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

[JrFischer54]

And it will make no difference in the end because of losing to the cream of the crap earlier.

it will just make the stanley cup vhs/dvd this year even sweeter!

 

[JrFischer54]

I know the Devils’ Playoff chances jumped to almost 15% after the win, but Green can’t be the coach next season.

6-6 and at least 2 of those wins, the Devils were caved. Dallas and Toronto standout. There are probably more. The losses are woof. Arizona and Ottawa games standout. When the Devils lose its rarely a close game. Can the Devils get some loser point instead if sulking?

do whatever you can to try and make the playoffs this year. again i dont know about coaches but if fitz is stupid enough to keep green because they made the playoffs well thats on him and honestly probably would've kept him anyway

 

[Bcap88]

Luke working through that rookie wall should put him in position next year to not hit that wall and power through the grind

 

[Sdevils42]

Agreed. These Green supporters are so shell-shocked from losing under Ruff that a few measly wins under Green has them foaming at the mouth to keep him on board. We have such a talented roster that any coach can get some wins. We need a coach who will elevate this roster. Green doesn't do that. Look at a coach like Torts who makes his whole team better than it should be. We need a coach who can do the same for us.

I think it's the same with the goalies as well. Compared to what they had the new coach and goalies look like huge upgrades... goalies to be fair have played better than expected.

Have said it before about the coach. Would like a vet with immediate credibility, a tough coach who will instill some sandpaper throughout the lineup. Am not asking for all these guys to start fighting but instilling a tougher mindset. Someone who will demand accountability and not kowtow to Jack.

Torts and Lavi were great hires by their respective teams bc they instilled an old school mentality, preached toughness and most importantly at least for the Rangers defensive structure, clearing the puck etc.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Luke working through that rookie wall should put him in position next year to not hit that wall and power through the grind

Nemec is starting to hit the wall now, though playing with Smith certainly doesn’t help at all. I guess it’s good to get this out of the way in a throwaway season.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Not debatable. They are finding ways to win in this last stretch in some games they were outplayed , like Dallas and tonight (fyi they didn’t get outplayed vs Pitt Wpg NYI) . It’s nice to see. Hasn’t happened all season when it’s been the opposite with outplaying teams then losing due to a brainfart or bad goaltending. Jack and others literally are on record saying they are energized by the timely saves

And who here is campaigning on Green being the reason for getting a nice streak together? You are dooming to a brick wall currently, just to doom. There is literally no one here talking up Green.

I haven't seen anyone here campaigning for Green.

Thinking that Fitz may stay with him is another thing entirely.

 

[Satans Hockey]

I hate the colors and the jerseys cause they look just like the Rangers with that lettering and I'm not supporting a team that's not playing here full time but if anyone's interested...

 

[devilsblood]

Minimum 400 minutes toi.

Nico is 8th amongst NHL fwd's in 5v5 pts/60.

 

[NJDevs26]

We changed the coach at the same time we changed the goalies. I’m not advocating for this to be the full time tandem next year but Fitz damn well better realize which change has actually had more positive impact.

 

[Mgd31]

Minimum 400 minutes toi.

Nico is 8th amongst NHL fwd's in 5v5 pts/60.

He's been deadly offensively 5 on 5 this year.

 

[ZYXWVUT]

i cannot fathom what flames fans think they are getting for markstrom if he is moved & it ends up as the devils.

 

[devilsblood]

Luke working through that rookie wall should put him in position next year to not hit that wall and power through the grind

I'd like to see the numbers, and admittedly I haven't watched as much as late, but I think Luke "hitting a wall" was not really the thing this board has made it out to be.

I thought from early on in the season he was prone to gaffe's, but also capable of end to end rushes, I thought that was still happening during the "wall" period, and still happening now. But now he's getting points, including what I thought looked like a super softie last night.

i cannot fathom what flames fans think they are getting for markstrom if he is moved & it ends up as the devils.

They have to retain a bunch, and I still wouldn't give up all that much.

But really, given how old Allen is, do we want another old guy? I'd just roll Kahkonen and Allen.

 

[ZYXWVUT]

I'd like to see the numbers, and admittedly I haven't watched as much as late, but I think Luke "hitting a wall" was not really the thing this board has made it out to be.

I thought from early on in the season he was prone to gaffe's, but also capable of end to end rushes, I thought that was still happening during the "wall" period, and still happening now. But now he's getting points, including what I thought looked like a super softie last night.


They have to retain a bunch, and I still wouldn't give up all that much.

But really, given how old Allen is, do we want another old guy? I'd just roll Kahkonen and Allen.

i go back and forth on the whole thing, but i think it seems pretty clear kahkonen is moving on.

 

[devilsblood]

We changed the coach at the same time we changed the goalies. I’m not advocating for this to be the full time tandem next year but Fitz damn well better realize which change has actually had more positive impact.

I think he knows.

But I wouldn't be totally adverse to this being the tandem. Allen we know is in, or at least most likely. And Kahk is a 28 year old who imo was probably having his numbers dragged down playing behind a bad team in SJ. Should also be cheap on the next contract.

Then we have Daws, Schmid, and Poulter in the AHL, which I think is very solid minor league depth.

Finding elite level goal tending is tough, and expensive, and a guy like Markstrom isn't necessarily an elite option, so in lieu of that I like the idea of attacking the problem with numbers.

i go back and forth on the whole thing, but i think it seems pretty clear kahkonen is moving on.

Based on?

Not that it's a big sample, but I do feel this is a bit of a audition for him. Why wouldn't Fitz view it as that?

 

[Devils731]

I'd like to see the numbers, and admittedly I haven't watched as much as late, but I think Luke "hitting a wall" was not really the thing this board has made it out to be.

I think Luke had some over-usage, which could be described as a rookie wall since his amount of hard hockey minutes is way up this year.

7 of his last 8 games he’s playing 21 or less minutes. Twice under 20 minutes.

The prior 8 games he played he was over 22 minutes in 6 of them, a few being over 23 minutes.

——————-

It’s tiring being an NHL defenseman and tired guys make mistakes. I think Luke may be a little fresher in game now than he was a month ago due to his minutes going down.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Luke's numbers took a really big dip in February and you could see it on the ice as well.

 

[Devils731]

We changed the coach at the same time we changed the goalies. I’m not advocating for this to be the full time tandem next year but Fitz damn well better realize which change has actually had more positive impact.

Team also changed their defensive scheme slightly before the coaching change. There is a defenseman by the crease way more often now.

The goalie numbers in general seemed to improve with the scheme change, there was much better defensive coverage on rebounds, but the offensive seemed to be less dangerous at the same time.

Allen is obviously playing out of his mind lately and the defense still stinks but I think the defense has gotten better in some aspects since the scheme change. He

 

[Devils731]

Luke's numbers took a really big dip in February and you could see it on the ice as well.

He had games of 28 minutes and 26 minutes in February, when he probably needed a brief reset to get back on track. He went from averaging 20 minutes a game the prior 2 months to 22.5 minutes a game in February and 23.3 minutes a game in March.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t helpful for him or the team to get his average minutes up that high his first professional season.

 

[JrFischer54]

I think it's the same with the goalies as well. Compared to what they had the new coach and goalies look like huge upgrades... goalies to be fair have played better than expected.

Have said it before about the coach. Would like a vet with immediate credibility, a tough coach who will instill some sandpaper throughout the lineup. Am not asking for all these guys to start fighting but instilling a tougher mindset. Someone who will demand accountability and not kowtow to Jack.

Torts and Lavi were great hires by their respective teams bc they instilled an old school mentality, preached toughness and most importantly at least for the Rangers defensive structure, clearing the puck etc.

to think both hires were mocked on this board by some same with tochett in vancouver

 

[Elias2626]

Devils have 3 more regulation wins than the Flyers and Capitals. They have 5 more than Detroit. They even have 3 more than Toronto, and as many as Tampa.

Only the Panthers, Rangers, Bruins, and Hurricanes have more regulation wins than the Devils among Eastern Conference teams. The OTL point ...

Per some statistical models:

• 9-0-0 gives us a 97% chance at making it.
• 8-0-1 89%
• 8-1-0 74%
• 7-0-2 73%
• 7-1-1 52%
• 6-0-3 50%
• 7-2-0 30%

We've won 4 of 5. Need to do that again, twice. Not impossible if Allen/Kahkonen keep it up.

 

[JrFischer54]

I'd like to see the numbers, and admittedly I haven't watched as much as late, but I think Luke "hitting a wall" was not really the thing this board has made it out to be.

I thought from early on in the season he was prone to gaffe's, but also capable of end to end rushes, I thought that was still happening during the "wall" period, and still happening now. But now he's getting points, including what I thought looked like a super softie last night.


They have to retain a bunch, and I still wouldn't give up all that much.

But really, given how old Allen is, do we want another old guy? I'd just roll Kahkonen and Allen.

oh man that would be a brave decision by fitz. i get on deadline day said he would still be looking in the summer but thats before the duo got hot and played well. if that continues til the end does he still look elsewhere in the summer? tough spot for fitz

 

[devilsblood]

Luke's numbers took a really big dip in February and you could see it on the ice as well.

56% cf% prior to feb, 53.3% in Feb. 54.9% in March. Bit of a difference but is that what we are calling the rookie wall?

GA rate has been very good post Feb, and that coincides with the acquisition of the goal tending.

oh man that would be a brave decision by fitz. i get on deadline day said he would still be looking in the summer but thats before the duo got hot and played well. if that continues til the end does he still look elsewhere in the summer? tough spot for fitz

I'm confident he will look. But he will then have to weight the options.

Pay a bunch for Markstrom and then roll with to mid 30 year old goalies? There is a risk there too. Maybe it's a better option then Allen and Kahk, but maybe not.

 

[Better Call Sal]

to think both hires were mocked on this board by some same with tochett in vancouver

Say what you want about Torts or Laviolette, but Tocchet went into that job with a 178-200-60 career coaching record between Tampa Bay and Arizona. Plenty of reason for him to be mocked as the hire given the clown show that Vancouver was being with how they were handling firing Boudreau, a coach with a much better track record historically.

 

[Forge]

i cannot fathom what flames fans think they are getting for markstrom if he is moved & it ends up as the devils.

I can't speak for those Flames fans on here, but I've checked the calgary puck forums here and there and they still think it's holtz + first or Mercer and returns along those lines

edit - holtz not holts lol

 

[Emperoreddy]

Bottom line, Green needs to be gone whether we go 8-1 or 1-8 to finish the season.

He doesn't have this team playing good hockey and is part of the problem.

Fitz needs to realize this or we are in trouble going forward.