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

[guitarguyvic]

Firing him right now, when there is no reason to? He isn’t our HC, the season isn’t over so the the FO doesn’t know who will be available to replace him as even an assistant, he has a contract and they might want him in a different role, etc. How many interim head coaches get the full firing treatment at the end of their tenures?

The Devils fired Ruff to try and spark the team to go on a run - there was a concrete reason for it. There is no reason to relieve Green of his duties today because there is no impact, and treating him with respect on his way out is the right thing to do.

There is a reason to fire him immediately. He was part of a terrible coaching staff, and he should not even be in consideration for returning in any capacity much less as HC. As such, it's a waste of both his and Fitz' time to go through the dog and pony show of waiting and doing pointless interviews. Doing it immediately also sends a clear message both internally and to fans that this organization is serious about accountability.

There's nothing particularly horrible about doing it this way. It's happened before and it will happen again. I have no idea why you're portraying it as this huge disrespect.

From a fan perspective, there's also the added concern that granting this guy an interview is about more than just being nice to him and that Fitz may actually be considering him for the job when he by all objective measures shouldn't even be entertaining the idea.

 

[Billdo]

Firing him right now, when there is no reason to? He isn’t our HC, the season isn’t over so the the FO doesn’t know who will be available to replace him as even an assistant, he has a contract and they might want him in a different role, etc. How many interim head coaches get the full firing treatment at the end of their tenures?

The Devils fired Ruff to try and spark the team to go on a run - there was a concrete reason for it. There is no reason to relieve Green of his duties today because there is no impact, and treating him with respect on his way out is the right thing to do.

What's the point of dragging it out? He's not a good coach. That's kind of it. Period. Let him go, he won't get another HC job anywhere.

 

[NJDevs26]

The obvious comp is Nas, who also got an interview from Fitz after his interim stint and got to stay on as an assistant under Lindy

 

[guitarguyvic]

The obvious comp is Nas, who also got an interview from Fitz after his interim stint and got to stay on as an assistant under Lindy

And this is why we are well justified in being concerned here. This guy should not be returning in any capacity. No one from this coaching staff should, save for Sarge.

 

[Bleedred]

The obvious comp is Nas, who also got an interview from Fitz after his interim stint and got to stay on as an assistant under Lindy

He's one of the very rare examples of a coach being an interim head coach, then returning back to the staff as an assistant. John Stevens did it for several games in the middle of the year I guess before Dean either had to get permission from Calgary to sign Sutter (if he was still under contract, I'm not sure) and then ended right back as assistant/associate coach.

I think Derek King of the Blackhawks was reassigned to an assistant spot under Luke Richardson, after he served as the interim head coach the year before.

Nas was here much longer than Green though, before he ever even became interim head coach. He has years worth of relationships with players, front office and the rest of the staff. Whereas Travis Green only got here not even a year ago.

And this is why we are well justified in being concerned here. This guy should not be returning in any capacity. No one from this coaching staff should, save for Sarge.

I think McGill is fine, though I'm sure some will criticize him for some of the regression from guys like Siegenthaler, Marino and Bahl.

I could take him or leave him.

Chris Taylor was handpicked by Ruff. I'm surprised he wasn't out the same day as Ruff. I really don't think he's coming back.

Rogalski should NOT come back as goalie coach, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Between Marty seeming to be in love with him, on top of the two new goalies playing well, I fear it may have saved him from being fired.

 

[Guttersniped]

There’s three main areas to address this off-season in my opinion:

1. 1A goalie with Allen as 1B/backup

This one is self explanatory.

2. Add a solid top four defensive LHD

This could in theory be Siegenthaler returning to form or Bahl taking a step forward, with the added return of Hamilton as you mentioned stabilizing things.

I think Fitz might not want to take risks and will look to acquire a McNabb or someone similar just to stabilize things.

3. Fix the forward group

Last year, this team thrived on the ability to run four lines that placed fast with either speed or tenacity. Fitzgerald tried to round out the team a bit and in doing so, missed the mark a bit on what made this team successful. He needs to find a way to do that again from lines 1-4, while also trying to add a bit more size and snarl.

I think we need one more Haula/Palat type to compliment the top nine. Henrique is the easy name there. Arvidsson is an interesting target too.

We need at least on tenacious forward in the bottom six along with Lazar. I really like Trenin for this role. Maybe can get Jeannot as a cap dump too.

Then we need to get another depth forward with speed that can regularly play an NHL shift. My vote is Duhaime here:

Palat - Hischier - Bratt
Henrique/Arvidsson - Hughes - Meier
Foote - Haula - Mercer
Trenin/Jeannot - Lazar - Bastian
Duhaime - MacDermid

I’ve seen Jeannot mentioned before but I don’t see that happening.

Tampa gave up 5 picks for him, including their 2024 2nd and 2025 1st.

I don’t see them giving up on the guy after 1 year considering what they spent.

 

[Ripshot 43]

My thoughts on the 2023-24 season...

View attachment 852484

This needs to be the offseason meme

 

[Emperoreddy]

And this is why we are well justified in being concerned here. This guy should not be returning in any capacity. No one from this coaching staff should, save for Sarge.

The other alternative that some want to just ignore is that Fitz is legitimately considering giving Green the job

 

[Better Call Sal]

Sorry, but I'll take the patient route of waiting before reacting to anything concerning Travis Green.

I think it's pretty apparent he is not going to be the next head coach. I think it's also wasted energy to be concerned about him getting the job.

If he does, you'll see me react accordingly. But I don't give that much of a chance, so I'm not concerned.

 

[JrFischer54]

There is a reason to fire him immediately. He was part of a terrible coaching staff, and he should not even be in consideration for returning in any capacity much less as HC. As such, it's a waste of both his and Fitz' time to go through the dog and pony show of waiting and doing pointless interviews. Doing it immediately also sends a clear message both internally and to fans that this organization is serious about accountability.

There's nothing particularly horrible about doing it this way. It's happened before and it will happen again. I have no idea why you're portraying it as this huge disrespect.

From a fan perspective, there's also the added concern that granting this guy an interview is about more than just being nice to him and that Fitz may actually be considering him for the job when he by all objective measures shouldn't even be entertaining the idea.

yeah get out of here with that professional courtesy!

 

[NJDevs26]

The other alternative that some want to just ignore is that Fitz is legitimately considering giving Green the job

I think even Fitz knows he can’t get away with that after they actually regressed and missed the playoffs comfortably, unless he’s huffing the same but injuries but goaltending copium that’s made the rounds here at times

 

[NJDfan86]

There is a reason to fire him immediately. He was part of a terrible coaching staff, and he should not even be in consideration for returning in any capacity much less as HC. As such, it's a waste of both his and Fitz' time to go through the dog and pony show of waiting and doing pointless interviews. Doing it immediately also sends a clear message both internally and to fans that this organization is serious about accountability.

There's nothing particularly horrible about doing it this way. It's happened before and it will happen again. I have no idea why you're portraying it as this huge disrespect.

From a fan perspective, there's also the added concern that granting this guy an interview is about more than just being nice to him and that Fitz may actually be considering him for the job when he by all objective measures shouldn't even be entertaining the idea.

- Calling the coaching staff terrible is a drastic overstatement. Things didn’t work out, and they could have been better, but getting a read on how “bad” they were would be tough considering how injured the team was.

- There is nothing “horrible” about firing him - if he doesn’t fit with organization that will be the end result - but it’s unnecessary to formally fire him at the end of the season. Like I said, very few interim coaches get “fired” right as the season ends, and since he is under contract they might want him around for something other than coaching. They will have conversations about the future in the coming weeks I’m sure but the existential dread everyone is projecting about him is over the top.

- I don’t care about fan perspectives, if fan perspectives drove organizational decision making on assistant coaches there would be a much larger problem. It’s a classic case of rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic.

Green is very low on the list of problems (as assistant are in most cases)- but he is an easy target.

 

[JrFischer54]

i'm more concerned with the players lack of interest heart and drive when the playoffs were being just gifted to them night after night then i am in bringing this coach or that coach.

 

[NJDfan86]

The other alternative that some want to just ignore is that Fitz is legitimately considering giving Green the job

I will make all of the Green doomers a deal - if the devils hire him as the full time head coach you can pick my screen name for the entire next season.

 

[Emperoreddy]

i'm more concerned with the players lack of interest heart and drive when the playoffs were being just gifted to them night after night then i am in bringing this coach or that coach.

It's why the coach hire is important and needs to be someone brand new. Most of these players are going no where.

So you need a coach to get on them.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Pettersson won’t be an upgrade over Siegenthaler, possibly not over Bahl either.

Honestly i’m surprised so many people are ready to jump ship on half the team after one clusterf*** season. Literally nobody looked good this year except for Nemec, Bratt (who still took his contractually obligated 6 weeks off in the middle of the season), and Hischier, who is a perfect hardworking boy that nobody hates.

I see little reason to make wholesale changes to a roster that mostly got better after one of the best regular seasons in franchise history.

Agree this was a step back by a young team wholesale changes would be a mistake

 

[theoptimist]

As other posters have mentioned, going 'all in' on a goalie upgrade this summer will be the undoing of this franchise

 

[Emperoreddy]

Kasan's state media season look back put all the blame on injuries and goaltending and otherwise thinks everything else is fine and dandy

 

[MartyOwns]

As other posters have mentioned, going 'all in' on a goalie upgrade this summer will be the undoing of this franchise

um…what?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

As other posters have mentioned, going 'all in' on a goalie upgrade this summer will be the undoing of this franchise

what does going "all in" mean, exactly?

 

[Zippy316]

As other posters have mentioned, going 'all in' on a goalie upgrade this summer will be the undoing of this franchise

If you do it smartly, I don’t think so.

This team needs a veteran tandem they could depend on. Someone they have confidence in and that won’t completely fall apart if the team struggles. I think that’s why the Devils targetted Markstrom (and also Allen).

Plus there’s going to be a lot of tandem-level goalies on the market this off-season. I think that will drive the price down a bunch.

 

[theoptimist]

what does going "all in" mean, exactly?

Trading Mercer or Holtz + for Saros/Ullmark

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Trading Mercer or Holtz + for Saros/Ullmark

sorry, I don't see how trading Holtz for a goalie is "going all in", but that's just me.....

 

[theoptimist]

If you do it smartly, I don’t think so.

This team needs a veteran tandem they could depend on. Someone they have confidence in and that won’t completely fall apart if the team struggles. I think that’s why the Devils targetted Markstrom (and also Allen).

Plus there’s going to be a lot of tandem-level goalies on the market this off-season. I think that will drive the price down a bunch.

Idk what Markstrom's worth, but he's cheaper than some of the other names proposed. I'd rather use assets (and associated cap space) to improve our defense.

 

[Zippy316]

Idk what Markstrom's worth, but he's cheaper than some of the other names proposed. I'd rather use assets (and associated cap space) to improve our defense.

Unless the Devils have someone under the radar with what they see as a good value deal, for instance, Grubauer or Jarry or Husso etc., I think Markstrom is the target.

I could see the Devils acquiring him for some pieces they might not see in their future (Bahl, Holtz, Clarke, Foote, one of Schmid/Daws, etc.) and a pick.

The one thing that has me the least worried is Fitzgerald is a shrewd trader. He has yet to lose a deal. The only argument you could potentially make is Sharangovich + 3rd for Toffoli or Zacha for Haula. I can’t see Mercer going anywhere, maybe for Saros/Swayman, but I’m skeptical there.

In both instances, the deals made a ton of sense given team needs and not being able to give players the role they got on their future teams.