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

[BostonDevil]

No but that's the kind of bet you make hoping youre wrong.

Absolutely not - What I want to have happen and what I expect to happen can be very different things.

Being a fan doesn't prevent me from taking a realistic look at things

Could also say he's due to play all 82!

I'm just concerned, as we all should be.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Fitz doesn’t do cheap depth well, I still don’t get why we didn’t toss a contract to a cheap center option.

Other tops teams also have center depth in their org and we just don’t give a shit about it.

Other teams dont have two first overall centers eating up major minutes, and one of them a Selke-level defender matching teams best

Sure we could have a better center than Haula but.. not really? Not by a lot at least. Lazar isnt normally a center but we also didnt expect to have been employing a sexual offender in one of the best faceoff takers in the league

Theres time and its not something that is so crucial its costing us the playoffs. Cotter was a great pickup for the future of the bottom-6 so I have faith Fitzgerald can make another play for a center someday after Haula

 

[devilsblood]

Fitz doesn’t do cheap depth well, I still don’t get why we didn’t toss a contract to a cheap center option.

Other tops teams also have center depth in their org and we just don’t give a shit about it.

Yeah, I dunno, Lazar, Cotter, Kovacevic, are all super cheap depth players. Tatar's pretty cheap. He found Miller last year at 1.8 per.

 

[Saugus]

Yeah, I dunno, Lazar, Cotter, Kovacevic, are all super cheap depth players. Tatar's pretty cheap. He found Miller last year at 1.8 per.

Counterpoint: Brendan Smith and Kurtis MacDermid.

Some of his cheap depth moves work out ok, but they’re not all winners.

 

[Hisch13r]

Fitz doesn’t do cheap depth well, I still don’t get why we didn’t toss a contract to a cheap center option.

Other tops teams also have center depth in their org and we just don’t give a shit about it.

The real culprit is what he did last year. I was saying at the time he never should’ve let Boqvist go and we should’ve been all over Suter. Suter and Boqvist for a combined 2.375 would go such a long way.

 

[Hisch13r]

Other teams dont have two first overall centers eating up major minutes, and one of them a Selke-level defender matching teams best

Sure we could have a better center than Haula but.. not really? Not by a lot at least. Lazar isnt normally a center but we also didnt expect to have been employing a sexual offender in one of the best faceoff takers in the league

Theres time and its not something that is so crucial its costing us the playoffs. Cotter was a great pickup for the future of the bottom-6 so I have faith Fitzgerald can make another play for a center someday after Haula

Florida had Barkov, Bennett, Lundell, Stenlund, Reinhart, Rodrigues, Luostarainen, Lorentz that you could all pretty comfortably throw in the middle. Vegas had Eichel, Stephenson, Roy, Karlsson, Howden, Blueger, Barbashev. Colorado had MacKinnon, Kadri, Compher, Newhook, Helm, Sturm. I think Rantanen’s played some in the middle. TB had Point, Gourde, Cirelli, Stamkos, Johnson, Colton, Coleman, Paquette.

All of these teams had at least 5 guys you could put up in the middle on a top 9 line and not feel too bad about it as well as multiple guys to play the 4C. We’ve got 4 for the top 9 and only one for the 4C and that guy isn’t even a true center. I don’t know how anyone sees this center depth on the NHL roster and organizationally and thinks it’s acceptable. I guess you’re all in the Fitz camp of “we have Jack/Nico so f*** getting any more centers”

 

[dgibb10]

Counterpoint: Brendan Smith and Kurtis MacDermid.

Some of his cheap depth moves work out ok, but they’re not all winners.

That's how depth works tbf. They're depth pieces for a reason

 

[Hisch13r]

If you were throwing money down - Does he hit 75+ this year?

Probably put it somewhere in the 70-80 range. That seems like a solid bet. 61 of 69 in the rookie year. All 56 his sophomore year. If those were full years I think it's a safe bet to say he plays 70+ in both.

 

[devilsblood]

That's how depth works tbf. They're depth pieces for a reason

Ya, 7th d-men are rarely going to be good. And Smith was good on the PK. He just played too much.

And Mac is exactly who Fitz wants him to be.

 

[Nico Hischier]

How would the devils look if they converted Luke to play as a forward on a line with Jack? It’s not gonna happen but it’s summertime.

 

[MasterofGrond]

LD is a mess without Luke.

Be better served to move Nemec or Casey to F tbh.

 

[Hisch13r]

LD is a mess without Luke.

Be better served to move Nemec or Casey to F tbh.

Casey Utica 1D this year. Next year play up front and also the 7D backup. Move Dougie summer 2026 and Casey back to D

 

[Nubmer6]

Casey Utica 1D this year. Next year play up front and also the 7D backup. Move Dougie summer 2026 and Casey back to D

Anything can happen in Jersey.

 

[My3Sons]

Anything can happen in Jersey.

Oh my!!

 

[Guadana]

I like this as a joke so much but every time I hear it from Dangle I want to punch him in the upper part of his split face.

Anything can happen in Jersey.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Florida had Barkov, Bennett, Lundell, Stenlund, Reinhart, Rodrigues, Luostarainen, Lorentz that you could all pretty comfortably throw in the middle. Vegas had Eichel, Stephenson, Roy, Karlsson, Howden, Blueger, Barbashev. Colorado had MacKinnon, Kadri, Compher, Newhook, Helm, Sturm. I think Rantanen’s played some in the middle. TB had Point, Gourde, Cirelli, Stamkos, Johnson, Colton, Coleman, Paquette.

All of these teams had at least 5 guys you could put up in the middle on a top 9 line and not feel too bad about it as well as multiple guys to play the 4C. We’ve got 4 for the top 9 and only one for the 4C and that guy isn’t even a true center. I don’t know how anyone sees this center depth on the NHL roster and organizationally and thinks it’s acceptable. I guess you’re all in the Fitz camp of “we have Jack/Nico so f*** getting any more centers

Feels blown out of propotion - your suggesting their entire fourth line could have slotted second line in a middle-6?

Even if thats true thats what going all-in over a few years gets you - the Devils best players havent even turned 26 yet

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I came quite close to extending my MBA at seton hall a year to add JD precisely for this purpose. I'm in technology but IP is very close to it... but I didn't, much to my regret over the years.

To quote Bruce Springsteen's mother, "It's not too late, you can still go back to college." (Obscure reference)

 

[Goptor]

LD is a mess without Luke.

Be better served to move Nemec or Casey to F tbh.

It is very easy to find a LHD that can provide offense.

 

[Hisch13r]

It is very easy to find a LHD that can provide offense.

Not like Luke can

 

[Goptor]

Not like Luke can

There will be a LHD that can play the PP but isn't particularly good on the defensive side waived during training camp. If Luke gets injured, they can just pick a guy up for free or for a 7th rounder

 

[MasterofGrond]

There will be a LHD that can play the PP but isn't particularly good on the defensive side waived during training camp.

is that what you think Luke is

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I feel like some of you forget what a pp specialist actually looks like. That is not what Luke is...

 

[JimEIV]

Luke is going to put up 50+ maybe even more points this year while playing 21/22 minutes a night this season.

I suspect that his defense will be a little cleaner this year but still a work in progress.... Pesce should be a huge help.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Luke is going to put up 50+ maybe even more points this year while playing 21/22 minutes a night this season.

I suspect that his defense will be a little cleaner this year but still a work in progress.... Pesce should be a huge help.

I could see 21-21-18 as the minutes split for the pairings

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Big season ahead - gonna be a good one

Go Devils!