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

[MadDevil]

So Timo had bad knees and an oblique injury, Jack had a bum shoulder, Siegs had a broken foot and possible concussion (was it ever confirmed after Rempe hit him in the head?), and Dougie missed most of the season. Talk about a wild swing in injury luck compared to the previous season.

 

[Devils731]

Dawson is really a great kid. Heart and soul player all the way. Love players who really want to be here.

If he gets stronger in the off-season, he will win more of those 50/50 puck battles where he has room for improvement. I’m expecting a big bounce back season from him.

I said last offseason, and it’s still true now, Mercer probably needs to pick a path. He either needs to get slimmer and quicker or bigger and stronger. He’s too much of a skilled tweener right now.

For me, I agree with you that strength is probably the better path to go down. I think it’s more of a sure thing that he can improve his strength and that path leads him to assured time with the most skilled players and possibly even PP1 time.

 

[Devs3cups]

I like Dawson as a player. He had a meh year but I’m not worried about a bounce back.

Wonder what kind of contract he gets. I’m thinking a bridge, but I’d love to get him cheap on a long term deal, that’s unlikely though.

 

[Billdo]

I like Dawson as a player. He had a meh year but I’m not worried about a bounce back.

Wonder what kind of contract he gets. I’m thinking a bridge, but I’d love to get him cheap on a long term deal, that’s unlikely though.

Be pretty cool if they offered him a 8 year like 45 million deal although I'd expect his camp to decline that.

So Timo had bad knees and an oblique injury, Jack had a bum shoulder, Siegs had a broken foot and possible concussion (was it ever confirmed after Rempe hit him in the head?), and Dougie missed most of the season. Talk about a wild swing in injury luck compared to the previous season.

An inept medical staff rearing its ugly head yet again as well. This has been going on for years at this point going back to Paul Martin arm.

 

[Better Call Sal]

For those who didn't get to watch yet, I suggest watching Haula's interview. It's a good one, especially when asked what it means to play in front of his son.

 

[NjDevsRR]

So Timo had bad knees and an oblique injury, Jack had a bum shoulder, Siegs had a broken foot and possible concussion (was it ever confirmed after Rempe hit him in the head?), and Dougie missed most of the season. Talk about a wild swing in injury luck compared to the previous season.

Nico had a concussion too
Foote with back problems
Nosek with concussion and broken foot
Haula started the season day to day
Bastian out for the last stretch

It was BAD

 

[MartyOwns]

So Timo had bad knees and an oblique injury, Jack had a bum shoulder, Siegs had a broken foot and possible concussion (was it ever confirmed after Rempe hit him in the head?), and Dougie missed most of the season. Talk about a wild swing in injury luck compared to the previous season.

the most surprising part is that they didn't let dougie play all year anyway with his pec hanging off. what a dangerously incompetent front office we have.

 

[BurntToast]

Next Coach?!
(Highly encourage a watch)

Rip.

 

[Bleedred]

Next Coach?!

Rip.

I swear when he coached here he disguised his accent to make it a little less French-Canadian sounding.

I barely remember him having a French accent here, but any other era where I've heard him he had a hint of it. It wasn't as thick as Marty's or many of those native Quebecois guys, but it was still there a bit. Probably the same way I somewhat have a North Jersey accent, though it's not very thick.

I always forget until I see some footage of him before he got here.

 

[RememberTheName]

Didn't see if this got posted yet. As a BC/Devils fan, gotta be a big fan of this signing. Jack Malone is a high energy middle 6 forward and the kind of guy that steps up when it matters most. Scored the OT goal to send BC to the Frozen Four. He doesn't always show up on the scoresheet but the kind of player that constantly contributes to winning. He should be a solid add for Utica even if he's not a huge point producer.

 

[My3Sons]

Nico had a concussion too
Foote with back problems
Nosek with concussion and broken foot
Haula started the season day to day
Bastian out for the last stretch

It was BAD

Meh. Those are all bottom six players

 

[jkrdevil]

I swear when he coached here he disguised his accent to make it a little less French-Canadian sounding.

I barely remember him having a French accent here, but any other era where I've heard him he had a hint of it. It wasn't as thick as Marty's or many of those native Quebecois guys, but it was still there a bit. Probably the same way I somewhat have a North Jersey accent, though it's not very thick.

I always forget until I see some footage of him before he got here.

Well he had spent a decade in Toronto and Boston at that point.

 

[RNCDevil]

Didn't see if this got posted yet. As a BC/Devils fan, gotta be a big fan of this signing. Jack Malone is a high energy middle 6 forward and the kind of guy that steps up when it matters most. Scored the OT goal to send BC to the Frozen Four. He doesn't always show up on the scoresheet but the kind of player that constantly contributes to winning. He should be a solid add for Utica even if he's not a huge point producer.

Man, I was such a a Santini fan... Intangibles...

 

[BostonDevil]

For those who didn't get to watch yet, I suggest watching Haula's interview. It's a good one, especially when asked what it means to play in front of his son.

I refuse. Don't make me like him!

 

[guitarguyvic]

How…how can anyone see the extent of the injuries that Timo was playing through and NOT question the management of this team?

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

How…how can anyone see the extent of the injuries that Timo was playing through and NOT question the management of this team?

It might have been one of those things that you can't really hurt anymore? I have zero knowledge of MCL injuries. I think of that scene in Miracle.

 

[Bleedred]

Well he had spent a decade in Toronto and Boston at that point.

I don't find many people losing their accents when they're in their 40s.

I never lost mine down here, but I never had a thick one to begin with.

People not from Jersey tell me I sound like someone from Jersey, but many of the people I know from up home always had a much stronger accent than I ever had.

 

[MadDevil]

How…how can anyone see the extent of the injuries that Timo was playing through and NOT question the management of this team?

None of us are medical experts, but I would imagine there are different severities of MCL injuries. Like a full MCL tear I would imagine would have put him out more than say a strain. He missed games, so he was actually out because of it. He might have recovered enough to play on it without a high risk of making it worse.

I think the league in general has an issue when it comes to doing what's best for the players with injuries. Yeah, it's great players want to be "tough" and "be there for the boys" and all that other rah rah bullshit, but at some point if you're not helping the team on the ice, what's the point? Maybe the team should have told Timo to take a seat, but do we really think this only happens with the Devils? That we singularly have the worst medical staff in the league?

 

[BostonDevil]

I don't know about everything that went down today but did Timo just heal up at the end of the season or is he still banged up and just got used to playing that way?

 

[Davegarri]

It might have been one of those things that you can't really hurt anymore? I have zero knowledge of MCL injuries. I think of that scene in Miracle.

I had a pretty bad mcl sprain years ago from skiing. Took forever to get back to normal but I could still play sports and exercise, it just lingered for a long time. Biggest thing for me from that injury was my loss of strength in that leg. It's still not the same as it was

 

[Guttersniped]

PYa post only the top of the list. Palat belongs way closer to the bottom. Last 4 seasons he has averaged missing aprox 20 games per year. He is actually due to play about 40 this year if you follow the pattern. I don’t care if you think it is the best contract in the world. He can’t produce enough anymore to play third line on most teams

Who said it’s the best contract in the world? There’s a place between extremes.

No one likes that contract, it really needs 1m & 1 year knocked off to be not gross.

But Palat was pretty useful this year.

He made lines he played on better. He’s two-way forward who helped us defensively and is strong on the board. We don’t have much of that on the line-up.

The production is underwhelming for 6m but it’s in line with 3rd line production.

From an Oct 2023 article that estimates the average production of players on each line.

1st Line: 22:23 to 18:00 mins per game (approx. 100 players)
2nd Line: 17:59 to 16:00 mins per game (approx. 100 players)
3rd Line: 15:59 to 13:00 mins per game (approx. 150 players)
4th Line: 12:59 to 6:34 mins per game (approx. 230 players)

1st Line: average of .9403 pts/game or 77 pts over 82 games
2nd Line: average of .6103 pts/game or 50 pts over 82 games
3rd Line: average of .4197 pts/game or 34 pts over 82 games
4th Line: average of .253435 pts/game or 20.8 pts over 82 games

This isn’t about being blindly rah rah about Palat’s future either.

If his production and/or play falls off next year, that could force the team to buy out his last two years. The contract would be a brutal failure if that happened, but that’s a worst case scenario.

 

[Zippy316]

Been searching for a word to describe what the forward group was missing and feels like the best way to describe it is intensity.

Guys like Tatar, Wood, and McLeod almost dragged their linemates into the game by not taking a shift off. It’s why moving Zacha for Haula made so much of an impact last year.

I count Meier, Haula, and Lazar as those guys on this team with Mercer and Palat bringing that dog on a bone mentality when they’re on top. I think it’s why we loved Smith so much for the few games he played at forward because he brought that.

 

[RSeen]

Been searching for a word to describe what the forward group was missing and feels like the best way to describe it is intensity.

Guys like Tatar, Wood, and McLeod almost dragged their linemates into the game by not taking a shift off. It’s why moving Zacha for Haula made so much of an impact last year.

I count Meier, Haula, and Lazar as those guys on this team with Mercer and Palat bringing that dog on a bone mentality when they’re on top. I think it’s why we loved Smith so much for the few games he played at forward because he brought that.

Who's "we"?

 

[Whaddagoal]

Haula's, Bratt's, Bastian's interviews pretty interesting. A few of the guys let out some key phrases which may have indicated ruff in a small way. Structure. More structure and accountability snuck out from a few players. Haula and I think Palat/Nico... Or someone else.

With Bastian he pointed out this off-season will be the first in two years that he can actually workout properly. Last one he practically missed with shoulder recovery. This summer he said he is very excited to continue his workouts again. That may explain pieces we as fans may miss, and may explain why he looked like he regressed from year to year recently. Maybe next season will be a huge bounce back for him (I hope!)

Kakhonen seems like a goalie maybe we should keep, I actually really like his demeanor presentation. He's got a bit of a swagger we hadn't seen in goalies for awhile. Allen too, but he is already penciled in.

One interesting tidbit from Nosek was that he was/is living in Nutley.... I'd bring him back just for his local props staying in more blue collar town. Blue collar player in a blue collar town and said he was happy here. He also seemed very eager to stay with his group based on his interview.

Macdermid seemed to also be eager to stay hooked in. I like the guy, not necessarily a popular choice but I will support brining MacDermid back for a similar role fit - if the teammates are happy to have him and if he is effective impact in the psychological aspect of his "presence".... I'm all for it.

Didn't see a Nemec exit, and Tierney was noticably not included in the video set I saw. Last time we had an absence (Tatar) they didn't come back. Wonder if that means anything with respect to Tierney.

Now... Jack was excused.......

 

[Bleedred]

After watching Palat interviewed I can’t unsee John Hynes.

He almost looks like Hynes if you put a hat on him. Looks like he could be a nephew of his or something. I know Palat isn’t a Hiney head but you can’t tell what he’s got for hair if you never seen him without the hat.