Camille the Eel
Registered User
We need to become less dependent on Jack Hughs and more of an all around balanced team to which he makes his contributions. But not just the Jack Hughes show. Because the idea of being so very dependent on one player, however dynamic he may be, is a huge vulnerability. So I don't like the idea that if he misses time we automatically can't do damage. We have enough other talent so that we should be able to win both with and without him. One of Keefe's bigger challenges is making the team less dependent on Jack while still exploiting his extraordinary gifts. Ruff - who was hired to develop Jack and whose legacy here he is - seemed to let him pretty much do what he wanted and the results were often amazing. But to be a consistent powerhouse and challenge for a cup I think we need to play more of a team game.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
This is a big deal of course because the Devils have been Jack's team since he's been here, he's the big attraction on the road, people pay to watch him play, and as Jack Hughes has gone so have gone the Devils. That is a big vulnerability however. Because when he's literally been "gone" with injury we've not been competitive. It would be wonderful to see him play all 82 games this coming season. If he does, we don't have any issues. But there's no reason we shouldn't be able to rely on good defense, systematic play and our balanced talent, and win even if Jack does miss some time.
The power play is obviously a point of focus in this connection too. He feasted on it during the early part of last year and I hope that continues. If he's going to play more of a reliable defensive role within a system,, the power play is an obvious place where he can cut loose to a greater degree.
Edmonton was running a whole bunch of creative weaves and implicit pick plays for McDavid up top during the finals, in essence not just one forward up high but sometimes two of them, often cycling past each other to rub off the defense (almost basketball like on the perimeter) and I imagine we will see Keefe and company incorporating some of that stuff for Jack, as when something catches on in the league it generally gets copied.
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