Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - season begins!

[Emperoreddy]

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[NjDevsRR]

Days of rest, and practice. What a concept!

 

[Triumph]

The team is doing better because of solid additions in Pesce, Kovacevic, and Markstrom. You don't think having Sharangovich and Boqvist in our bottom 6 over guys like MacDermid, Bowers, and Dowling?

This world isn't possible because Sharangovich is making $3.1M.

Boqvist is a skilled, versatile player who can play up and down the lineup - he's consistently produced like a middle 6 player at 5v5 in each of the last 4 years. I don't care if other teams waived him. He played great for Boston, especially in the playoffs, and has played well in Florida this year.

Wow, well he played so great for Boston that they also non-tendered him.

Boqvist is a fine player. He will have a role on a playoff team as 'the guy the team looks to put on the bench in the playoffs'.

He really doesn't play up in the lineup.

Most common linemates 22-23: Sharangovich, Mercer, Haula, McLeod, Palat
Most common linemates 23-24: Lauko, Brazeau, Heinen, Frederic, Beecher
Most common linemates 24-25: Greer, Luostarainen, Lundell, Samoskevich, Rodrigues

He has some time with e.g. Tkachuk and Pastrnak but not a whole lot.

How is that a measure of versatility? Dude can play C or wing and can play in all situations. How is that not versatile?

He's bad at center, he's not good on the power play, he's probably okay on the PK but that's harder to measure - by eye he wasn't very good but he is good at generating offense there. The assists thing is just a way of saying that Sharangovich isn't very good at using his teammates - the major skills he has are top-end speed and a an above-average shot. Almost everything else is below-average. It's funny to me that the Devils have basically replaced him with Cotter, an obviously worse player, but one who is much cheaper and does more of the things the Devils want from a 'bottom 6' player 5v5.

Fitz has made more good moves than bad, but to pretend that he's been perfect is nothing short of zealotry. I'd probably give him a C+. I like him as our GM, but he's human and it's okay to admit that.

C+ is far too low. An A is stretching it, but C+?

 

[DerekDevils30]

Additions of Noesen, Cotter, Kovacevic, Dillion, Pesce... Siegenthaler getting healthy again. Significantly changed the complexion of this team...for the better. And I much rather have this than Boqvist and Sharangovich.

The additions also nocked the youth out of the defense. 3 young defenders were just too much to overcome. Bahl looks to be doing well in Calgary and no doubt Nemec will become a solid player one day but you just can not have 3 young inexperienced defenders in the lineup full time. It was always a recipe for disaster.

This forward group is better than we've seen in a while And it is significantly less soft than in prior years. I don't think the defense is a good as 2023 but it's not terribly far off.

This is a much better overall team that can play more in the trenches that we have been able to in the past.

We wanted to be able to play in different ways and this off season was the most significant step towards that that we've seen.

Agreed on the moves Fitz made. He was clearly targeting a certain type of player and so far those moves have all paid off. Keefe at this point seems to have been the right hire as well. I look at Jack Hughes and how poorly he was playing early this season. Coughing up pucks left and right and really struggling all around. Eventually that all stopped. The egregious turnovers are way down and he’s doing a satisfactory job away from the puck as well. It’s great to see our most skilled player buying in like that. Keefe deserves a ton of credit early this season. It’s been a brutal schedule and they’re among the best in the league.

Your point about the 22-23 D being better than this season is an interesting one. Having Severson on the 3rd pair was incredible depth on the right side. I feel Luke Hughes brings an element we just didn’t have on that D in 23. Someone who can skate like the wind, create offence, and defend well. Combine that with the depth we have in Hattaka, Misyul, Casey, and Nemec who can step in if need be and I feel like this D group is better overall.

 

[Nubmer6]

Meh...Nico and his linemates are going to be getting big minutes regardless.

Maybe a bottom 6 faceoff guy could lighten the load on the PK for Nico but what are we talking about here shaving off a minute? 5v5, critical situations, Nico will be getting tapped no matter who we add.

I want to reduce the situations where we trot Nico out on different lines just to take faceoffs, or when his line has already been on the ice for extended shifts

 

[JimEIV]

Agreed on the moves Fitz made. He was clearly targeting a certain type of player and so far those moves have all paid off. Keefe at this point seems to have been the right hire as well. I look at Jack Hughes and how poorly he was playing early this season. Coughing up pucks left and right and really struggling all around. Eventually that all stopped. The egregious turnovers are way down and he’s doing a satisfactory job away from the puck as well. It’s great to see our most skilled player buying in like that. Keefe deserves a ton of credit early this season. It’s been a brutal schedule and they’re among the best in the league.

Your point about the 22-23 D being better than this season is an interesting one. Having Severson on the 3rd pair was incredible depth on the right side. I feel Luke Hughes brings an element we just didn’t have on that D in 23. Someone who can skate like the wind, create offence, and defend well. Combine that with the depth we have in Hattaka, Misyul, Casey, and Nemec who can step in if need be and I feel like this D group is better overall.

Being completely honest with you... I'm not sold on Dillion or Kovacevic...they are holding fort right now. And I do very much like the physical element they bring..But I'm not crazy about their overall games. They both look sloppy to me.

 

[DerekDevils30]

Being completely honest with you... I'm not sold on Dillion or Kovacevic...they are holding fort right now. And I do very much like the physical element they bring..But I'm not crazy about their overall games. They both look sloppy to me.

Dillon I get. He is pretty erratic out there at times. Kovacevic I feel comfortable with out there more often than not. His underlying numbers were quite good on a very poor Montreal team so that makes me hopeful he was just a bit of a late bloomer. This we can definitely circle back to later in the season to see if Kovacevic can keep up this level of play.

 

[JimEIV]

Dillon I get. He is pretty erratic out there at times. Kovacevic I feel comfortable with out there more often than not. His underlying numbers were quite good on a very poor Montreal team so that makes me hopeful he was just a bit of a late bloomer. This we can definitely circle back to later in the season to see if Kovacevic can keep up this level of play.

Obviously the two are different. Both look a step behind too often to me...different reasons ..Dillon looks more like someone who is getting long in the tooth. Kovacevic doesn't seem that bright and could stand to make better quicker reads...

Just quick observations on my part. And to be fair, I haven't watched as much this season as I usually do...in fact, I've probably missed more games this season already than I have the past few seasons.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Obviously the two are different. Both look a step behind too often to me...different reasons ..Dillon looks more like someone who is getting long in the tooth. Kovacevic doesn't seem that bright and could stand to make better quicker reads...

Just quick observations on my part. And to be fair, I haven't watched as much this season as I usually do...in fact, I've probably missed more games this season already than I have the past few seasons.

Kovacevic has been making fantastic reads every game. Definitely watch his game closely as you watch more games. Dillon indeed is erratic but I do like the bull mentality he brings and he protects the net and teammates.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Obviously the two are different. Both look a step behind too often to me...different reasons ..Dillon looks more like someone who is getting long in the tooth. Kovacevic doesn't seem that bright and could stand to make better quicker reads...

Just quick observations on my part. And to be fair, I haven't watched as much this season as I usually do...in fact, I've probably missed more games this season already than I have the past few seasons.

Eh, this is fair. No one thought Kovacevic would even be a regular when we got him, we always thought he was Nemec insurance in case of a bad year or injury. Dillon is whatever, I do agree that he has his lapses but I think most of his struggles were with how depleted on the backend early on with Luke/Pesce missing and he had to overplay a bit in the lineup. I've liked his game more as the year go on but most of this defensive core fits pretty damn well their partners which is what should matter in the long run.

 

[DerekDevils30]

After the Rangers game Monday the Devils had played 28 games in 59 days including the 2 overseas. That is a brutal schedule early on. Pretty much a game every 2 days on average. Keefe and the boys deserve a lot of credit for their 17-9-2 start. That sets them up very well going forward where they’ll have more appreciable rest and practice time

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I was beginning to get critical of Fitz this summer, but pretty much every move he made has been awesome. I still don't love the Markstrom trade, but I get why they did it.

Pesce, Noesen, Cotter, Kovacevic have all been home runs. Dillon has been okay IMO. But still.

 

[glenwo2]

I don't even know what that means

What was your previous name?

JBITBPITNHL

 

[BomaLightDevils]

I don't see it as a big issue.

Dowling has been fine. I liked Bowers. Legare had a good game the other night. Tatar might be back friday. Bastian shouldn't be that far off. Don't think Lazar's injury was a season ender.

We're winning games and for the most part playing well.

Just keep chugging fwd.

I really like Legare’s game against the rags, but when injuries start to come we would need a player more to deal with that.

With Keefe’s style of play we can’t keep blocking so many shots without injuring a couple over time.

I’ve would be very glad if we added a competitive guy with some snarl.

 

[kidkosher]

Is it dumb to be watching games this week praying for East/Metro losses as they slightly even out that GP column? Win percentage is my worry at the moment.

 

[JimEIV]

Eh, this is fair. No one thought Kovacevic would even be a regular when we got him, we always thought he was Nemec insurance in case of a bad year or injury. Dillon is whatever, I do agree that he has his lapses but I think most of his struggles were with how depleted on the backend early on with Luke/Pesce missing and he had to overplay a bit in the lineup. I've liked his game more as the year go on but most of this defensive core fits pretty damn well their partners which is what should matter in the long run.

I definitely agree that this defense fits well together. And I do think it's good. Definitely good enough to compete.

I am just partial to that 2023 defense. I loved that group.

 

[BomaLightDevils]

What was that ranger thread called about how perfectly built they were??

 

[JimEIV]

Is it dumb to be watching games this week praying for East/Metro losses as they slightly even out that GP column? Win percentage is my worry at the moment.

Today we sit at .643 point percentage. This is all that matters.

.643 Point percentage is good for 8th best in the entire league. 4th best in our conference.

 

[kidkosher]

Today we sit at .643 point percentage. This is all that matters.

.643 Point percentage is good for 8th best in the entire league. 4th best in our conference.

Ok that feels pretty good. This week is the first week all year I've felt that other winning teams in the division were actually losing. Just want that sweet sweet separation

 

[JimEIV]

650 and I'm super happy.

.500 or below and things get a little frantic around here

Another cool thing that I saw on Money Puck is that we are currently a 98.5 chance of making the playoffs.

NHL Playoff Odds -MoneyPuck 2025 Playoff & Cup Odds

NHL Playoff Odds updated many times a day. Stanley Cup Odds, Playoff seeding, and Draft Lottery Odds

moneypuck.com

 

[DerekDevils30]

I definitely agree that this defense fits well together. And I do think it's good. Definitely good enough to compete.

I am just partial to that 2023 defense. I loved that group.

Dougie was our #1 in 22-23. He was a dynamo offensively but as we know he comes with his defensive warts. If Luke continues to ascend and become the #1 guy here that changes everything for us. We’ve seen the signs of that happening since he’s returned from injury. Love Dougie but Luke can do things with his skating that Dougie never could. If he is indeed becoming that all around #1 guy already that completely changes the calculus now and moving forward. Puts the D corps over the top

 

[Devs3cups]

Quick question and I’m kind of forgetting, if anyone knows. Could Luke technically sign an extension now, or can he only sign after January 1st? I’m totally forgetting the rule.

 

[JimEIV]

Dougie was our #1 in 22-23. He was a dynamo offensively but as we know he comes with his defensive warts. If Luke continues to ascend and become the #1 guy here that changes everything for us. We’ve seen the signs of that happening since he’s returned from injury. Love Dougie but Luke can do things with his skating that Dougie never could. If he is indeed becoming that all around #1 guy already that completely changes the calculus now and moving forward. Puts the D corps over the top

Luke becoming a true #1 changes everything. I think we're on the cusp of that happening

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Quick question and I’m kind of forgetting, if anyone knows. Could Luke technically sign an extension now, or can he only sign after January 1st? I’m totally forgetting the rule.

he could have signed an extension July 1 of this year. So yes he is allowed to sign at any point now.