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

[Devs3cups]

Team and staff treating one loss as it should be treated. Good stuff.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

Return of the Mack!

more like return of the whack.

amirite?

 

[Eggtimer]

I hope that Ruff does not start Blackwood again this year with us being in a race for 1st in the Metro. We can’t really be giving starts to a guy that is just coming off of injury and is inconsistent at the best of times. It makes sense to just go with VV and Schmid , but I thimk I’m the end , loyalty or stubbornness to make Blackwood work as a starter option in NJ will happen.
I think we should slowly start to work in SchmId as our starter IF VV continues to falter. If VV bounces back , then great ! He will be our man then. But I can’t see how we figure out who to go with when we have a limited number of games left before we have to figure it out. Rotating 3 goalies makes it hard to find out who to go with and get them going on a streak or the correct amount of work load to stay fresh yet not too over worked

 

[Billdo]

I hope that Ruff does not start Blackwood again this year with us being in a race for 1st in the Metro. We can’t really be giving starts to a guy that is just coming off of injury and is inconsistent at the best of times. It makes sense to just go with VV and Schmid , but I thimk I’m the end , loyalty or stubbornness to make Blackwood work as a starter option in NJ will happen.
I think we should slowly start to work in SchmId as our starter IF VV continues to falter. If VV bounces back , then great ! He will be our man then. But I can’t see how we figure out who to go with when we have a limited number of games yet before we have to figure it out. Rotating 3 goalies makes it hard to find out who to go with and get them going on a streak or the correct amount of work load to stay fresh yet not too over worked

I have faith that the club has recognized that Blackwood can never be a reliable 1A or even a 1B at this point because of his inability to stay healthy.

 

[Guttersniped]

Where are all the Vanecek lovers now? 1 good game 4 bad games lose you a series.

Lovers lol

Lol record, that's cute. He has that winning instinct like Fuhr.

I guess we should complain about him more then.

 

[njdevil26]

Nobody understands goalie interference not even the referees. They just go by their gut and then justify it later using the vague language in the rulebook.

For me, that was a pretty easy good goal.

Also, the referee gave Tampa way too long to review and decide if they wanted to challenge.

Yup and most of TB GDT thought it was a good goal too.

 

[Billdo]

Yup and most of TB GDT thought it was a good goal too.

I could see why it was called back, I expected it to be called back. This stuff to me if too similar to what is/isn't a catch in the NFL. Tatar didn't make much of an attempt to stop, Point guided him into the crease, it was a mishmash of things that both call for a goal and negate a goal. Coin toss but I immediately said it would be called back, guess I have zero faith in NJ getting the benefit of a call this year when it comes to stuff like that.

 

[JK3]

Did they ever say what Blackwood's injury was?

 

[My3Sons]

Did they ever say what Blackwood's injury was?

I think it was boo boos.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Your complaint is with Lazar...for a 4th. A player that actually played quite well last night. Great timing! Keep puking on your keyboard, sometimes puke sticks.

Tell us what he exactly did last night in the 10 minutes he played ? You would honestly want this guy in your lineup taking away a spot from Sharanogivch (who actually can put up goals and assists) ? The 4th line is fine with Mcelod , Bastian and Wood. At worst you can take Wood out of the lineup and play Sharanogivch in the bottom 6 somehow. Losing a 4th round pick isn't the end of the world but easily is an overpayment for a fring NHLer...

 

[HBK27]

Ah, I see we're back to complaining about Blackwood for some odd reason the night after Vanecek has yet another poor start - his 6th bad game in his past 7, during which he has a .862 SV% and 3.59 GAA.

Makes perfect sense!

I like Vitek, but his recent stretch is very concerning. But yeah, let's focus on the guy that hasn't played in a month that has a .915 SV% his past 7 games because he got on the ice for a practice.

 

[NJDevs26]

I have faith that the club has recognized that Blackwood can never be a reliable 1A or even a 1B at this point because of his inability to stay healthy.

That's the real problem...how can you ever rely on this guy? Even if you want to overlook his mediocre last few years on the ice, and assume his prior few starts before going on IL are repeatable, him staying off IL itself is probably not repeatable at this point.

I do wonder if they decide they'd rather have Schmid playing in Utica for their playoff push in April over sitting and waiting for Vitek to blow up and Blackwood to get hurt again.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I could see why it was called back, I expected it to be called back. This stuff to me if too similar to what is/isn't a catch in the NFL. Tatar didn't make much of an attempt to stop, Point guided him into the crease, it was a mishmash of things that both call for a goal and negate a goal. Coin toss but I immediately said it would be called back, guess I have zero faith in NJ getting the benefit of a call this year when it comes to stuff like that.

Just this year? LOL

 

[BurntToast]

White retro jerseys with the green finally making an appearance again?

View attachment 669506

Most likely tomorrow night.

Why can’t these fools win at home?!

Red Jerseys

The red is cursed. White home jerseys the rest of the way.

The Last time Whites were considered home jerseys 02-03… that’s an interesting year..

 

[HBK27]

Why can’t these fools win at home?!

Red Jerseys

The red is cursed. White home jerseys the rest of the way.

The Last time Whites were considered home jerseys 02-03… that’s an interesting year..

The NHL should just do what the NFL does and let teams wear whatever jerseys they want. Let the home team decide and put in some rules about how far out you have to coordinate with the visiting teams and adjust for any road trips (so the visiting teams don't have to pack "home" and "away" jerseys on a single trip...though I'm not even sure if that's an issue).

 

[Bleedred]

Ah, I see we're back to complaining about Blackwood for some odd reason the night after Vanecek has yet another poor start - his 6th bad game in his past 7, during which he has a .862 SV% and 3.59 GAA.

Makes perfect sense!

I like Vitek, but his recent stretch is very concerning. But yeah, let's focus on the guy that hasn't played in a month that has a .915 SV% his past 7 games because he got on the ice for a practice.

Because it was suggested that he could potentially be of help.

It's funny how you Blackwood supporters use save percentage for short term or when it's convenient for you to use it, but when the one guy keeps pointing that he's an .894% goalie in the last SEVENTY games he's played, his last 7 games and Vitek's last 7 games matter much more.

He's a .915% in his last 7 games! BIG WHOOP!

Jonathan Quick is a .930% in his last 4 games since he went to Las Vegas. Maybe we should have traded for him at the deadline?

 

[My3Sons]

Tell us what he exactly did last night in the 10 minutes he played ? You would honestly want this guy in your lineup taking away a spot from Sharanogivch (who actually can put up goals and assists) ? The 4th line is fine with Mcelod , Bastian and Wood. At worst you can take Wood out of the lineup and play Sharanogivch in the bottom 6 somehow. Losing a 4th round pick isn't the end of the world but easily is an overpayment for a fring NHLer...

He put Hedman into the TB bench. First player to ever do that on NJ. If he does that consistently he is worth the $1 mil to sit around and be the 13th forward. Don't forget, Shara needs a raise after this season and the team will be looking to save cap after it pays Bratt and Meier about $17.5 mil combined.

 

[njdevils1982]

more like return of the whack.

amirite?

whack

 

[HBK27]

Because it was suggested that he could potentially be of help.

It's funny how you Blackwood supporters use save percentage for short term or when it's convenient for you to use it, but when the one guy keeps pointing that he's an .894% goalie in the last SEVENTY games he's played, his last 7 games and Vitek's last 7 games matter much more.

He's a .915% in his last 7 games! BIG WHOOP!

Jonathan Quick is a .930% in his last 4 games since he went to Las Vegas. Maybe we should have traded for him at the deadline?

I missed the part about it being suggested that he could be of help, though right now I'm not quite sure how he'd be any worse than Vanecek given the way Vitek is struggling.

I personally don't care about Blackwood's track record in previous years when it comes to deciding what to do with him this season, though I'm sure it will play a role in what to do with him after the season is over.

My concern right now is trying to win the division and feel good about the goaltending heading into the playoffs. I'm not sure what the solution is though and how the coaching staff balances that all out. I'd give Schmid the start tomorrow night and if he does well enough against Tampa you plan on playing him again on Sunday and maybe you give Vanecek the start versus Florida?

I personally want to see more of Schmid, particularly against some of the better teams. I know Vitek has already hit a career high in games played, so not sure if an extended rest might be beneficial to help him reset, in which case I wouldn't mind seeing Blackwood get a start - but I don't think the coaching staff will do that.

 

[Bleedred]

I missed the part about it being suggested that he could be of help, though right now I'm not quite sure how he'd be any worse than Vanecek given the way Vitek is struggling.

I personally don't care about Blackwood's track record in previous years when it comes to deciding what to do with him this season, though I'm sure it will play a role in what to do with him after the season is over.

My concern right now is trying to win the division and feel good about the goaltending heading into the playoffs. I'm not sure what the solution is though and how the coaching staff balances that all out. I'd give Schmid the start tomorrow night and if he does well enough against Tampa you plan on playing him again on Sunday and maybe you give Vanecek the start versus Florida?

I personally want to see more of Schmid, particularly against some of the better teams. I know Vitek has already hit a career high in games played, so not sure if an extended rest might be beneficial to help him reset, in which case I wouldn't mind seeing Blackwood get a start - but I don't think the coaching staff will do that.

I wanna see more Schmid. He's much more important for the future than Blackwood, who shouldn't be here next year unless we wanna waste over $2 million giving him his $3+ million qualifying offer.

Now, if Blackwood gets a start or two just to make sure he's okay if we potentially need him? That's not a bad idea at all, but it just shouldn't come at the expense of Schmid being sent back to the AHL.

Schmid has been the best goalie on the team this year, but I will acknowledge it's in very small sample size. I don't think he would be a .930% or whatever it is if he had played as many games as Vitek has.

And I wouldn't be surprised if he's due for a shellacking or two, but my worry is they send him back to the AHL if that happens and that makes the decision for them.

I don't think the plan is for Blackwood to play at all this week, maybe next week at the earliest. I think yesterday was his first time on the ice with the team.

 

[HBK27]

I wanna see more Schmid. He's much more important for the future than Blackwood, who shouldn't be here next year unless we wanna waste over $2 million giving him his $3+ million qualifying offer.

Now, if Blackwood gets a start or two just to make sure he's okay if we potentially need him? That's not a bad idea at all, but it just shouldn't come at the expense of Schmid being sent back to the AHL.

Schmid has been the best goalie on the team this year, but I will acknowledge it's in very small sample size. I don't think he would be a .930% or whatever it is if he had played as many games as Vitek has.

And I wouldn't be surprised if he's due for a shellacking or two, but my worry is they send him back to the AHL if that happens and that makes the decision for them.

I don't think the plan is for Blackwood to play at all this week, maybe next week at the earliest. I think yesterday was his first time on the ice with the team.

Yeah, I think if they play Blackwood again this year it would likely be just to knock some rust off in case we potentially need him this season.

Sounds like the staff is fine with carrying 3 goalies for the foreseeable future. The only way I see Schmid being sent back down is if cap space becomes an issue once Michigan's season is over and Luke Hughes is ready to join the team.

CapFriendly list us as having $1.2M in cap space, but I don't believe that includes Schmid's $850K cap hit since he's still listed as being an Emergency Loan status. Not really sure though. If it's not counted, then once Blackwood is healthy Schmid would no longer be on an Emergency Loan and his cap hit would each into the available cap space which would take away the cap space to add Luke to the roster.

A lot can happen between now and then, especially if there's another injury or Michigan goes to the Frozen Four, etc. so there's a decent chance it might be a moot point anyway.

 

[Eggtimer]

I'd like one more top 6-9 forward with the assumption that Bratt also gets signed. Whether that be Meier or someone like Gritsyuk comes over next year or soon. We'd be pretty stacked up front in that case

Still want another forward ? I think we have a lot of depth and can have one of the better top 6s in the league between :
Jack
Nico
Meier
Bratt
Mercer
Holtz
Palat
Tatar
Gritsyuk

And even a very good 3rd line even with Haula Boqvist and whoever is left over from the players I listed that forms the top 6.
If anything, I’d say we could try to improve the 4th line , but I’m liking Bastian and McLeod is decent . Then we have Lazar and prospects like Clarke Foote Thompson .
Maybe they are not the perfect fits for what our roster might need (find out after playoffs ) but we can trade one or more to find a better fit if needed.
I wouldn’t say we need to add a forward IMO.

In a perfect world ,I’d like to improve our goaltending but it would have to be a move for a goalie that doesn’t make much $$ . But any goalie that we can afford is a toss up if they would be much (if any) of an upgrade on VV / Schmid/ Daws .
Id say Vejmelka but its far from a given he would be a upgrade for sure.

Then Id like to get a stop gap RHD until Nemec is ready. But who would be willing to only sign a 1 or 2 year maximum deal that would be a good option? Players that sign a short term deal are usually in the twilight of their career or a fringe / mediocre D.

 

[njdevils1982]

White retro jerseys with the green finally making an appearance again?

View attachment 669506

Most likely tomorrow night.

hopefully it happens.....

...should have just done this all along instead of that scouties nonsense clown show and hawks ripoffs,

shit, even the green RR was a mess with the red pants.

but, $$$

 

[Emperoreddy]

Blackwood could allow them to rest Vtek a lot without having to overload Schmid in the process.

That could be helpful if you believe vtek is struggling thanks to fatigue

 

[NjDevsRR]

hopefully it happens.....

...should have just done this all along instead of that scouties nonsense clown show and hawks ripoffs,

shit, even the green RR was a mess with the red pants.

but, $$$

Don’t hold back now