Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part VI

[NJDevs26]

Trade deadline talk and speculation here:

GDT: - 2023 Trade Deadline

What if Meier is forcing his way to Vegas and that’s why they’re involved? I mean sure it's possible but I'd doubt it.

forums.hfboards.com

This thread is just for current team talk (coaching, lineups, injuries, callups, line and roster management) now that we're into the hot and heavy of deadline week

Click to read more...

 

[OlfactoryHughes]

Mercer has earned his spot in the top 6, even if we bring in a high profile winger, how you break him off nico’s wing? They’ve been fantastic!

 

[Whaddagoal]

Mercer has earned his spot in the top 6, even if we bring in a high profile winger, how you break him off nico’s wing? They’ve been fantastic!

Keep Mercer - Nico - Tatar together for rest of season.

All 3 guys have played elevated games since together. Mercer has been hot, Nico looks revived, streak Nico, and tatar making it happen.

Perhaps Tatar is the straw that stirs that drink? @NjDevsRR

 

[Saugus]

Keep Mercer - Nico - Tatar together for rest of season.

All 3 guys have played elevated games since together. Mercer has been hot, Nico looks revived, streak Nico, and tatar making it happen.

Perhaps Tatar is the straw that stirs that drink? @NjDevsRR

Tatar and Hischier have been excellent together all season, regardless of who the third forward is: Bratt, Zetterlund, and now Mercer have all worked well with them at various points. But that line is definitely clicking of late with Mercer there, and I would ride that for as long as it lasts.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Tatar and Hischier have been excellent together all season, regardless of who the third forward is: Bratt, Zetterlund, and now Mercer have all worked well with them at various points. But that line is definitely clicking of late with Mercer there, and I would ride that for as long as it lasts.

Maybe we have two straws in that drink.

 

[My3Sons]

Maybe we have two straws in that drink.

Tatar and Mercer? Meh. We are just assuming they have lesser ability being forced to play on the third line with a checking center.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Tatar and Mercer? Meh. We are just assuming they have lesser ability being forced to play on the third line with a checking center.

Its unfair to ask a 3C for so much....

 

[devilsblood]

Mercer has earned his spot in the top 6, even if we bring in a high profile winger, how you break him off nico’s wing? They’ve been fantastic!

Before Mercer's run we were thinking, hey we need a goal scoring winger. Welp maybe he was here all along.

Maybe it lessons the need to make an acquisition.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Before Mercer's run we were thinking, hey we need a goal scoring winger. Welp maybe he was here all along.

Maybe it lessons the need to make an acquisition.

I love Mercer to death but I don't think he'll ever be a true game breaking wing.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Fresh thread, fresh Mercer games played talk.

 

[devilsblood]

I love Mercer to death but I don't think he'll ever be a true game breaking wing.

True, probably doesn't have the high end skating for that. But do we need him to be that? Do we really need a game breaking winger?

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

True, probably doesn't have the high end skating for that. But do we need him to be that? Do we really need a game breaking winger?

I'd like one more top 6-9 forward with the assumption that Bratt also gets signed. Whether that be Meier or someone like Gritsyuk comes over next year or soon. We'd be pretty stacked up front in that case

 

[devilsblood]

I'd like one more top 6-9 forward with the assumption that Bratt also gets signed. Whether that be Meier or someone like Gritsyuk comes over next year or soon. We'd be pretty stacked up front in that case

Palat really hasn't played to the level we had hoped just yet. He, kind of like the Mercer in the past couple weeks, could be an in house guy who fills a need.

Also like Mercer he would not be a game breaker, but just another good player so that we go at teams with waves.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Julie with a pretty great twitter thread today about how Shero and Fitzgerald turned the team around.

 

[njdevils1982]

Fresh thread, fresh Mercer games played talk.
View attachment 657343

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NHL ironman streak: Phil Kessel plays one shift for Coyotes before leaving for birth of his child | Sporting News Canada

Arizona forward Phil Kessel kept his consecutive games streak alive on Tuesday, playing one shift before leaving for the birth of his child.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[JimEIV]

Julie with a pretty great twitter thread today about how Shero and Fitzgerald turned the team around.

This is kind of dumb...6 years ago was the 2018 team... objectively the best team we've iced in a decade prior to this year....and every piece on the 2018 or 19 team that "didn't belong in the NHL" was a Shero addition.

Such hits as: Micro Mueller, Eddie Lack, Nick Lappin, Dalton Prout, Stefan Nosen, Will Butcher, Ben Lovejoy, John Moore, Ken Appleby....all Shero clunkers

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

This is kind of dumb...6 years ago was the 2018 team... objectively the best team we've iced in a decade prior to this year....and every piece on the 2018 or 19 team that "didn't belong in the NHL" was a Shero addition.

Such hits as: Micro Mueller, Eddie Lack, Nick Lappin, Dalton Prout, Stefan Nosen, Will Butcher, Ben Lovejoy, John Moore, Ken Appleby....all Shero clunkers

that team sucked ass except for Hall and that’s the point of the thread

 

[NJDevs26]

I mean we've long pretty much surmised this, but I don't know if it's been specifically spelled out to that extent before. It was kinda weird they let him make the Hall trade THEN put their foot down on him though.

 

[NJDevs26]

that team sucked ass except for Hall and that’s the point of the thread

I can't exactly agree with her describing Subban and Gusev as 'steals'...maybe in 2019 they were looked at that way but clearly neither one worked out for what they cost.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Yeah but I can't exactly agree with her describing Subban and Gusev as 'steals'...maybe in 2019 they were looked at that way but clearly neither one worked out for what they cost.

Vatanen trade another Shero L. Basically his main accomplishments were not signing any idiotic FA contracts, the Hall Trade, and then trading Hall for pieces that Fitz turned into core members of the team (Mercer/Sieganthaler). The tail end of the draft has wins but it's unclear how much credit we give to him for that.

 

[JimEIV]

that team sucked ass except for Hall and that’s the point of the thread

I don't disagree...I just think it's sort of a bullshit narrative...

First, going back in years to our only play off appearance since 2012 seems awfully weird....that in my opinion is calculated. Go further back and the realization that this rebuild was a long freaking time comes to light. 6 years is a heck of lot more reasonable than the 8 it actually took to ice a good team....this being the 9th year

but second, talking about "all the players that didn't belong in the NHL" is doubly weird since they were pretty much all "rebuild" pieces added by Shero.

Really if you want to give credit to where credit is due go back 4 years and look at the shambles Shero left and how quickly and precisely Fitzgerald fixed everything.

The state of the organization in December 2019 was dark.

 

[NJDevs26]

Vatanen trade another Shero L. Basically his main accomplishments were not signing any idiotic FA contracts, the Hall Trade, and then trading Hall for pieces that Fitz turned into core members of the team (Mercer/Sieganthaler). The tail end of the draft has wins but it's unclear how much credit we give to him for that.

I wouldn't call that an L. As much as I liked Henrique, Vatanen did help us make the playoffs that year. How could anyone know Kucherov (or Hedman, whoever it was) would destroy him in the postseason and his career would go down the pech-a-doo after?

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I wouldn't call that an L. As much as I liked Henrique, Vatanen did help us make the playoffs that year. How could anyone know Kucherov (or Hedman, whoever it was) would destroy him in the postseason and his career would go down the pesh-a-doo after?

Henrique was basically going to be traded this deadline for valuable futures before he got hurt. I didn't hate the trade at the time but if we're going to grade it after the fact it was a loss. Shero's various attempts to add defense were all failures really and Fitz has been illuminating in comparison on that front.

 

[NJDevs26]

Henrique was basically going to be traded this deadline for valuable futures before he got hurt. I didn't hate the trade at the time but if we're going to grade it after the fact it was a loss. Shero's various attempts to add defense were all failures really and Fitz has been illuminating in comparison on that front.

Vatanen's 31 years old NOW...if he didn't get seriously concussed in the playoffs he'd still be in someone's top four probably. But he did and that's why his career was never the same after 2018.

 

[JimEIV]

Henrique was basically going to be traded this deadline for valuable futures before he got hurt. I didn't hate the trade at the time but if we're going to grade it after the fact it was a loss. Shero's various attempts to add defense were all failures really and Fitz has been illuminating in comparison on that front.

Now do goaltending and when you're done take a look at the supplementary players he added..

His horrific defense choices overshadows all else but the garbage he added on the wings as supplementary players is just as bad... especially when you had a young #1 overall in Nico with no real plan to aid him. The Gusev, Hayes, Stafford's, Noesen, Simmond's of the world were just horrific.

Vatanen's 31 years old NOW...if he didn't get seriously concussed in the playoffs he'd still be in someone's top four probably. But he did and that's why his career was never the same after 2018.

He was injured like every year before he got here and while he was here