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

[Captain3rdLine]

I do think Boq is a more talented offensive player, but McLeod is doing something different.

I've got them both in my lineup next season.

Boqvist is the more talented all-around player. All McLeod has on Boqvist is 2 inches, 10 pounds, faceoffs and more hits but that is literally it. McLeod isn’t really a good player. I’m fine with him on the 4th line but Boqvist is easily the better player.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Nas is fine, I'm even fine with Ruff coming back, Rechi clearly needs to go.

I do understand that Fitz may need to fire the whole staff though.

Ya I’d imagine Ruff will be gone although I don’t think he’s as bad or close to as at fault as some people seem to think. I don’t have a huge problem with a lot of the stuff he does and he deserves credit for helping a lot our young players develop and find there games which is what he did in Dallas too.

 

[newjerseydamo]

I’m excited for this off-season. Can’t see how Fitzgerald doesn’t make major changes. Hopefully starting with firing Ruff or at the very least Recchi, I’d love to see the Devils bring Boudreau on board if Vancouver doesn’t keep him too. I wouldn’t hate DeBoer either, both coaches consistently get regular season results which we desperately need.

DeBoer only gets results when he has a good roster, usually only for the first year or so, then the teams suck.
He showed how bad he ran the Devils the first time around.

I don't want him anywhere near the team.

 

[Guttersniped]

Nas is fine, I'm even fine with Ruff coming back, Rechi clearly needs to go.

I do understand that Fitz may need to fire the whole staff though.

This is the last year of Ruff’s deal so either he gets fired, coaches the whole season as a lame duck or gets an extension. One more year is less of a problem then him being extended.

 

[mdj12784]

Haven’t got to watch in awhile, is Okhotiuk really physical or just physical for this team?

 

[glenwo2]

Why do you hate Nas so much? Isn’t he the only one on the staff who has actually seemingly done a decent job? Like our PK that he runs is 14th in the league. Seems like he’s the least of our coaching problems. Yet you seem to think he’s the biggest problem.

Also not sure what it has to do with Hynes who is on the brink of leading Nashville to the playoffs again. Not saying he’s a great coach but he hasn’t done terribly since he left the devils.

I thought I already stated why.

And PK rankings mean nothing to me. You could bring any Joe Shmoe in, have him run the PK and it will run just as smoothly.

Besides, considering how bad everything else has looked in comparison, SUCKING LESS is not something to celebrate nor provide excuses for someone who should never have been brought back as an assistant coach to begin with.

Recchi is the obvious scapegoat naturally with his complete and total failure with the PP but I knew then when Fitz had the massive brain-fart in bringing Nas back, that this more than likely would not end well regardless. (not because of whether Nas could coach or not but because of what his presence represents...and still represents. #Badjuju)

His presence is like seeing Hynes here STILL, meaning we haven't yet moved on from the Hynes era but instead are hanging on to his protege.

Nas is fine, I'm even fine with Ruff coming back, Rechi clearly needs to go.

I do understand that Fitz may need to fire the whole staff though.

Actually no, he's not fine (imo, of course) but I agree that Fitz should and will fire the whole staff.

No "may" here.

Hope he learned his lesson this time that when you make a Coaching Change, you need to make it a COMPLETE one.

 

[devilsblood]

Haven’t got to watch in awhile, is Okhotiuk really physical or just physical for this team?

He's dropped a couple guys with open ice hits already.

 

[devilsblood]

Ya I’d imagine Ruff will be gone although I don’t think he’s as bad or close to as at fault as some people seem to think. I don’t have a huge problem with a lot of the stuff he does and he deserves credit for helping a lot our young players develop and find there games which is what he did in Dallas too.

Ya some on the board want to lay it all on the goalies, but then also think the coaches need to be fired. Which is contradictive imo.

And as you say our young players have performed well under Ruff, which given we are the youngest team in the league is important. I'm a little wary of bringing in a coach who may restrict offensive freedom. I think there will be a time for that, but I don't think we are there yet, we will still be a very young team next year and we still have high end offensive prospects on the horizon.

 

[mdj12784]

He's dropped a couple guys with open ice hits already.

That’s awesome! Hopefully guys will think twice about being cute coming over the blueline when he’s on the ice!

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I thought I already stated why.

And PK rankings mean nothing to me. You could bring any Joe Shmoe in, have him run the PK and it will run just as smoothly.

Besides, considering how bad everything else has looked in comparison, SUCKING LESS is not something to celebrate nor provide excuses for someone who should never have been brought back as an assistant coach to begin with.

Recchi is the obvious scapegoat naturally with his complete and total failure with the PP but I knew then when Fitz had the massive brain-fart in bringing Nas back, that this more than likely would not end well regardless. (not because of whether Nas could coach or not but because of what his presence represents...and still represents. #Badjuju)

His presence here is like seeing Hynes here STILL, meaning we haven't yet moved on from the Hynes era but instead are hanging on to his protege.



Actually no, he's not fine (imo, of course) but I agree that Fitz should and will fire the whole staff.

No "may" here.

Hope he learned his lesson this time that when you make a Coaching Change, you need to make it a COMPLETE one.

So it’s because he worked here when Hynes was the coach? That’s the only reason? That’s just a terrible reason. Like Nas should be judged based on how he does in his role. It’s not like him and Nas are best friends that do everything together. Very weird reasoning.

We moved on from Hynes when we fired him. Like that just doesn’t even make sense. So everyone who worked in the devils organization should have been canned because they worked there at the same time as him and now represent John Hynes somehow. Not sure how he’s Hynes protege. I would guarentee that how he coaches and his way of thinking is very different from Hynes like pretty much every other coach.

You’re also ignoring the fact Hynes has done alright since leaving and has winning record in the NHL. He’s not just some bum and neither is Nas.

 

[BurntToast]

Wow, the east is so divided the top 8 are all 100+ points. 20 points over the 9th seed.

The West is also, mostly locked up (Vegas would need to win out to even have a chance).

So much for parity!? Are we finally going to get an expanded playoffs?

Wyshynski: Why the NHL must expand the Stanley Cup playoffs

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Wow, the east is so divided the top 8 are all 100+ points. 20 points over the 9th seed.

The West is also, mostly locked up (Vegas would need to win out to even have a chance).

So much for parity!? Are we finally going to get an expanded playoffs?

Wyshynski: Why the NHL must expand the Stanley Cup playoffs

Vegas is actually really close. If they close out their lead against San Jose right now they will be 2 points back but have the tiebreaker over Dallas. And they play eachother Tuesday. So assuming Vegas gets the 2 tonight whichever team wins that game will be ahead essentially with 2 games left each. Could be lot closer than you think and go right down to the wire.

Edit:
Well nvm they ended up losing in shootout. Much more difficult now.

 

[BurntToast]

Vegas is actually really close. If they close out their lead against San Jose right now they will be 2 points back but have the tiebreaker over Dallas. And they play eachother Tuesday. So assuming Vegas gets the 2 tonight whichever team wins that game will be ahead essentially with 2 games left each. Could be lot closer than you think and go right down to the wire.

Nice Jinx post..but that was my point. Vegas needs to win out. 3 points with 3 games left isn’t insurmountable but unlikely.

As good as individual players are (Bratt, Hughes, Nico) this team is no where near the playoffs. I’m not sure it’s just goaltending. Ty Smith was terrible but the defense was ok, the offense was improved. It’s 60 minuets. The Devils rarely dominate from start to finish. Bad starts, terrible seconds, blown leads in the 3rd. The Devils played only a handful of complete games and had only 2 shutout teams twice this season. They almost always give up 2-4 goals during their “big” wins. It’s never clean.

 

[glenwo2]

We moved on from Hynes when we fired him.

Not completely.

Once Nas is gone, *then* we have actually moved on.

In the meantime, I'll just sit back and wait to see what Fitz does in that regard.

 

[Guttersniped]

Vegas is actually really close. If they close out their lead against San Jose right now they will be 2 points back but have the tiebreaker over Dallas. And they play eachother Tuesday. So assuming Vegas gets the 2 tonight whichever team wins that game will be ahead essentially with 2 games left each. Could be lot closer than you think and go right down to the wire.

Edit:
Well nvm they ended up losing in shootout. Much more difficult now.

Losing to San Jose of all teams lol

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Not completely.

Once Nas is gone, *then* we have actually moved on.

In the meantime, I'll just sit back and wait to see what Fitz does in that regard.

That makes 0 sense man. They are different people. John Hynes has 0 control or affect on how this team is run. Nas isn’t some continuation of Hynes. He’s a different coach who just happened to work under him as an assistant.

Explain to me how that makes even the slightest bit of sense?

And btw Nas actually did a pretty good job as our interim head coach when he took over for Hynes. In 43 games the devils were a .535 team with 19 wins and 16 losses. In the 26 games prior to that with Hynes, the devils were .423 team.

Nas is by far the least of our problems in terms of the coaching staff.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Haven’t got to watch in awhile, is Okhotiuk really physical or just physical for this team?

He's good was glad they brought him up didn't want to see him get dealt in a hockey trade...He's physical and just a good all around defenseman with a nasty streak...Skates good too.

 

[mdj12784]

He's good was glad they brought him up didn't want to see him get dealt in a hockey trade...He's physical and just a good all around defenseman with a nasty streak...Skates good too.

Perfect! Thank you!

 

[markog]

Wow, the east is so divided the top 8 are all 100+ points. 20 points over the 9th seed.

The West is also, mostly locked up (Vegas would need to win out to even have a chance).

So much for parity!? Are we finally going to get an expanded playoffs?

Wyshynski: Why the NHL must expand the Stanley Cup playoffs

Why would you expand playoffs when clearly best 8 teams in east are getting in while the other 8 are trash? Why reward bad teams?

 

[Oneiro]

That makes 0 sense man. They are different people. John Hynes has 0 control or affect on how this team is run. Nas isn’t some continuation of Hynes. He’s a different coach who just happened to work under him as an assistant.

Explain to me how that makes even the slightest bit of sense?

And btw Nas actually did a pretty good job as our interim head coach when he took over for Hynes. In 43 games the devils were a .535 team with 19 wins and 16 losses. In the 26 games prior to that with Hynes, the devils were .423 team.

Nas is by far the least of our problems in terms of the coaching staff.

How much say do you think he has had in how defensive play has been taught over the last seven years? Do you think this team has developed defensemen well? Do you think this team has a passable level of situation recognition?

Whatever his role has been, I'd argue that what's been said and done, whatever progress has been made - it's been too slow and ineffective to justify on any level.

The PK that did so well for a couple of years had Zajac/Coleman/Greene/Lovejoy (collective 20+ seasons experience in that role, plus one player who cooked for a while).

Players grow in a non-linear fashion - volatility in performance is fine - but with this level of collective ups and downs, you start from scratch and get a new voice.

 

[Devil made me do it]

Pleasantly surprised with Okhotiuk. He stood out on the ice. Good size, good skater and just seemed to be on the right spots. The kid has very good hockey sense and was physical. Another later round steal imo.

 

[MadDevil]

Nas is probably the best of the guys behind the bench, but he's been here since 2015 so it's time for a change. He does seem to run a good PK, but I'm not sure that's enough to keep him around if we're changing coaches. It'd be kind of weird if he was an assistant that survived 2 head coaches being fired and was still here for the next one they hire.

 

[MachoDiablo]

Why would you expand playoffs when clearly best 8 teams in east are getting in while the other 8 are trash? Why reward bad teams?

Because the TV networks won't be satisfied until the regular seasons don't exist anymore; they want that sweet, sweet playoff money, so the goal will be to expand them until we basically start each season with best of 3 rounds or something.

We're seeing baseball do it this year: they're expanding to a 12-team playoff, what the NFL had until last year, but MLB is still a league with only 30 teams, so they're inching closer and closer to half the clubs qualifying and likely getting into a NBA situation where there'll be a bunch of seasons with sub-.500 teams qualifying. For a sport where the 162 game regular season is the main draw, it's ludicrous, and all but kills the entire concept of a "pennant drive" late in the season. Look at the NBA doing its new play-in round, which is a bit less egregious but still makes it so 20-of-30 teams get some kind of postseason play, even a bunch of them outright suck. And again, the NFL even just added a third wild card to each conference, a spot for some 6-8 win club to stink up the joint against a top seed.

I can at least get the argument for expanding them in the NHL a little bit more: historically the Stanley Cup playoffs have always included a higher percentage of the overall teams in the league, including some stretches where essentially everyone made it, the regular season being purely about arranging seeding. If one wants to argue that's more intrinsic to the NHL's identity, and thus the playoffs should be expanded to reflect that, I can at least see where they're coming from.

But the idea that, say, it's a bad thing that the top 8 teams in the East are so good and the bottom 8 teams just...aren't is some kind of major problem the league needs to address? How about the clubs in the bottom 8, I dunno, get better? Like you said, the Islanders are friggin' 20 points off the playoff pace; on what planet do they deserve a spot?

I guess there's the whole "it makes the end of the season less exciting without playoff races" argument, but like...yeah, that just happens some years. There are years where there's a mad scramble for the last couple of spots, there are years where there's considerably less drama. It happens.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Pleasantly surprised with Okhotiuk. He stood out on the ice. Good size, good skater and just seemed to be on the right spots. The kid has very good hockey sense and was physical. Another later round steal imo.

Agreed on his play, but he was a second round pick. Wouldn’t really consider him a late round steal.

 

[I Hate Tie DOMI]

If the expanded playoffs were to happen (and I don't think they will as long as Bettman is in charge) I would hope there is some mechanism to prevent teams from qualifying for them if they are, say 5 points behind 8th place. You can't make the 82 games you just played worthless, by allowing the Islanders and Blue Jackets to play Boston and Washington this year. Yeah Boston and Washington should beat both teams, but the Islanders and Blue Jackets are 20+ points behind already from the season play and shouldn't even have a shot at playoffs.