NJDevs26
Once upon a time...
- Mar 21, 2007
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Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - offseason edition
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Billdo
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If nothing else, I am very impressed with Zetterlund, Bahl, and Okhotiuks showing this week or so.
Tao Jersey Jones
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Eggtimer
Registered User
That was a rough season. Out of it by December.
I have hope though as it seems like management knows we need to get harder to play against. Brodeur has said it , Ruff in his last game post game interview said it several times that the issue was we lost too many battles, too soft , not heavy enough in the corners or going to the net.
I think they will do whatever possible to tweek the roster . I can see all of Johnson Zacha amd hopefully Tatar gone and players like Nischushkin Marchment Neiderrieder added, along with Smith replaced on D by Okhotyuk or Bahl. We need to get way harder to play against. Watching a bunch of other teams this year and watching the visitors TV feed in our games, the common theme that people said about the Devils was that we have skill but are way too easy to play against and lose,way too many pick battles and dont fight to get into the hard area on the ice.
Even if we did some how through some miracle made the playoffs, we would get run out of the rink and completely physically dominated
I have hope though as it seems like management knows we need to get harder to play against. Brodeur has said it , Ruff in his last game post game interview said it several times that the issue was we lost too many battles, too soft , not heavy enough in the corners or going to the net.
I think they will do whatever possible to tweek the roster . I can see all of Johnson Zacha amd hopefully Tatar gone and players like Nischushkin Marchment Neiderrieder added, along with Smith replaced on D by Okhotyuk or Bahl. We need to get way harder to play against. Watching a bunch of other teams this year and watching the visitors TV feed in our games, the common theme that people said about the Devils was that we have skill but are way too easy to play against and lose,way too many pick battles and dont fight to get into the hard area on the ice.
Even if we did some how through some miracle made the playoffs, we would get run out of the rink and completely physically dominated
Eggtimer
Registered User
Foote was better than I thought he would be. Hope he continues to improve
Tao Jersey Jones
Registered User
Back to Holtz having a Stillman postseason.
Stillman had .83 regular season Pt/G drop to .25 in the playoffs.
Lazy math would have Holtz at a postseason .41 down from his regular season .98 in a small three game sample size vs. Stillman's four playoff games.
If Utica wins the first round, the .41 is insignificant and might be enough for a deep run.
Stillman had .83 regular season Pt/G drop to .25 in the playoffs.
Lazy math would have Holtz at a postseason .41 down from his regular season .98 in a small three game sample size vs. Stillman's four playoff games.
If Utica wins the first round, the .41 is insignificant and might be enough for a deep run.
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Oneiro
Registered User
- Mar 28, 2013
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Seeing an inflection in the games of the most important players on the team and getting Jack locked up at a massive discount are two things that are enough for me. After Thanksgiving, I was only focused on whether these are the kind of forwards you can win with - and they are. Bastian, Rango, Boqvist and now these latest call-ups looking good are bonuses. I get that it's frustrating but you want to let the newer complementary guys from Mercer down a chance to learn the game.
Again this team is super young - Jack is 20, Nico, Shara and Bratt are going to be 24. Mercer is 19. Luke Hughes is 18. You're adding another top end 18 year old this year. You could not win a cup for most of Dougie's contract and we'd still have quite a few shots at it.
Again this team is super young - Jack is 20, Nico, Shara and Bratt are going to be 24. Mercer is 19. Luke Hughes is 18. You're adding another top end 18 year old this year. You could not win a cup for most of Dougie's contract and we'd still have quite a few shots at it.
Billdo
Registered User
Admittedly last weeks Detroit game I thought Foote looked very underwhelming but he redeemed himself a bit.
RangerDoggo
The Devils have a culture of failure
billingtons ghost
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- Nov 29, 2010
- 10,576
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Hughes, Nico and Bratt are amazing and will be for years. Having two locked up is great. Hope we can keep Bratt at a bit of a hometown discount. Same with Boqvist, Wood and Zacha on bridge deals.
Mercer is going to be a player.
Dougie H never really got back to what he showed at the beginning of the year after getting hurt.
Graves and Siegenthaler are solid. Good if we could extend Sevs at a reasonable price. Better if we can deal him as a rental. Better if Ty Smith comes out and plays great and we can deal him.
Maybe Bastian and Zetterlund are the real deal.
We unfortunately have Tatar and Johnsson for another year.
We need to be tougher to play against.
We need goaltencing.
We need to learn how to play some team defense.
Siegenthaler A-
Hughes A-
Bratt A-
Nico A-
Mercer B
Bastian B-
Zetterlund B-
Boqvist B-
Hamilton B-
Graves B-
Foote C
Sharangovich C
Zacha C
Severson C
Bahl C
McLeod C-
Vesey C-
Subban C-
Geersten C-
Dawes C-
Bernier C-
Johnsson A- first quarter F rest of the season
Blackwood D
Schmid D-
Tatar D-
Kuokkanen F
Hammond F
Ty Smith G
Gillies H
Wood inc
Mercer is going to be a player.
Dougie H never really got back to what he showed at the beginning of the year after getting hurt.
Graves and Siegenthaler are solid. Good if we could extend Sevs at a reasonable price. Better if we can deal him as a rental. Better if Ty Smith comes out and plays great and we can deal him.
Maybe Bastian and Zetterlund are the real deal.
We unfortunately have Tatar and Johnsson for another year.
We need to be tougher to play against.
We need goaltencing.
We need to learn how to play some team defense.
Siegenthaler A-
Hughes A-
Bratt A-
Nico A-
Mercer B
Bastian B-
Zetterlund B-
Boqvist B-
Hamilton B-
Graves B-
Foote C
Sharangovich C
Zacha C
Severson C
Bahl C
McLeod C-
Vesey C-
Subban C-
Geersten C-
Dawes C-
Bernier C-
Johnsson A- first quarter F rest of the season
Blackwood D
Schmid D-
Tatar D-
Kuokkanen F
Hammond F
Ty Smith G
Gillies H
Wood inc
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RangerDoggo
The Devils have a culture of failure
- Dec 20, 2018
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What is this referring to? Stillman’s one assist in a juniors beat down compared to what?
Not Holtz’s actual past playoff performances, that’s for sure. He had 4 points (2G 2A) in the SHL playoffs last year.
I don’t understand what Stillman has to do with Holtz or the AHL though.
Eggtimer
Registered User
This is even more depressing now with how everyone is down on Holtz. He was one reason I was optimistic for next year. I’ll, admit that he didn’t look Amazig or anything in his NHL games but he still had an excellent AHL season as a 19 year old kid . That’s got to be somewhat promising does it not?
Now I’m not sure what to think. I had him prematurely penciled into the starting roster and even in a top 6 role. However maybe it’s better to get a new player for the top 6 and hopefully ease him into the lineup. Maybe even another season in the AHL?
That sucks . I thought we could plug him into the lineup and he could maybe have a 20g 20a season ….
If he is looking like he will struggle as a NHL player, do we consider trading him ? Im not saying to shop him around but if a trade like Meier or Tkachuk comes around , should we consider doing that ?
I can’t believe that Hotlz has gone from an amazing prospect to people down on him after 2 recent NHL games !!?
Now I’m not sure what to think. I had him prematurely penciled into the starting roster and even in a top 6 role. However maybe it’s better to get a new player for the top 6 and hopefully ease him into the lineup. Maybe even another season in the AHL?
That sucks . I thought we could plug him into the lineup and he could maybe have a 20g 20a season ….
If he is looking like he will struggle as a NHL player, do we consider trading him ? Im not saying to shop him around but if a trade like Meier or Tkachuk comes around , should we consider doing that ?
I can’t believe that Hotlz has gone from an amazing prospect to people down on him after 2 recent NHL games !!?
NJDevs26
Once upon a time...
- Mar 21, 2007
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Even I'm not that negative lol...the key is HOW much better will it be - will we go from 65 points to 80-ish, or to borderline 90-ish? The former would be bare minimum of what I'd expect from a team that's presumably going to have at least one new staff member and goaltender, other younger players breaking into the lineup and Fitz having the cap space to make improvements (assuming he isn't a total 'process' GM, which judging by last offseason he shouldn't be), the latter would at least show some real chops out of Fitz because they just aren't getting to the 90 level next year without some real creative work this offseason.
- Dec 20, 2018
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NJDevs26
Once upon a time...
- Mar 21, 2007
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I'm not Holtz's biggest believer - and would have liked to have seen the spark from him we got out of Foote - but Boqvist got a lot more games of sucking at the NHL level getting the benefit of the doubt from people here, than Holtz has as a 20-year old rookie. It's especially amusing since people had the pitchforks out over the fact Holtz didn't make the team in the first place.
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- Dec 20, 2018
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You can’t believe people are down on him? You can’t? Even a little?
This board turns on a drop of a hat.
Tao Jersey Jones
Registered User
It's a response from me to the closed thread saying hopefully Holtz has a better postseason than Stillman did this year (nothing to do with previous postseasons from either player but there you go again) and His13er saying that shouldn't be too hard.
- May 8, 2010
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Kid just posted the 2nd best G/GP 19 year old AHL season of all time in his first pro NA season and many posters are turning on him after 10 NHL games and improvements to his weaknesses throughout the season. The worst part is, as you said, I’m not even that surprised. A few weeks ago most were saying Bahl sucked ass and now that he’s had a few good games, he’s penciled into our defence next year.
Tao Jersey Jones
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- Dec 20, 2018
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There I go again? Your post made no sense and wasn’t replying to anything. I was trying to decipher it.
It seem to suggest Holtz would do bad in the AHL playoffs because Stillman did in the OHL playoffs. Holtz’s actual past performance in playoffs seem applicable.
I didn’t realize it was about… nothing? (Or banter? Not a joke of course, you frown on those.)
This version of Holtz isn't an NHL player, but I don't think this version of Holtz is what we're bound to get. As we've seen with Hughes, it doesn't always come right away, and just because it doesn't come right away doesn't mean he'll never get there, but there's work to do.
- May 8, 2010
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Saw that, many posters did too. I liked Bahl’s play to end the year. It was mostly a testament as to how quickly the narratives can change around here based on not the biggest sample sizes at times. Wasn’t a shot at Bahl at all. As I said, I liked his play.
vtdevils2k
"Lets Go Baby!"
Best part is, the seasons is over.
Devils hockey was horrific to watch after Hughes went down....happy the kids did well though. I like big Z and Bahl.
Ty Smith....yikes
Fitz has GOT to get this team better or he's outta here......the goaltending, I expect Blackwood and someone else next year as a 1A/1B.
Dougie H, he was hurt of course, but he better be a hell of a lot better next year and be the guy pre injury, or else we're in trouble.
Devils hockey was horrific to watch after Hughes went down....happy the kids did well though. I like big Z and Bahl.
Ty Smith....yikes
Fitz has GOT to get this team better or he's outta here......the goaltending, I expect Blackwood and someone else next year as a 1A/1B.
Dougie H, he was hurt of course, but he better be a hell of a lot better next year and be the guy pre injury, or else we're in trouble.
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