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

[TrufleShufle]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853152891931853184

 

[R8Devs]

I wonder what the plan is for the 4th line with Bastian and Lazar out for a while. They didn't claim Aman. I really hope we're not going to see an extended stay of Macdermid -- if they don't play Nemec over him on Monday idk what to say lol

 

[My3Sons]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853152891931853184

Not a surprise. Hopefully he rebounds without any setbacks

 

[Bleedred]

Being 4th worst in Goals Saved Above Expected would seem to suggest we haven't had average goaltending. So far we've gotten more down year Markstrom than up year Markstrom. But that doesn't mean it will last all season, and if they play more like the Ducks and Canucks games they'll probably still be okay. Still, it is kind of annoying being at the bottom of these lists again. Thanks Dave.

Ah, the Rogalski effect.

It sucks that we probably won’t see him ganked until Fitz gets ganked.

Whether that’s the end of this season or in 5-10 years from now. Because if we make the playoffs, I don’t think Rogalski is fired, even if the goaltending is still weak.

It’s very possible if Fitz lasts another 5-10 years that Rogalski is fired at some point without a whole GM change, but it’s pretty sad that he didn’t even can Rogalski this past offseason after burning down all things goaltending.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I wonder what the plan is for the 4th line with Bastian and Lazar out for a while. They didn't claim Aman. I really hope we're not going to see an extended stay of Macdermid -- if they don't play Nemec over him on Monday idk what to say lol

I don’t see how keeping a guy that plays 3 minutes a game is worth keeping on the NHL roster over even a below average 4C. Seemed like claiming Aman was a no brainer for some depth.

 

[Xirik]

Nemec trade thread alert.

Made by everyone's favorite.

 

[Devs3cups]

Slightly annoyed/concerned with the Nemec treatment right now. Hopefully he's sent down or inserted in the lineup after the Western Canada trip.

Really wonder where Nemec's headspace is at right now...

 

[devilsblood]

I don’t see how keeping a guy that plays 3 minutes a game is worth keeping on the NHL roster over even a below average 4C. Seemed like claiming Aman was a no brainer for some depth.

Won't we be putting Bastian on IR? Thus opening up a roster spot?

 

[Comparison Ford]

this next two weeks is gonna be wildly informative on what our expectations are as a team this season.

right now i see us as Mid as it gets, bubble team where our ceiling is 1st wild card, floor is 11th seed.

we all know the stat about “playoffs by thanksgiving” which is misleading because we’re playing 3/4 games more than everyone in the league, but i think if we stay status quo, this is where we will be all year.

if we lose the majority of these games before thanksgiving, we’ll all be asking for Steve’s opinion on picks.

if we win a majority of these games, we can talk about how the advanced stats are telling the truth and finally converting to wins which seems to be the only stat we’re never good at !

 

[R8Devs]

I don’t see how keeping a guy that plays 3 minutes a game is worth keeping on the NHL roster over even a below average 4C. Seemed like claiming Aman was a no brainer for some depth.

yeah it'd seem like a straight roster swap of Aman and waiving Macdermid (he probably wouldn't get claimed at his cap hit/with the term on his contract) would save the Devils actual cap space and help provide for a more functional 4th line with some long term absences coming up. Also with the Devils current center depth/Utica's center depth it'd seem pretty beneficial to keep him around just in case of other injuries.

Then they call up Macdermid in a month when they play the Rangers for Rempe and just use him then or whatever staged fight they need. I don't get the point of him being an everyday roster player

 

[Bleedred]

Slightly annoyed/concerned with the Nemec treatment right now. Hopefully he's sent down or inserted in the lineup after the Western Canada trip.

Really wonder where Nemec's headspace is at right now...

It was the same shit with Holtz. Not that I gave much of a shit about Holtz, so it didn't bother me as much. That's another thing Fitz deserves criticism for. if this is gonna turn out the same way with him up here and not playing.

Either send him back or play 7D. Playing 7D is the better way to go than rolling MacDermid out there.

 

[Devs3cups]

Unfortunate the team hasn't gotten a few more wins cause I truly believe the team has played some sound defense.

 

[Devs3cups]

It was the same shit with Holtz. Not that I gave much of a shit about Holtz, so it didn't bother me as much. That's another thing Fitz deserves criticism for. if this is gonna turn out the same way with him up here and not playing.

Either send him back or play 7D. Playing 7D is the better way to go than rolling MacDermid out there.

We're very far from Holtz territory still imo. It's been just over a week since his last game, and I'm sure they wanted to keep him around for the Western Canada trip in case of injury or whatever. With that said, if there aren't planning on getting him into games/go 11F/7D, then I'd like him to join Casey in the AHL.

I really wonder where his head is at right now. We know he's a confident/competitive kid. Hopefully he takes this in stride and sees it as part of his development. Hoping no hard feelings are involved.

 

[HersheyBob27]

yeah it'd seem like a straight roster swap of Aman and waiving Macdermid (he probably wouldn't get claimed at his cap hit/with the term on his contract) would save the Devils actual cap space and help provide for a more functional 4th line with some long term absences coming up. Also with the Devils current center depth/Utica's center depth it'd seem pretty beneficial to keep him around just in case of other injuries.

Then they call up Macdermid in a month when they play the Rangers for Rempe and just use him then or whatever staged fight they need. I don't get the point of him being an everyday roster player

Sorry let me get this straight. You want to ditch our toughest player for a skinny swedish kid who tocchet wouldn’t play. That should work

 

[R8Devs]

Sorry let me get this straight. You want to ditch our toughest player for a skinny swedish kid who tocchet wouldn’t play. That should work

the toughest player on the Devils who was on the ice when Lazar got injured by Gudas and Siegenthaler by Rempe. So he clearly isn't preventing dirty hits with his presence or toughness nor does he get a regular shift when the game is close. So yeah if they want him for staged fights they can do that but they can do that while keeping more useful players on the roster most of the time.

I'd like to have a better player than Aman but teams aren't giving away good centers for free so you have do what you can and get a serviceable player in the meantime

 

[SJinNewJersey]

Slightly annoyed/concerned with the Nemec treatment right now. Hopefully he's sent down or inserted in the lineup after the Western Canada trip.

Really wonder where Nemec's headspace is at right now...

They can't Holtz him, send him down so he can play every game until we need him or he's playing so well they have to promote him.

 

[Bleedred]

We're very far from Holtz territory still imo. It's been just over a week since his last game, and I'm sure they wanted to keep him around for the Western Canada trip in case of injury or whatever. With that said, if there aren't planning on getting him into games/go 11F/7D, then I'd like him to join Casey in the AHL.

I really wonder where his head is at right now. We know he's a confident/competitive kid. Hopefully he takes this in stride and sees it as part of his development. Hoping no hard feelings are involved.

Yeah, I didn’t mean to make it sound like it’s as bad or as long as Holtz yet. Just that this is how it started with Holtz, so I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s still with the NHL team as a healthy scratch or if he’s sent to the AHL soon.

I’d rather see 7D at least some nights, where he plays.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Sorry let me get this straight. You want to ditch our toughest player for a skinny swedish kid who tocchet wouldn’t play. That should work

He’s averaging 4:29 a game as a Devil. What exactly is being provided in that time? Even if he was good that wouldn’t be enough time to contribute anything — and he isn’t close to good.

 

[billingtons ghost]

No clue what point you’re trying to make considering the defense is almost entirely different, the coach is different, and every easily understandable D metrics like slot shots, odd man rushes, etc have all been better.

I’d like to know which games we’ve played like minor league garbage hockey though. You should manually track scoring chances next time we play to confirm your eye test

I will say your commitment to the “goaltending doesn’t exist” bit is quite funny. Even though this is very easily disproved by multiple other teams that play on MSG.

My commitment is to: goaltending isn't bad every time the stats say that it is.

Good goaltending can overcome bad defense, and bad goaltending can overwhelm good defense.
And the exact reverse is true.

The thing that seems consistent is that xGA stats can say really anything at any time; and that for years people just point to the stats and say that we are losing bc of our goaltending.

A goaltender can play a great game and have terrible goalie stats and vice versa.

With the exception of a handful of games this year, notably the Vancouver game, we've been a team that has been tough on goaltending regardless of what the stats say, since they don't do a good job with causality. Just counting and rudimentary attempts to qualify the 'difficulty'.

You've got your elite goaltender. Might be time to improve the product in front of him

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Sure. It's always the goaltending. Doesn't matter who's the goalies are.

Couldn't be that the eye test is correct and when the forwards and/or D corps play a cohesive, responsible checking game and complete simple passes, we win and the goalie starts look great (a shutout, even!). and when we play like a minor league garbage hockey team, we lose and goalies suck.

did you ever consider maybe your eyes are wrong?

has that thought maybe ever entered into your head, or?

 

[Devs3cups]

Hope the results can start coming in with consistency.

I'm confident because I trust the offense, and so far, I'm happy with the defense. I see way more structure, I see way less odd-man rushes and missed assignments, and don't get the same pond hockey vibe from last year.

Mistakes will happen. Hockey is a game of mistakes, every team makes mistakes and most goals score in the league are a result of mistakes. That's the game. But seeing a way more structured and way less hectic defense feels encouraging. Truly feels very different from last year.

And even if this year isn't THE year, I feel like Keefe can build something with this group with the positives I'm seeing right now. I'm seeing small things that are encouraging and can make a difference. I'm seeing smarter decisions with the puck, I'm seeing smart dump ins in certain situations, I'm seeing harder backchecking and forechecking, all things that weren't always present before.

Overall, I'm encouraged by what the team is showing overall. Hopefully that keeps improving.

 

[BostonDevil]

Hope the results can start coming in with consistency.

I'm confident because I trust the offense, and so far, I'm happy with the defense. I see way more structure, I see way less odd-man rushes and missed assignments, and don't get the same pond hockey vibe from last year.

Mistakes will happen. Hockey is a game of mistakes, every team makes mistakes and most goals score in the league are a result of mistakes. That's the game. But seeing a way more structured and way less hectic defense feels encouraging. Truly feels very different from last year.

Agree - I assume that they will eventually put it all together but they need to do it. If this team doesn't make the playoffs something drastic might need to happen.

 

[dgibb10]

Anyway go get me Lars Eller

 

[NjDevsRR]

Hope the results can start coming in with consistency.

I'm confident because I trust the offense, and so far, I'm happy with the defense. I see way more structure, I see way less odd-man rushes and missed assignments, and don't get the same pond hockey vibe from last year.

Mistakes will happen. Hockey is a game of mistakes, every team makes mistakes and most goals score in the league are a result of mistakes. That's the game. But seeing a way more structured and way less hectic defense feels encouraging. Truly feels very different from last year.

Me thinks another month and this team will start working its way up the standings. Just need to get as many points in the meantime

 

[billingtons ghost]

did you ever consider maybe your eyes are wrong?

has that thought maybe ever entered into your head, or?

So, you're saying that these stats are unquestionable. Irrefutable proof of bad goaltending.

Regardless of injuries and free agency losses sidelining multiple members of our D corp effectively taking two thirds of them off of the ice to be replaced with rookies and plugs, last year, you are of the steadfast belief that Vitek Vanacek was truly a top five goalie one year, (?!?!?) and the worst in the league the next and that was wholly his fault.

No wiggle room for impacts of the team in front of him?

If your answer is no, then please point me to the accurate representation of these effects in your stats.

you have so much blind faith in the way that High Danger Chances are defined that you can see no room for improving them, so that they actually take into account the causality of goals, and that's your take?

Did it ever cross your mind that there's probably a better representation of hockey reality being developed than what you hold up as gospel?