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

[FooteBahl]

Same . I’m done looking forward to draft lotto .
Or at least until 2038/39 when Jack retires after we win 4 cups . Rebuild starts then .

4 cups is a little conservative, no?

 

[devilsblood]

He was almost free, he was unprotected at the expansion draft, St. Louis just didn't want to retain or add a sweetener.

No one was going to trade for a $7.5 million question mark without either retention or a sweetener. It worked out for St. Louis, what can you do?

I dunno about that.

Navigating an exposed list for an expansion draft is different than what a team is willing to trade a player for.

And I was one who was wary of trading for a guy with that contract coming off 2 injury plagued years, but without looking back at my posts at the time, I think I would have done a Zetterlund and a 3rd rounder type of trade.

 

[devilsblood]

Seattle passed him up in the expansion draft for Vince Dunn. They'll regret that forever.

Maybe. Tarasenko is 30. Dunn is 25 and a pretty good player himself. This season it looks pretty clear, but check back in a couple years.

 

[Blackjack]

I dunno about that.

Navigating an exposed list for an expansion draft is different than what a team is willing to trade a player for.

And I was one who was wary of trading for a guy with that contract coming off 2 injury plagued years, but without looking back at my posts at the time, I think I would have done a Zetterlund and a 3rd rounder type of trade.

They protected Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist. They were clearly dangling Tarasenko in front of Seattle hoping he would get taken.

Don't worry about it, there are 30 other GMs wishing they took him for free too. There was no way of knowing what he would look like when he came back.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Seattle really botched that expansion draft and I was hoping theyd do well. Was a shame

Maybe itll mean better draft picks in the near future and ultimately a Bedard or high-end player or two. Benier looks to be good but Im not sure what his ceiling is tbh. Hes kind of like a Hischier-Hughes collab

If they didn't have terrible goaltending they'd be mediocre this season, which is arguably worse. They'll be improved next season based solely on an improvement in net... sounds familiar.

Gotta get Hakstall out, though. Also familiar. Hmm.

 

[Rydev]

If they didn't have terrible goaltending they'd be mediocre this season, which is arguably worse. They'll be improved next season based solely on an improvement in net... sounds familiar.

Gotta get Hakstall out, though. Also familiar. Hmm.

I dont mind the Hakstol hire for the first 2-3 years, if hes good with people and can build a culture. Im not too faniliar with Hakstol's coaching work outside what he does in-game, so maybe he isnt a fit for that and it wasnt a good hire

If I was an expansion team fan Id want a coach (if I cant get a stud, obviously) who isnt exactly a braniac with the game managing or systems, but can get guys to want to play and create a culture in the locker room. A foundation for your next coach to come in and place some better systems, gets guys breaking out who theyve drafted the 2-3 years prior

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Okhotiuk plays like a bumper car. Should be fun if he can stay out of the box.

 

[Auto Pilot]

Who should be recognized as the NHL's best passer in 2021-22?

If the NHL had an award for best passer, who would be the contenders for it in 2021-22? Shayna Goldman examines some of this season's best set up men and concludes who would win such an award.

www.sportsnet.ca

please finish off more hughes passes

 

[RangerDoggo]

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Who should be recognized as the NHL's best passer in 2021-22?

If the NHL had an award for best passer, who would be the contenders for it in 2021-22? Shayna Goldman examines some of this season's best set up men and concludes who would win such an award.

www.sportsnet.ca

please finish off more hughes passes

Sorry, they can't hear you, they're too busy shooting over or wide of the net what seems like 20 goddamn times a game I swear to God

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

View attachment 533410View attachment 533411
View attachment 533412

Who should be recognized as the NHL's best passer in 2021-22?

If the NHL had an award for best passer, who would be the contenders for it in 2021-22? Shayna Goldman examines some of this season's best set up men and concludes who would win such an award.

www.sportsnet.ca

please finish off more hughes passes

 

[Oneiro]

edit: wrong thread

 

[Saugus]

I'm hoping that Shara, Mercer, Bratt, and Holtz in some configuration end up being our top 6 wingers the next several years, centered by Hughes and Hischier.

If one or more of those guys can't play up to the level we need to contend, then we would start looking outside the organization for a scoring winger in a trade. But at this moment I'm encouraged to think that the right pieces are already here, but need time to develop into their roles.

 

[NJDfan86]

If they didn't have terrible goaltending they'd be mediocre this season, which is arguably worse. They'll be improved next season based solely on an improvement in net... sounds familiar.

Gotta get Hakstall out, though. Also familiar. Hmm.

Going from consistently terrible to mediocre is not a worse result, it is the natural next step that teams have to take on the way to becoming a consistent winner. This is obviously a team on the rise, so one year of mediocrity isn’t the same as a perpetual state of it. If fans were expecting to from a sub 70 point team to a 100 point team in one year then we need a reality check here.

Would our draft pick be worse? Obviously but the marginal value of a 6/7 pick vs a ~15 in this draft isn’t worth the team having no progress. The only reason people around here even defend the organization is because we know that these players have no shot actually competing with the level of goaltending we have received this year.

 

[McDuffz88]

I'm hoping that Shara, Mercer, Bratt, and Holtz in some configuration end up being our top 6 wingers the next several years, centered by Hughes and Hischier.

If one or more of those guys can't play up to the level we need to contend, then we would start looking outside the organization for a scoring winger in a trade. But at this moment I'm encouraged to think that the right pieces are already here, but need time to develop into their roles.

Yeah I want Fitz to lock up Sharangovich. Dude is the perfect winger for Hughes. If we give him a contract before the year starts we have a chance of getting a great deal.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Yeah I want Fitz to lock up Sharangovich. Dude is the perfect winger for Hughes. If we give him a contract before the year starts we have a chance of getting a great deal.

I think he’s a solid winger and capable top 6 winger who can do a decent enough job alongside Jack. But I think he’s far from the perfect winger for Hughes. Good shot but he’s not really the best finisher especially at times like when he gets passes of the rush or in tight to the net. There’s a couple situations where he’s really good at finishing from but I don’t think those situations are the types that Hughes is best at creating.

With how often Hughes would set him up he could’ve had another 10 or more goals this season. I also don’t think he plays or processes the game close to as quickly as Hughes in terms of interplay and quick passing. I also don’t think he drives play enough. Whenever Hughes struggled or wasn’t on his game that line would almost always look useless. We need someone on his wing who can drive play, create offense and drag the line along from time to time when Hughes isn’t at his best. If Yegor is one of the wingers than the other one needs to be able to do that. I think Mercer as a winger is a better stylistic fit and if that’s where he ends up could be a very good winger for Hughes.

Sharangovich has a good shot but isn’t some elite finisher. Nor are his numbers good enough after spending a decent amount of the season with Hughes to claim he’s the perfect winger for Hughes.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

I think he’s a solid winger and capable top 6 winger who can do a decent enough job alongside Jack. But I think he’s far from the perfect winger for Hughes. Good shot but he’s not really the best finisher especially at times like when he gets passes of the rush or in tight to the net. There’s a couple situations where he’s really good at finishing from but I don’t think those situations are the types that Hughes is best at creating.

With how often Hughes would set him up he could’ve had another 10 or more goals this season. I also don’t think he plays or processes the game close to as quickly as Hughes in terms of interplay and quick passing. I also don’t think he drives play enough. Whenever Hughes struggled or wasn’t on his game that line would almost always look useless. We need someone on his wing who can drive play, create offense and drag the line along from time to time when Hughes isn’t at his best. If Yegor is one of the wingers than the other one needs to be able to do that. I think Mercer as a winger is a better stylistic fit and if that’s where he ends up could be a very good winger for Hughes.

Sharangovich has a good shot but isn’t some elite finisher. Nor are his numbers good enough after spending a decent amount of the season with Hughes to claim he’s the perfect winger for Hughes.

Agree he needs to put more of the ugly goals in the net too...But really liked the way he rebounded after a slow start

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Excited to see Okhotyuk get the call up....Daws going back is a good move now that he has that taste of the NHL life hopefully he'll commit twice as hard at his craft to get back to the NHL....

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Sharangovich is a 14.4% shooter to start his career. Pretty damn good.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Sharangovich is a 14.4% shooter to start his career. Pretty damn good.

Certainly not bad. 78th in the league among players with 10 or more goals. So not that great either. He also gets quite a lot of high quality looks from playing with Jack and he doesn’t bury enough off of certain plays. He’s a great finisher off of shots from a standstill off a pass in the slot. And he’s good at carrying the puck in and putting hard to track shots that are dangerous through defensemen’s legs. Also seems to be good at full or partial breakaways.

What I think he could be better at in terms of optimizing Jack’s Playmaking. Going hard to the net and finishing plays in tight off of passes from Jack. This is something that someone who’s good at could get a ton of goals from playing with Jack. He’s great at bringing it in and drawing defenders and/or delaying and then getting it to guys that are going to the net.
Second thing would just be quick catch and release shots of the rush. He’s good at it from a standstill in the slot and he’s good at carrying it and getting dangerous shots of but we don’t see enough of him just taking a pass from Jack in the high slot off the rush after he’s pushed back the defenders then immediately letting a good shot fly.

Those are the two types of goals I don’t think we’ve seen enough of from him and I don’t think he’s good enough at.

 

[McDuffz88]

I think he’s a solid winger and capable top 6 winger who can do a decent enough job alongside Jack. But I think he’s far from the perfect winger for Hughes. Good shot but he’s not really the best finisher especially at times like when he gets passes of the rush or in tight to the net. There’s a couple situations where he’s really good at finishing from but I don’t think those situations are the types that Hughes is best at creating.

With how often Hughes would set him up he could’ve had another 10 or more goals this season. I also don’t think he plays or processes the game close to as quickly as Hughes in terms of interplay and quick passing. I also don’t think he drives play enough. Whenever Hughes struggled or wasn’t on his game that line would almost always look useless. We need someone on his wing who can drive play, create offense and drag the line along from time to time when Hughes isn’t at his best. If Yegor is one of the wingers than the other one needs to be able to do that. I think Mercer as a winger is a better stylistic fit and if that’s where he ends up could be a very good winger for Hughes.

Sharangovich has a good shot but isn’t some elite finisher. Nor are his numbers good enough after spending a decent amount of the season with Hughes to claim he’s the perfect winger for Hughes.

Of course there is better wingers out there but we'll have to pay a steep price to get that winger. Sharangovich is a guy who we could sign for a good deal/cheap for a guy who can put up 30 goals in our top 6. Try signing/trading a free agent 30 goal scorer & we'll pay 2 arms and both our legs. We don't need all our players to be elite superstars.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Certainly not bad. 78th in the league among players with 10 or more goals. So not that great either. He also gets quite a lot of high quality looks from playing with Jack and he doesn’t bury enough off of certain plays. He’s a great finisher off of shots from a standstill off a pass in the slot. And he’s good at carrying the puck in and putting hard to track shots that are dangerous through defensemen’s legs. Also seems to be good at full or partial breakaways.

What I think he could be better at in terms of optimizing Jack’s Playmaking. Going hard to the net and finishing plays in tight off of passes from Jack. This is something that someone who’s good at could get a ton of goals from playing with Jack. He’s great at bringing it in and drawing defenders and/or delaying and then getting it to guys that are going to the net.
Second thing would just be quick catch and release shots of the rush. He’s good at it from a standstill in the slot and he’s good at carrying it and getting dangerous shots of but we don’t see enough of him just taking a pass from Jack in the high slot off the rush after he’s pushed back the defenders then immediately letting a good shot fly.

Those are the two types of goals I don’t think we’ve seen enough of from him and I don’t think he’s good enough at.

Yes good observation that Shara often likes to take a stride or two before letting his shot go when on the rush. But he also is a youngster who’s game is the improving.

One place he improved this year was in using very soft handed plays around the net. Those freeze the goalie and roof it from the backhand moves that he scored on 4 or 5 times lately. That wasn’t something we saw last year.

 

[Bleedred]

When we first got Siegenthaler I was a bit whatever on him. I figured he'd at worst be a Mirco Mueller and at best be Devils era Ben Lovejoy (who was not bad, but I don't think he was as good as this year's Siegenthaler either) with maybe an outside chance of being better than that, which it appears he's met that outside chance.

I'm still not sure he's as good as he's been this year, but I'm pretty confident he's at least a lower end #4 defenseman. He's absolutely been better than that this year though.

I do admit I thought he'd be just a placeholder type that isn't a core piece, that's here for maybe two years (including this one) and maybe 3 years like Mirco Mueller, but it looks like Ryan Graves is gonna wind up being the placeholder guy that's not a long term piece here.

And no, I'm not saying Graves is only as good (or as bad) as Mirco Mueller, that wasn't my point at all.

 

[Bleedred]

And one thing that's nice about Subban not being traded is that we didn't have to take back some f***in idiot like Connor Carrick (Lovejoy trade at the deadline) or Warsofsky (I know he was a waiver pickup and not a trade) or some of the other guys we've gotten at the deadline. I think Freddy Claesson was one a couple years ago, I think he might have came in the Vatanen trade.

So I'm glad for that. We'd wind up playing one of those bozos the rest of the year or even possibly re-signing them to some two year deal like Carrick. It's best for us to roll with Bahl or O, one of the guys in our system.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Of course there is better wingers out there but we'll have to pay a steep price to get that winger. Sharangovich is a guy who we could sign for a good deal/cheap for a guy who can put up 30 goals in our top 6. Try signing/trading a free agent 30 goal scorer & we'll pay 2 arms and both our legs. We don't need all our players to be elite superstars.

You’re absolutely right that we don’t need all of our players to be elite superstars. But we have one of the most dangerous playmakers in the game now. His assist totals aren’t close to as high as they should be for how much he creates in terms of shots and slot shots for his teammates. And yes it would be more expensive but I think we need a 30+ goal scorer who becomes a 40+ goal scorer on Jack’s wing. He’s probably a 20-25 goal scorer who might be a 30 goal scorer on Jack’s wing. Sharangovich is decent enough as Hughes winger right now but he’s no where close to a perfect winger for him nor is he a good enough finisher, goal scorer or all around player. I’m hoping Mercer or maybe even Holtz can be that but that may not be the case. Or maybe Sharangovich improves on some of the things I’ve talked about. Maybe we get that winger in the draft or maybe it’s someone else we don’t expect such as Gritsyuk. Or maybe we need to explore trades.

I’m not saying we can’t be good with Sharangovich on Jack’s wing or that he’s a bad player to have there. Just saying he’s not a perfect fit there at all and we could definitely use to have someone better there.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

You’re absolutely right that we don’t need all of our players to be elite superstars. But we have one of the most dangerous playmakers in the game now. His assist totals aren’t close to as high as they should be for how much he creates in terms of shots and slot shots for his teammates. And yes it would be more expensive but I think we need a 30+ goal scorer who becomes a 40+ goal scorer on Jack’s wing. He’s probably a 20-25 goal scorer who might be a 30 goal scorer on Jack’s wing. Sharangovich is decent enough as Hughes winger right now but he’s no where close to a perfect winger for him nor is he a good enough finisher, goal scorer or all around player. I’m hoping Mercer or maybe even Holtz can be that but that may not be the case. Or maybe Sharangovich improves on some of the things I’ve talked about. Maybe we get that winger in the draft or maybe it’s someone else we don’t expect such as Gritsyuk. Or maybe we need to explore trades.

I’m not saying we can’t be good with Sharangovich on Jack’s wing or that he’s a bad player to have there. Just saying he’s not a perfect fit there at all and we could definitely use to have someone better there.

Edit add:
Also thinks it’s important to add us that Sharangovich isn’t really that much of a goal scorer. Has a good shot and is dangerous in a few situations but he’s not a great finisher overall.

Sharangovich is 60th in 5 on 5 goals over the last 2 seasons. His first two seasons. How is he not much of a goal scorer? You have a strange bias against this player. You keep saying he’s not a good finisher or goal scorer with little evidence.