Devils 2017-18 team discussion (player news and notes) - season begins!

[Classic Devil]

You make an offer if a guy like Tavares goes to free agency, but its not even worth discussing at this point IMO. I think we are more than fine up front, the back end on the other hand is a problem. We definitely need a #1 Dman. Really you could argue we don't have any top pair guys right now. I think it would be fair to classify Severson and Greene as second pair guys on most teams. Santini could end up being a top 4 Dman also, so we may only need to add one, but that should be Shero's main focus. We do have young forward assets that can be used, but teams rarely trade those players.

If the Jets were having contract issues with Trouba, now I'd offer a lot there. They did have contact issues in the past.

We badly, badly need a top-pairing defenseman. A good one would help solidify the team defensively (where we clearly need a lot of work) and potentially provide some more offensive depth. What I'd give for Scott Niedermayer right now.

X - Severson
Greene - Santini
Moore/Mueller - Butcher
Lovejoy

That would be solid. Might need to replace Moore/Mueller with someone with more defensive prowess, but still solid.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

I still do not like Gibbons on the 3rd line, he has had a strong start but he is not more than a 4th liner.

Agreed. I'd rather Coleman there for now.

Assuming Boyle and Palmieri can go on Friday, this is how I'd do it:
Hall - Hischier - Stafford
Johansson - Henrique - Palmieri
Coleman - Zacha - Bratt
Wood - Boyle - Gibbons

Ideally, Blandisi/Quenneville would be in that 3LW spot with Coleman at 4RW and Gibbons in the press box

 

[Bleedred]

Wut?

Coleman on the 3rd line is probably worse than Gibbons in the 3rd line....

 

[NjDevsRR]

Wut?

Coleman on the 3rd line is probably worse than Gibbons in the 3rd line....

Not if Coleman has been playing at the level hes been playing at. He has been great. I would rather him be on the 3rd line wing than Wood. At least Coleman can actually win board battles and maintain possession. I think Wood is best kept on the 4th line, along with Gibbons.

But ideally we don't want any of these above mentioned players on that 3rd line.

 

[RSeen]

Gibbons has been better than Coleman so I definitely do not agree. I'd rather see JQ or Blandisi in that spot.

 

[RSeen]

We badly, badly need a top-pairing defenseman. A good one would help solidify the team defensively (where we clearly need a lot of work) and potentially provide some more offensive depth. What I'd give for Scott Niedermayer right now.

X - Severson
Greene - Santini
Moore/Mueller - Butcher
Lovejoy

That would be solid. Might need to replace Moore/Mueller with someone with more defensive prowess, but still solid.

Problem is, it is difficult to acquire one. I don't see anyone realistically being available right now. Not sure in the future either.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Gibbons and Coleman have been fine though. There is zero reason to be bencching them for someone in Bingo right now.

 

[Bleedred]

Gibbons and Coleman have been fine though. There is zero reason to be bencching them for someone in Bingo right now.

I don't think either should be benched, but if Palmieri is going to miss some time, I'd rather call up one of those guys to slot alongside Zacha and Bratt, and let those two play on the 4th line, like they have been for most of the start to this season.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

 

[Blackjack]

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

There is no consensus on Mueller. I think he's been mostly okay, made the kind of mistakes you expect a 22 year old with 54 total NHL games to make, but with some nice plays too. Some on this board think he's been horrible.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I don't think either should be benched, but if Palmieri is going to miss some time, I'd rather call up one of those guys to slot alongside Zacha and Bratt, and let those two play on the 4th line, like they have been for most of the start to this season.

Both have been playing on the third line already.

Zacha’s line is being used as the fourth line.

 

[Bleedred]

Both have been playing on the third line already.

Zacha’s line is being used as the fourth line.

They started out as the 4th line, then it’s been juggled a bit the last few games. I forgot which one exactly.

We don’t really want those guys playing more than 4th liners, for more than a few games, because they really aren’t good enough at producing offense, which was a big problem with the last several years, with a dead third line that couldn’t score hardly at all.

 

[NJDevs26]

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

Considering he's been a scratch for half the games, obviously the staff doesn't seem to like him all that much but he has gotten decent icetime the games he did play. I don't think he's been all that great, he can't handle the puck very well. He's okay when the puck's not on his stick and he doesn't have to move anywhere.

 

[Devils Dominion]

This weekend

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

C-/D+

Skates well, good shot, not good in other areas yet.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

Some have already reached their conclusions despite him playing in only 5 games so far. He's been a mixed bag in my eyes. You can see the positive traits in his game, but see the warts at the same time. My hope is that our staff is being patient with him the same way they have been with other young players and are having him learn from mistakes by watching as well as playing.

 

[njdevil26]

Does anyone have any hope that Palmieri can go on Friday? I would say I am hopeful considering they haven't placed him on IR or called anyone up yet... but that can always be done between now and then.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

He's been bad.

 

[FooteBahl]

Does anyone have any hope that Palmieri can go on Friday? I would say I am hopeful considering they haven't placed him on IR or called anyone up yet... but that can always be done between now and then.

It’s hard to say. Hopefully he didn’t reaggravate the knee he injured earlier in the season.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Does anyone have any hope that Palmieri can go on Friday? I would say I am hopeful considering they haven't placed him on IR or called anyone up yet... but that can always be done between now and then.

I'm sure they want to see how he's progressed over these last couple of days before they make a decision, but he hasn't been at practice the last 2 days and they're off today I believe. So I guess we'll probably know tomorrow if he misses practice again.

Hopefully he's good to go, he's a vital part of the lineup.

EDIT: Good news is that he worked out off ice yesterday apparently and Cory skated on his own. Hynes said we'll have a better idea tomorrow.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Gibbons and Coleman have been fine though. There is zero reason to be bencching them for someone in Bingo right now.

I agree 100%, which is pretty surprising.

I honestly thought that 4th-line would be poor, and it's been bar-none the most positive aspect of Devils hockey through the first 8 games.

Hey guys, how do you feel about Mirco Mueller so far? I couldn't find a thread dedicated to his performance and I was wondering what the consensus from Devils fans is on him.

He's been fine, about what you'd typically expect from a 22 year old rookie defensemen. He makes some mistakes due to lack of knowledge regarding positioning, and sometimes gets caught off-guard by the speed of the NHL game. On the positive side, he skates very well for a big defenseman, has a bomber of a shot, and it seems like he's very good at blocking shots (leads the team though playing in fewer games).

 

[BomaLightDevils]

Coleman is fourth in NHL in hits

 

[AfroThunder396]

Coleman is a fine 4th liner, I don't want to see him be anything more than that though. Same with Gibbons.

Hayes will get waived at some point.

 

[JK3]

 

[My3Sons]

Agreed. I'd rather Coleman there for now.

Assuming Boyle and Palmieri can go on Friday, this is how I'd do it:
Hall - Hischier - Stafford
Johansson - Henrique - Palmieri
Coleman - Zacha - Bratt
Wood - Boyle - Gibbons

Ideally, Blandisi/Quenneville would be in that 3LW spot with Coleman at 4RW and Gibbons in the press box

Do you think Coleman offers more offense than Wood? Both are limited players but in different ways. I think Wood may offer a bit more on the offensive end and hence offer a bit more to a line with PZ and Bratt. I can see the argument for Coleman but any line with PZ on it is a line I would try to coax offense out of right now.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

If Palimeri can’t go I would like to see JQ given a shot.