Confirmed with Link: Devils sign Tomas Tatar - 2 years @ $4.5M AAV

[TheDuke93]

Zacha is ASS at defense. Until he can prove he won't get constantly caved he will by default be worse then Tatar. I want Zacha to succeed, I want him on the wing with Nico and Bratt, at 25 playing a position he belongs in with the best linemates he's ever had he CAN succeed and be better then Tatar.

But to ignore his VERY apparent defensive issues and say he is better then Tatar today because he scored a few more points actually makes 0 f***ing sense. People hype up his point production and ignoring everything else because our offense has been bad for like a decade minus a season here and there.

Those people that hype up Zacha's solid point total are the same ones yelling that MB29 can't make a save and is the reason we lose games when Zacha makes a limp dick pass straight into our slot and the other team scores off of it.

 

[RSeen]

View attachment 459658View attachment 459659

94...101/3= 32...34 line point production. Second line level of point production
59...80/3=20...27 line scoring production. First line scoring production.

And I didn't subtract the defensemen.

After last season, Zacha's haters should at least wait a little, but it's better to change their narrative. Zacha spent most of the season without Hischier in the line. And his goals are the result of his skills and decisions in most cases. He is not a line driver, not a great forechecker, he is just a good dependent top-6 player. Based on results and skills.
It's time to accept it.

If he is so great, why does the team perform better in terms of Corsi and xGF% when Zacha is not on the ice? This is not a single season trend...

 

[OmNomNom]

If he is so great, why does the team perform better in terms of Corsi and xGF% when Zacha is not on the ice? This is not a single season trend...

#s pls

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

#s pls

among the 15 forwards who have played at least 500 minutes at even strength the past 2 seasons in NJ, Zacha is bottom 3 in basically every category

GF%- 13th out of 15
xGF%- 14th out of 15
CA/60- 14th out of 15
CF%- 14th out of 15
SA/60= 15th out of 15
SF%= 14th out of 15

 

[njdevils1982]

Zacha is ASS at defense. Until he can prove he won't get constantly caved he will by default be worse then Tatar. I want Zacha to succeed, I want him on the wing with Nico and Bratt, at 25 playing a position he belongs in with the best linemates he's ever had he CAN succeed and be better then Tatar.

But to ignore his VERY apparent defensive issues and say he is better then Tatar today because he scored a few more points actually makes 0 f***ing sense. People hype up his point production and ignoring everything else because our offense has been bad for like a decade minus a season here and there.

Those people that hype up Zacha's solid point total are the same ones yelling that MB29 can't make a save and is the reason we lose games when Zacha makes a limp dick pass straight into our slot and the other team scores off of it.

palmieri!

 

[Zippy316]

Zacha is in a perfect situation going into this year if he stays at wing.

We have guys who drive play 5-on-5 and can get him the puck. He’s likely going to get prime PP time as one of the few players on this team with a good shot. Zacha as a passenger on a line and a triggerman on a power play is exactly what he needs.

Everything he struggles with we have other guys to take care of and everything he offers we lack in any of our other forwards aside from Sharangovich.

 

[bossram]

Zacha is ASS at defense. Until he can prove he won't get constantly caved he will by default be worse then Tatar. I want Zacha to succeed, I want him on the wing with Nico and Bratt, at 25 playing a position he belongs in with the best linemates he's ever had he CAN succeed and be better then Tatar.

But to ignore his VERY apparent defensive issues and say he is better then Tatar today because he scored a few more points actually makes 0 f***ing sense. People hype up his point production and ignoring everything else because our offense has been bad for like a decade minus a season here and there.

Those people that hype up Zacha's solid point total are the same ones yelling that MB29 can't make a save and is the reason we lose games when Zacha makes a limp dick pass straight into our slot and the other team scores off of it.

among the 15 forwards who have played at least 500 minutes at even strength the past 2 seasons in NJ, Zacha is bottom 3 in basically every category

GF%- 13th out of 15
xGF%- 14th out of 15
CA/60- 14th out of 15
CF%- 14th out of 15
SA/60= 15th out of 15
SF%= 14th out of 15

Looked up Zacha on HockeyViz. +11% defensive impact. Yikes. I didn't realize his underlying numbers were so bad.

He had a hot shooting run, but that's not something to bank on. Either he needs to be sheltered and played with strong two-way players (i.e. Jesper Bratt) or demoted down the lineup.

 

[Guadana]

If he is so great, why does the team perform better in terms of Corsi and xGF% when Zacha is not on the ice? This is not a single season trend...

This is all fine, but the score is kept in the used chances, and not in their number.
Johnsson is better player than Zacha in advenced stats. If he was a better player last... you can think that way. I`m not a specialst.
Anyway I`m using "good dependent player" description for a reason. I think if Devils will put him in center position on the third line, he wil be worser than Tatar, Johnsson and those blind dog who walks through the street. Just as helpless.

 

[Hisch13r]

Looked up Zacha on HockeyViz. +11% defensive impact. Yikes. I didn't realize his underlying numbers were so bad.

He had a hot shooting run, but that's not something to bank on. Either he needs to be sheltered and played with strong two-way players (i.e. Jesper Bratt) or demoted down the lineup.

I'm curious how they'll look after a full season at the wing (hopefully they actually allow that to happen and don't shift him back) because he is legitimately one of the worst defensive players in the league when he's a center.

 

[bossram]

I'm curious how they'll look after a full season at the wing (hopefully they actually allow that to happen and don't shift him back) because he is legitimately one of the worst defensive players in the league when he's a center.

He absolutely should not be played at center. I hope Fitz ends up finding some other bargain-basement center option to prevent that from happening (I suggested Wallmark in the offseason thread).

I think his defensive impact will be less bad as a full-time winger (just with less responsibility). But, it's not like his defensive instincts will instantly become passable.

 

[Hisch13r]

He absolutely should not be played at center. I hope Fitz ends up finding some other bargain-basement center option to prevent that from happening (I suggested Wallmark in the offseason thread).

I think his defensive impact will be less bad as a full-time winger (just with less responsibility). But, it's not like his defensive instincts will instantly become passable.

You're right that his instincts won't just get good but that lessened defensive responsibility combined with being with 2 guys who can drive play in Nico and Bratt should hopefully make the overall impact at least passable instead of worst in the league level

 

[OmNomNom]

Having him paired w Nico should help, since Nico can cover his ass. Just let him focus on offense

If our defense is ACTUALLY improved, then it should help overall #s

 

[Cheddabombs]

Honestly my biggest worry going into the year is that they'll revert to using Zacha as a center. I'm hopeful in that it seemed like whenever Nico was healthy last year Zacha played wing but we'll see how it actually plays out

 

[Auto Pilot]

Having him paired w Nico should help, since Nico can cover his ass. Just let him focus on offense

If our defense is ACTUALLY improved, then it should help overall #s

Nico has had some defensive issues as well.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

After watching those highlights of Tatar with some of the goals coming from a breakaway I thought I would look into Tatar's shootout stats. Only 30 attempts throughout his career with 9 goals which works out to be a 30% success rate. Then I went to look at his percentage compared to all NHL players. I discovered that Dougie Hamilton is 9th all-time in NHL history in shootout percentage with 6 goals in 11 attempts.

DAMN YOU. I thought I'd be the first to bring this up....I noticed he had some nice dangles so I was curious what his shootout stats were too. It's actually not a black hole compared to our players. Our players are absolutely atrocious woof. So there's that. And yea I noticed Hamilton was very high. Severson also is surprisingly pretty high for how he never gets picked...and Palmieri was always chosen as a lock Also damn, Nico hasn't scored a single shootout goal? Is that right? Maybe it's time to stop trying him lol.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I'd love to see any of the current players even attempt this. They'd probably fall on their face or something.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

So yea I agree with the guy who said Tatar may be a better fit with Nico than Jack.

 

[The 29th Pick]

I'd love to see any of the current players even attempt this. They'd probably fall on their face or something.

I like it, but I am having flasbacks from when we signed Damien Brunner yikes

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I like it, but I am having flasbacks from when we signed Damien Brunner yikes

sure but that's just one aspect of his game that I figured I check out. Not the entire package. Also I only did a quick search but it looks like Brunner really only had 1 move.

 

[The 29th Pick]

sure but that's just one aspect of his game that I figured I check out. Not the entire package.

I know and I'm not knocking you or Tatar, just get some vibes once in a while

 

[The 29th Pick]

So I hear you guys in Jersey signed Tater, but he's a little guy, I guess we'll just have to call him Tater-Tot !

 

[Ginger Papa]

Congratulations on the Signing



Maybe not enough for a GIF party, but how about a few memes…

 

[TrufleShufle]

I was one of the strongest against signing Tatar. He's here now, it's only two years, I won't defend my position at all anymore, I'm on board fully and excited to see what this team does next year.

 

[MadDevil]

So yea I agree with the guy who said Tatar may be a better fit with Nico than Jack.

Which then leads to the question, do you put Tatar in Bratt's spot so Zacha can stay with Nico? Would a Zacha/Hughes/Bratt line work?

 

[Eggtimer]

If advanced stats say Zacha is ass , why does the team use him as much as they do and not look to trade him? Just an honest question . I’m sure the Devils analytic department can see what we see plus a ton more so why would they play him still if he is garbage?