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

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Keefe is just being proactive, we saw the opposite with Lindy where we would get smacked in the head repeatedly with no line changing. A time like now is where I miss Zetterlund because I think he'd be the Swiss army knife player for Keefe in most situations, but it is what it is for the Timo trade

4th line will be A-okay when we add Lars Eller at the deadline

This division isn't inspiring any confidence, Pens could just hold for the sake of holding for their superstars. Malkin looks phenomenal so far this year

 

[dgibb10]

Keefe is just being proactive, we saw the opposite with Lindy where we would get smacked in the head repeatedly with no line changing. A time like now is where I miss Zetterlund because I think he'd be the Swiss army knife player for Keefe in most situations, but it is what it is for the Timo trade



This division isn't inspiring any confidence, Pens could just hold for the sake of holding for their superstars. Malkin looks phenomenal so far this year

I'd also take Faksa, Nico Sturm, or Jake Evans as a 4C as well.

A Palat-Legit 4C-Lazar 4th line can look like one of the best in the league real quick

 

[TrufleShufle]

Was real excited going into the season about not having a 4th or even 3rd line of "leftovers" but, here we are. Still hopeful the team finds more structure as a whole and Keefe starts shaping the lines to his liking and use cases. Wish there was a way to get the top 6 to work while keeping that working 3rd line intact, but it's still early and they still need to experiment.

Hoping it's like having one side of a Rubik's cube all done but needing to break it to figure out the others sides as well.

Regardless, Cotter earned it, and I ain't no Cott block.

 

[dgibb10]

Keefe puts a player on his top shutdown line for 3 weeks, then moves him to a less significant role to start a game - 'hmm, maybe Sheldon Keefe agrees with me about this player. Maybe I am actually Sheldon Keefe'

More like: Sheldon Keefe rewards the team leader in goals with a promotion

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Timo-Nico-Mercer
Hall-Hughes-Bratt
Cotter-Haula-Noesen
Palat-Trade-Lazar

This would probably a really good lineup going into the playoffs but gotta get in position first

 

[mdj12784]

Cotter has earned. Why work hard if there is no reward?

 

[AfroThunder396]

What exactly were you guys expecting with Tatar? He's a complimentary winger who can play 12 ES minutes a night, get spot duty in the top-6 and at worst tread water in that role, while skating well and not hurting you defensively. You can't ask for more from a cheap vet.

He got a shot with Nico and Mercer because that line had chemistry in the past, so far through 6 games Nico was the only one who was producing. It's time to break that line up and Tatar's skill set is a much better fit for Haula and Noesen that it is with Jack/Bratt/Meier.

If the team needs help defensively they can always reunite Nico with Tatar as a shutdown duo because Keefe has clearly seen value in using them that way.

If you thought that a 33 year old winger who came in on a 1 year deal was going to be an elite 1st line point per game guy then I'm sorry but you need a lobotomy.

 

[Deviled]

Keefe is just being proactive, we saw the opposite with Lindy where we would get smacked in the head repeatedly with no line changing. A time like now is where I miss Zetterlund because I think he'd be the Swiss army knife player for Keefe in most situations, but it is what it is for the Timo trade



This division isn't inspiring any confidence, Pens could just hold for the sake of holding for their superstars. Malkin looks phenomenal so far this year

I Also thought that maybe Keefe is more willing to try things early instead of just locking into lines and pairings that work well early on.

If we were rebuilding and 4-2, then why mess around? But we want to be contending for most of Keefe's tenure here so he needs to know just about every possible combination we have

Though youd think every coach, regardless of team expectations, would have some level of experimentation

 

[Nubmer6]

Cotter has earned. Why work hard if there is no reward?

A "W" is the reward.

 

[britdevil]

Timo-Nico-Mercer
Hall-Hughes-Bratt
Cotter-Haula-Noesen
Palat-Trade-Lazar

This would probably a really good lineup going into the playoffs but gotta get in position first

I tried looking for Trade on hockeydb as I hadn't heard of him. He must be unlisted.

What exactly were you guys expecting with Tatar? He's a complimentary winger who can play 12 ES minutes a night, get spot duty in the top-6 and at worst tread water in that role, while skating well and not hurting you defensively. You can't ask for more from a cheap vet.

He got a shot with Nico and Mercer because that line had chemistry in the past, so far through 6 games Nico was the only one who was producing. It's time to break that line up and Tatar's skill set is a much better fit for Haula and Noesen that it is with Jack/Bratt/Meier.

If the team needs help defensively they can always reunite Nico with Tatar as a shutdown duo because Keefe has clearly seen value in using them that way.

If you thought that a 33 year old winger who came in on a 1 year deal was going to be an elite 1st line point per game guy then I'm sorry but you need a lobotomy.

Yeah, he's whatever.

I'm more concerned about Mercer. He looks better but 2 points in 6 games is kinda stinky.

 

[MartyOwns]

i really can't take any more slander. i think what you're all forgetting is that palat is a leader, the steady $6m hand to guide our little spring chickens. and tatar was a great signing right from the get-go, there's no way in hell that money could've been better spent. 2 phenomenal signings that definitely weren't panic moves after a bigger fish got away.

 

[Xirik]

OMG its shit like this I don't like! do they think they can have fun and play games when they have a job to win ACTUAL games! Sure if we had a good record I could understand but were just treading water!

 

[HersheyBob27]

4th line will be A-okay when we add Lars Eller at the deadline

Sounds good need to plan ahead for tatar playoff replacement

 

[My3Sons]

What exactly were you guys expecting with Tatar? He's a complimentary winger who can play 12 ES minutes a night, get spot duty in the top-6 and at worst tread water in that role, while skating well and not hurting you defensively. You can't ask for more from a cheap vet.

He got a shot with Nico and Mercer because that line had chemistry in the past, so far through 6 games Nico was the only one who was producing. It's time to break that line up and Tatar's skill set is a much better fit for Haula and Noesen that it is with Jack/Bratt/Meier.

If the team needs help defensively they can always reunite Nico with Tatar as a shutdown duo because Keefe has clearly seen value in using them that way.

If you thought that a 33 year old winger who came in on a 1 year deal was going to be an elite 1st line point per game guy then I'm sorry but you need a lobotomy.

I thought becoming a lawyer was a good idea. Do I need a lobotomy too?

 

[Better Call Sal]

OMG its shit like this I don't like! do they think they can have fun and play games when they have a job to win ACTUAL games! Sure if we had a good record I could understand but were just treading water!

I love that they're virtually babysitting Nemec, and that they lost him.

Also that Dougie got a hug from Ochocinco!

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I’m a little surprised at the Tatar-Haula-Noesen skepticism. I don’t know if that line’s gonna score much but i think they would drive play pretty heavily, especially if they get favorable matchups against other depth lines. I’d look to them to create some real havoc tonight against a Travis Green team.

 

[devilsblood]

Im not too sure really... To be honest, my past handles are a bit of a jumbled blur to me. And yes, sadly, I said handles

If I could go back in time and change it I would; id have more friendships than ive already been blessed with in my offline life

I like to think Ive realized that, whether online or offline, the people you meet and talk with can impact you in the same ways. I used to treat the internet as this place to expel feelings and thoughts I normally couldnt; I was wrong to do that, and I treated some unfairly

Everyone on here, from the Devils subforum to the main boards.. heck, even HFNYR, have been a part of my life and will always remain so. Even if this was my last post...

Well forgive me in advance, if in the future, I throw a couple jabs at you. My online debate game is along the lines of Noeson or Cotter.

But I do hope to have some good discussions with you going fwd.

Oddly enough it was something I suggested before camp and caught some strays from it.

I would have thrown strays.

 

[devilsblood]

What an inquisitive mind you have, premised on spite. Yes, all of this is interesting - guess what, it still all doesn't matter because Bratt is not going to get close to Hughes in shots, yes, even though Bratt does shoot more on the power play now, he will never get close to Hughes's ES shot rate, and there's no reason to suspect that coaching would affect Hughes more than Bratt.

This season's jump is unquestionably small sample stuff, come on. He's played 30 minutes on the power play so far this season. If his shot rate was 25 shots/60, yes then you could conclude that he's almost certainly getting more shots on net going forward, but you absolutely cannot conclude from 30 minutes that a ~33% increase means a sustainable increased rate for the entire season.

This is my least favorite part of the season because everything is tiny samples. It's usually not worth looking at things until 20 games in, then we can get a sense of what teams actually are.

In light of @Deviled post and my response above, I'll try to settle this down a little. Yes I threw a jab, I didn't think it was much of a stinger, but I apologize. But it should be noted you are my favorite poster to debate with.

Kumbaya.

I’m a little surprised at the Tatar-Haula-Noesen skepticism. I don’t know if that line’s gonna score much but i think they would drive play pretty heavily, especially if they get favorable matchups against other depth lines. I’d look to them to create some real havoc tonight against a Travis Green team.

Interested to see if Noeson takes more of a shooters role. He and Haula have not had many sog's this year. And Tatar not many more then them.

 

[Nubmer6]

In light of @Deviled post and my response above, I'll try to settle this down a little. Yes I threw a jab, I didn't think it was much of a stinger, but I apologize. But it should be noted you are my favorite poster to debate with.

Kumbaya.


Interested to see if Noeson takes more of a shooters role. He and Haula have not had many sog's this year. And Tatar not many more then them.

He's best when sitting in the crease tipping shots. He needs a shooter, whether it be a linemate or a defenseman.

 

[devilsblood]

He's best when sitting in the crease tipping shots. He needs a shooter, whether it be a linemate or a defenseman.

That's in an established o-zone set. But he could just look to shoot more on entries(I know not that often) or on scrambles, or attacking the net after winning a board battle below the goal line.

The big game by the third line saw Noesen as the set up man. Found that interesting. Reminiscent of Maroon's short stint here. Big physical guy with surprisingly good passing skills out of dirty areas.

 

[devilsblood]

OMG its shit like this I don't like! do they think they can have fun and play games when they have a job to win ACTUAL games! Sure if we had a good record I could understand but were just treading water!

So Nemo, that makes sense. Did we know this?

 

[Triumph]

I’m a little surprised at the Tatar-Haula-Noesen skepticism. I don’t know if that line’s gonna score much but i think they would drive play pretty heavily, especially if they get favorable matchups against other depth lines. I’d look to them to create some real havoc tonight against a Travis Green team.

They won't be able to get the puck through the neutral zone. With Keefe having the forwards so deep in the defensive zone, nobody on that line has the speed to generate anything in the neutral zone/through their own blueline. I do not understand putting our 3 fastest forwards on the same line, especially when Cotter has been a zone entry machine in the early going - let him just do that stuff on an island with two other guys who'll drive the net and potentially clean up what he's generating.

 

[devilsblood]

Yo, Habs fan here. I took Hamilton in my pool, he hasn't produced squat in 6 games. Does he look good, or is he done? Should I drop him?

Still getting a lot of shots off, and on net. Maybe a little off career pace but not by much. I have him in Fantasy and he's actually hitting and blocking shots, so between that and SOG's he's still useful even without the points.

I would keep him at least until Luke Hughes comes back. He's PP1 at least until then. If he drops off pp1, then maybe he might be droppable from your pool.