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

[Clam Jensen]

They'll be ok, maybe they can play one of the 10,000 NHL defensemen on their roster at center to fill the gap.

I guess that was the plan all along lol

 

[Guttersniped]

Spoiler: Tankathon Remaining Strength of Schedule

EASTERN CONFERENCE

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Spoiler: Power Ranking Guru remaining Strength of Sched.

Spoiler: TBL have a tough SOS cause they play us x3

 

[MauDevils]

Spoiler: Tankathon Remaining Strength of Schedule

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EASTERN CONFERENCE
View attachment 664308
View attachment 664309
WESTERN CONFERENCE
View attachment 664310View attachment 664311

Spoiler: Power Ranking Guru remaining Strength of Sched.

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Spoiler: TBL have a tough SOS cause they play us x3

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Hysterical that the highest team in the west has only the 8th (tankathon) most difficult schedule overall.

 

[Guttersniped]

I worry it'll be Boqvist more tbh.

I don’t see who the 3rd line LW is then. Wood? Sharangovich?

Lazar is a C/RW 4th liner and Bastian is a RW 4th liner. It’s pretty basic actually.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

So is Sharangovich the new Zacha?

 

[BostonDevil]

They'll be ok, maybe they can play one of the 10,000 NHL defensemen on their roster at center to fill the gap.

Maybe we can send them Smith, just in case. I mean it’s Toronto so I’m sure deadlines and caps don’t really apply to them.

We’ll take a first in return. Thanks!

 

[MasterofGrond]

Sit mcleod and make the 4th line actually a no event line

 

[MadDevil]

So is Sharangovich the new Zacha?

Zacha had 69 goals in his entire 386 game Devils career. Shara has 52 goals in just 191 games. So...no. Unless you mean in that they can both be physically unengaged wingers that don't really drive play and have cold streaks?

 

[NHL Fanatik]

Are we likely to shed a year off of Luke's ELC when he signs? Is it likely he asks for that?

 

[Devils731]

Are we likely to shed a year off of Luke's ELC when he signs? Is it likely he asks for that?

Yes and yes but I’ll go out on a limb and say both Luke and the Devils will benefit in the long run from doing so.

 

[NHL Fanatik]

Yes and yes but I’ll go out on a limb and say both Luke and the Devils will benefit in the long run from doing so.

Only real way itd help us long term is if we sign him to an 8-year deal right after like Jack.

Though I do wonder if Jack would recommend to Luke to hold off and take a bridge or sign to term to secure a payday (and a friendly AAV)

 

[Zippy316]

So is Sharangovich the new Zacha?

He may suffer the same fate as Zacha, but in his case it has more to do with the team around him.

For Zacha, it was more to do with him not fitting in on this team.

 

[devilsblood]

I worry it'll be Boqvist more tbh.

Come playoff’s Boq will need to bring the grit AND the jam.

 

[Devils731]

Only real way itd help us long term is if we sign him to an 8-year deal right after like Jack.

Though I do wonder if Jack would recommend to Luke to hold off and take a bridge or sign to term to secure a payday (and a friendly AAV)

Yes, I would think the Devils try to ink an 8 year deal asap and this makes it less likely Luke has shown his best yet at that time.

 

[Bleedred]

I worry it'll be Boqvist more tbh.

Maybe at some point, but Lazar has one of the worst points per 60 in the league (I think someone posted that? Numbers sure check out) and him on the 3rd line would make Jacob Josefson's 3rd line days look like a good dream. Boqvist has over twice as many points (closer to 3 times as many) in 7 more games this year than Lazar while averaging over a minute less of ice time per game than Lazar.

Lazar absolutely can't be a 3rd line player. We're making our pretty good and pretty deep roster/forwards worse by playing him on the 3rd line.

He'll hopefully slot in for Bastian some games as 4th line RW.

And I don't even really want him in over Bastian, to be honest.

I like the lineup as is right now, but we have so many games coming up that it's okay to rest guys and give them a breather. The remaining schedule is pretty brutal, just by the number of games played in so many days. Not necessarily the teams we play. 20 games in a little over 5 weeks. I think we average more than a game every other day from here on out.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Maybe at some point, but Lazar has one of the worst points per 60 in the league (I think someone posted that? Numbers sure check out) and him on the 3rd line would make Jacob Josefson's 3rd line days look like a good dream. Boqvist has over twice as many points (closer to 3 times as many) in 7 more games this year than Lazar while averaging over a minute less of ice time per game than Lazar.

Lazar absolutely can't be a 3rd line player. We're making our pretty good and pretty deep roster/forwards worse by playing him on the 3rd line.

He'll hopefully slot in for Bastian some games as 4th line RW.

And I don't even really want him in over Bastian, to be honest.

I like the lineup as is right now, but we have so many games coming up that it's okay to rest guys and give them a breather. The remaining schedule is pretty brutal, just by the number of games played in so many days. Not necessarily the teams we play. 20 games in a little over 5 weeks. I think we average more than a game every other day from here on out.

I think you're right. Lazar will be a depth fill in for the 4th line as needed. Bumps/Bruises and just to keep those guys a little fresher.

Bastian and Wood and McLeod have been pretty good since they've gotten their BMW line back to Beemer form. Looks like early season form. I was worried for awhile, we would have to put Wood out to the shed, but he seems to have broken that shitty form (to Woods standard). Unless we have more injuries, God forbid, I cannot see Lazar coming in for Boqvist at this rate.

Hell, Rango will have to fight for Boqy's spot now, so I doubt Lazar gets dibs on that.

I do want to say, that I love Lazar's enthusiasm, as shown in his media bites since being traded here. That is something good to see get mixed in. The guy appreciates being on this team.

 

[Devs3cups]

Only real way itd help us long term is if we sign him to an 8-year deal right after like Jack.

Though I do wonder if Jack would recommend to Luke to hold off and take a bridge or sign to term to secure a payday (and a friendly AAV)

I’d be surprised if Jack told Luke to do something that is a disadvantage to the team given what he’s done, I’m sure he wants Luke to get his money, but with what Jack did with his own contract, I don’t sense a lot of “money chasing”.

 

[devilsblood]

I don’t see who the 3rd line LW is then. Wood? Sharangovich?

Lazar is a C/RW 4th liner and Bastian is a RW 4th liner. It’s pretty basic

Palat.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Bastian is what he is. Not the player you're looking to make improvements. This is a good thing though because it should mean he'll be cheap. He'll probably be a very good player to have for the value he brings and the cheap contract. HOPEFULLY. He might demand a contract way more than he's worth, who knows.

It's good for him, for now, but not sure how long he can last on a roster this talented over time. There certainly will be guys pushing him out at some point in near future, if he doesn't properly carve out a more defined edge/role here. He came in as a net front, 4th line, size guy, that could maybe get some PP front net action, but that was during injuries (or before we got all the more talented guys Meier, Palat, Haula, etc).

I hope Bastian can improve, but you're probably right that its not really something we are counting on.

As for even being a more defensive specialist (McLeod is morphing into that), even Rango gets PK time (when he's playing and he looks good at it), and the PP time goes to the true PP guys, so the specialist niche is not even an option for Nate now.

 

[Triumph]

Sharangovich is almost certainly gone via trade this off-season.

Just a matter of whether it’s for picks or for a stylistic swap. Something along the lines of Sharangovich for Ross Colton could make a ton of sense for both teams, for instance. I could also see another Zacha/Haula type swap where Shero trades him for a veteran forward on a good contract.

The bottom has fallen out of the market for this sort of player. Arbitration-eligible, two years before UFA, without a good playoff run there's just not going to be much interest, especially because his down year so far this year isn't the kind of thing that has anyone lining to sign him for e.g. 3 years. Zacha/Haula type swaps are tough to find.

 

[NHL Fanatik]

I’d be surprised if Jack told Luke to do something that is a disadvantage to the team given what he’s done, I’m sure he wants Luke to get his money, but with what Jack did with his own contract, I don’t sense a lot of “money chasing”.

Yeah I could only see it if Jack feels like he maybe left too much on the table. Doesnt mean he has to be upset by it but maybe he wants his brother to have the chance to capitalize since he didnt

 

[Whaddagoal]

The bottom has fallen out of the market for this sort of player. Arbitration-eligible, two years before UFA, without a good playoff run there's just not going to be much interest, especially because his down year so far this year isn't the kind of thing that has anyone lining to sign him for e.g. 3 years. Zacha/Haula type swaps are tough to find.

Agreed. Unless Yegor can get back into form (that assumes he will get another lengthy stay in the lineup), I don't see how he is tradable without a loss.

The thing that bothers me is, I'm not really sure what happened to him. He was pretty good 2 seasons ago, and then last year he caught back on fire after the early season slump.

However, this season hasn't seem to show the knack for his lethal snipe shots.

Sure, he's had some of those nice quick fire goals in the slot after a quick pass, but hasn't had a lot of long range snipes (off the rush) that we saw from him in previous seasons, nor is he burying his breakaways or half-breaks, and certainly isn't showing as much speed he shown before (he isn't old)

Yes, he's been slightly miscast by the coaching, for some of season, but I can't say he hasn't had his opportunities either. He gets his minutes in with top 6 and 3rd line this season. He's also spent more minutes on the PK option 1 with Nico and has utilized some nice passing there.

We could swap him out after season, but finding a partner who will return us fairly equal value of sorts will be a bit hard. And even if we get return, how good will that player be to push out an existing someone from our top 9.

 

[PWiz30]

So is Sharangovich the new Zacha?

Not to get too much into geopolitics but I can't help but wonder if the situation in Belarus is weighing on him to the point where it's affecting his play this season.

 

[MadDevil]

Not to get too much into geopolitics but I can't help but wonder if the situation in Belarus is weighing on him to the point where it's affecting his play this season.

Didn't he just have a kid in like December too?

 

[PWiz30]

Didn't he just have a kid in like December too?

Not sure when but it was this season.