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

[Bleedred]

And that poster's name: Bryce Salvador

It was actually Ty Cobb.

Hasn't posted in years, and I mean like maybe even right before the GM change......... The Lou to Shero GM change.

 

[NJDfan86]

You are right on Holtz. -4 5v5.

Incorrect on Wood . +4 5v5.

On-Ice save %

Holtz - 87.88
Miles Wood - 93.75

Pretty much explains that GF differential. I'm sure you will blame Holtz for that result instead of it being a fluke.

 

[Oneiro]

Issue with Wood is the cap hit and health as much as any on-ice stuff. I like what he brings - you could do far worse on the fourth line - and if he was signed to 2Mx2, sure, that's fine with me.

But there are a lot of players to sign and/or replace and far too many questions with Wood. 3.2M is actually kind of absurd for what he brings - 100k per point, haha.

 

[devilsblood]

I knew that was coming. This team is an absolute wagon this season and he’s a -1 and not even getting 50% of shot attempts.

The top 6 has been killing it, but he's not playing with those guys. He's playing on the 4th line.

Is there a momentum pull which floats the numbers of bottom line players on good teams? Probably to some extent, but it hasn't helped Holtz, or Shara, or Boq. At least not as much.

 

[devilsblood]

On-Ice save %

Holtz - 87.88
Miles Wood - 93.75

Pretty much explains that GF differential. I'm sure you will blame Holtz for that result instead of it being a fluke.

The team is a wagon though.

 

[Devs3cups]

I will say Miles Wood is a weird hill to die on. He’s just not effective at all right now.

Maybe the AS break will help him, until then I’d like to give Zetterlund a few games. He brings a similar skillset to Miles’ but his hockey IQ is better. Would like him to get a look.

 

[Eggtimer]

Can it be Timo time yet?

I’m scared that Buffalo might come in and scoop Meier . Buffalo , Carolina , are the two teams besides us that have the cap room and assets to get him.
The only thing that gives me hope they don’t go after Meier is that Buffalo has tons of stud forward prospects , are at the top of the league in goals scored , and need D much more than another winger.
With the Canes , I’m scared because they never go after rentals and only make moves where if they add someone , it’s long term not rentals. Their window is now so it makes sense they are agressive in adding piece(s). Before Patches injury , they were said to be after a D ,so hopefully that still holds true. That and they need a C more than a winger . After Aho , they have Jack shit really. Horvat / O’Reilly / makes much more sense for them .
I really dont see the Rags going all in for Meier . They have to sign Chytil Miller Laff this coming off-season and would have to gut their team in order to get Meier unless they just rent him and flip him as a RFA after this season . But if that was the case, SJ would prefer a deal where they get more in return than renting him to the Rags.

The Islanders and Lou somewhat scare me too.
Lou is or should be desperate to salvage the season and try to do something while their “window” is somewhat open. I dont consider the Isles as contenders at all ,but all that matters is what Lou thinks. We do have a massive advantage though over the islanders because we have way better prospects and prospects amd players at all positions . Islanders have … Raty and …..

 

[Triumph]

Even if Wood were burying his chances at his career rate (which is poor), he'd still be a liability because he's playing awful in every other respect. They had a chance to give him a two week rest here and failed to do so.

 

[devilsblood]

I will say Miles Wood is a weird hill to die on. He’s just not effective at all right now.

Maybe the AS break will help him, until then I’d like to give Zetterlund a few games. He brings a similar skillset to Miles’ but his hockey IQ is better. Would like him to get a look.

I'ma Die Harder like my kid Bruce Willis.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I’m scared that Buffalo might come in and scoop Meier . Buffalo , Carolina , are the two teams besides us that have the cap room and assets to get him.
The only thing that gives me hope they don’t go after Meier is that Buffalo has tons of stud forward prospects , are at the top of the league in goals scored , and need D much more than another winger.
With the Canes , I’m scared because they never go after rentals and only make moves where if they add someone , it’s long term not rentals. Their window is now so it makes sense they are agressive in adding piece(s). Before Patches injury , they were said to be after a D ,so hopefully that still holds true. That and they need a C more than a winger . After Aho , they have Jack shit really. Horvat / O’Reilly / makes much more sense for them .
I really dont see the Rags going all in for Meier . They have to sign Chytil Miller Laff this coming off-season and would have to gut their team in order to get Meier unless they just rent him and flip him as a RFA after this season . But if that was the case, SJ would prefer a deal where they get more in return than renting him to the Rags.

The Islanders and Lou somewhat scare me too.
Lou is or should be desperate to salvage the season and try to do something while their “window” is somewhat open. I dont consider the Isles as contenders at all ,but all that matters is what Lou thinks. We do have a massive advantage though over the islanders because we have way better prospects and prospects amd players at all positions . Islanders have … Raty and …..

This isn't a trade bubble teams makes. I wouldn't worry about them

 

[JimEIV]

I do disagree. He's just not burying his chances.

And it's cool that you doubled the previous assertion that I posted 2 numbers. But I've posted a half dozen.

The irony here is it really comes down to one stat for the recent criticism. Lack of goals.

I love that you are standing up to the pack mentality...spit in the face of the cape buffalo heard so to speak...but something looks wrong with Wood.

My gut thinks he's not a 100%...but I don't know? He's clearly not been as effective of late.

 

[Hisch13r]

This isn't a trade bubble teams makes. I wouldn't worry about them

Why not? Granted both of these were offseason moves but I mean you just had Ottawa bring in Debrincat after a bad year and LA bring in Fiala. It’s not simply a short term move. It’s a long term move. This is definitely the type of move an up and coming team would make. If Buffalo doesn’t push that hard it’ll be because they need a D more and would hold off on this. If they do want Meier though they’re a scary team to have to compete against in a trade

 

[devilsblood]

I love that you are standing up to the pack mentally...spit in the face of the cape buffalo heard so to speak...but something looks wrong with Wood.

My gut thinks he's not a 100%...but I don't know? He's clearly not been as effective of late.

I do admit he does look off since the big hit. I've said as much above.

But yeah, this board loves ganging up on players down the lineup, I'll defend those guys.

 

[MadDevil]

Wood basically does three things well, skates, plays physical, and scores goals. He's done none of that in like the last 2 months. He has 1 goal in his last 32 games. I get that he's a leader in the locker room, but I have a feeling even Miles himself would probably understand him sitting for a few games.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

its okay to not be contrarian if the player is shit. Not every player needs defending.

 

[Billdo]

Holtz has reall bad numbers this year.

But guys want him in the lineup.

Because Wood has sucked for like 30 games. Holtz has one turnover in the second period and he sits for 3 weeks then returns to play 8 mins and sits for another 3 weeks.

 

[My3Sons]

The team is a wagon though.

The Wood discussion sounds a bit like the Tatar discussion from earlier in the season. I was critical of Tatar. My eye test told was mistake prone and didn’t convert on chances or make plays in thr tough parts of thr ice. The stats were almost all greatly in his favor supporting a claim that he drove possession and helped on both ends of thr ice. So I looked more closely. And both were correct. He did and still does flub chances. His shot is nothing special and he’s not that creative with passing. He’s not physical and can be guilty at times of a drive by along the boards. That said the numbers weren’t wrong. He rarely makes a bad decision. He rarely fails to execute basic smart plays. If there are 30 things that happen for a player in a game maybe 10 are bigger things. He maybe only handles 4 or 5 of those well. But he is spot on for the other 20 things. That’s a player doing 24-25 thjngs right every game Ben if unspectacular. It’s a nuanced picture that took me a while to decipher. Maybe the same is true for Wood. It’s not like he’s giving the puck away over and over in front of his own net and last game I did see him crash and bang behind the VGK net and had the play where he was trying to push the puck in from right in front. He’s tough and tries hard. That’s important. He can also be off in the offensive zone if he has to make a critical play or do Marie than a basic shot. To me when Wood plays well he gets a breakaway or two in the game. Or his speed creates on odd man rush. Something really dynamic. He negates a couple of icings and pushes back the defenders. I’ll watch more closely the next game and be fair in what I see. I like Miles and of healthy I would be happy to have him stay with NJ on an appropriate fourth line contract. My concern is that the hip isn’t quite right and if that is the case it likely never will be. I can live with the odd mistake from him since it’s usually in the offensive end and he’s a fourth liner. But if he’s not dynamic he will trend towards being just a guy unfortunately. We can pick this up after next game if you want.

 

[MadDevil]

I do admit he does look off since the big hit. I've said as much above.

But yeah, this board loves ganging up on players down the lineup, I'll defend those guys.

Now find me a stat that polishes the turd that is Brendan Smith.

 

[Patrik26]

Zajac v Gudas was incredible. So was Cangi’s reaction.

That's exactly the fight I was thinking of.

Kind of like Ralphie kicking the shit out of Scott Farkus.

 

[njdevils1982]

Now find me a stat that polishes the turd that is Brendan Smith.

interviews/60

 

[MauDevils]

Miles Wood

Before the hit - 13 points in 26 games
After the hit - 3 in 20

 

[njdevils1982]

The Wood discussion sounds a bit like the Tatar discussion from earlier in the season. I was critical of Tatar. My eye test told was mistake prone and didn’t convert on chances or make plays in thr tough parts of thr ice. The stats were almost all greatly in his favor supporting a claim that he drove possession and helped on both ends of thr ice. So I looked more closely. And both were correct. He did and still does flub chances. His shot is nothing special and he’s not that creative with passing. He’s not physical and can be guilty at times of a drive by along the boards. That said the numbers weren’t wrong. He rarely makes a bad decision. He rarely fails to execute basic smart plays. If there are 30 things that happen for a player in a game maybe 10 are bigger things. He maybe only handles 4 or 5 of those well. But he is spot on for the other 20 things. That’s a player doing 24-25 thjngs right every game Ben if unspectacular. It’s a nuanced picture that took me a while to decipher. Maybe the same is true for Wood. It’s not like he’s giving the puck away over and over in front of his own net and last game I did see him crash and bang behind the VGK net and had the play where he was trying to push the puck in from right in front. He’s tough and tries hard. That’s important. He can also be off in the offensive zone if he has to make a critical play or do Marie than a basic shot. To me when Wood plays well he gets a breakaway or two in the game. Or his speed creates on odd man rush. Something really dynamic. He negates a couple of icings and pushes back the defenders. I’ll watch more closely the next game and be fair in what I see. I like Miles and of healthy I would be happy to have him stay with NJ on an appropriate fourth line contract. My concern is that the hip isn’t quite right and if that is the case it likely never will be. I can live with the odd mistake from him since it’s usually in the offensive end and he’s a fourth liner. But if he’s not dynamic he will trend towards being just a guy unfortunately. We can pick this up after next game if you want.

par...a...graphs old man...... c'mon

and what's this about wood doing marie? who is she?

 

[njdevils1982]

I'll be sure to pass your concerns on to NHL Network.

nice. 'cause this is just getting out of hand now...40 years of not giving two shits about the pre-jersey days and all of the $udden it's in f***ing vogue.

the tail wags the dog

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Now find me a stat that polishes the turd that is Brendan Smith.

5v5 expected good in the room/60

 

[devilsblood]

Now find me a stat that polishes the turd that is Brendan Smith.

Better 5v5 xGF% then Hamilton, Sieg's Graves and Marino.