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

[Edmonton East]

Has Pittsburgh actually been good enough to win a playoff series often in the last 6 years? Probably in the last 3-6 years, but certainly not after 2021.

They almost did beat the Rangers in 2022 and they may have if not for Louis Domingue playing like the slaughtered pigs in his spicy pork dish.

And those guys are old 36, 37 and 38 years old. Those players are still good, but there's not much good underneath them and they're all pretty damn old in sports years, even if they're much younger than most players at those ages.

1) Sure, let's ignore their ages 6 years ago. Everyone knew they were screwed this year and most knew it last year as well.

2) However, even this year, their roster wasn't THAT bad. Certainly not bad enough to completely no show dozens of games and get their doors blown off. They are prob the only team with talent in the league that no shows games more often than the Devs.

3) For the last time, this team clearly has a culture problem. They don't have a strong Captain or locker room contingent. So they need a strong coach/staff to balance it out that isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers. No kid glove bs. Sullivan isn't that.

 

[ZYXWVUT]

1) Sure, let's ignore their ages 6 years ago. Everyone knew they were screwed this year and most knew it last year as well.

2) However, even this year, their roster wasn't THAT bad. Certainly not bad enough to completely no show dozens of games and get their doors blown off. They are prob the only team with talent in the league that no shows games more often than the Devs.

3) For the last time, this team clearly has a culture problem. They don't have a strong Captain or locker room contingent. So they need a strong coach/staff to balance it out that isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers. No kid glove bs. Sullivan isn't that.

Specifically in reference to your final two sentences. Any names in mind who would be that?

He got good results out of some meh Minnesota teams and his system made the goalies look better than they really were (until this year), although Bruce was doing that before he even took over.

I don't want a coach here that's gonna stifle the offense and I'm not sure if he would stifle the offense? That's one big question I have about him.

Yeah, the Fleury over Gustavsson stuff last year was a joke, but this year Fleury has somehow been better than Gustavsson. Gustavsson definitely overachieved last year. Is he just underachieving this year? That remains to be seen. He wasn't a very good goalie in Ottawa in very limited time.

Last season they didn’t score a ton. But the two years before that it looks like they were in the upper echelon in terms of GF. Especially 2022-23.

 

[njdevils1982]

It's always going to be like this the rest of the season :

WIN
LOSS
WIN
LOSS
WIN
LOSS
WIN
LOSS

(and that's the best case scenario)


Can we just end the season NOW so we won't have to watch this team anymore this year? Thanks.

that's it. i'm heading to the casino to play some martingale system on roulette now

...actually going next wednesday on a day off to play for a bit and also bet on a few horse races (5 bucks straight up on a winner for fun)

 

[Bleedred]

1) Sure, let's ignore their ages 6 years ago. Everyone knew they were screwed this year and most knew it last year as well.

2) However, even this year, their roster wasn't THAT bad. Certainly not bad enough to completely no show dozens of games and get their doors blown off. They are prob the only team with talent in the league that no shows games more often than the Devs.

3) For the last time, this team clearly has a culture problem. They don't have a strong Captain or locker room contingent. So they need a strong coach/staff to balance it out that isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers. No kid glove bs. Sullivan isn't that.

Coaches always have an expiration date and I'm pretty sure Sullivan hit his in Pittsburgh some time ago.

But that doesn't mean he can't be good again somewhere else. That's a pretty long time to be with the same team.

 

[MartyOwns]

green should not be anywhere near the bench after this season. i’d be fine with elias or salvador in an assistant role, somebody equal parts personable and cerebral. filling the head coach role is going to be tricky. i’d be ok considering leach, bruce, and berube. but not that swedish zz top chode.

 

[njdevils1982]

green should not be anywhere near the bench after this season. i’d be fine with elias or salvador in an assistant role, somebody equal parts personable and cerebral. filling the head coach role is going to be tricky. i’d be ok considering leach, bruce, and berube. but not that swedish zz top chode.

 

[Billdo]

They need a total overhaul of staff. Nobody should remain.

 

[Bleedred]

green should not be anywhere near the bench after this season. i’d be fine with elias or salvador in an assistant role, somebody equal parts personable and cerebral. filling the head coach role is going to be tricky. i’d be ok considering leach, bruce, and berube. but not that swedish zz top chode.

I don't think Green will be anywhere with this team next year, unless they assign him to be a scout or something. Or pay him to stay home. The Canucks were definitely doing that for all of last year and most of the year before that. I'm skeptical we picked up the tab on the remainder of his Canucks head coaching contract. I'm not sure how long it runs, but I'm sure it was still going for this year. Maybe even next year. They either bought him out or he's collecting salaries from both teams right now.

He's definitely Peter Horachek right now, who was an interim head coach in back to back years with two different teams (Panthers and Leafs) and both teams imploded even worse than before with him. I'm pretty sure he took over around Christmas with the Leafs and even earlier than that with the Panthers.

I think we brought Peter Horachek up to the coaching staff after Hynes was fired and Nas was promoted. I think it was Nas's spot that Horachek got. He was already working for us in a scouting role and might still be working for us as a scout.

 

[dzubrus8]

that's it. i'm heading to the casino to play some martingale system on roulette now

...actually going next wednesday on a day off to play for a bit and also bet on a few horse races (5 bucks straight up on a winner for fun)

Was that serious about martingale? I thought most casinos have low maximums so you can’t actually do it

 

[guitarguyvic]

I was going to post this in a response in the GDT but it probably makes more sense here than that shit show (as of the 1st period).

I don’t see Green getting the HC job, unless we get into the playoffs and something shockingly amazing happens. (And good luck with that lol.)

He might possibly keep his AC job though, I believe those jobs are typically for 2 years.

Fitz said this when Ruff was fired link

People have suggested Mike Sullivan is guy he’s thinking about here.

Well, here’s an old article that sheds light on the Fitz & Sully connection, and it turns out there’s a lot of history there. A whole lot.

So if Sully gets fired, he’s basically the leading candidate for HC.


View attachment 837002
June 15, 2017

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2017/06/16/Penguins-coach-Mike-Sullivan-Jim-Rutherford-Tom-Fitzgerald-Wilkes-Barre-AHL-Boston-Bruins/stories/201706160098

Oh great Fitz making another hire based on relationship and history. What could go wrong?

This team doesn't need a retread. They need the GM to actually put in the work and find our Jared Bednar or Jon Cooper - someone that has proven championship success at every single level they've coached. We don't need another f***ing NHL retread that hasn't won squat within this decade.

 

[Goptor]

Pittsburgh's playoffs against the Rangers 2 years ago was a masterclass of coaching that got derailed by the unfortunate selection of Louis Domingue as their 3rd string goalie.

 

[Guttersniped]

Vegas just won a Cup with a “retread coach” who never won anything before.

Sullivan is 56, 4 years older than Bednar, 6 months younger than Cooper, and 2 years 9 months younger than Cassidy.

I don’t know who Fitz will hire, but I think Sullivan will be a solid hire, and there’s a number of options I like a lot less.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Vegas just won a Cup with a “retread coach” who never won anything before.

Sullivan is 56, 4 years older than Bednar, 6 months younger than Cooper, and 2 years 9 months younger than Cassidy.

I don’t know who Fitz will hire, but I think Sullivan will be a solid hire, and there’s a number of options I like a lot less.

I don't know why you're mentioning age, that doesn't matter to me and I don't see how it's relevant. I don't trust that Fitz' decision to hire Sullivan will be based on who is best for the job versus just yet another guy that he has some emotional connection with. Enough with this shit. This team needs completely new blood with recent championship pedigree and who's going to demand the fundamentals from every single player on the roster regardless of talent level. Maybe Sullivan is that guy but like I said I simply don't trust the Fitz connection.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Sullivan or Berube would be fine hires IMO Rod or Cooper is the obvious dream. Wouldn’t mind Woodcroft either

 

[njdevils1982]

Was that serious about martingale? I thought most casinos have low maximums so you can’t actually do it

ya, serious. i heard about the limits limiting martingale... my first time going ... ill do the 'math' when i get there

i've done plenty of mock rounds but who knows what the casino does min/max.

minimum table is the base and i have a top number im comfortable of playing..

if they allow me to cover 6 straight losses i'll play.

and if i don't play, it should be interesting to at least watch other people play while also dropping 5$ on each pony race that run every half hour

 

[Bleedred]

I don't know why you're mentioning age, that doesn't matter to me and I don't see how it's relevant. I don't trust that Fitz' decision to hire Sullivan will be based on who is best for the job versus just yet another guy that he has some emotional connection with. Enough with this shit. This team needs completely new blood with recent championship pedigree and who's going to demand the fundamentals from every single player on the roster regardless of talent level. Maybe Sullivan is that guy but like I said I simply don't trust the Fitz connection.

I don’t think Fitzgerald has a connection with Sullivan. I don’t believe their time in Pittsburgh coincides with one another. Fitz came here with Shero in the summer of 2015, which is when Sullivan was hired in Pittsburgh, which was actually to replace John Hynes as the AHL Penguins head coach. Sullivan wound up taking the head coaching job a couple of months into that season when they fired the head coach they had. And he’s been head coach ever since.

There really are no coaches with championship pedigree much more recently than him who would be available.

Berube is the only more recent cup winning head coach than him who is currently out of work.

Trotz is no longer coaching and is now a GM, Cooper likely isn’t going anywhere and Bednar and Cassidy aren’t either. Berube is the only more recent cup winning coach than Sullivan who is currently out of work.

Before Sullivan it’s Quenneville (let him rot) and Sutter (effectively retired, last year in Calgary was a disaster) and before that the most recent cup winner goes all the way back Claude Julien before Q and Sutter alternated cup wins lol.

 

[Bleedred]

Sullivan or Berube would be fine hires IMO Rod or Cooper is the obvious dream. Wouldn’t mind Woodcroft either

I really don’t think Berube is any good, and I’ve defended him this year saying St. Louis was mediocre and them being bad was not on him.

I’m just skeptical he’s any good. I never thought he would be a cup winning head coach back in his days of coaching Philly.

I’m not sure Woodcroft is good either, but I also think Edmonton would have still turned it around under him. He’s probably okay.

I am intrigued by the idea of a super tag team of Sullivan/Rod (one or the other, not both) and someone like Woodcroft/Berube/Evason as associate coach if they don’t get a head coaching job. The same way we had the Ruff/Brunette tandem last year. That would be pretty good reinforcement IMO.

And we’ll be replacing both Ruff and presumably Green (his assistant/associate spot) so that’s two vacant spots on the staff opening up.

 

[Guttersniped]

I don't know why you're mentioning age, that doesn't matter to me and I don't see how it's relevant. I don't trust that Fitz' decision to hire Sullivan will be based on who is best for the job versus just yet another guy that he has some emotional connection with. Enough with this shit. This team needs completely new blood with recent championship pedigree and who's going to demand the fundamentals from every single player on the roster regardless of talent level. Maybe Sullivan is that guy but like I said I simply don't trust the Fitz connection.

I actually pointed to their previous relationship to also show a reason that Sullivan would potentially choose us if we offered him the job.

For example, I remember someone complaining that we didn’t hire Cassidy but we weren’t beating out Vegas because that was a more appealing job.

Your trust issues are your trust issues, I personally don’t get upset about decisions that 1) haven’t happened yet 2) I have no control over 3) it’s just sports, dude.

 

[Guttersniped]

I don’t think Fitzgerald has a connection with Sullivan. I don’t believe their time in Pittsburgh coincides with one another. Fitz came here with Shero in the summer of 2015, which is when Sullivan was hired in Pittsburgh, which was actually to replace John Hynes as the AHL Penguins head coach. Sullivan wound up taking the head coaching job a couple of months into that season when they fired the head coach they had. And he’s been head coach ever since.

There really are no coaches with championship pedigree much more recently than him who would be available.

Berube is the only more recent cup winning head coach than him who is currently out of work.

Trotz is no longer coaching and is now a GM, Cooper likely isn’t going anywhere and Bednar and Cassidy aren’t either. Berube is the only more recent cup winning coach than Sullivan who is currently out of work.

Before Sullivan it’s Quenneville (let him rot) and Sutter (effectively retired, last year in Calgary was a disaster) and before that the most recent cup winner goes all the way back Claude Julien before Q and Sutter alternated cup wins lol.

Do you have me on ignore lol?

I just posted an article about Fitz & Sully’s relationship and even bolded the key passages so people didn’t have to read it if they didn’t want to.

So, no, you’re wrong, Fitzgerald in fact has a direct personal connection to Mike Sullivan.

That’s what Vic was responding to and bitching about.

 

[Bleedred]

Do you have me on ignore lol?

I just posted an article about Fitz & Sully’s relationship and even bolded the key passages so people didn’t have to read it if they didn’t want to.

So, no, you’re wrong, Fitzgerald in fact has a direct personal connection to Mike Sullivan.

That’s what Vic was responding to and bitching about.

I’m still trying to find it. It got lost in the thread lol.

 

[Guttersniped]

I will also add that Mike Sullivan isn’t the only NHL coach/manager Fitz has personal ties with. He knows a lot of people.

Look who he played with just during his two seasons on the AHL Springfield Indians (1988-90), it’s kind of wild.

Bruce Boudreau
Todd McLellen (sorry @Bleedred)
Kevin Cheveldayoff
Marc Bergevin
Jack Capuano (Ottawa Assoc Coach, former NYI HC)
Brad Lauer (Winnipeg Asst Coach)
Dean Chynoweth (Toronto Asst Coach)
Rod DiMaio (Anaheim Asst GM & San Diego Gulls GM)
Chris Prior (Pittsburgh Asst GM)

 

[Guttersniped]

I’m still trying to find it. It got lost in the thread lol.

Click on this to get to original post since the article is quoted on the bottom of the original post.

I was going to post this in a response in the GDT but it probably makes more sense here than that shit show (as of the 1st period).

I don’t see Green getting the HC job, unless we get into the playoffs and something shockingly amazing happens. (And good luck with that lol.)

He might possibly keep his AC job though, I believe those jobs are typically for 2 years.

Fitz said this when Ruff was fired link

People have suggested Mike Sullivan is guy he’s thinking about here.

Well, here’s an old article that sheds light on the Fitz & Sully connection, and it turns out there’s a lot of history there. A whole lot.

So if Sully gets fired, he’s basically the leading candidate for HC.


View attachment 837002
June 15, 2017

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2017/06/16/Penguins-coach-Mike-Sullivan-Jim-Rutherford-Tom-Fitzgerald-Wilkes-Barre-AHL-Boston-Bruins/stories/201706160098

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[NjDevsRR]

I’m still trying to find it. It got lost in the thread lol.

 

[JimEIV]

The most likely outcome is that neither of these things happen.

That top 10 pick is pretty "likely*. 9 through 12 seems almost a certainty being 5 points behind St Louis at 13.