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

[Bleedred]

I get the nervousness about Green. I'm not advocating for him.

Just looking at the situation, I think Fitz will value continuity. IMO, that means Green has the inside track on the job unless / until there's a coach who's a clear upgrade (e.g., Sullvan).

But, if Sullivan isn't available, who would you pick? Peters? Babcock? Julien? Yeo? Berube? Boucher? Muller? Bylsma? None of those guys scream must hire.

And, if Fitz hires someone who has little / no NHL experience, isn't he in the same spot? If that inexperienced coach doesn't work out, I don't think that Fitz gets another shot at hiring in that case either.

I see almost no way he’s back as a head coach.

The team is still 5-6-0 under him. They still concede the first goal a lot and outside of the weird outlier games against Winnipeg and St. Louis, the team really looks nothing special at all and markedly worse than they did under Ruff, outside of maybe the very end and some of those last games under Ruff. Like the Tampa game.

I guess you can count the Pens game as another one that was pretty good along with St. Louis and Winnipeg. Winnipeg was plastered on the trip, after being the Rangers. They managed to look just as bad against the Islanders and Capitals. St. Louis are bad, but I don’t think the team knows they’re bad like Ottawa and Arizona. Probably because they aren’t as bad as those teams.

Even the Islanders game was spotty.

The Rangers game was one of the lousiest efforts all season, until Ottawa 4 games later and the Arizona game was also a joke.

This team has been worse under him, and he’s historically a bad coach and he hasn’t done anything in 11 games to dispel that.

Thats why I wasn’t exactly for firing Ruff in-season.

I don’t think he has the inside track at all. Nas certainly didn’t (even though they said he was a candidate lol) have the inside track. The only argument is that Fitz didn’t appoint Nas interim head coach in the first place. Shero did. But I’m sure even Fitz would have done that.

At best Green is reappointed to the role he had before Ruff was fired.

 

[Bleedred]

Other teams hire coaches that most fans never have heard of and they often work out so it isn’t really a question of who we would pick.

I don’t like how the team is playing right now, I genuinely don’t see what his system is even trying to do. It’s not entirely his fault, our defense is a mess with injuries and lack of centers, but Green is such an unappealing choice.

View attachment 841683

Side Note: Jack has been back from his injury for 24 games now and still hasn’t taken a single face-off. Holtz has taken 11.

View attachment 841677

The team has not been good under him.

I do wonder if the expected goals against have gone down/expected save percentages have gone up with him?

Even if those numbers have gotten better, I’m confident our expected goals for have gone down. So have scoring chances. We have a negative shot on goal differential under him, which we did not under Ruff.

I know shot on goal differential isn’t everything, as we score effected the hell out of Arizona after falling behind 3-0 and also being outshot something like 12-6 from the start of the game until we went down 2-0, but I’d have to think most numbers under Green are bad and not confidence inspiring.

 

[Bleedred]

But, if Sullivan isn't available, who would you pick? Peters? Babcock?

Didn’t notice these names at first, but those two will never coach in the league again.

If someone dares hire Peters, the backlash will be so strong that the team will wind up having to fire him within a day or two. Much like when Boston signed Mitchell Miller.

I think the Columbus fiasco tombstoned Babcock and he was pretty close to being there even before Columbus hired him. No one will touch him again.

And I think Quenneville has probably already seen his final days as a head coach in the league.

 

[Bleedred]

It’s also easier to part ways with Green because he isn’t a guy that’s been here for years and years to build relationships with everybody. Nasreddine definitely was.

His lone year here to this point was the year we took a gigantic step back. The other coaches were all here last year. He’s the one guy who wasn’t. But he’s also the one guy on the staff that has head coaching experience in the league, which is obviously why he got the interim job and not McGill or Sarge, who is only in his second year of NHL coaching or Chris Taylor, who is basically Ruff’s boy and firing in waiting.

I’m not saying it’s all his fault or that this means he’s definitely a goner once the offseason comes, but I also don’t think he has much realistic shot at being the head coach. If anything he’ll be assistant/associate again next year, but this could also be a Peter Horachek situation where the assistant turned interim is completely turfed at season’s end.

Our record under Green probably won’t be as bad as Horachek’s two interim head coaching stints in the league, but that’s probably because our team is still much better than the 2013-2014 Florida Panthers and the 2014-2015 Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

[NjDevsRR]

I still like Woodcroft as an option

 

[tailfins]

Didn’t notice these names at first, but those two will never coach in the league again.

If someone dares hire Peters, the backlash will be so strong that the team will wind up having to fire him within a day or two. Much like when Boston signed Mitchell Miller.

I think the Columbus fiasco tombstoned Babcock and he was pretty close to being there even before Columbus hired him. No one will touch him again.

And I think Quenneville has probably already seen his final days as a head coach in the league.

Agree on the names. And that was my point. There's not a lot of inspiring, obvious choices.

I also don't think it's fair to judge Green off the team's play in the past 11 games. They were spiraling when Ruff was fired. They went 2-5 after Green took over. But, they're now 3-1 since they came back from Vegas, with a couple of good performances. Even the Vegas game was reasonable. The team isn't consistent, but you can see some progress.

As I said, I don't think Fitz is looking for a drastic change - just more attention to detail from the players. If Green can help the players deliver that, I think that will go a long way.

Berube seems like a non starter. I think him and Jack would be oil and water. Unless Berube has some connection to the Hughes' that I'm not aware of?

 

[tailfins]

I still like Woodcroft as an option

View attachment 841695

I think Woodcroft is pretty reasonable, but I think it's likely that we'll see coaches that have a connection to either Fitz or Hughes.

The Devils own article on Green taking over spends time on the Fitz / Green connection.

Fitzgerald Taps Green in Coaching Change | FEATURE | New Jersey Devils

Two summers ago, Travis Green reached out to Tom Fitzgerald. Green had just been relieved of his head coaching duties with the Vancouver Canucks and was looking at his future prospects as a coach in the league. So, he asked Fitzgerald – his friend and former teammate with the New

www.nhl.com

Fitz goes into Green's values and character. I don't see Fitz hiring someone whom he's never worked or played with. Or, who Hughes doesn't fully endorse (similar to the Oilers hiring Knoblauch - who coached McDavid in juniors).

 

[McDuffz88]

Agree on the names. And that was my point. There's not a lot of inspiring, obvious choices.

I also don't think it's fair to judge Green off the team's play in the past 11 games. They were spiraling when Ruff was fired. They went 2-5 after Green took over. But, they're now 3-1 since they came back from Vegas, with a couple of good performances. Even the Vegas game was reasonable. The team isn't consistent, but you can see some progress.

As I said, I don't think Fitz is looking for a drastic change - just more attention to detail from the players. If Green can help the players deliver that, I think that will go a long way.

Berube seems like a non starter. I think him and Jack would be oil and water. Unless Berube has some connection to the Hughes' that I'm not aware of?

I can give two shits if Hughes gets his panties in a bunch. So Berube wants Hughes to learn to play defense. He takes Luke off PP1. Those are GOOD things. Hughes needs that next level of development which is learning to be responsible. He learned how to be offensive, now it's time he learns the other side of the game. He also has to learn he doesn't run the show. No coach should be a non starter just because you fear your star player might rebel. Just saying that shows your star player is immature. This is a team sport. Nico is our captain. I think he would have no issues under Berube and would probably thrive. Other players need to learn how to be responsible so Nico doesn't have to carry all the defensive duties on his back.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[MadDevil]

 

[MartyOwns]

if it's a retread, i'm fine with berube and even green to a certain extent (mostly because his leash will be shorter than a midget with osteoporosis).

if fitz goes off the grid, i'm fine with vellucci (who i've heard about for what seems like 20 years)...jay leach is a cerebral guy. marc savard would be an incredible asset for our special teams.

unfortunately, i think fitz will get lost in other areas. rogalski has been here for like 5 years, and over that span we've had some of the worst (if not the worst) goaltending in the entire league. that's not all his fault, but with those results clearly a new voice is needed. the guy seemingly got a fluke hit in jordan binnington and he's making a career out of it.

fitz should also give serious consideration to canning the medical staff- ESPECIALLY if they are at all responsible for hughes playing through an obvious injury. sorry, but if a guy isn't healthy enough to take a faceoff, he shouldn't be anywhere near the ice. i think that's also contributing to hughes' bitch ass attitude of late.

 

[MadDevil]

Brendan Smith's replacement lol

 

[ZYXWVUT]

The fact there were assets given up (idc how small) tells me that macdermid deal was made with the thought of keeping him around longer. It’s ridiculous but I’m gonna reserve my aggravation for the time being. Still a waste of a roster spot on a team that should be housing as much depth as possible though, if he is back.

 

[Goptor]

The fact there were assets given up (idc how small) tells me that macdermid deal was made with the thought of keeping him around longer. It’s ridiculous but I’m gonna reserve my aggravation for the time being. Still a waste of a roster spot on a team that should be housing as much depth as possible though, if he is back.

You need to think of it in the same way that Colorado did.

You bring him in to tell the other players "look, this guy will try really hard and protect you on the ice.". Then, when the players get more confident and no longer need him for motivation, you easily find another GM who's team needs a kick in the ass and recoup all the value you gave up for him.

 

[MadDevil]

The fact there were assets given up (idc how small) tells me that macdermid deal was made with the thought of keeping him around longer. It’s ridiculous but I’m gonna reserve my aggravation for the time being. Still a waste of a roster spot on a team that should be housing as much depth as possible though, if he is back.

If he's the extra vet who is "good in the room" and plays occasionally, who gives a shit. If he's Smith 2.0 then it's a problem.

 

[Billdo]

 

[VoidCreature]

I’d rather have a player like that on the wing than on defense.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Alright folks, laugh all you want, but it’s still possible.

IF, big if, If Detroit keeps losing. Devils need to be within 4 pts of Flyers with two gms left and they have a chance

 

[youryeah]

I mean.... they couldn't.....

............unless?

 

[MadDevil]

I mean.... they couldn't.....

............unless?

 

[OmNomNom]

 

[NjDevsRR]

What a concept!!!

 

[glenwo2]

If that isn't a not-so-subtle "F--K YOU!" to Vitek, I don't know what is.

 

[OmNomNom]

If that isn't a not-so-subtle "F--K YOU!" to Vitek, I don't know what is.

how dare you, nico would never






say that outloud

 

[MadDevil]

I ain't gettin' back on this train 'til we beat Buffalo.







Man, that's a sad statement in itself.