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

[Lou Bloom]

one bad game? I've been on this Mercer bandwagon for at least a year. He hasn't done dick since the playoffs started in '23.

I was also highly critical of his play last season and was in favor of trading him with his contract negotiations coming up. But he's a young player (just turned 23) and his play so far this season has shown clear improvements in his game on all fronts compared to last season. Maybe it's just a blip and he reverts back to last season's play but a 23 year old showing improvements is to be expected and you're not likely to find better value for $4M over the next two and half seasons than Mercer if he can continue off his improvements.

 

[britdevil]

#DaveRogalski

Probably won’t get much better as long as he’s here.

Although Markstrom just looks like Father Time could be coming for him.

I see no issues going into the season with a goalie tandem that has a combined age of.... 68.

Afterall, age is just a number chaps.

 

[Devs3cups]

Not ideal, but an improvement on last year.

 

[Lou Bloom]

Probably would have to wait till closer to the deadline but Frank Vatrano seems like the type of player that'd be a good fit in a top 6 role, speedy winger that plays with some physicality and can score at a solid rate. Shouldn't cost much more than a 2nd round pick as a rental.

 

[NJDevs26]

I see no issues going into the season with a goalie tandem that has a combined age of.... 68.

Afterall, age is just a number chaps.

We did make a SCF with a 78-year old tandem fwiw

 

[Blackjack]

Not ideal, but an improvement on last year.

We didn't give up a 1st round pick last year. This is a disaster.

 

[Bleedred]

We didn't give up a 1st round pick last year. This is a disaster.

#Rogalski

And I've tried to hit the brakes on blaming him for the stench of rotten mediocrity from Mr I can't make a save until at least one goes past me.

 

[Devs3cups]

#Rogalski

And I've tried to hit the brakes on blaming him for the stench of rotten mediocrity from Mr I can't make a save until at least one goes past me.

I would be surprised if bringing in another goalie coach would change anything given these 2 goalies have been in the league for over 10 years each. Markstrom and Allen have been what they are so far.

 

[Devils731]

#Rogalski

And I've tried to hit the brakes on blaming him for the stench of rotten mediocrity from Mr I can't make a save until at least one goes past me.

Ya, Allen playing better than the last few years is definitely a credit for Rogalski.

Markstrom is pretty much the same as you’d expect, even though he’s older now, but I’m sure Rogalski will improve him too.

 

[Bleedred]

I would be surprised if bringing in another goalie coach would change anything given these 2 goalies have been in the league for over 10 years each. Markstrom and Allen have been what they are so far.

I wonder if anybody told Jonathan Quick that when he looked like roadkill 2 years ago.

He hooked up with the best goalie coach in the world at age 37 and changed his game completely and prolonged his career at least a couple of years.

 

[jkrdevil]

The 1st round pick is a bit of an opportunity cost, but it looks like it is going to be in the mid-to-late 20s range. It isn’t that big of a deal.

 

[britdevil]

We did make a SCF with a 78-year old tandem fwiw

We were pretty lucky that the Moose had such a solid season....

Pretty crazy that, even at 39, Marty was able to play 59 games with decent stats too. Obviously he was even better in the playoffs, playing 24 games! Just a freak of nature.

 

[Devs3cups]

I wonder if anybody told Jonathan Quick that when he looked like roadkill 2 years ago.

He hooked up with the best goalie coach in the world at age 37 and changed his game completely and prolonged his career at least a couple of years.

Sure, fair point. Any other examples though? I'd guess stuff like that doesn't happen a lot.

 

[Mgd31]

At the end of the day, the goaltending is all on Markstrom needing to be better. Allen is pulling his weight.

If Markstrom is a 0 on GSA they are in the top half of that JFresh chart

Markstrom is basically last year Vitek. Funnily enough Vitek was so bad but we won 17 of 26 of his starts. We have won 11 of Markstrom’s 17 starts.

Maybe it won’t matter and we will just keep winning despite of him.

 

[Bleedred]

Sure, fair point. Any other examples though? I'd guess stuff like that doesn't happen a lot.

That's a very extreme example, as Quick pretty clearly looked very done and Benoit Allaire is probably the best in the world.

We won't be getting nearly the best in the world when he's replaced, but constantly running it back with him while every other coach has been changed out at least once is really mind boggling. So at this point for Rogalski to be fired we'll probably need to miss the playoffs. And if we make the playoffs (like we should) then it probably buys him even more time than he would have gotten.

I'm not completely convinced Rogalski is to blame for Markstrom being so incredibly mediocre. Markstrom has done enough of that before even knowing Rogalski existed.

 

[NJDevs26]

Sure, fair point. Any other examples though? I'd guess stuff like that doesn't happen a lot.

Of what, a good goalie coach making a difference? The Rangers and Nashville have been churning out random guys all over the league in addition to their own studs for years.

Could have sworn Markstrom started with the Rangers too, especially after Lundqvist had his cameo on the Markstrom 500 video but I guess not

 

[Devs3cups]

That's a very extreme example, as Quick pretty clearly looked very done and Benoit Allaire is probably the best in the world.

We won't be getting nearly the best in the world when he's replaced, but constantly running it back with him while every other coach has been changed out at least once is really mind boggling. So at this point for Rogalski to be fired we'll probably need to miss the playoffs. And if we make the playoffs (like we should) then it probably buys him even more time than he would have gotten.

I'm not completely convinced Rogalski is to blame for Markstrom being so incredibly mediocre. Markstrom has done enough of that before even knowing Rogalski existed.

Allen has also improved. I'll say it's probably early to draw conclusions on these 2 guys right now. I'm pretty confident that when the season is done we'll have perfectly average goaltending, maybe even a slightly positive GSAx.

 

[Bleedred]

At the end of the day, the goaltending is all on Markstrom needing to be better. Allen is pulling his weight.

If Markstrom is a 0 on GSA they are in the top half of that JFresh chart

Markstrom is basically last year Vitek. Funnily enough Vitek was so bad but we won 17 of 26 of his starts. We have won 11 of Markstrom’s 17 starts.

Maybe it won’t matter and we will just keep winning despite of him.

I don't think he's been quite Vitek bad, but it isn't really a long way better either.

He's probably been about where Nico Daws was last year.

The improved goaltending, at least in Markstrom's case, has more to do with the improvement of the team/Keefe/system/whatever than it does Markstrom's goaltending.

He's a .901% with an expected .904%. We didn't have a goalie here last year with better than an .898% (I think that was the number?) expected. I think Vitek was an .890% on an expected .896% or .897%?

But the numbers for Allen and Kakhkonen are just their combined numbers for last year. Moneypuck doesn't have the splits for Allen and Kahkonen's Devils-only part of last season. Just their entire season combined with the other team that each of them played for.

 

[Devs3cups]

Of what, a good goalie coach making a difference? The Rangers and Nashville have been churning out random guys all over the league in addition to their own studs for years, hell even Markstrom started his career with Allaire.

No, that an old goaltender has become very good again after years of being mediocre after joining a good goaltending coach.

 

[Mgd31]

I don't think he's been quite Vitek bad, but it isn't really a long way better either.

He's probably been about where Nico Daws was last year.

The improved goaltending, at least in Markstrom's case, has more to do with the improvement of the team/Keefe/system/whatever than it does Markstrom's goaltending.

He's a .901% with an expected .904%. We didn't have a goalie here last year with better than an .898% (I think that was the number?) expected. I think Vitek was an .890% on an expected .896% or .897%?

But the numbers for Allen and Kakhkonen are just their combined numbers for last year. Moneypuck doesn't have the splits for Allen and Kahkonen's Devils-only part of last season. Just their entire season combined with the other team that each of them played for.

A .904 expected? That’s got to be one of the top in the league right? Or close to it?

 

[NJDevs26]

No, that an old goaltender has become very good again after years of being mediocre after joining a good goaltending coach.

Fleury his first and last years in Vegas? He's had a couple of different 'remember me' years in his mid 30's. Actually he wasn't TOO far off being good when he first got to Vegas, he only had one meh year at the end of his Pittsburgh tenure.

 

[NJDevs26]

I'm almost tempted to give Marty credit for Allen cause it does seem like he has the magic touch with him lol, Allen's best season was when Marty was behind the bench in St. Louis.

 

[Devs3cups]

I'd be curious to know what our GSAx was at the same point last year.

 

[Bleedred]

Of what, a good goalie coach making a difference? The Rangers and Nashville have been churning out random guys all over the league in addition to their own studs for years.

Could have sworn Markstrom started with the Rangers too, especially after Lundqvist had his cameo on the Markstrom 500 video but I guess not

The Lundqvist thing was just because they were countrymates. There were a lot of Swedish players that made an appearance, even Nick Lidstrom and a couple other surprises who escape me at the moment. There are a few goalies out there currently who did start with the Rangers. Cam Talbot being one. Georgiev was another, but he was still there only not too long ago.

You actually had me looking up t see if Markstrom did have some connection to one of the Allaire brothers. I thought maybe he went to one of their goalie camps or something when he was younger.

The first NHL goalie coach he had was Rob Tallas, who is STILL with the Panthers this many years later. I think he's been their goalie coach since 2006-2007? Or shortly after that. I looked it up a while back and forgot what year it was, but he's definitely been there as the goalie coach since at least the late 00s.

 

[Bleedred]

A .904 expected? That’s got to be one of the top in the league right? Or close to it?

I’m not sure what the league average expected save percentage is, as the only way to probably figure that out would be to go through the expected save percentages of every goalie that’s played a second this year and just divide those numbers, which would take probably a good hour or two and you’d have to right everything down to keep track as you go.

but the league average save percentage currently sits at .900% as per hockey reference. It took a hit this week, as there were a bunch of nights of .880-something combined save percentages.

This is goalie only save percentages. They also have another lower number, which includes empty net goals, which don’t count against a goalie.