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

[Devs3cups]

i don’t really think this is a cup contending team…and let’s face it, it’s the bruins’ year anyway. as you alluded to, this is a team that is set up to be competitive for the better half of the next decade, which i prefer anyway. make the playoffs and win a round or two, and i’ll be happy as a motherf***er.

I’ll be satisfied as soon as the puck drops for Game 1 of Round 1 lol.

This season has been an overwhelming success for a variety of reasons and, as you said, it’s only the very beginning. Still have a lot of growth to go through and other elite guys on the verge of joining.

The fact they’ve done this as the first year “post-rebuild” is remarkable.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

This "winning games on Hughes' back" nonsense is laughable.

The two biggest factors in the Devils winning games this year are the rebuilt defense corps and the ability to grind down opponents with speed and depth.

As was the case last season, the Devils winning and losing percentage was no different whether Jack Hughes was or wasn't in the lineup (in fact last year that percentage was worse when he played).

Is he exciting and fun to watch? Sure.

But the Devils are hardly a one-man show.

No one said they were but you're not winning games in this league with two of your best forwards going MIA for a stretch, Bratt has done this before so he's probably just this type of player but Hughes is 100% hurt still imo. The things he was doing earlier in the year and pre-injury look nothing like what he's doing in his game currently.

i don’t really think this is a cup contending team…and let’s face it, it’s the bruins’ year anyway. as you alluded to, this is a team that is set up to be competitive for the better half of the next decade, which i prefer anyway. make the playoffs and win a round or two, and i’ll be happy as a motherf***er.

Skater wise, they should be able to compete with anyone. It's the coaching and goaltending that's probably going to kill them come playoffs which is shame because they can compete with anyone this year.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

i don’t really think this is a cup contending team…and let’s face it, it’s the bruins’ year anyway. as you alluded to, this is a team that is set up to be competitive for the better half of the next decade, which i prefer anyway. make the playoffs and win a round or two, and i’ll be happy as a motherf***er.

I'd take the field over the Bruins, who are obviously great but will have basically a coin flip in round 2 with either Tampa or Toronto if they advance. Seen enough hockey to know nothing is certain and Devils can win this thing.

 

[HersheyBob27]

No one said they were but you're not winning games in this league with two of your best forwards going MIA for a stretch, Bratt has done this before so he's probably just this type of player but Hughes is 100% hurt still imo. The things he was doing earlier in the year and pre-injury look nothing like what he's doing in his game currently.



Skater wise, they should be able to compete with anyone. It's the coaching and goaltending that's probably going to kill them come playoffs which is shame because they can compete with anyone this year.

Coaching?? Where did that come from at this point

 

[jkrdevil]

11 games in 19 days. Whoever came up with the March schedule was drunk.

Every team is going through this for the most part. It isn’t like the teams GP is out of line with everyone else. The leagues backloads the schedule because attendance and viewership is stronger this time of year that November. That is why you put yourself in a position like they have to bank enough points where it doesn’t matter in the gran scheme of things.

This stretch is basically schedule compactness combined with playing other good/desperate teams, Vanecek regressing under the workload, and Jack (and others probably) playing hurt.

The good news is there is going to be likely 5 days off between the end of the season and playoffs. And frankly the key players probably shouldn’t play against Buffalo and Washington that week. Also last night was the first truely bad game of this stretch.

And for the love of god, while Jack is hurt split him and Bratt up.

 

[HoliksGhost]

Coaching?? Where did that come from at this point

Not that unusual at this time of year.

 

[jkrdevil]

They are above water, up it probably isn’t good to have what is supposed to be your offense driving line to be at the bottom here. This is since Jack has returned from injury.

That combo needs to be split. It isn’t working.

 

[Bleedred]

Bobrovsky got the loudest ovation when they announced his name in the starting lineups last night.

Just another example of ''Goalies are overrated''.

The guy has struggled to break league average for 3 of his 4 seasons there, gets paid so much that you have to ice shit bags like Marc Staal on D, who shouldn't even be in the NHL anymore at all, You got pieces of shit like that in your lineup because you're paying him so much to be mediocre and you have to cut corners elsewhere. And then you have to use a hot prospect goalie barely in his 20's as your backup out of necessity.

I'm not saying they should boo him, but I'm surprised he's that strong of a fan favorite. I'd understand if he got the ovation that maybe some of their average guys got and not one of the strongest. It was the same thing with Blackwood. Apparently he got a huge ovation when he returned at the end of last year, but then he was getting booed after literally 2 more regular season games later for the home opener this year.

I guess Bobrovsky is the biggest name that ever chose to sign with the franchise though.

 

[Billdo]

The reality is that neither thing is true. Yeah, Hughes might've been a 4 or 5 win player over the beginning of the season and might be a 0 or 1 win player now, but there's still a ton of wins being contributed by other players. Moreover, the Devils have added a player who should be worth 3 or 4 wins while subtracting, say, 1 win off the roster. Hughes is still contributing something, he's clearly not 100% but even still he should be scoring on more than 4% of his shots on goal - absolutely no forward in the NHL maintains a rate anything close to that.

Hughes not being the pre all star game Hughes is in fact a problem, I'm not sure how you think it's not.

 

[Bleedred]

Hughes not being the pre all star game Hughes is in fact a problem, I'm not sure how you think it's not.

Honestly

I think too many people here read too much into splits. It's the same thing with the goalies. ''He was a .920% for 17 games after his 9 games of .850%! He's really the .920% goalie he was for 17 games!''. It's not just the goalies though.

I think there's a pretty good chance that Jack was playing a little over his head (not much or anything) and lately it's a regression to his mean.

Just like when the shit goalie has a hot stretch, it's not that he suddenly got better or good again, it's just a progression to the mean because he's not really an .8-whatever goalie.

Jack is probably not a 120 point player or whatever he was on pace for at his best this year.

Nobody is completely consistent over every month, every stretch, even every half season.

 

[Eggtimer]

Bobrovsky got the loudest ovation when they announced his name in the starting lineups last night.

Just another example of ''Goalies are overrated''.

The guy has struggled to break league average for 3 of his 4 seasons there, gets paid so much that you have to ice shit bags like Marc Staal on D, who shouldn't even be in the NHL anymore at all, You got pieces of shit like that in your lineup because you're paying him so much to be mediocre and you have to cut corners elsewhere. And then you have to use a hot prospect goalie barely in his 20's as your backup out of necessity.

I'm not saying they should boo him, but I'm surprised he's that strong of a fan favorite. I'd understand if he got the ovation that maybe some of their average guys got and not one of the strongest. It was the same thing with Blackwood. Apparently he got a huge ovation when he returned at the end of last year, but then he was getting booed after literally 2 more regular season games later for the home opener this year.

I guess Bobrovsky is the biggest name that ever chose to sign with the franchise though.

Wait what !? They love Bob!? I would have thought at the very most they tolerate him. He has been medicore at best while making 10+ mil .( which prevents them from adding another very good player ). Thats weird IMO. I can maybe see if Bon was putting up all-world numbers and single handedly dragging them into wins , but he isn’t .

 

[TF1970]

Hughes not being the pre all star game Hughes is in fact a problem, I'm not sure how you think it's not.

Big issue is he’s a liability defensively so if he isn’t producing, then it has that rippling effect. Ditto for Bratt. Their only defense is out-offensing the opposition. Idk what you do at the point, because even putting palat there, it was still kind of a mess in the dzone wasn’t it?

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Honestly

I think too many people here read too much into splits. It's the same thing with the goalies. ''He was a .920% for 17 games after his 9 games of .850%! He's really the .920% goalie he was for 17 games!''. It's not just the goalies though.

I think there's a pretty good chance that Jack was playing a little over his head (not much or anything) and lately it's a regression to his mean.

Just like when the shit goalie has a hot stretch, it's not that he suddenly got better or good again, it's just a progression to the mean because he's not really an .8-whatever goalie.

Jack is probably not a 120 point player or whatever he was on pace for at his best this year.

Nobody is completely consistent over every month, every stretch, even every half season.

But then wouldn’t it logically follow that the Devils as a whole are not as good as they’re record indicates if they were buoyed by a Hughes that isn’t the norm? This team was in the position they were not in small part thanks to Hughes’ level.

If we can’t count on that, it’s a problem. Especially, if you start applying that same logic to Vanacek, Bratt, Siegethaler, etc. and say “well, they were playing a bit over their head, not surprising they’re dipping”. That would in fact be a giant problem moving forward.

 

[Eggtimer]

Honestly

I think too many people here read too much into splits. It's the same thing with the goalies. ''He was a .920% for 17 games after his 9 games of .850%! He's really the .920% goalie he was for 17 games!''. It's not just the goalies though.

I think there's a pretty good chance that Jack was playing a little over his head (not much or anything) and lately it's a regression to his mean.

Just like when the shit goalie has a hot stretch, it's not that he suddenly got better or good again, it's just a progression to the mean because he's not really an .8-whatever goalie.

Jack is probably not a 120 point player or whatever he was on pace for at his best this year.

Nobody is completely consistent over every month, every stretch, even every half season.

I do t think it’s regressing to the mean with Jack . He simply is not playing the game like he was . He is shying away from driving the net , gettig to the middle of the ice , challenging goalies with his shot. It nkt him cooling down and not being as lucky as before . It is either a small injury or his timing is off still or May e he was told to not risk killing himself during regular season games .
In this case I dont think it is Jack regressing to the norm , something else is up with him.

 

[Devs3cups]

Jack is definitely a 100-point guy going forward. He’s that good and I’m not sure a “slump” following an injury changes that at all.

 

[TF1970]

Yeah Hughes and Bratt have been showing quite a few chicken shit habits lately that get magnified when the team isn’t winning.

 

[Eggtimer]

One good thing from last game is that Ruff said that Schmid had a very good game. Hopefully that equal us not playimg Blackwood at all or at least not that often and go with VV and Schmid instead. I have been really impressed with SchmI’d this year.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Big issue is he’s a liability defensively so if he isn’t producing, then it has that rippling effect. Ditto for Bratt. Their only defense is out-offensing the opposition. Idk what you do at the point, because even putting palat there, it was still kind of a mess in the dzone wasn’t it?

Reminds me of how so many people were criticizing Erik Haula earlier in the year on here.

Yet now there are excuses being made for Jack and Jesper while Jesper Boqvist and Timo Meier are flourishing.

And on a related note, perhaps it's time to use two (or three) power play units rather than stretching one unit for 1:45 (or longer).

Also, haven't seen it mentioned here, but last night's game seemed to show that Miles Wood and Nate Bastian may be more valuable than the analytics crowd will admit?

 

[TF1970]

The question is, do they try everyone’s old favorite ever again of Haula-Hughes-Bratt? I would say doubtful, but just wondering out loud.

 

[jkrdevil]

The question is, do they try everyone’s old favorite ever again of Haula-Hughes-Bratt? I would say doubtful, but just wondering out loud.

Maybe, but I think they need to keep Hughes and Bratt separate for now.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Coaching?? Where did that come from at this point

Lindy Ruff still sucks regardless of the results they're getting this year, sorry to burst your bubble. Brunette and McGill have been good but the special teams have cratered a ton lately.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Reminds me of how so many people were criticizing Erik Haula earlier in the year on here.

Yet now there are excuses being made for Jack and Jesper while Jesper Boqvist and Timo Meier are flourishing.

And on a related note, perhaps it's time to use two (or three) power play units rather than stretching one unit for 1:45 (or longer).

Also, haven't seen it mentioned here, but last night's game seemed to show that Miles Wood and Nate Bastian may be more valuable than the analytics crowd will admit?

its like you took every bad take you can think of and combined it into one post. Seriously impressive!

 

[Eggtimer]

This place is going to be miserable if we lose to the Lightning in Tampa tonight.
Myself included. All I really want to see is our goalie ( either VV or Schmid) play very well ,and have Bratt and Jack take over games like they can.
I knkw it’s an over reaction but im starting to doubt if the smartest move by the team is to extend Bratt at 8 ish plus mil a year , if that’s what it takes. Thing is though , who the hell is a better option and how do we get that player. No one is trading a player better than Bratt away unless we go crazy and packahe Holtz with him , but does that make us a better team?
I just want game-breaking Bratt to show up . That’s it.

 

[Eggtimer]

What worries me the most now , is if we have too much skill nkw and not the right combination of types of skill.
Teams like the Leafs have shown that an all-star like forward group doesn’t win shit when it counts.
I believe we are different with players like Nico , Palat , Mercer , and even Jack( seen him take a big hit last seconds in the game to stop an empty net chance against ) , where they are willing to do whatever it takes to win . Where those players are 100% about winning and playing for each other. Boqvist , Wood , Bastian , those guys as well do what it takes IMO. Players like Bratt , Tatar , even Jack …. I’m not sure. Tatar has done a lot to change my mind recently . He used to shy away from contact too often but now it looks like he is way more engaged. Maybe the playoffs will change things but I’m nkt liking what I have seen out of some forwards. I’m nkt naming names as I don’t want to start an argument.

 

[Devs3cups]

This place is going to be miserable if we lose to the Lightning in Tampa tonight.
Myself included. All I really want to see is our goalie ( either VV or Schmid) play very well ,and have Bratt and Jack take over games like they can.
I knkw it’s an over reaction but im starting to doubt if the smartest move by the team is to extend Bratt at 8 ish plus mil a year , if that’s what it takes. Thing is though , who the hell is a better option and how do we get that player. No one is trading a player better than Bratt away unless we go crazy and packahe Holtz with him , but does that make us a better team?
I just want game-breaking Bratt to show up . That’s it.

The point is, what could we get with that 8-8.5 mil? Could we get 2-3 pieces that as a unit brings us further than Bratt could? I doubt it, but it’s an interesting discussion.