League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) | 2024-25 Summer Edition

[AlexModvechkin8]

Not surprised the Devils are slipping.

Jack Hughes is the most overrated “superstar” in the league and their 1G and 1D are both journey men.

Hughes is a great player but he struggles when the ice shrinks and physicality ramps up. They have a soft team in general. Palat is tough but he’s over the hill. Meier is an ox too. And their bottom six isn’t near deep enough. Losing Michael McLeod was a big deal for them, he was big, strong, and could skate — great bottom six center who they haven’t been able to replace.

 

[PlushMinus]

Hughes is a great player but he struggles when the ice shrinks and physicality ramps up. They have a soft team in general. Palat is tough but he’s over the hill. Meier is an ox too. And their bottom six isn’t near deep enough. Losing Michael McLeod was a big deal for them, he was big, strong, and could skate — great bottom six center who they haven’t been able to replace.

Yeah I asked the Devils board about McLeod a while back - think it was on their GDT when they were playing us - after seeing comments about how loss of McLeod was hurting them. Seems he was indeed what you are saying, and also very good at faceoffs.

It's interesting how some guys - if it's not a team you follow regularly - just seem like day to day bottom six forwards who could easily be replaced. Dowd is probably like that on our team?

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Yeah I asked the Devils board about McLeod a while back - think it was on their GDT when they were playing us - after seeing comments about how loss of McLeod was hurting them. Seems he was indeed what you are saying, and also very good at faceoffs.

It's interesting how some guys - if it's not a team you follow regularly - just seem like day to day bottom six forwards who could easily be replaced. Dowd is probably like that on our team?

McLeod is like a bigger Dowd, but yeah generally I’d agree with you — what fans value and what coaches and teams value aren’t always the same. Guys who excel at the tough, non-glorious roles are hard to come by.

We’ve been blessed with Beagle and Dowd for a long time and replacing Dowd won’t be easy. He’s almost always in the right place at the right time and almost always makes the smart play. Guys like that don’t always show up big on the scoresheet but they’re worth their weight in gold.