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

[billingtons ghost]

The captain is a one-armed dwarf
He's throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King
So take this ring

One of my faves. My band is playing swordfishtrombones. Just saw a Tom Waits tribute last month.
You are one fricking tune somalier.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I spent so many hours defending Clarkson like this that I wish I had back.

I love how polarizing fourth liners are. He's probably with us for another fifty something games so I hope for our sake he proves people wrong and gets a good contact somewhere else.

I will point out that you guys are understating his value of being in the lineup as far as stretching the defense and being physical in the corners, and there was a much different song being sung in November when he had five goals and nine points.

He was playing well then though, no Devils fan actively roots for Devils players to suck lol. We're just asking for a reset on him mentally because we know the type of player Wood can be. 17-18 Wood was tremendous in our playoff run/push. Would love for him to reach that level again, maybe the Romanov hit really ruined his year but if you're gonna tout Wood as a physical player then one clean hit shouldn't ruin him

 

[billingtons ghost]

Wood played 3 games in 2021-22, it’s not easy to comeback from an injury and a missed season.

I feel like some of the is hostility comes from a shitty shooting %, which is frustrating, but happens. (Haula is way more ridiculous, at some patience wears out, we aren’t saints.)

I broke up Wood’s season (not in exact right spot, but that’s life) and he’s basically doing the right things, the puck is not going in.

He’s a one trick pony but the pony is shot creation and the pony is, uh, right there doing it’s one trick. He even edges out Jack in shot/60, he’s genuinely very good at that.

My biggest problem was Wood, with McLeod, were having some real defensive issues under Line Bingo during Bastion’s absence. They were bleeding goals and the underlying stats were whipped with an ugly stick. Hopefully my boy Nate can stablize that line (though he’s coming back from an injury and not a miracle worker.)

I like Wood, I think he’s useful. If Fitz is considering on spending on defense though then I really don’t see how we keep him since it’s going to be real tight cap wise.

He doesn’t play center, he doesn’t PK and his defense has gotten iffy again, so he’s luxury we likely can’t afford.

I do feel like people who look at possession stats and at not individual shot creation stats ignore what Woody is best at. Pew pew!

I accidentally didn’t put 11/23 vs Toronto game in when he actually missed the 12/1 game vs Nashville.

Oh well, NSH is game 24 btw but I’m not doing this shit again, no siree.

So I split it up like this, with all stats 5v5:
First 19 GP // Final 28 GP // All 48 GP
(Ranks are among forwards.)

Goals/60: 1.68 // 0.37 // 0.87
Points/60: 2.79 // 1.28 // 1.85
SH%: 14.63% // 3.08% // 7.55%
His ixG/60: 0.91 // 0.9 (4th) // 0.89 (6th)
Shots/60: 11.45 // 11.93 (1st) // 11.56 (1st)
iCF/60: 17.59 // 19.45 (1st) // 18.43 (1st)
iFF/60: 14.8 // 15.04 (1st) // 14.72 (1st)
iSCF/60: 10.33 // 9.54 (4th) // 9.7 (3rd)
iHDCF/60: 5.58 // 4.59 (6th) // 4.91 (4th)
Rush Attempts: 2.51 // 3.67 (1st) // 3.16 (1st)
Rebounds Created: 1.68 // 2.2 (2nd) // 1.96 (2nd)
Penalties Drawn: 2.79 // 1.65 (1st*) // 1.85 (2nd)

*In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Wow. I'll drive down the road you've paved here and just say that

Wood played 3 games in 2021-22, it’s not easy to comeback from an injury and a missed season.

I feel like some of the is hostility comes from a shitty shooting %, which is frustrating, but happens. (Haula is way more ridiculous, at some patience wears out, we aren’t saints.)

I broke up Wood’s season (not in exact right spot, but that’s life) and he’s basically doing the right things, the puck is not going in.

He’s a one trick pony but the pony is shot creation and the pony is, uh, right there doing it’s one trick. He even edges out Jack in shot/60, he’s genuinely very good at that.

My biggest problem was Wood, with McLeod, were having some real defensive issues under Line Bingo during Bastion’s absence. They were bleeding goals and the underlying stats were whipped with an ugly stick. Hopefully my boy Nate can stablize that line (though he’s coming back from an injury and not a miracle worker.)

I like Wood, I think he’s useful. If Fitz is considering on spending on defense though then I really don’t see how we keep him since it’s going to be real tight cap wise.

He doesn’t play center, he doesn’t PK and his defense has gotten iffy again, so he’s luxury we likely can’t afford.

I do feel like people who look at possession stats and at not individual shot creation stats ignore what Woody is best at. Pew pew!

I accidentally didn’t put 11/23 vs Toronto game in when he actually missed the 12/1 game vs Nashville.

Oh well, NSH is game 24 btw but I’m not doing this shit again, no siree.

So I split it up like this, with all stats 5v5:
First 19 GP // Final 28 GP // All 48 GP
(Ranks are among forwards.)

Goals/60: 1.68 // 0.37 // 0.87
Points/60: 2.79 // 1.28 // 1.85
SH%: 14.63% // 3.08% // 7.55%
His ixG/60: 0.91 // 0.9 (4th) // 0.89 (6th)
Shots/60: 11.45 // 11.93 (1st) // 11.56 (1st)
iCF/60: 17.59 // 19.45 (1st) // 18.43 (1st)
iFF/60: 14.8 // 15.04 (1st) // 14.72 (1st)
iSCF/60: 10.33 // 9.54 (4th) // 9.7 (3rd)
iHDCF/60: 5.58 // 4.59 (6th) // 4.91 (4th)
Rush Attempts: 2.51 // 3.67 (1st) // 3.16 (1st)
Rebounds Created: 1.68 // 2.2 (2nd) // 1.96 (2nd)
Penalties Drawn: 2.79 // 1.65 (1st*) // 1.85 (2nd)

*In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Thanks for doing this. I'm interested to hear if there is a reply to this or whether advanced stats only work for some players.

Wood had eight shots against Edm the night he got two goals and an assist He's had >=4 shots in a game twelve times which is more than anyone not named Hughes, Nico or Bratt even though Tatar (6) Mercer(8), Rango(6), Haula (4), Zetterlund (2) Boqvist (1) while playing without the benefit of Hughes or Nico or Bratt but instead McLeod (59 sog). His 109 shots are pretty much all self generated..

I too would like to see if Bastian can help him get back to what they were doing early in the season, because ...yeah the past few games have been pitiful.

 

[billingtons ghost]

He was playing well then though, no Devils fan actively roots for Devils players to suck lol. We're just asking for a reset on him mentally because we know the type of player Wood can be. 17-18 Wood was tremendous in our playoff run/push. Would love for him to reach that level again, maybe the Romanov hit really ruined his year but if you're gonna tout Wood as a physical player then one clean hit shouldn't ruin him

Seems like a lot of players have their career ruined by one clean hit.

I think we've been on the board long enough to know the bolded isn't always true. Everyone's got favorites and goats. The Zacha festival should have dispelled that myth.

Yeah you're right, Wood is a shell of himself since
A. The hit. And
B. Bastian went down.

He still has speed but I do not think he's dropped the mitts since, and on more than one occasion he's gone down the tunnel after a hit or crashing into the boards so I'm wondering if it's a protocol thing.

I'm hopeful bc we are going to need him or a replacement come playoff time

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

I will always want a Devils player to succeed here and will root for them but Miles Wood is one of the most frustrating players we have has in the last decade. He was insane wheels and ok offensive ability but I don't think he will be missed too much if we don't sign him this summer.

He has some really good tools like his insane speed and his willingness to play a physical game (at times) + drop the mitts.

It's just unfortunate he goes long stretched of not scoring goals and takes some really really dumb penalties at the worst time of the game. I just don't see him worth signing for anything he more than what he makes now. I don't think 3.2 million a season is great for what he brings. Mcelod and Bastian are more important than Wood IMO and are more valuable.

 

[FooteBahl]

I will always want a Devils player to succeed here and will root for them but Miles Wood is one of the most frustrating players we have has in the last decade. He was insane wheels and ok offensive ability but I don't think he will be missed too much if we don't sign him this summer.

He has some really good tools like his insane speed and his willingness to play a physical game (at times) + drop the mitts.

It's just unfortunate he goes long stretched of not scoring goals and takes some really really dumb penalties at the worst time of the game. I just don't see him worth signing for anything he more than what he makes now. I don't think 3.2 million a season is great for what he brings. Mcelod and Bastian are more important than Wood IMO and are more valuable.

Wood is like Happy Gilmore, instead of an insane shot he can skate really fast. I can definitely see him taking balls to the chest like Happy too lol

 

[Triumph]

I will always want a Devils player to succeed here and will root for them but Miles Wood is one of the most frustrating players we have has in the last decade. He was insane wheels and ok offensive ability but I don't think he will be missed too much if we don't sign him this summer.

He has some really good tools like his insane speed and his willingness to play a physical game (at times) + drop the mitts.

It's just unfortunate he goes long stretched of not scoring goals and takes some really really dumb penalties at the worst time of the game. I just don't see him worth signing for anything he more than what he makes now. I don't think 3.2 million a season is great for what he brings. Mcelod and Bastian are more important than Wood IMO and are more valuable.

When he's playing at his peak, he's a guy that can turn a game around with a big breakaway goal, plus he's decent at tips and disrupting around the net. He will just never be able to pass the puck or read the play at an NHL level and that's what's so frustrating - that and the dumb penalties.

 

[MadDevil]

Wood is like Happy Gilmore, instead of an insane shot he can skate really fast. I can definitely see him taking balls to the chest like Happy too lol

Wood is the adult version of this guy...

 

[Unknown Caller]

They won’t be tough to outbid. We have better d prospects and San Jose wants D.

The Devils have better d prospects, 2 of which they won’t be willing to trade. And they would have to be willing to part with Casey on top of that, otherwise you’re just throwing in Mukhamadullin.

 

[njdevil26]

I will always want a Devils player to succeed here and will root for them but Miles Wood is one of the most frustrating players we have has in the last decade. He was insane wheels and ok offensive ability but I don't think he will be missed too much if we don't sign him this summer.

He has some really good tools like his insane speed and his willingness to play a physical game (at times) + drop the mitts.

It's just unfortunate he goes long stretched of not scoring goals and takes some really really dumb penalties at the worst time of the game. I just don't see him worth signing for anything he more than what he makes now. I don't think 3.2 million a season is great for what he brings. Mcelod and Bastian are more important than Wood IMO and are more valuable.

I just feel like he can either skate... or control the puck... but most certainly not at the same time.

 

[tailfins]

Wood played 3 games in 2021-22, it’s not easy to comeback from an injury and a missed season.

I feel like some of the is hostility comes from a shitty shooting %, which is frustrating, but happens. (Haula is way more ridiculous, at some patience wears out, we aren’t saints.)

I broke up Wood’s season (not in exact right spot, but that’s life) and he’s basically doing the right things, the puck is not going in.

He’s a one trick pony but the pony is shot creation and the pony is, uh, right there doing it’s one trick. He even edges out Jack in shot/60, he’s genuinely very good at that.

My biggest problem was Wood, with McLeod, were having some real defensive issues under Line Bingo during Bastion’s absence. They were bleeding goals and the underlying stats were whipped with an ugly stick. Hopefully my boy Nate can stablize that line (though he’s coming back from an injury and not a miracle worker.)

I like Wood, I think he’s useful. If Fitz is considering on spending on defense though then I really don’t see how we keep him since it’s going to be real tight cap wise.

He doesn’t play center, he doesn’t PK and his defense has gotten iffy again, so he’s luxury we likely can’t afford.

I do feel like people who look at possession stats and at not individual shot creation stats ignore what Woody is best at. Pew pew!

I accidentally didn’t put 11/23 vs Toronto game in when he actually missed the 12/1 game vs Nashville.

Oh well, NSH is game 24 btw but I’m not doing this shit again, no siree.

So I split it up like this, with all stats 5v5:
First 19 GP // Final 28 GP // All 48 GP
(Ranks are among forwards.)

Goals/60: 1.68 // 0.37 // 0.87
Points/60: 2.79 // 1.28 // 1.85
SH%: 14.63% // 3.08% // 7.55%
His ixG/60: 0.91 // 0.9 (4th) // 0.89 (6th)
Shots/60: 11.45 // 11.93 (1st) // 11.56 (1st)
iCF/60: 17.59 // 19.45 (1st) // 18.43 (1st)
iFF/60: 14.8 // 15.04 (1st) // 14.72 (1st)
iSCF/60: 10.33 // 9.54 (4th) // 9.7 (3rd)
iHDCF/60: 5.58 // 4.59 (6th) // 4.91 (4th)
Rush Attempts: 2.51 // 3.67 (1st) // 3.16 (1st)
Rebounds Created: 1.68 // 2.2 (2nd) // 1.96 (2nd)
Penalties Drawn: 2.79 // 1.65 (1st*) // 1.85 (2nd)

*In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Why isn’t Wood on the PK? His skill set seems like it should be a fit. I know, hockey iq, but PK seems like a learned skill, so should that totally matter?

 

[Nocashstyle]

One of my faves. My band is playing swordfishtrombones. Just saw a Tom Waits tribute last month.
You are one fricking tune somalier.

I put in some real work to finally “get” the post Asylum-years Tom Waits. I immediately loved The Heart of Saturday Night the first time I heard it. It took some time to like the subsequent Asylum releases and acquire a taste for “the voice,” but I eventually came around. Then it probably took months and multiple re-listens to finally like the Island Record releases and beyond. Swordfishtrombone was the one that did it. I’d say the boozy bar-room Asylum era is still my favorite, but depends on my mood. There was a year of my life where I couldn’t listen to anything other than Tom Waits because everything else just seemed plain and boring

 

[JimEIV]

Wait, I'm not sure about this post.. are you saying that the goaltender makes the coach or vice versa? All of those coaches are about sacrifice and playing good defense.

You have Nedjelkovic and Holtby and Markstrom on there. Bobrovsky wasn't much in Philly. Trotz is on there twice and could list a few more Vezina candidates.

Obviously there's some symbiosis.

Anyone saying Burke 'wasn't good' based on SV% during the 80s is completely ridiculous. He carried us. SV% is not relevant to 80s goaltending.

Exactly look at that list of coaches...it's the coach making the goaltender not the other way around... anyone that watch Trotz here in our backyard saw that up close.

On Burke...he sucked. His magical 10 game regular season run and playoffs in 1988 were spectacular....he sucked ass after that....he was literally booed out of NJ, I was a season ticket holder in 89 through 91 and I witnessed live Burke being bood off the ice on multiple occasions until he was shipped off for Holik.

Weinrich was a much sadder departure.

 

[AfroThunder396]

The bottom six needs a total facelift. The whole point of bringing in Haula and Palat was to push guys down the lineup, instead it's just shown how stratified this roster is with talent. Wood sucks, McLeod sucks, Boqvist sucks, Bastian is decent at his niche, Sharangovich is being shoved into a round hole that he doesn't fit in.

The more I think about it the more I'm on board with a Timo Meier trade, not necessarily for Meier himself (who I do like) but just to force some guys out of the top-6. If we can't get Meier then I'd be fine with bringing in other guys instead.

Tatar-Hughes-Meier
Bratt-Hischier-Palat
Sharangovich-Haula-Mercer
Bastian-Who cares-Zetterlund

At this point I'm dangling Holtz, Sharangovich, and Bahl as trade bait. None of them have a future here. Holtz is probably the only one with real value, but the other two might have value as a sweetener for any team who needs warm bodies coming back. I will take a bag of pucks for Miles Wood at this point.

I am NOT trading Damon Severson though. I don't care if he's UFA, trading him now would completely kneecap this team for a playoff run. If he wants to walk this summer then that's his prerogative. Since Marino went down Severson is #5 on the team and #1 among defenseman in xGF% and he's #1 in ES ice time despite missing a game.

We finally have quality depth on defense and the first thing some people want to do is immediately dismantle it. I get that he has his obvious warts but that's far better than giving Bahlhotiuk a permanent spot, calling up Reilly Walsh, or throwing Nemec to the wolves.

 

[Triumph]

Exactly look at that list of coaches...it's the coach making the goaltender not the other way around... anyone that watch Trotz here in our backyard saw that up close.

On Burke...he sucked. His magical 10 game regular season run and playoffs in 1988 were spectacular....he sucked ass after that....he was literally booed out of NJ, I was a season ticket holder in 89 through 91 and I witnessed live Burke being bood off the ice on multiple occasions until he was shipped off for Holik.

Weinrich was a much sadder departure.

That is my point. Burke was bad except for that magical stretch where he wasn't and the Devils won in that stretch.

It is also not the coach making the goaltender in most of those instances, but we knew that already.

 

[MadDevil]

I get the logic in wanting something for a guy who is almost certainly gone this summer, but good luck selling that type of move to a fanbase that has been told to "trust the process" for years and is finally seeing tangible results in the standings. I'm okay letting Severson walk for nothing at this point.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Severson was playing so well all year. He really seemed to simplify his game and was just quietly sound and steady. But the past two weeks or so have been throw backs to vintage Severson - soft coverage, blown assignments, and turnovers. I’m not sure what happened. Obviously most of the blue line saw a significant dip in their play recently. Hopefully this break allows every to rest up and for the aliens to return the “real” Siegenthaler that they abducted two months ago.

 

[MB3]

If Casey is demanded as the big piece in a trade for Timo Meier, the Devils would be stupid not to make that trade. Casey seems like a man without a position right now with the way the blueline has been set up, and it makes no sense not to make a run at the thing this year with the group we have.

Meier helps tremendously with the top-6 of course, but he also helps push Haula (or Tatar, or whoever else is currently playing top-6 minutes out of necessity) into the bottom 6. He's exactly the type of player the Devils need, and he's exactly the type of player the Devils should aggressively pursue.

 

[JimEIV]

That is my point. Burke was bad except for that magical stretch where he wasn't and the Devils won in that stretch.

It is also not the coach making the goaltender in most of those instances, but we knew that already.

It wasn't only Burke though...Burke took the brunt of the blame...he did lead the league in Goals Against in 89(the bad way not the good way ) but go look at the entire team's numbers... especially the big guns...they all disappeared after the 88 run and that's when some rumblings of a "country club atmosphere" started. Verbeek, Muller, Broten just didn't show up the next year...and the goaltender took the blame...

Truth be told, it was those guys that made the 88 run not Burke and it was those guys that made Burke look both good and bad.

Edit:. Not only Burke, that core group made Shoenfeld look like a genius in 88 and a bum in 89.

 

[Hisch13r]

Severson was playing so well all year. He really seemed to simplify his game and was just quietly sound and steady. But the past two weeks or so have been throw backs to vintage Severson - soft coverage, blown assignments, and turnovers. I’m not sure what happened. Obviously most of the blue line saw a significant dip in their play recently. Hopefully this break allows every to rest up and for the aliens to return the “real” Siegenthaler that they abducted two months ago.

He's averaged 25 minutes since December 20th. He has the best xGF% of the top 4 over that span at ~51% and is even in goal differential. Dougie 18-12, Siegs 19-13, Graves 15-12. Then over the last 2 weeks he's still averaging over 25 minutes. Still has the best xGF% at a 45.57% (yuck that's the f***ing best we've sucked lately). Outscored 5-7. Graves 5-8. Dougie and Siegs 6-3

It's pretty clear what has happened and why he'd look like old Sevo again. Just like old Sevo he's been forced back into a role that's above his head. Sevo is a very good Dman but he's not a #1 and that's how we've been using him. The workload has gotten to him lately

 

[Better Call Sal]

Severson was playing so well all year. He really seemed to simplify his game and was just quietly sound and steady. But the past two weeks or so have been throw backs to vintage Severson - soft coverage, blown assignments, and turnovers. I’m not sure what happened. Obviously most of the blue line saw a significant dip in their play recently. Hopefully this break allows every to rest up and for the aliens to return the “real” Siegenthaler that they abducted two months ago.

It seems like a simple excuse but losing Marino for a month has impacted things across the board. Severson's role has elevated significantly and also reunited him with Graves, who I think many on here agree are not the best pairing together because of their styles of play. I do also think Siegs has been banged up for a while now and this break hopefully gets him some needed rest and recovery time.

Severson has stepped up in an enormous way for us since Marino went down, though. His impact can't be understated.

 

[Nubmer6]

It wasn't only Burke though...Burke took the brunt of the blame...he did lead the league in Goals Against in 89 but go look at the entire team's numbers... especially the big guns...they all disappeared after the 88 run and that's when some rumblings of a "country club atmosphere" started. Verbeek, Muller, Broten just didn't show up the next year...and the goaltender took the blame...

Truth be told, it was those guys that made the 88 run not Burke and it was those guys that made Burke look both good and bad.

God I loved him that year, but he really did suck after that year. Didn't Burke never win another playoff game after that? Or was it he never won a series?

I remember meeting him and chatting with him after the run. Loved that he was a metal head. He was talking about the new Vette he bought in that off season.

I do credit him with helping us win our cups though, as he nabbed us Holik and the pick that got us Pando.

 

[AfroThunder396]

*snip*

Skater talent has greatly increased over the past decade while goaltending has gotten steadily worst. Kids growing up in the 90's and 00's wanted to be Brodeur, Hasek, Roy, Luongo, Cujo, Belfour, etc. But kids who grew up in the 2010's grew up wanting to be McDavid, Crosby, Ovechkin, Pat Kane, etc.

The goalies of the late 00's and '10s were boring, just giant pad monsters with little flair or excitement. It made the position seem very boring, while the skaters were doing things that had never been seen before. Obviously there were some exceptional goalies during this time, but most didn't feel very fun to watch.

All of the young athletic talent is going into skaters and very little is going into goaltending these days. Goalie development is fickle enough as is, now factor in loss of playing time due to the pandemic and it's going to get worse before it gets better. Kids can practice stickhandling in their garage, but goalies can't simulate stopping pucks without actually playing the game. Juggling tennis balls only does so much.

GMs are also getting far more cautious with goalie contracts these days. There is far more money to be made being a star forward/defenseman as opposed to a star goalie. Guys are pretty routinely getting 6-7M AAV on their second deal at 21-23. A goalie today might not ever get an AAV that high in their career, and if they do it will be on a 3-5 year deal after they turn 25.

So it's not surprise. Skater talent has gone through the roof and goaltending talent has collapsed.

 

[MB3]

With San Jose, does Nick Bonino make sense? Two-time Stanley Cup champion, great defense-first penalty killing wing/center. Immediately helps our bottom-6, which will need to be impactful if the Devils are going to make any run.

What about: Sharangovich, Holtz, Mukhmadulin and a 1st for Meier and Bonino? Obviously San Jose would need to add another contract or make a move beforehand, but it certainly helps fill out the roster.

Palat-Hischier-Meier
Bratt-Hughes-Mercer
Tatar-Haula-Bonino
Wood/Zetterlund-McLeod-Bastian

 

[JimEIV]

God I loved him that year, but he really did suck after that year. Didn't Burke never win another playoff game after that? Or was it he never won a series?

I remember meeting him and chatting with him after the run. Loved that he was a metal head. He was talking about the new Vette he bought in that off season.

I do credit him with helping us win our cups though, as he nabbed us Holik and the pick that got us Pando.

He and I have the same normal color hair combined with a completely white beard.