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

[JrFischer54]

all time 102 (17 as a devil, 1 with the wild) NHL & WHA Career Leaders and Records for Short-Handed Goals | Hockey-Reference.com

View attachment 894243

good old wilf paiement always a fan favorite!

THE ATHLETIC Sports News gave the NJ Devils the 2nd best Off-Season Improvement grade in the NHL, 2ND behind Chicago. CHICAGO got a +51 with $26M added in salary. While the NJ Devils got a +38 with $11M added in Salary.

They speak well about the Devils being a solid playoff team primarily because of the goalie improvement. They are positive that the defensemen are a good addition and make our defense stronger. The offensive improvements are around the edges in the bottom 6 and bring more substance than what was lost.

Nice write up for the work done by our GM Fitzgerald and his team.

two things need to happen this year for us to do some damage

goalies have to make timely saves no more soft goals that deflate the team

then most importantly jack has to stay healthy if he misses time 15+ games its going to suck the life out of the team

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

2nd best you say?

But our esteemed expert gave us a 0

You must be mistaken, I didn't give us a zero and I'm DEFINITELY not esteemed.

 

[JimEIV]

I'm not crazy about what Fitz added as far as forwards go... don't completely hate it, just seems more like depth character additions than essential pieces...after the dust settles it's hard not to ask who replaces Toffoli as a goal scoring wing for the top 6? It seems like the most important forward hole to fill was left empty to me

Love what he did with the Defense...love everything about it and drafting Silayev right before FA made it all the more sweet.

And I'm not thrilled with what we paid for a 35 year old goaltender...if he stays healthy and gives us more than 90 games over the next two years, it's not terrible...but I also think it's a huge gamble banking on a 35/36 year old staying healthy enough to play 45 games or more a season over the next two years....this one is a dice roll with a TBD label.

That's how I see the off season.

 

[Brodeur]

One of these...

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811491973205033201

With these pads...

View attachment 894332

I would pay way too much for.

I'm a Heaton 10 guy myself. I wish I could justify having some custom CCM pads made with the Heaton 10 graphic like a few goalies had done in recent years.

I picked up a cheap pair of Heaton IVs that have been collecting dust in my garage. I could have sworn I had a (improperly sized) pair of the Heaton VIs when I first started playing beer league.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

This capfriendly clone isn’t bad: https://capwages.com/teams/new_jersey_devils

 

[Basement Cat]

I'm not crazy about what Fitz added as far as forwards go... don't completely hate it, just seems more like depth character additions than essential pieces...after the dust settles it's hard not to ask who replaces Toffoli as a goal scoring wing for the top 6? It's seems like the most important forward hole to fill was left empty to me

Love what he did with the Defense...love everything about it and drafting Silayev right before FA made it all the more sweet.

And I'm not thrilled with what we paid for a 35 year old goaltender...if he stays healthy and gives us more than 90 games over the next two years, it's not terrible...but I also think it's a huge gamble banking on a 35/36 year old staying healthy enough to play 45 games or more a season over the next two years....this one is a dice roll with a TBD label.

That's how I see the off season.

I'm with you on all of this but with a little more optimism up front just because it's something that can be addressed at the deadline. We paid Jack, Nico, Meier, and Bratt to do the heavy lifting, so let them do it. The organization has plenty of assets to bolster the top 6 (really middle 6 scoring punch) at the deadline.

 

[JimEIV]

This capfriendly clone isn’t bad: https://capwages.com/teams/new_jersey_devils

Thanks for posting this.

 

[NjDevsRR]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811789436763406406

* @Hisch13r sooper dooper loves this post*

 

[Hisch13r]

* @Hisch13r sooper dooper loves this post*

No Tatar last year was the entire reason we sucked! The GOAT is back

 

[Brodeur]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811789436763406406

Just had a random flashback to the Rolston/Claude trade. At the time, I was puzzled by the numbers that Rolston had in his limited time with Colorado before being included in the Ray Bourque trade. Rolston put up 18 points in 50 games as an Av. I always assumed that he played wing with either Sakic or Forsberg, but they ended up mostly using him as a 3rd line center and Rolston had worse linemates than he had in New Jersey. Somewhat ironic since he complained about his role on the Devils when the trade happened.

 

[Maine Fan]

good old wilf paiement always a fan favorite!



two things need to happen this year for us to do some damage

goalies have to make timely saves no more soft goals that deflate the team

then most importantly jack has to stay healthy if he misses time 15+ games its going to suck the life out of the team

You make some valid points. Let me say that the goalie situation has to be much better than last year or they will perform the same as last season and are done, Fitzgerald will be fired and the players will be traded. You have to agree that the goalies are better. I hope you agree that with the players add to the defense that the defense is going to be better. Therefore we should have fewer goals against on paper. I think that Fitz knows what happened to the team when Jack went out. IMO the team relied on Jack too much and I think part of that problem was Coach Ruff. So I believe that coach Sheldon Keefe will have an offensive strategy that doesn't depend on Jack exclusively, that is more deversed. I believe he will have 3 lines of offense, not one person. Go Devils

 

[Richer's Ghost]

This capfriendly clone isn’t bad: https://capwages.com/teams/new_jersey_devils

There's a reason it looks so familiar...

They need to make some changes - folks saying they're gonna get hit with copyright infringement for not changing things a bit.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

This capfriendly clone isn’t bad: https://capwages.com/teams/new_jersey_devils

It's the "don't copy my homework too much" meme, it looks pretty damn good early on though lol. Just needs a better UI and probably armchair GM and it's like it didn't miss a beat lol

 

[Hisch13r]

And this was why I didn’t really care much about CapFriendly going away. CapFriendly was great but we’ve been through this thing multiple times already. There’s always a replacement that pops up. Really happy there’s a CapFriendly clone to use rather than PuckPedia. I’m really not a fan of the PuckPedia layouts. This is still really barebones and needs work but I imagine it'll get better

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'm not crazy about what Fitz added as far as forwards go... don't completely hate it, just seems more like depth character additions than essential pieces...after the dust settles it's hard not to ask who replaces Toffoli as a goal scoring wing for the top 6? It seems like the most important forward hole to fill was left empty to me

Love what he did with the Defense...love everything about it and drafting Silayev right before FA made it all the more sweet.

And I'm not thrilled with what we paid for a 35 year old goaltender...if he stays healthy and gives us more than 90 games over the next two years, it's not terrible...but I also think it's a huge gamble banking on a 35/36 year old staying healthy enough to play 45 games or more a season over the next two years....this one is a dice roll with a TBD label.

That's how I see the off season.

Fitzgerald gave up a lot to be a lot better next season. He knows he gave up a lot, he's a very good GM. But yes the Devils will certainly be a lot better next season.

Does NJ still have 5 legit top 6 forwards instead of 6? Yes. But this is not only not an impediment for a team for whom scoring is not the primary problem, but also something which can be addressed at the deadline if the Devils, as expected, are in contention.

As for Markstrom, if he gives the Devils even average goaltending? Well, that's a huge improvement. The Devils with average goaltending may have made the playoffs last year.

Most importantly, the blueline might be the best in the division next year. This is huge. It's got a great mix of player-types and different talents, it's got size and speed.

I'm extremely optimistic.

 

[Rhodes 81]

With the forwards, I think it's a safe bet to make that you will get a legitimate top 6 forward output from one of Palat and Mercer. That just leaves 1 spot by committee by the other one, Tatar, Noesen, and maybe Cotter on occasion. It's not great depth if one of the top 4 goes down, but it's good enough to get to the deadline.

 

[Hisch13r]

With the forwards, I think it's a safe bet to make that you will get a legitimate top 6 forward output from one of Palat and Mercer. That just leaves 1 spot by committee by the other one, Tatar, Noesen, and maybe Cotter on occasion. It's not great depth if one of the top 4 goes down, but it's good enough to get to the deadline.

I see no reason to believe Palat’s giving you that after 2 years of being nowhere near legit top 6 production. I think you’re really just looking at Mercer and a really outside shot at Tatar. Likely just Mercer and then hope the stars stay healthy and carry you. Also hope you get some committee

 

[TheUnseenHand]

I could see Tatar ending up in the top 6 and I don't hate it.

 

[MadDevil]

all time 102 (17 as a devil, 1 with the wild) NHL & WHA Career Leaders and Records for Short-Handed Goals | Hockey-Reference.com

View attachment 894243

Speaking of all time great Devils forwards, saw this one...



The man aged like a fine wine.

 

[Devs3cups]

I could see Tatar ending up in the top 6 and I don't hate it.

I don't hate it at all. Gives us some good options for the 3rd line. Palat - Haula - Noesen has some potential as a 3rd line. Something like:

Tatar - Hischier - Mercer
Meier - Hughes - Bratt
Palat - Haula - Noesen
Cotter - Lazar - Bastian

I know Meier worked better with Nico than with Jack, but I think they'll give a shot to the Tatar - Nico - Mercer line that worked so well 2 years ago. If not, switch Tatar and Meier:

Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Tatar - Hughes - Bratt

Either way, that's a pretty good Top 6 imo.

 

[Billdo]

I don't hate it at all. Gives us some good options for the 3rd line. Palat - Haula - Noesen has some potential as a 3rd line. Something like:

Tatar - Hischier - Mercer
Meier - Hughes - Bratt
Palat - Haula - Noesen
Cotter - Lazar - Bastian

I know Meier worked better with Nico than with Jack, but I think they'll give a shot to the Tatar - Nico - Mercer line that worked so well 2 years ago. If not, switch Tatar and Meier:

Meier - Hischier - Mercer
Tatar - Hughes - Bratt

Either way, that's a pretty good Top 6 imo.

I know it probably had a lot to do with Ruff's departure but isn't Meier a ton better on the right side?

 

[Devs3cups]

I know it probably had a lot to do with Ruff's departure but isn't Meier a ton better on the right side?

He ended the year on the left side and had good results, so I went with the assumption he'd start there! A lot of questions with the line combinations, excited to see what happens.

If they play Meier at RW though, it complicates things, it's also why I think it might not happen. Can Mercer play left wing? Cause if not Palat probably has to slot into the top 6.

 

[vtdevils2k]

Jack is back on the ice, ramping up. Monster season upcoming...praying that shoulder is back to 100%

 

[Devs3cups]

Jack is back on the ice, ramping up. Monster season upcoming...praying that shoulder is back to 100%

Fitz said as much which is a huge positive. Looks good there.

 

[Billdo]

He ended the year on the left side and had good results, so I went with the assumption he'd start there! A lot of questions with the line combinations, excited to see what happens.

If they play Meier at RW though, it complicates things, it's also why I think it might not happen. Can Mercer play left wing? Cause if not Palat probably has to slot into the top 6.

I thought when Ruff got canned he was moved to RW. Oh well.