GDT: Senators @ Devils 7:00 PM MSGSN, MSGSN2, ESPN+

[HersheyBob27]

I dunno...I feel like really being super upset about this season at this point is a fool's errand.

During that stretch in January / February where we were healthy and sucking with everyone heathy.....I understood trying to make sense of it or trying to correct it.

This current roster sucks. If this is the roster we iced for a full season, it has a reasonable chance at a top 3 pick, I think.

At this point, I'm just playing out the string and wondering what can be done for next season.

Any idiot could see before the season started that organization centre depth was horrible. Bad drafting will be the demise of fitz

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Fitz basically lucked his way into a good team two years ago. As soon as he had to do the job of re-stocking lost or missing pieces he f***ed shit up.

Because he got suckered by the media/fanbase thinking they lost Carolina for the wrong reasons. He's also an absurdly heavy handed GM, not a good quality to have

 

[Devs3cups]

If this shit goes on much longer we’re gonna go back to linking the anti tank sticky thread in every GDT

Tanking for what, we don’t even have a first rounder lol.

 

[JimEIV]

I get it that it would be nice if Bratt scored more goals but the guy just broke the all-time Devils assist record …
I agree with everything else yuu said and yes it would be cool if Bratt scored more but he should be listed along with Jack and Nico as doing his job just fine this season IMO .

I don't feel like doing it but I might...

I would love to know the top 6 or top 9 goal production for every playoff team (top 16 league wide) and were we rank.

I feel like we short about 12/15 goals from our top 9.

 

[NJDevs26]

Tanking for what, we don’t even have a first rounder lol.

True, but some may still want to tank just to get certain people fired or traded

 

[JimEIV]

Mercer was also a 50 point player and Haula had a visible pulse that year, our 4th liners legit scored a decent pace that year but yeah man Timo Meier is definitely the issue. He's your new Kovalchuk

No not just Meier, if was just Meier we would be ok ...there are a bunch of guys that owe more goals ... Meier might the leader though.

 

[Devs3cups]

I don't believe that to be true at all. His defensive choices have been all around solid ..he did Graves and Siegenthaler for 2023 and this group barring injuries isn't terribly far off with Pesce, Dillon and Kovacevic. He drafted Luke and Casey and Nemec too for good or bad ..

Cotter and Noesen adds this season were solid... Cotter has more 5v5 goals than any other winger on this team... Noesen with 19 goals and 36 points that's beyond my expectations.

Two years ago we got 99 points from Jack and 80 from Nico and 73 from Bratt....we traded a lot of pieces for Meier who was a 40 goal scorer two years ago.

This year we have 80 from Bratt, 70 from Jack, and 55 from Nico and Meier has 20 goals in 70 games ...still 11 games to go but it's pretty easy to see where the major deficits are coming from

2 years ago Haula had 41 points instead of 16 points.

Tatar had 48 points (including 20 goals) instead of 15 points and 6 goals this year.

Last year Lazar had 25 points instead of 5.

Mercer had 56 points and 27 (!!!) goals instead of 28 points.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Serious question, do you work for the team or some shit? Who the f*** mentions betting odds like this unironically about a team whose record over the last three months is the fourth worst in the league??

And there you go again, questioning the fandom of anyone that doesn’t play along with this dumbass delusional schtick. Why would I pretend that a team this obviously flawed and mediocre is actually something better just because I root for them? That kind of unrealistic optimism is not a requirement of being a fan.

I don’t care about points per se, I care about that this team isn’t even remotely close to as good as advertised, and hasn’t been for f***ing years. This team’s offense was flaccid as f*** with a fully healthy lineup. We were told by people like you that this was guaranteed to be corrected at the deadline, and you pulled the usual arrogant shit towards anyone who questioned being so confident about that. How’d that turn out? You talked down to anyone that suggested we were a top six injury away from being a bubble team, how’s that looking right now?

I could do without people who are constantly wrong about the quality of this team questioning my fandom.

Pure nonsense, as usual. We aren’t a bubble team, so your stupid fake made up scenario is wrong anyway. We’re also not down a “top 6 forward”, we’re down the best offensive player in franchise history, our best offensive D, our best defensive D, and our starting goalie has went to shit post injury.

Maybe you can try bringing up our record since some arbitrary point to show that none of those injuries matter? Again, your premise is that the team is no good, has no depth, and also those injuries don’t matter and are just excuses. Brilliant!

 

[jkrdevil]

I don't feel like doing it but I might...

I would love to know the top 6 or top 9 goal production for every playoff team (top 16 league wide) and were we rank.

I feel like we short about 12/15 goals from our top 9.

Well we have no third line.

 

[JimEIV]

2 years ago Haula had 41 points instead of 16 points.

Tatar had 48 points (including 20 goals) instead of 15 points and 6 goals this year.

Last year Lazar had 25 points instead of 5.

Mercer had 56 points and 27 (!!!) goals instead of 28 points.

Two years ago Haula was 32 years old, Tatar was also

Lazar, before his fluke season last year was a 10 point player what did you expect was going to happen with these three guys?

Mercer was a constant fixture in the top 6 two years ago now he's pretty much used as a bottom 6 defensive player. Not getting 50 playing with a 34 year old Haula from the 3rd line.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Two years ago Haula was 32 year old Tatar was also

Lazar, before his fluke season last year was a 10 point player what did you expect was going to happen with these three guys?

Mercer was a constant fixture in the top 6 two years ago now he's pretty much used as a bottom 6 defensive player. Not getting 50 playing with a 34 year old Haula from the 3rd line.

Why would Mercer play in the top 6 when he looks like a complete dogshit player outside of February 2023?

 

[guitarguyvic]

I don't believe that to be true at all. His defensive choices have been all around solid ..he did Graves and Siegenthaler for 2023 and this group barring injuries isn't terribly far off with Pesce, Dillon and Kovacevic. He drafted Luke and Casey and Nemec too for good or bad ..

Cotter and Noesen adds this season were solid... Cotter has more 5v5 goals than any other winger on this team... Noesen with 19 goals and 36 points that's beyond my expectations.

Two years ago we got 99 points from Jack and 80 from Nico and 73 from Bratt....we traded a lot of pieces for Meier who was a 40 goal scorer two years ago.

This year we have 80 from Bratt, 70 from Jack, and 55 from Nico and Meier has 20 goals in 70 games ...still 11 games to go but it's pretty easy to see where the major deficits are coming from

I think we are counting our eggs before they hatch with the defense. Dillion is a strong candidate to be a shit contract within a year or two, Kova just got a big contract based on a partial season of good play, he’s a good candidate to become our new Marino. And so far we have no homegrown replacement for Dougie based on how they are handling Nemec and Casey. I think the improved defense has just as much to do with the coaching as it does the personnel.

Cotter and Noesen are fine additions. But how many of us saw that this team still lacked depth? I only partially agree with your take on the core. I don’t know how much I can blame them in the sense that realistically they are at this point clearly a tier below other contending cores, both in terms of their talent but also durability. The GM of this team needs to understand that this core is not like the oilers or lightning. There needs to be significant depth to make up for it.

 

[NjDevsRR]

 

[jkrdevil]

Mercer not getting top 6 minutes is kind of on him. He got plenty of chances alongside Nico and Timo and each time dragged them down possession wise. The plan wasn’t Noesen as a top-6 forward.

 

[Better Call Sal]

At least tomorrow I can take a day off from scoreboard watching since no teams of note are playing.

This season really turned into have to try and stomach a shit sandwich really quickly.

 

[Dylan9z9]

Two years ago Haula was 32 years old, Tatar was also

Lazar, before his fluke season last year was a 10 point player what did you expect was going to happen with these three guys?

Mercer was a constant fixture in the top 6 two years ago now he's pretty much used as a bottom 6 defensive player. Not getting 50 playing with a 34 year old Haula from the 3rd line.

I think Fitz expected more you should have told him this would happen

 

[MadDevil]

I haven't had much of an issue with the core guys. Nico and Bratt have been fine. I'd like to see more production from Timo, but I think his overall play has been better than the counting stats suggest. The problem is with Haula and Palat both regressing and Mercer not really taking a step up we're basically getting nothing from the middle of the lineup. Noesen and Cotter have both chipped in about as much as you could expect, but neither of them should be somebody you're counting on regularly. You then take out the main engine of the offense in Jack, plus Hamilton, and now it's just ugly as hell.

 

[Devs3cups]

At least tomorrow I can take a day off from scoreboard watching since no teams of note are playing.

This season really turned into have to try and stomach a shit sandwich really quickly.

I agree mostly, but it's been going on for way longer than "very quickly" tbh lol, the team hasn't been consistent for like 3 months at this point.

 

[glenwo2]

You think Meier has done his job this season? Honest question. I don't. Not remotely close.

Jack and Nico did their thing well Bratt I have mixed feelings about... I really wish he had a few more goals. Palat has spent most of his time in the top 6 and I don't think he's been good...

Supporting cast just sucks...but the top end has their deficiencies too.

Only you would have mixed feelings about him.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Harsh but fair lol

 

[NjDevsRR]

“Thankfully “ I was very sick the last few days so I didn’t go to the games. But I will be there Monday. We need a W. If they lose again then we are back at 10 on the Danometer

 

[JimEIV]

Pure nonsense, as usual. We aren’t a bubble team, so your stupid fake made up scenario is wrong anyway. We’re also not down a “top 6 forward”, we’re down the best offensive player in franchise history, our best offensive D, our best defensive D, and our starting goalie has went to shit post injury.

Maybe you can try bringing up our record since some arbitrary point to show that none of those injuries matter? Again, your premise is that the team is no good, has no depth, and also those injuries don’t matter and are just excuses. Brilliant!

Be fair...this team was struggling when everyone was 100% healthy. The drop off from the end of December was dramatic and for the next two months we never got back on track. While totally healthy.

What we are seeing now feels more like a continuation of the collapse that started in December than the results of any injury.

But Brady looked pretty good didn't he?

 

[NjDevsRR]

Be fair...this team was struggling when everyone was 100% healthy. The drop off from the end of December was dramatic and for the next two months we never got back on track. While totally healthy.

What we are seeing now feels more like a continuation of the collapse that started in December than the results of any injury.

But Brady looked pretty good didn't he?

Id have much more faith in this team healthy pulling through this stretch.

THIS roster? Oh boy, its gonna be scary

 

[JimEIV]

Only you would have mixed feelings about him.

Call your boy and tell him we need another half dozen or so goals from him.

 

[glenwo2]

Harsh but fair lol

At least Keefe has a bit of a Torts attitude that comes out now and then.