GDT: Devils vs. Blackhawks - 7:00PM MSG+

[Oneiro]

Ah, I get it.

We're shaming Rico into getting a hat trick too!

 

[NjDevsRR]

Even more impressive that he’s producing at his career average without even moving his feet.

Maybe we can have a rational, non-passive aggressive discussion at the end of the season when Henrique finishes as a 40-50 point second line center like he does every year.

Doesn’t change the fact that he has been awful these last two weeks, and that was my point. I mever talked about him hitting his career averages, that was all you. Spin cycle.

 

[Burner Account]

Doesn’t change the fact that he has been awful these last two weeks, and that was my point. I mever talked about him hitting his career averages, that was all you. Spin cycle.

Can you call it fact though? I keep asking for some evidence other than “Re-watch eight hours worth of games” and you haven’t shared.

You are harping on eight games - which were coincidentally the entire team’s worst.

It must be exhausting not being able to enjoy the team’s success without creating a bogeyman. It’s exhausting to read, at least.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I think we’re going in circles. If you would like to provide some evidence to help me understand why Henrique has been so bad - and how this team is off to what I believe is a franchise record start in spite of his poor play - feel free.

Okay. He’s playing nearly 19 minutes a game and has 3 even strength points.

And you keep going back to the point that’s he’s gonna end the season with 40 points so no criticism of his game is valid. No. If you’re playing 18+ minutes a game, you better be able to put up 40 points.

 

[Emperoreddy]

40 points really shouldn’t be a high water mark on this team any longer.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Can you call it fact though? I keep asking for some evidence other than “Re-watch eight hours worth of games” and you haven’t shared.

You are harping on eight games - which were coincidentally the entire team’s worst.

It must be exhausting not being able to enjoy the team’s success without creating a bogeyman. It’s exhausting to read, at least.

You are the are one exhausting to read. In my 7 years as a season ticket holder I have never been so excited about a team, so thanks for the false narrative of me not enjoying the teams success, that is great.

Henrique has been a non factor for two weeks. Not aggressive on pucks, losing puck battles, sluggish in the neutral zone, not creating anything, not generating shots, looking disinterested and not finishing. As others has said, if Rico isn’t finishing he really doesn’t provide much. If you think Henrique has been just fine these last two weeks then more power to you but that is a disservice to Henrique because he is better than this. Him hitting his career averages does not excuse the fact that he vanishes for chunks of every season. He is MIA right next now and there shouldn’t be any excuses for it. Also he leads all forwards on TOI and yet is doing nothing with it. Shame on you for ignoring his horrendous stretches because he will hit his career average, big whoop. Why does Henrique get this excuse? It’s laughable. A player should show up and at least put in the effort each game, regardless of production. Henrique isn’t exclusive.

 

[Devils Dominion]

You are the are one exhausting to read. In my 7 years as a season ticket holder I have never been so excited about a team, so thanks for the false narrative of me not enjoying the teams success, that is great.

Henrique has been a non factor for two weeks. Not aggressive on pucks, losing puck battles, sluggish in the neutral zone, not creating anything, not generating shots, looking disinterested and not finishing. As others has said, if Rico isn’t finishing he really doesn’t provide much. If you think Henrique has been just fine these last two weeks then more power to you but that is a disservice to Henrique because he is better than this. Him hitting his career averages does not excuse the fact that he vanishes for chunks of every season. He is MIA right next now and there shouldn’t be any excuses for it. Also he leads all forwards on TOI and yet is doing nothing with it. Shame on you for ignoring his horrendous stretches because he will hit his fareer average, bug whoop. Why does Henrique get this excuse? It’s laughable.

The cause is the porn stache

Shave it off and he's back to playing good hockey.

 

[NjDevsRR]

The cause is the porn stache

Shave it off and he's back to playing good hockey.

Ha that is what I said, this is the second or third Movember in a row where he has been MIA.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I don't get the Rico hate. Your #1 center last year named Zajac went stretches with 5-6 ES points over 20 games on multiple clips last season after being MIA for several years playing alongside the best talent this team could offer. Go look at the game logs.

The point of getting better players is that they push the weaker players down. The team was a hot mess last year.

Rico has a place on this team. It might be that he's an upgrade over any 4th line center or 3rd line LW we have once Zajac is playing in his rightful 3rd line role.... and if your 4th line center is Adam Henrique - heck, you might even have a chance at winning a cup.

Patience. Right now Nico and Zacha need opportunity - so Rico can just be a steadying influence until we have better options and he can move down the depth chart.

In a non-stats based reality, he's being used in lots of situations that are important to the team, and he's contributing.

 

[Burner Account]

You are the are one exhausting to read. In my 7 years as a season ticket holder I have never been so excited about a team, so thanks for the false narrative of me not enjoying the teams success, that is great.

Henrique has been a non factor for two weeks. Not aggressive on pucks, losing puck battles, sluggish in the neutral zone, not creating anything, not generating shots, looking disinterested and not finishing. As others has said, if Rico isn’t finishing he really doesn’t provide much. If you think Henrique has been just fine these last two weeks then more power to you but that is a disservice to Henrique because he is better than this. Him hitting his career averages does not excuse the fact that he vanishes for chunks of every season. He is MIA right next now and there shouldn’t be any excuses for it. Also he leads all forwards on TOI and yet is doing nothing with it. Shame on you for ignoring his horrendous stretches because he will hit his career average, big whoop. Why does Henrique get this excuse? It’s laughable. A player should show up and at least put in the effort each game, regardless of production. Henrique isn’t exclusive.

We are all excited about the team.

Henrique has always been a streaky player. It's not new. Better to just walk away and realize this is who he is than get worked up over it.

I'm just not going to read into a small sample of games. 82 tells you more than eight.

 

[EliasFTW]

I'm with Eddy. Most of the hate has been directed at Severson, Moore, Lovejoy, Rico, Zacha, and Hayes.

 

[NJDevs26]

I’m no fan of Henrique right now, but it seems odd he is the current topic of discussion after the game we just had.

Blame yet another long break between games (four days).

 

[Bleedred]

My whole point has been that we don't wanna re-sign Henrique after this. He's not a player you wanna hand out a $5 million dollar @ 5 year contract to, and that's if he only $5 million per year. That's not who we should be investing money in, and hopefully we'll be near the cap ceiling by that point. Just think of the players we had to part ways with under Lou. Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, even Bobby Holik, way back when. Don't even think I need to mention Clarkson. These guys were either way overpaid to bad contracts, or we were at or near the cap ceiling and they just weren't smart investments. If we do resign Henrique, I feel like we'll be signing him just to sign him, or just because we have the money/cap space to sign him. Not because we actually wanna sign him.

And Lou was always slagged for not getting rid of pending UFA's, and Shero has been known to get rid of pending UFA's that he doesn't wanna sign. Sometimes, even a whole year earlier. Like Jordan Staal back in 2012.

Henrique could be the next Clarkson type contract, and since he's a much better player than Clarkson, he might get even more from a GM who has a deathwish for their job.

So, maybe all in all, we are giving him a harder time than he deserves, he's been a little unlucky. The low on-ice shooting percentage at even strength, suggests that maybe he's been a little bit unlucky. So I think we should hold onto him for this year, unless you get an offer that's really good. He shouldn't be shopped nothing, but in my mind, aside from older stop-gaps like Stafford and other names that I think are self explanatory, he's one of the more non-untouchable players on the team right now, or at least as far as the guys that haven't any worth to a team at all. I'm not counting Lovejoy or Prout here. A few years ago, he was untouchable, back when we had no good young forwards worth a damn.

So, keep him for now, but look to start shopping him in the offseason, to maximize the return on him. You don't wanna lose him to UFA either. It would be one thing if he were a UFA this summer and we were firmly in a playoff spot at the deadline, but he's not a UFA until after next year.

 

[tr83]

I've been bashing Henrique way before it was fashionable.

For as much as I bash him, I have to try to be more objective. He's a second liner playing on a first line and has been playing out of position since essentially Kovalchuk and Parise left. He's been asked to play more defensively to make up for his talentless teammates. His stats (0.5ppg) are pretty admirable for a player in this era. While he isn't very visible, like Coleman is, he does get on the scoresheet (which is baffling to me).

I'm hoping that when Zajac gets back, he permanently goes back to being a second line LW. I bash him because when he plays angry, he's fantastic. He doesn't have the skill set to take over a game like Hall or Kovalchuk, but he is usually in prime position to always make a play. But he rarely shows that side anymore. As an "A", I expect to see him to be chippier on the ice, bust his ass a little more, etc.. Maybe the "A" for him is more along the lines of locker room leadership. No doubt he's a leader there. His teammates really like him. I mean, look at his Christmas suit from a couple of years ago. I would like him just for that.

 

[billingtons ghost]

My whole point has been that we don't wanna re-sign Henrique after this. He's not a player you wanna hand out a $5 million dollar @ 5 year contract to, and that's if he only $5 million per year. That's not who we should be investing money in, and hopefully we'll be near the cap ceiling by that point. Just think of the players we had to part ways with under Lou. Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Brian Rafalski, even Bobby Holik, way back when. Don't even think I need to mention Clarkson. These guys were either way overpaid to bad contracts, or we were at or near the cap ceiling and they just weren't smart investments. If we do resign Henrique, I feel like we'll be signing him just to sign him, or just because we have the money/cap space to sign him. Not because we actually wanna sign him.

And Lou was always slagged for not getting rid of pending UFA's, and Shero has been known to get rid of pending UFA's that he doesn't wanna sign. Sometimes, even a whole year earlier. Like Jordan Staal back in 2012.

Henrique could be the next Clarkson type contract, and since he's a much better player than Clarkson, he might get even more from a GM who has a deathwish for their job.

So, maybe all in all, we are giving him a harder time than he deserves, he's been a little unlucky. The low on-ice shooting percentage at even strength, suggests that maybe he's been a little bit unlucky. So I think we should hold onto him for this year, unless you get an offer that's really good. He shouldn't be shopped nothing, but in my mind, aside from older stop-gaps like Stafford and other names that I think are self explanatory, he's one of the more non-untouchable players on the team right now, or at least as far as the guys that haven't any worth to a team at all. I'm not counting Lovejoy or Prout here. A few years ago, he was untouchable, back when we had no good young forwards worth a damn.

So, keep him for now, but look to start shopping him in the offseason, to maximize the return on him. You don't wanna lose him to UFA either. It would be one thing if he were a UFA this summer and we were firmly in a playoff spot at the deadline, but he's not a UFA until after next year.

So - I think there is alot of sense in the above - but I'd offer that the best thing that could happen to us is that Rico has a subpar year, but the team looks good and he wants to come back.

I'm totally of the same mind that we should move him (or let him walk as Lou did) if he is destined to hit the UFA market.

But please don't undersestimate his value. He's a big-time, clutch, important cog to this team, and he's a proven 30+ goal scorer on fairly talentless teams.

If I'm Shero - I offer him 4.75 for 4 a month before the deadline and cross my fingers. If the y have to move a bit on term or cash, I'm fine with it if he wants to take a home-town discount and solidify his legacy as a potential Devils legend (Henrique It's Over!) as part of a young team on the upswing that might compete for a cup.

If he's set on testing free agency -then see see if he goes on a hot streak and move him when it looks like his value is highest.

 

[billingtons ghost]

\As an "A", I expect to see him to be chippier on the ice, bust his ass a little more, etc.. Maybe the "A" for him is more along the lines of locker room leadership. No doubt he's a leader there. His teammates really like him. I mean, look at his Christmas suit from a couple of years ago. I would like him just for that.

What you said here really interests me - because I hadn't thought about it.

I think Rico is valuable, because you can count on that chippiness when playoff time comes around. He's alot like I remember Claude Lemieux. Sometimes maddening during the regular season, and then a cornerstone during the playoffs.

It's going to make it interesting if we're in the hunt - and his loyalty gets tested just before the deadline.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Bleed and Billington are right about where I'm at. I don't understand the zero-sum game some are proposing between trading Henrique "NOW" and keeping him past this contract. There's plenty of middle ground and I expect that's right around where Shero's head is, too.

Henrique absolutely has a spot on this team, which has only been exacerbated by injuries to other prominent vets. A streaky goal scorer, yes, but also a stabilizing force that provides flexibility to shelter Zacha and Nico, if need be.

Am I completely sold on extending him two summers from now? Definitely not. If he would take the Boedker contract, I'd ink him today. I'd even toss him an extra $1M AAV on that same term just to keep him in the organization. I'm just worried he'll look to test FA, where he'd undoubtedly get 5+ years at $5.5M+. If it appears that's where his head is, I would urge Shero to explore a trade closer to the 2019 deadline.

 

[King Lindros]

I would offer him 20 millions for 4 years.
He's a great player - just remember 2012!

 

[My3Sons]

Bleed and Billington are right about where I'm at. I don't understand the zero-sum game some are proposing between trading Henrique "NOW" and keeping him past this contract. There's plenty of middle ground and I expect that's right around where Shero's head is, too.

Henrique absolutely has a spot on this team, which has only been exacerbated by injuries to other prominent vets. A streaky goal scorer, yes, but also a stabilizing force that provides flexibility to shelter Zacha and Nico, if need be.

Am I completely sold on extending him two summers from now? Definitely not. If he would take the Boedker contract, I'd ink him today. I'd even toss him an extra $1M AAV on that same term just to keep him in the organization. I'm just worried he'll look to test FA, where he'd undoubtedly get 5+ years at $5.5M+. If it appears that's where his head is, I would urge Shero to explore a trade closer to the 2019 deadline.

I think the issue in the Rico discussion has been one of internet brevity. I think most people agree with your position. The problem is that look at your post and Bleed's post. They are explanatory and you take your time to add some nuance to your thesis. I've seen a number of posts that just talk about "keeping" him, when what people mean is keep him for now. I don't think anyone is advocating trading him right now for anything less than a clear "win" which is unlikely. I think the consensus is that he isn't a core player and short of a team and cap friendly deal in the offseason to be prepared to move him when the right deal comes along, which may or may not happen this offseason. Fans just have to accept that if the team is good next year there is a decent chance Rico plays all of next year in NJ and is lost in free agency. If no deal for a LD arises I'm not sure that Shero moves Rico for futures at the next trade deadline if the team is competing for a playoff spot or is firmly entrenched in one. Props to you and Bleed for the detailed discussion.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Rico is a good 2nd/3rd line wing.
Not great, but good.

He's playing out of position at Center.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Switching focus after rewatching the tape:

our 3d period was as good as our second. Best 3d period of the season. That we came out and got the power play goal to put it away - we didn't try to sit on the lead thank you very much. That after that we continued to press in their zone - and didn't try to sit on the lead thank you very much.

We also had better legs than them in the 3d period. Both clubs played the prior night, both clubs traveled. Hynes has a very well conditioned team and a young one too. Not to be underestimated.

 

[Alex NJD]

I think its too early to discuss the Rico FA matter. MoJo hits FA at the same time and we don't know where exactly the team will be at in 2 years. That's almost 2 seasons with each of them as well as hopefully some playoff games.
Will guys like Zacha McLeod and Quenneville be regulars at this point?

 

[FooteBahl]

I think its too early to discuss the Rico FA matter. MoJo hits FA at the same time and we don't know where exactly the team will be at in 2 years. That's almost 2 seasons with each of them as well as hopefully some playoff games.
Will guys like Zacha McLeod and Quenneville be regulars at this point?

In two years hopefully Hall is willing to talk extension a year early and I think one of Mojo/Rico may be a casualty of extending him. But like you said, it’s too early to discuss and maybe by then we strike gold on another prospect ala Bratt and they can both be trade bait.

 

[Zippy316]

Realistically, at some point between now and next off-season, the Devils have to decide between Henrique and Johansson. Depending on where we're at and what we get offered for them, you have to consider flipping one of them for assets or a defender.

If both Bratt and Zacha step up, we may move on from both.

 

[MadDevil]

MoJo probably fits how this team wants to play better than Rico does, so it could make choosing between them interesting. Although I could see Rico taking less to re-sign than MoJo. Hopefully MoJo gets a good amount of games in so we have a better idea of how well he fits.