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

[HersheyBob27]

Who knows if Bastian is even alive anymore (slightly joking) or not. His last game was February 22nd, and he never played again after that.

Now there's been another 2.5 months since the season ended for him to have recovered from whatever he needed to recover from, but I honestly think the team would be looking to toss him (if anybody) simply because he's missed 40% of the games the last two years, mostly due to injuries.

Unless they think he'll be on the LTIR for much of the season.

He had a sprained knee or something and was ready to go if the team had made the playoffs

 

[Devils Army]

Kind of feel like we could we could see Noesen with Jack at times.

 

[Hisch13r]

Kind of feel like we could we could see Noesen with Jack at times.

I wouldn’t be fully opposed to it

 

[Emperoreddy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808234043609076164

 

[Emperoreddy]

I would still be pressing Winnipeg about getting McGroaty out of there, but I'm assuming they want a 1st which we don't have to give

 

[Hisch13r]

I would still be pressing Winnipeg about getting McGroaty out of there, but I'm assuming they want a 1st which we don't have to give

I don’t think they’d want that. I think they’d want something more ready to contribute. I think it’d be closer to a Cutter/Drysdale deal than dealing him for a 1st unless that 1st is coming from a bottom feeder (which wouldn’t happen). It’s why I think Casey makes sense.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I don’t think they’d want that. I think they’d want something more ready to contribute. I think it’d be closer to a Cutter/Drysdale deal than dealing him for a 1st unless that 1st is coming from a bottom feeder (which wouldn’t happen). It’s why I think Casey makes sense.

If they would take Casey and lesser picks then i would pull the trigger

 

[Emperoreddy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808257731360420243

 

[Hisch13r]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808257731360420243

Yeah so we’re done

 

[JimEIV]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808257731360420243

That means he's kicking off his 4th of July week and summer vacation starting noon tomorrow.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Anyone know if there’s gonna be a development camp scrimmage we can watch?

 

[SKNJD9]

Nico Tuna Mercer gonna rekindle the magic

 

[MartyOwns]

Would be a great year for Foote to take a step

 

[Devilsgrl35]

That means he's kicking off his 4th of July week and summer vacation starting noon tomorrow.

Margaritas at noon? Sounds good to me.

 

[None Shall Pass]

I think getting a winger for Jack is harder than it seems, because the man is a playmaker and can shoot like a crazy thing.

Bratt works with him because Bratt is allergic to shooting the puck, so Jack gets to shoot more when they're together.

 

[Clam Jensen]

Man McGroarty would be picture perfect.

 

[JimEIV]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808234043609076164

Mercer is a realistic option for the top 6 the rest are not.

Edit: and neither is Haula because we really don't have another 3C option...so really your talking Black Hole Palat or Tatar that's ugly.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Everybody Thursday: Happy 4th

@JimEIV Thursday: Happy 4thLine of July

 

[Mgd31]

Margaritas at noon? Sounds good to me.

Me too

 

[JimEIV]

Everybody Thursday: Happy 4th

@JimEIV Thursday: Happy 4thLine of July

I like it.

 

[StevenToddIves]

It sounds like the Devils are done in free agency, so here's a quick an easy take.

The Devils biggest problems over the past 3 or so years have easily been poor goaltending, generally spotty team defense and being physically bullied.

Fitzgerald and co. identified this and addressed all three.

Markstrom is not prime-era Hasek, but he's still a top 15 goaltender in the league and the best netminder the Devils have had since Schneider.

Pesce is a legit shut-down stud at RD and a perfect pairing for Luke Hughes. Dillon is a physical beast and near-shut-down-stud at LD and a perfect pairing for Nemec. They are, respectively, the Devils best pure defensive-defenseman and most effectively physical defenseman in several seasons.

Cotter is a very physical and athletic bottom 6 LW who is a better skater and better defensively than Holtz, whom the management clearly did not think was ready for a top 6 role. He makes the bottom 6, still reeling from the loss of MacLeod, stronger.

The Devils single failure was running out of options and cap room (Mercer still needs a contract) before filling out the top 6 forwards. Though the Devils have a very good top 5, that last role will need to be filled by a Tatar or Haula or Palau playing a bit above their current ability-set, at least until the trade deadline.

But looking at the team right now, it's hard not to be very pleased. The goaltending is the best it's looked in years. The blueline is the best in the division to me and maybe even in the entire conference if Luke and Nemec take a big step forward as anticipated. The bottom six is decent, but far better than the disastrous group NJ finished last season with. And the top 6 is still going to score a whole lot of goals. I think we can also add that Keefe should represent an upgrade at head coach over Green and Ruff, who lost touch a bit towards the end.

To me, barring major injuries to major players, this is a very good team going into next season. It's still a bit thin at forward, but the top 5 is terrific and the Devils have clearly strengthened up everywhere else. Maybe Fitzgerald has another trick up his sleeve and can pry McGroarty out of Winnipeg, but it won't be cheap. He also deserves high marks for NOT trading the #10 pick, which adds another franchise-core piece two or three years down the line in Silayev.

I'm optimistic, as I believe we all should be.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

 

[Emperoreddy]

If Keefe can find a way to get Jack and Timo to mesh, you could reunite Tuna-Nico-Mercer which was a very productive line two years ago and things should run pretty smoothly

 

[Emperoreddy]

It sounds like the Devils are done in free agency, so here's a quick an easy take.

The Devils biggest problems over the past 3 or so years have easily been poor goaltending, generally spotty team defense and being physically bullied.

Fitzgerald and co. identified this and addressed all three.

Markstrom is not prime-era Hasek, but he's still a top 15 goaltender in the league and the best netminder the Devils have had since Schneider.

Pesce is a legit shut-down stud at RD and a perfect pairing for Luke Hughes. Dillon is a physical beast and near-shut-down-stud at LD and a perfect pairing for Nemec. They are, respectively, the Devils best pure defensive-defenseman and most effectively physical defenseman in several seasons.

Cotter is a very physical and athletic bottom 6 LW who is a better skater and better defensively than Holtz, whom the management clearly did not think was ready for a top 6 role. He makes the bottom 6, still reeling from the loss of MacLeod, stronger.

The Devils single failure was running out of options and cap room (Mercer still needs a contract) before filling out the top 6 forwards. Though the Devils have a very good top 5, that last role will need to be filled by a Tatar or Haula or Palau playing a bit above their current ability-set, at least until the trade deadline.

But looking at the team right now, it's hard not to be very pleased. The goaltending is the best it's looked in years. The blueline is the best in the division to me and maybe even in the entire conference if Luke and Nemec take a big step forward as anticipated. The bottom six is decent, but far better than the disastrous group NJ finished last season with. And the top 6 is still going to score a whole lot of goals. I think we can also add that Keefe should represent an upgrade at head coach over Green and Ruff, who lost touch a bit towards the end.

To me, barring major injuries to major players, this is a very good team going into next season. It's still a bit thin at forward, but the top 5 is terrific and the Devils have clearly strengthened up everywhere else. Maybe Fitzgerald has another trick up his sleeve and can pry McGroarty out of Winnipeg, but it won't be cheap. He also deserves high marks for NOT trading the #10 pick, which adds another franchise-core piece two or three years down the line in Silayev.

I'm optimistic, as I believe we all should be.

All good points but you left out the return of the Nose!

 

[Hisch13r]

If Keefe can find a way to get Jack and Timo to mesh, you could reunite Tuna-Nico-Mercer which was a very productive line two years ago and things should run pretty smoothly

I see no reason you couldn’t also get that type of impact with having Meier there instead of Mercer and a productive Mercer with Jack and Bratt. Even if Keefe can get Jack and Timo to start to be able to tilt the ice together they still shouldn’t be together. They’re 2 of the leagues elite shot producers. There’s only one puck. They need to be separate.