.

And seigs . But maybe that’s more to do with Naz?

I'm not as concerned with the defense itself, I think the actual defensive zone play as a 5 man unit needs work. That's why I was leaning towards Ruff being fired, but maybe some new assistants can help in that area too.

Personally, I think the steps Siegs took might be one of the bigger takeaways from the season in general. He's exactly what this team needed and will play a big role on this team IMO.

Yes I think a Luybushkin type signing is the very most we would need on D. Or trade for a RHD in the mold of Seigenthaler.

 

[devilsblood]

It's a risk on Fitz's part as I think it will be hard for him to justify his job if they underperform again and Ruff needs to be fired.

I think by and large his assessment of the team was spot on, so he seems to know what needs to be done.

I don't fully trust Ruff as the guy though. See who they hire assistant wise

The steps Nico, Jack, and Bratt have taken definitely helped Ruff out in keeping his job. Plus the goaltending being outside his control.

I tend to think ownership can see what is going on here. We had the youngest fwd group in the league(the year prior it was historically young) and that group included multiple players who look to be developing into top players. I think it doesn't take a hockey genius to understand that when your top 2 goalies go down with injury, that makes things very tough.

So I wonder how much Fitz, who is entering his 3rd full season here (and even that get's an asterik) is really on the hot seat. I mean some maniac fans who love how the young players are playing and acknowledge the goalie situation was poop may not be able to see the big picture, but I imagine ownership does.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

If Ruff stays, Geersten stays.

 

[Bleedred]

If Ruff stays, Geersten stays.

 

[glenwo2]

I’m gonna assume Bratts contract is done and probably will be announced soon. Could be like the dougie situation, just held up on finishing the fine details on paper work. Have to assume we gave him a nmc. Or at least hope so.

Also assuming it’s 8 years just over 6.5.

Speaking of Bratt, what a difference a season makes :

And the Defense has a low rating because he has not been on the PK like he was at times last season.

8 years 6.5? I say 8 years 6.8 or 6.9 (7 is the goal of Bratt's agent but he won't get there).

 

[RangerDoggo]

If Ruff stays, Geersten stays.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

 

[My3Sons]

Boqvist is best at C though. I think the team thinks the same as he was tried on the wing but has since been exclusively at C ?
Yes Forsberg Gaudreu Fiala are not the types we need. Of course they would be awesome to add , but we need players like Tkchuck , Wilson , Jeannot , rather than finesse players .
It will be interesting to see which direction they go and who they target .
A lot of what Fitz and Brodeur has said leads me to believe that we will add players that play a heavier game. Players that can handle a heavy fore-check etc .
Not sure they add a 3C . I’d say 3rd lie wingers and or a top 6 winger that helps create space for Nico Bratt Jack .

Well obviously the third line wingers will have to open space for Nico.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Like your idea at RHD if not maybe Gudbranson but with all the bad blood that Ruff and Nichushkin seem to have and also almost 6 million for what could be a career year on a loaded Avs team is no sure thing.

I'd strongly prefer Lyubushkin to Gudbranson, I just think he's a far better player. Gudbranson is valuable to a contender looking to beef up the 3rd pair, because he'll likely some cheap.

I'm still not sure Ruff is a guarantee to coach in 2022-23, although this week had to be encouraging for him.

 

[Guttersniped]

SIGN HIM

 

[Guttersniped]

Alright well Zacha is definitely gone lol

I think it might be related to certain lack of enthusiasm from Zacha’s end. I don’t think he would take a short term deal that make sense for us because he wants to move on (unless we threw way more money at him that makes any sense lol). A one year deal sucks all around.

I would stick with him if it were possible, I’m pretty convinced another team is going to get him and he’ll takes an next step. Such is life.

His exit interview didn’t seem have “I’m/we all are disappointed, I/we need to *cliche whatever* but I see positives and want to be part of this team” stuff other guys had. Despite slogging through 180 more games here even Severson had more a lot more mojo. Damon is much more important player, more of a leader and up for a good sized deal if he stays though.

The Zacha questions were bad, just weirdly depressing ones, so that didn’t help the vibe.

The problem is the forward ranks are getting crowded and he wants to play center. I don’t want to try to read too much into a 6 minute exit interview with bad questions though.

 

[NjDevsRR]

View attachment 541296

 

[FooteBahl]

View attachment 541403

I can’t tell if that looks like a pissed off Nico or an angry Jack

 

[FooteBahl]

4 more nights until our “Stanley Cup”

 

[Triumph]

I've made compilations like this before, but I find it instructive to know why the Devils are in 'an eight year rebuild' as many like to say. I'll probably keep doing this even if the Devils get out of this cycle just to see how things progress. This is an examination of where everything the Devils potentially have in 2022-23 as of right now came from.

ASSET TREE FOR DEVILS

1989: |Mukhamadullin, N. Foote|
2002: +Graves+*
2004: (2022 4th round pick)
2008: |[Kuokkanen], (Daws)|
2009: (Zetterlund)
2010: (Schmid)
2011: |Mercer, Siegenthaler, Bahl|, (Mukhamadullin), [N. Foote]
2012: Severson
2013: Wood
2014: nothing
2015: Zacha, Blackwood
2016: M. McLeod, =Bastian=, [Johnsson], [Graves]*, Bratt
2017: Hischier, J. Boqvist, Zetterlund, Walsh
2018: Smith, Schmid, Sharangovich
2019: J. Hughes, Okhotiuk, Thompson
2020: Holtz, Mercer, Daws

UFAs signed: Bernier {2006}, Tatar {2009}, Hamilton {2011}

LEGEND

( ) - player selected in this draft was traded for the draft pick used to select this player
[ ] - player selected in this draft was traded for this player
| | - player selected in this draft was traded for other assets which were than traded at least once for the assets that became these players
= = - player selected in this draft was re-acquired via waivers
+ + - player whose draft year this was signed as a UDFA and involved in a trade for a current asset
* - player selected in this draft/signed as UDFA was part of a trade for a current asset

Not pictured: Jaromir Jagr was traded for two draft picks, both of which were traded for Kyle Palmieri, who was traded with Zajac for a 2021 1st and 2022 4th, which became Chase Stillman and ?. Ben Lovejoy was traded for the pick that became Graeme Clarke, Marcus Johansson, acquired for a 2nd from the Marc Savard trade and a 3rd round pick acquired from the Leafs in compensation for Lou Lamoriello's hiring as GM, was traded for the picks that became Nikita Okhotiuk and Ethan Edwards.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Teams with good culture don't take eight years to rebuild. I want blood if we're out of it by December again. Or just move them, who cares.

 

[Triumph]

Teams with good culture don't take eight years to rebuild. I want blood if we're out of it by December again. Or just move them, who cares.

Maybe teams with a good culture don't find themselves in the giant pit the Devils were in at the end of 2015. You didn't even bother to look at the list at all. How the hell is that team supposed to be a winner at any point before this past season?

 

[Zippy316]

I'd strongly prefer Lyubushkin to Gudbranson, I just think he's a far better player. Gudbranson is valuable to a contender looking to beef up the 3rd pair, because he'll likely some cheap.

I'm still not sure Ruff is a guarantee to coach in 2022-23, although this week had to be encouraging for him.

Either one would be a great get to balance out this team on the right side. Braun is another option that I’ve seen thrown out a bit. Devils would definitely need to make sure whoever they sign would be capable of playing heavy PK minutes to free up Severson a little.

Ruff seems to know he’s in limbo. Fitzgerald hasn’t fully committed to him as head coach. I think there’s a great possibility Ruff shifts to a different role if there’s a coach out there the Devils like.

 

[Bleedred]

Either one would be a great get to balance out this team on the right side. Braun is another option that I’ve seen thrown out a bit. Devils would definitely need to make sure whoever they sign would be capable of playing heavy PK minutes to free up Severson a little.

Ruff seems to know he’s in limbo. Fitzgerald hasn’t fully committed to him as head coach. I think there’s a great possibility Ruff shifts to a different role if there’s a coach out there the Devils like.

Braun sucks now, has sucked for years and will probably be absolutely unserviceable next year. He’s hardly capable of ANY minutes, let alone heavy PK minutes to free up Severson.

He’s a depth #7 guy at the absolute very best and even that is debatable.

The Rangers traded for him at the deadline and even scratched him for over half of the games. He only got back in last night because Lindgren was injured in game one.

I can’t believe anybody would even think he’s an option. He’s 35 years old and has already been bad long enough.

 

[Rhodes 81]

We're an analytics heavy team and we just completed a season that had us in the top half of the league by xGF%, top 10 in xGF, and top half in SCF% and HDSCF%. There are several playoff teams that performed significantly worse than NJ 5v5, despite NJ missing Hughes for half the season, Hischier for some games, and Hamilton for some games. We got historically bad goaltending and a power play that was less likely to produce goals than just playing 5v5. That's basically impossible to repeat.

I don't think Ruff is going to take us to a cup, but there's basically no reason to think they're not going to give him one more shot with a hopefully competent power play and goaltending that is at least not the worst in the league. The team has flaws, but they were frankly unlucky to be out of contention as fast as they were this year. I really don't think it was a fireable performance from Ruff. Recchi, on the other hand, got what was inevitable.

 

[RangerDoggo]

God I hope you're right. I'm beyond finished with being less-than-mediocre.

Law of numbers says you probably are but can you blame me for believing the other shoe will drop every single goddamn year?

 

[Omar Little]

Braun sucks now, has sucked for years and will probably be absolutely unserviceable next year. He’s hardly capable of ANY minutes, let alone heavy PK minutes to free up Severson.

He’s a depth #7 guy at the absolute very best and even that is debatable.

The Rangers traded for him at the deadline and even scratched him for over half of the games. He only got back in last night because Lindgren was injured in game one.

I can’t believe anybody would even think he’s an option. He’s 35 years old and has already been bad long enough.

There’s value in having a veteran #7 simply from the standpoint of having a few more adults in the room. Don’t know if it has to be Braun but I see value in having some older and more experienced be in that role

 

[RangerDoggo]

Significant part of the beginning of 32 Thoughts given to the Devils and Fitz's press conference. Interesting takeaway: there were apparently some ruffled feathers around the league about letting go of Nas and firing Recchi.

Too bad, bitches. This is the NHL, not a social club.

 

[Bleedred]

Significant part of the beginning of 32 Thoughts given to the Devils and Fitz's press conference. Interesting takeaway: there were apparently some ruffled feathers around the league about letting go of Nas and firing Recchi.

Too bad, bitches. This is the NHL, not a social club.

Who cares? People get fired every day. One of them was possibly the longest tenured assistant coach for the NHL team in franchise history. The other was absolutely horrendous at what he was assigned to do and did a terribly miserable job. Because he was so great of a player he's entitled to a longer leash to f*** up as a coach? It doesn't work like that. Did it ruffle feathers when Pittsburgh let him go?

I wonder if anybody had their feathers ruffled when Mike Yeo was let go the other day? If they had such a problem with it then they can hire them now. Problem solved.