Devils 2017-18 team discussion (player news and notes) VI - The Home Stretch

[haak84]

I think we really missed Zacha and Wood's size in the ANA/SJ games. Will be good to have them back.

I thought Bratt played to his strengths and was one of the better skaters. Maybe the couple games off helped his stamina.

Also Gibbons needs to be in the lineup. He's deceptively valuable.

 

[hidek91]

People keep saying that almost all elite goalies had bad seasons, especially in that main board thread. I've already seen a couple ''It's a down year, he'll bounce back'' posts, but it's not a down year anymore. It's now two down years. The only goalie off the top of my head in recent years to have a couple poor seasons, then regain form is Pekka Rinne. He had a couple lousy years in 12-13 and 13-14, where he played fewer games in those two years than Cory has in these last two years (he was injured for a lot of 13-14) and then had a really good 14-15, where it looked like those were just two lousy, injury plagued/shortened seasons. Then he came back in 15-16 and was lousy again. Now he's had two good seasons in a row for the first time since he was in his 20's. This might be the best year he's had and he's gonna win the Vezina at 35 probably. Sadly, this is reminding me more of what's happened to Kari Lehtonen and Cam Ward in recent years.

Only difference is that Ward was never really a great goalie for long, he just had a middle of his career stretch where he was really good and stunk in his first few years and his last 6 years or so. Lehtonen was very good, but still not as good as Cory was before their respective down seasons started.

Well, I do agree that there is a possibility that Schneider becomes average goalie with sv% around .910 for the rest of his contract but I also think that unless we draft and develop new starter, he's the best possible, realistic option because he may bounce back.

All of the goalies that were discussed are worse than Kinkaid (IMO) with the exception of Lehner, Raanta and Bernier. Raanta will demand starting position and he will easily get that because he is NHL starter quality, Lehner and Bernier fill the 1B goalie role better than Kinkaid does. So, realistically, we could sign one of them for 3-4M with mid-term. It's risky but in the end may be worth it. I also think that a lot of the evaluation will depend on Kinkaid's performance for the rest of the season.

 

[Burner Account]

Keith out here shooting his shot

Stops and takes shots.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Stops and takes shots.

Starter material.

 

[haak84]

Well, I do agree that there is a possibility that Schneider becomes average goalie with sv% around .910 for the rest of his contract but I also think that unless we draft and develop new starter, he's the best possible, realistic option because he may bounce back.

All of the goalies that were discussed are worse than Kinkaid (IMO) with the exception of Lehner, Raanta and Bernier. Raanta will demand starting position and he will easily get that because he is NHL starter quality, Lehner and Bernier fill the 1B goalie role better than Kinkaid does. So, realistically, we could sign one of them for 3-4M with mid-term. It's risky but in the end may be worth it. I also think that a lot of the evaluation will depend on Kinkaid's performance for the rest of the season.

Are they really worth 3 million more than Kinkaid? And potentially 3-4 year contracts. Lehner is an RFA and already making 4 million. I don't think they're that much of an upgrade, especially considering Keith is outperforming them this season. It could very well be that Kinkaid is in that same class of goalies.

Going back the past 3 seasons:

Lehner and Bernier would look worse on the Devils because their xSV% is much higher. They've been on better defensive teams.

Raanta on the otherhand is on the cusp of being elite:

 

[Bleedred]

Right - 5-hole off the inside of the pad...

That's the second game in a row for Cory not getting his shoulder under the post, I think...

Honestly - I don't think it is injuries, or fatigue, or a 'dropoff' in Cory's play - he's simply dead inside when it comes to confidence - it's pretty clear in his body language. Get a shrink on the phone, stat.

It looked like Butcher did get a stick on that, but the shot barely had any speed either when it was taken or after it touched his stick. Either way, that's gonna hit him in the shoulder if he has the post.

I think this is definitely a confidence issue at this point. It's almost like he expects to allow 3 goals a game now and he's gonna fill that quota.

The psychologist helped for MAF. I don't remember if that was Shero's idea or Fleury's himself. Fleury is a rare example of a goaltender that's played his best hockey in his 30's. I always thought he was just an average goalie up until about 2013 or 2014 and now he's a solid one.

 

[Bleedred]

Are they really worth 3 million more than Kinkaid? And potentially 3-4 year contracts. Lehner is an RFA and already making 4 million. I don't think they're that much of an upgrade, especially considering Keith is outperforming them this season. It could very well be that Kinkaid is in that same class of goalies.

Going back the past 3 seasons:

Lehner and Bernier would look worse on the Devils because their xSV% is much higher. They've been on better defensive teams.

Raanta on the otherhand is on the cusp of being elite:

Are Buffalo and Toronto/Colorado better defensive teams than the Devils? I always thought they were even worse. Anaheim has been pretty meh since Carlyle took over again. They get outshot a lot. Bernier is definitely one of those goalies that seems to be able to have a bad year or a good year. Not as much as guys like those other backups I've listed, but he's prone to some average years and then there's some mediocre ones.

I do think leaving Toronto helped him. He really needed out of there. I think he needed a change of scenery after that first kinda meh year he had there. He had a really strong first year there, but that's his only really good season as a starter.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Still thinking about that Pavelski post shot...

 

[Bleedred]

Still thinking about that Pavelski post shot...

That was scary and I usually don't remember post shots that aren't goals for very long, but that was frightening considering how his game was going.

 

[haak84]

wow just looking at hockey reference and this team is the definition of AVERAGE

thats crazy

 

[Bleedred]

Well, I do agree that there is a possibility that Schneider becomes average goalie with sv% around .910 for the rest of his contract but I also think that unless we draft and develop new starter, he's the best possible, realistic option because he may bounce back.

All of the goalies that were discussed are worse than Kinkaid (IMO) with the exception of Lehner, Raanta and Bernier. Raanta will demand starting position and he will easily get that because he is NHL starter quality, Lehner and Bernier fill the 1B goalie role better than Kinkaid does. So, realistically, we could sign one of them for 3-4M with mid-term. It's risky but in the end may be worth it. I also think that a lot of the evaluation will depend on Kinkaid's performance for the rest of the season.

I hear you.

It's a really tricky situation right now to be in. We sign Bernier, he might have one of his mediocre seasons, then where are we?

I really think something's gonna happen. I think two things are happening here. I think part of this is an ability issue. Not really an effort issue, I just think that Cory isn't really that good anymore, even though he's capable of having great games and stretches. And I also think it's a confidence issue at this point. It's like he expects to allow 3-4 goals a game now. There was also a moment where he looked like he had packed it in and gave up around Christmas time.

With Marty it was a confidence issue under MacLean. Marty had already started to take a dive in the season before that (from January 2010 onward), but he also wasn't nearly as bad as he played in December of 2010. There was a point where any time a guy shot at his glove it was going in.