GDT: Your New Jersey Devils vs. Calgary Flames, 7 PM, MSGSN

[JrFischer54]

if fitz wants to wait til the summer that’s on him.

He absolutely can not bring in another Vitek who has a small sample size unknown abilities to be the starter. He has to bring in a veteran I don’t care how old he is I don’t care what the contract looks like if he trades for one. I doubt he would sign one to anything more than 2 years so be it. This team is past shopping for a goalie on clearance rack.

 

[guitarguyvic]

He wasn't going to let Ruff walk after a franchise best regular season. If you want to say he should have been let go prior to last season, fine. Goaltending wasn't an issue until the playoffs last year. I don't think anybody saw both Vitek and Schmid completely cratering like they have. Also, which goalie that moved should we have been in on? If there was an obvious solution in goal, why hasn't every other team that's had goaltending issues traded for this obvious fix that's available?

I have never understood the bolded response. There's no scenario where a coach has a great season but doesn't come back? I've pointed out several examples of this exact thing happening, it's not unheard of.

Fitz chose the safe play, yes. He didn't "have to". Sometimes leaders make difficult, even controversial decisions, for the greater good. That's the hallmark of a good leader, actually. Willing to take calculated risks, and putting the team ahead of himself. I see nothing out of bounds about criticizing Fitz for not moving on from Ruff.

 

[JrFischer54]

No that's not a f***ing excuse, if you stopped to actually use some critical thinking maybe you'd realize the reason why every single GM - not just ours - hasn't made a move that you claim is no-brainer.

I can’t speak for other teams I don’t follow. I don’t know anything about maybe they have kids in the system to take over? Maybe they don’t have anyone to trade or value? Maybe they aren’t in a window to win now? Or maybe they punt on the season like Fitz and guess what? If their goalies cost them in the playoffs they will be searching and bidding (driving up prices) with us come summer that is for sure.

 

[Bleedred]

I honestly think Vitek was a fine acquisition and may be salvaged on another team, but it won’t ever be here.

We may not even have seen the worst of him here if we have to endure another year of him.

I don’t think we will though. His ticket out of town is already booked.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I can’t speak for other teams I don’t follow. I don’t know anything about maybe they have kids in the system to take over? Maybe they don’t have anyone to trade or value? Maybe they aren’t in a window to win now? Or maybe they punt on the season like Fitz and guess what? If their goalies cost them in the playoffs they will be searching and bidding (driving up prices) with us come summer that is for sure.

This is so typical of you. You admit ignorance about the topic, but at the same time, you dismiss/ignore the explanations others provide you with.

The other GM's aren't making a move for a goalie for the same reason ours isn't. The cost is too high relative to the quality/reliability of who is available. It's not because they are all risk-averse or all have some unique circumstances different from ours.

 

[Bleedred]

Let’s just move on from a goalie upgrade this year and forget about it.

I expect a clean sweep in all things goalie after this year. No more Vitek, no more Rogalski and who knows about the backup?

I could even somehow see neither Daws, nor Schmid on the roster and Fitz signing whoever this year’s version of Alex Lyon will be for cheap to be backup or compete for backup. Then getting a bigger goalie for starter.

 

[JrFischer54]

This is so typical of you. You admit ignorance about the topic, but at the same time, you dismiss/ignore the explanations others provide you with.

The other GM's aren't making a move for a goalie for the same reason ours isn't. The cost is too high relative to the quality/reliability of who is available. It's not because they are all risk-averse.

You asked a question why other teams aren’t making a move I answered it because I don’t know I don’t follow other teams I follow this team! Again that’s fine if they don’t make a move that means we don’t make one too?

Eventually someone at some point is going to trade for a goalie it will happen. So something will give.

 

[NjDevsRR]

I would like them to call up Akira and ride him and Daws and try to capture lightning in a bottle. Literally nothing to lose now

 

[guitarguyvic]

You asked a question why other teams aren’t making a move I answered it because I don’t know I don’t follow other teams I follow this team! Again that’s fine if they don’t make a move that means we don’t make one too?

Eventually someone at some point is going to trade for a goalie it will happen. So something will give.

Jesus Christ. I didn't ask a question. I said that if you gave some critical thought about why other GM's of similar teams also having goalie problems haven't made a move, you'd figure out why ours hasn't either.

A good GM has to think not just in short term but in the long term. If the goalies available are not good or reliable enough to be worth the long-term cost it would take to acquire them, then a good GM is not going to make that deal. It's really not that f***ing complicated.

 

[Bleedred]

I would like them to call up Akira and ride him and Daws and try to capture lightning in a bottle. Literally nothing to lose now

Unfortunately, due to Akira’s poor go of it in the AHL that probably won’t happen.

Or it may just happen once the wheels fall off for evaluation purposes for next season.

And it could even go the complete opposite like I possibly suggested. Where they let Vitek get his head bashed in every night behind a slightly stripped down post-deadline squad.

Although, the post deadline squad probably wouldn’t even be the worst lineup we’ve seen this season. It’ll just be without Toffoli and maybe Miller and possibly Nosek. And Siegs will probably be back by then.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I would like them to call up Akira and ride him and Daws and try to capture lightning in a bottle. Literally nothing to lose now

This is where I'm at too. I have no delusions that it's a guarantee to make things better given the state of our coaching and injuries, but doing nothing is a guarantee that it won't get any better. It costs nothing. There's literally no risk at this point.

 

[TonySoprano]

Im officially on the take Fitz for a quick little ride on the Stugotz in the Raritan Bay.


Waited too long to make a move. And now it’s over before Meadow even gets to the diner.

 

[NJ07102]

Timo Meier with another horrific game. That trade gets worse by the day.

 

[Forge]

Timo Meier with another horrific game. That trade gets worse by the day.

Just going to hope that it's a lost session for him and he gets his game back next year

 

[Bleedred]

I find it really hard to shit on anyone but the goalie tonight. And that includes the coaches.

The goalie completely turfed this one. I’d blame him less if he gave up 8-10 goals tonight and we lost 8-3.

These are the games bad goaltending directly costs you. 4-3 loss with THREE soft goals?

The goalie deserves a bag skate tomorrow, while everyone else gets the day off.

It would be fantastic if that bag skate happened somewhere up in Utica instead of Newark.

 

[CalamityX23]

Timo Meier with another horrific game. That trade gets worse by the day.

While I was good for the trade and ranked his playoff play for us good with not enough time to do more.

This season has been weird a combo of his injuries n Ruff being a dupe

With that said, Timo needs to step up n out and play some SJ Shark Timo Meir. Let's go big man!

 

[Bleedred]

One other problem with Timo is the weird DeBoer/Oates shit of moving him to the wing of his handedness. It happened sometimes with the Sharks, but this is not the position that made his career.

 

[NjDevsRR]

One other problem with Timo is the weird DeBoer/Oates shit of moving him to the wing of his handedness. It happened sometimes with the Sharks, but this is not the position that made his career.

Drives me up a wall. Put him on the wing that made him a top 10 power forward in this league.

 

[britdevil]

Drives me up a wall. Put him on the wing that made him a top 10 power forward in this league.

Ruff:

 

[Bleedred]

We’ve had some really poorly goaltended games this year.

Ironically, some of them have been in wins, which only flatters this guy’s dazzling win/loss record on the

This may have been the most costly one though. The first Tampa game was definitely another. At least we got a point.

One other that comes to mind is Schmid against the Sharks.

And each goalie turfed an early season game against the Capitals. Actually, both Akira and Vitek managed to combine for the first one. That was the one where Akira got pulled and we scored like 4 goals in 3 minutes (or something crazy) to take the lead from 3-0 down and Vitek imploded with a couple later on. Vitek lost us the second one with a couple of bad goals early, including one from the “Bench” as Ruff said in the post game. And Schmid got tagged with the loss because the one goal he allowed was the game winner.

For some reason that Edmonton game also comes to mind. The Edmonton home game, but there was the Edmonton road game that featured the Schmid stick handling gaffe.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Ruff:

View attachment 816879

Seriously though. Timos bread and butter is rushing up the right side of the ice and cutting into the slot for a shot or crash the net. Thats not happening on the left wing.

 

[McDuffz88]

 

[Guttersniped]

We’ve had some really poorly goaltended games this year.

Ironically, some of them have been in wins, which only flatters this guy’s dazzling win/loss record on the

This may have been the most costly one though. The first Tampa game was definitely another. At least we got a point.

One other that comes to mind is Schmid against the Sharks.

And each goalie turfed an early season game against the Capitals. Actually, both Akira and Vitek managed to combine for the first one. That was the one where Akira got pulled and we scored like 4 goals in 3 minutes (or something crazy) to take the lead from 3-0 down and Vitek imploded with a couple later on. Vitek lost us the second one with a couple of bad goals early, including one from the “Bench” as Ruff said in the post game. And Schmid got tagged with the loss because the one goal he allowed was the game winner.

For some reason that Edmonton game also comes to mind. The Edmonton home game, but there was the Edmonton road game that featured the Schmid stick handling gaffe.

 

[glenwo2]

I actually think this game we've broken the push for playoffs. There are shit ton of games left, but metro is not cooperating and I can't see us stringing 4 or 5 wins in a row and I can't see us doing it in near succession.. I think this team has finally defeated my spirit for the season. I was holding out for a long time with this bs play but I can't feel any truly placed optimism for this season.

The only reason to watch the games now is to see the development of L. Hughes/Nemec and the continued improvement of Bratt as a rising star.

That's pretty much it. (and yes...I'm not including Jack because he's already a star)

 

[glenwo2]

I don’t know how the goalie coach hasn’t been fired. And in a heinous, embarrassing way.

Like Fitz screaming “YUUUUUUUURRRRR Fiiiiiiiiiiiirrrddddd” Vince McMahon style and live-streaming it on the Devils YouTube channel.

People keep calling for Ruff to be fired, but Rogalski should not outlast him on this staff.

There needs to be a clean sweep of all things goalie in this organization after this year.

Rogalski fired, Vitek sent away, I’m really down on Marty and Clemmensen right now, who are the most higher ups on all things goalie totem pole of this organization.

It would be fine to start the clean sweep immediately by firing/waiving somebody tomorrow.

I'm beginning to wonder if the Devils Franchise even know Rogalski is employed.

The Goaltender Coach is such a low-key position and is very rarely talked about, it's almost like it's a myth.

We don't hear any questions about him in the Media either.