Poll: Better future - Devils or Sens

[Goomba]

Are you talking about prospect pool or U-25 pieces? It looks like you're talking about prospect pools but Sens also had "high-end under 23 guys on the roster for a few years now", namely Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk

Obviously, Devils have sucked for almost a decade now (Sens 4 years) so it's a bit early for Ottawa, some things are still not clear yet, notably "down the middle". Will Stutzle will eventually play center or not? If he does, then you're looking at Stutzle-Norris-Pinto. Will Logan Brown will finally stop getting injured? If he does, many believe he will finally be able to establish himself in the NHL. How good will he be is the question. Also, wouldn't be surprised if they pick up a Center in the upcoming top-10 of this Draft.

I haven't looked DEEPLY enough at the Devils pool to know this but this is how the Sens pool was voted on HF Sens just before the season (age at start of the season), with some comments :

1- Tim Stutzle (19 y/o) : has literally everything to be a star/superstar
2- Jake Sanderson (18 y/o) : will be considered one of the best prospects not in the NHL in the near future if it's not already the case
3- Drake Batherson (22 y/o) : 25 goals, 50 pts pace in NHL this season. High end skill and vision, still hasn't put it all together
4- Josh Norris (21 y/o) : 25 goals, 51 pts pace in NHL this season. Already quite good on faceoffs and defensively. Mature game that will keep getting better
5- Erik Brannstrom (21 y/o) : still progressing, 36 pts pace in NHL this season.
6- Logan Brown (22 y/o) : long-term project but has been very injury prone. High end skill set. 0.84 PPG in AHL. Needs to stay healthy but hard to see him not being NHL player (might be somewhere else)
7- Jacob Bernard-Docker (20 y/o) : pretty good 2-way Top-4 D-man prospect. Quietly solid in all zones
8- Alex Formenton (21 y/o) : elite speed at 6'3, excellent defensively and will provide secondary scoring while creating havoc all over the ice
9- Shane Pinto (20 y/o) : excellent 2-way center, great on face-offs/defensively, underrated offense. Very steep development curve as he started playing hockey seriously at 15 y/o, seems to be just scratching the surface
10- Ridly Greig (18 y/o) : another pick that looks like a homerun. Looked very good in the AHL at 18 y/o. 1.52 PPG in WHL. Speed, skill, agitation, versatility
11- Roby Jarventie (18 y/o) : long term project, elite shot, 6'3, pretty good skater. 14 goals 25 pts in 48 Liiga games at 18 y/o, that's pretty good for a teenager in that men's league. Scored 2 goals and 1 assist in his 4th AHL game.
12- Rudolfs Balcers (23 y/o) : gave him away for nothing, will be an excellent 2-way 3rd line forward, another blunder by the Sens GM.
13- Vitali Abramov (22 y/o) : a bit undersized at 5'10, good skater but not super fast, which makes it harder for an undersized forward. Pretty good offensive skillset but below average defensive awareness which is another thing to overcome. 74 pts in 60 games in the last 2 AHL seasons. Didn't look out of place at all in his NHL games but at some point, there's not unlimited spots on a roster.
14- Joey Daccord (24 y/o) : has shown pretty well since turning pro. His stats this year are terrible because defense was terrible in Ottawa and Belleville early in the season. It has progressively been fixed but he has been injured for a while.
15- Lassi Thomson (20 y/o) : long term project. Good skillset but IMO won't ever be good enough defensively to be top-4. Has definitively shown he has NHL upside this season in the AHL. 30 pts pace in his rookie season.
16- Egor Sokolov (20 y/o) : this guy make us think about Mark Stone more and more everyday. Chances are very small that he'll be as good but certainly has a shot and hockey sense. 14 goals in 33 AHL games. This pick looks like a homerun.
17- Tyler Kleven (18 y/o) : looked much better than he was given credit for. Intriguing pick (44th OA in 2020). Hits like a truck, very good size, reach and mobility. Booming shot
18- Filip Chlapik (23 y/o) : no spot for him even though he didn't look out of place at all in the NHL last year, but more a defensive player at that level. So he's back in Europe for now. Will probably try to come back in the NHL in the near future
19- Mads Søgaard (20 y/o) : 6'7 athletic monster, 6-0-0, 0.927 SV% to start his AHL career, has looked very very good
20- Filip Gustavsson (22 y/o) : goalie prospect with great pedigree, has looked stellar in the NHL, 0.933 SV% on a team that was a work in progress defensively.
21- Max Lajoie (23 y/o) : good start in the NHL, got injured and then regressed. Has been traded this season
22- Kevin Mandolese (20 y/o) : was great in the Q, still years away but not a bad goalie prospect at all
23- Angus Crookshank (21 y/o) : 14 pts in 17 AHL games. Looks like a gamer. Another guy with speed, skill and agitation.
24- Maxence Guénette (19 y/o) : pretty good career in the Q, will turn pro. Worth keeping an eye on.
25- Jonathan Davidsson (23 y/o) : unfortunately for him, career got derailed by injuries (concussions). Will be gone soon if it's not already the case
26- Leevi Merilainen (18 y/o) : pretty young but had some pretty good reviews from Finland. 0.934 SV% this season
27- Jonny Tychonick (20 y/o) : always forget about him but personally don't think he'll amount to much. Still a recent 2nd round pick (2018)
28- Philippe Daoust (19 y/o) : was starting to get a lot of attention in the Q before getting injured. Probably a significant breakout season next year
29- Parker Kelly (21 y/o) : agitating 4th liner, can chip in offensively, 0.48 PPG in the AHL. He seems to be in the plans of the organization. Scored his first goal in his first NHL game.

Not voted (only those worth mentionning) :

Aspirot (21 y/o) has probably been the best D-man in Belleville this season. Reinhardt (20 y/o) showing some good stuff. Kastelic (21 y/o) pretty decent too. Lodin (21 y/o) has some pretty good skill, could surprise next year when he comes over. Alsing (24 y/o) has played some games in the NHL at the end of the season. No idea what will happen with Novak (22 y/o) but some good reviews in the NCAA.

When you have guys like Sokolov at #16, Sogaard at #19, Gustavsson at #20, Crookshank at #24, etc... you have an insanely DEEP prospect pool. Devils pool probably good too but not in the same tier IMO. Same thing if you do that for U-25. I never saw this kind of young asset wealth before in Ottawa but the Melnyk-Dorion duo scares the shit out of me, they could sabotage things at any point in time.

Both Ottawa and New Jersey have very deep pools by virtue of drafting a ton recently, and comparing them can be hard and lengthy in time. Me listing the Devils prospects wouldnt achieve much since we both dont know many of the others later-round prospects

However the jobs of many out there who compare prospects and entire prospect pools have had NJ near the top-3 along with NYR, LAK, and OTT. Most recently after the 2020 draft, I saw NJ ranked #2 behind NYR (though this is mainly due to them winning Lafreniere, otherwise NJ was #1)

Just as some examples of these later round talents blooming for NJ, Jesper Bratt was a sixth rounder, Sharangovich a fourth rounder, and Miles Wood a fourth rounder.

And as you touched on for U24-25 talent on the roster, NJ has had some on the roster for some years now. Hischier Hughes Bratt Zacha Smith Blackwood Sharangovich Bahl (likely a stay at the big league), and more on the way with names like Holtz Mercer Clarke Foote Ohkotyuk Misyul etc etc..

New Jersey just had the youngest forward roster put out on ice since a 1980's Sabres team. And during a few of the Devils games this year, their NHL roster was younger than their AHL roster!

I think Ottawa has more 1st round talent throughout their pool (again, Hischier Hughes both being 1s affects this), but NJ has the deeper set including rounds three and on.

 

[Holymakinaw]

Simple.

Yup. It is simple.

Devils.

 

[Xspyrit]

I’m penciling in Stuetzle as the 1C. Whether he becomes elite is up for debate, but I think they are set down the middle with Stuetzle, Norris, and Pinto.

I don’t see Zaitsev as a top four defenseman. Zub might be a four, but if he’s your best RHD, the position is a weakness. JBD or Thomson could be top four solutions, but I would not operate as if the position is filled long-term.

I see goalie as similar to RHD. Maybe the internal options are solutions, but no one is strong enough that I’d be sure of it.

Totally agreed with first 2 paragraphs. That said, no idea if Stu as a C is really the plan. Zaitsev is fine as a stop gap while we rebuild but I want to see 2 better RDs when we contend. Also found our GM comments ridiculous on Zaitsev, and on Thomson/JBD making our future as "set". JBD will be quality, not convinced about Thomson. This is what I am hoping if we don't add anybody else :

Chabot-JBD
Sanderson-Zub
Mete/Kleven-Thomson/Guenette

Regarding the goalies, read in the quote below

Devils because Blackwood.

I'm a goalie myself and think Sogaard and Gustavsson are the shit. I did a complete 180 on Gustavsson as I was starting to write him off after his first 2 years in NA, but mistake on my part, as you shouldn't give up too fast on a goalie with high pedigree and strong fundamentals (very sound technically). He looks like a new player this year, it's like when a forward breaks out. He looked crazy good in his 9 NHL games

I'm extremely high on Sogaard, easily the most since Robin Lehner. I'm someone who called Hammond a "flash in the pan" when he had that crazy run (20-1-2, 0.941 SV%) and Condon as "nothing special" while Andy was away when his wife was sick. Never really that high on Hogberg either.

Also, 2 other dark horses goalie prospects in Mandolese and Merilainen. Oh and was about to forgot Daccord, a quick agile goalie, very good stickhandler.

Both Ottawa and New Jersey have very deep pools by virtue of drafting a ton recently, and comparing them can be hard and lengthy in time. Me listing the Devils prospects wouldnt achieve much since we both dont know many of the others later-round prospects

However the jobs of many out there who compare prospects and entire prospect pools have had NJ near the top-3 along with NYR, LAK, and OTT. Most recently after the 2020 draft, I saw NJ ranked #2 behind NYR (though this is mainly due to them winning Lafreniere, otherwise NJ was #1)

Just as some examples of these later round talents blooming for NJ, Jesper Bratt was a sixth rounder, Sharangovich a fourth rounder, and Miles Wood a fourth rounder.

And as you touched on for U24-25 talent on the roster, NJ has had some on the roster for some years now. Hischier Hughes Bratt Zacha Smith Blackwood Sharangovich Bahl (likely a stay at the big league), and more on the way with names like Holtz Mercer Clarke Foote Ohkotyuk Misyul etc etc..

New Jersey just had the youngest forward roster put out on ice since a 1980's Sabres team. And during a few of the Devils games this year, their NHL roster was younger than their AHL roster!

I think Ottawa has more 1st round talent throughout their pool (again, Hischier Hughes both being 1s affects this), but NJ has the deeper set including rounds three and on.

Agreed with most of this. NJ are among the best young cores going forward (Rangers, Colorado, Carolina, Kings, Ottawa... Detroit and Anaheim are also probably in that club, maybe a few others are arguable)

Thing is in the more "official" rankings you saw, many Sens prospects were probably way underrated. I would bet on Formenton and Pinto being among them. The there's guys like Sokolov, Greig, Gustavsson, Sogaard, Crookshank, Kleven who are excellent prospects. I mean, Lassi Thomson (19th OA pick in 2019) shouldn't even have been ranked in the top-20. It's absolutely crazy. On normal pools, fanbases would have him as an automatic top-10. Parker Kelly (29th) and Cole Reinhardt (not even ranked top-30) are mst likely future NHL players... Personally never seen that before in 3 decades following the NHL hardcore.

They have the opportunity to build something really special in Ottawa but like I said, with Melnyk and Dorion, I'm always worried that they could screw that up. A lot of money will have to be spent to begin.

It's possible that several NHL teams will eventually be very happy with the talents Ottawa drafted and/or developed (like it has been the case recently. think about Mark Stone and Mika Zibanejad dear lord)

Note : yes there's several 1st round talents in that Ottawa pool. IIRC from when I conducted the polls, 8 first rounders and 8 second rounders. Keep in mind that the Sens had the luxury to trade some stars in their prime (Karlsson, Stone, Duchene) and also had some pretty good returns on other trades (Dzingel, Brassard...)

 

[Edmonton East]

Are you talking about prospect pool or U-25 pieces? It looks like you're talking about prospect pools but Sens also had "high-end under 23 guys on the roster for a few years now", namely Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk

Obviously, Devils have sucked for almost a decade now (Sens 4 years) so it's a bit early for Ottawa, some things are still not clear yet, notably "down the middle". Will Stutzle will eventually play center or not? If he does, then you're looking at Stutzle-Norris-Pinto. Will Logan Brown will finally stop getting injured? If he does, many believe he will finally be able to establish himself in the NHL. How good will he be is the question. Also, wouldn't be surprised if they pick up a Center in the upcoming top-10 of this Draft.

Is this a joke?

Both these franchises have been comparably bad over the last decade, often finishing near each other. On top of that, the Devs also have a Stanley Cup appearance in that timeframe as well...

"Obviously", eh?

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

This SHOULD be Ottawa but Melnyk is the owner so it's tough

 

[Xspyrit]

Is this a joke?

Both these franchises have been comparably bad over the last decade, often finishing near each other. On top of that, the Devs also have a Stanley Cup appearance in that timeframe as well...

"Obviously", eh?

I don't really have any interest to spend time talking with someone making that kind of condescending childish/dumb comment but quickly :

Note that I have said "ALMOST a decade" so you talking about NJ's SCF appearance means you can't read on top of everything? Ouch.

New Jersey :

2012–13 : 82 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2013–14 : 88 pts, Did not qualify
2014–15 : 78 pts, Did not qualify
2015–16 : 84 pts, Did not qualify
2016–17 : 70 pts, Did not qualify
2017–18 : 97 pts, Lost in First Round vs. Tampa Bay Lightning 1–4
2018–19 : 72 pts, Did not qualify
2019–20 : 81 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2020–21 : 66 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify

Ottawa :

2012–13 : 96 pts (pro rated), Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4–1 (Canadiens), Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Penguins)
2013–14 : 88 pts, Did not qualify
2014–15 : 99 pts, Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Canadiens)
2015–16 : 85 pts, Did not qualify
2016–17 : 98 pts, Won in First Round, 4–2 (Bruins), Won in Second Round, 4–2 (Rangers), Lost in Conference Finals, 3–4 (Penguins)
2017–18 : 67 pts, Did not qualify
2018–19 : 64 pts, Did not qualify
2019–20 : 72 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2020–21 : 75 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify

In those 9 years, Devils made the playoffs once and won 1 game. Ottawa made them 3 times, won 3 series (1 ECF) and won 18 games...

Even if the last 3-4 seasons were pretty bad for Ottawa, their overall record during that 9 years period was 292-289-86 while NJ was 274-289-102. Remove the last 4 years? Ottawa 187-137-52 vs NJ 152-160-64 (playoffs 3/5 for Ottawa, won 3 series and 18 games, ECF appearance. New Jersey didn't even make the playoffs once)

So yes, obviously this is exactly what I have said :

"Devils have sucked for almost a decade now (Sens 4 years)"


Why are people not looking at cold straight facts before making stupid comments is beyond me.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Tim Stützle wins this for Ottawa ALONE

 

[Goomba]

Totally agreed with first 2 paragraphs. That said, no idea if Stu as a C is really the plan. Zaitsev is fine as a stop gap while we rebuild but I want to see 2 better RDs when we contend. Also found our GM comments ridiculous on Zaitsev, and on Thomson/JBD making our future as "set". JBD will be quality, not convinced about Thomson. This is what I am hoping if we don't add anybody else :

Chabot-JBD
Sanderson-Zub
Mete/Kleven-Thomson/Guenette

Regarding the goalies, read in the quote below



I'm a goalie myself and think Sogaard and Gustavsson are the shit. I did a complete 180 on Gustavsson as I was starting to write him off after his first 2 years in NA, but mistake on my part, as you shouldn't give up too fast on a goalie with high pedigree and strong fundamentals (very sound technically). He looks like a new player this year, it's like when a forward breaks out. He looked crazy good in his 9 NHL games

I'm extremely high on Sogaard, easily the most since Robin Lehner. I'm someone who called Hammond a "flash in the pan" when he had that crazy run (20-1-2, 0.941 SV%) and Condon as "nothing special" while Andy was away when his wife was sick. Never really that high on Hogberg either.

Also, 2 other dark horses goalie prospects in Mandolese and Merilainen. Oh and was about to forgot Daccord, a quick agile goalie, very good stickhandler.



Agreed with most of this. NJ are among the best young cores going forward (Rangers, Colorado, Carolina, Kings, Ottawa... Detroit and Anaheim are also probably in that club, maybe a few others are arguable)

Thing is in the more "official" rankings you saw, many Sens prospects were probably way underrated. I would bet on Formenton and Pinto being among them. The there's guys like Sokolov, Greig, Gustavsson, Sogaard, Crookshank, Kleven who are excellent prospects. I mean, Lassi Thomson (19th OA pick in 2019) shouldn't even have been ranked in the top-20. It's absolutely crazy. On normal pools, fanbases would have him as an automatic top-10. Parker Kelly (29th) and Cole Reinhardt (not even ranked top-30) are mst likely future NHL players... Personally never seen that before in 3 decades following the NHL hardcore.

They have the opportunity to build something really special in Ottawa but like I said, with Melnyk and Dorion, I'm always worried that they could screw that up. A lot of money will have to be spent to begin.

It's possible that several NHL teams will eventually be very happy with the talents Ottawa drafted and/or developed (like it has been the case recently. think about Mark Stone and Mika Zibanejad dear lord)

Note : yes there's several 1st round talents in that Ottawa pool. IIRC from when I conducted the polls, 8 first rounders and 8 second rounders. Keep in mind that the Sens had the luxury to trade some stars in their prime (Karlsson, Stone, Duchene) and also had some pretty good returns on other trades (Dzingel, Brassard...)

That difference in your last paragraph is why NJ has taken so long

the best asset we had to trade in 2013-2014 when the end was near was Jaromir Jagr lmfao.

So Ottawa certainly had a head start even starting later, same as the Rangers. Detroit is a team youll see take a longer route like NJ as they didnt have many if any assets to move minus Mantha and Larkin (still better than what Jersey had expendable minus Hall)

 

[Xspyrit]

That difference in your last paragraph is why NJ has taken so long

the best asset we had to trade in 2013-2014 when the end was near was Jaromir Jagr lmfao.

So Ottawa certainly had a head start even starting later, same as the Rangers. Detroit is a team youll see take a longer route like NJ as they didnt have many if any assets to move minus Mantha and Larkin (still better than what Jersey had expendable minus Hall)

That's why Ottawa's rebuild is very different than regular rebuilds... I mean, who the heck trades elite/high-end talents like Stone and Karlsson in their prime? Or even a guy like JG Pageau? The oldest player traded that brought back some kind of return (Phaneuf was a salary dump) was Derick Brassard at 30 y/o... that trade ended up in Bernard-Docker and Gustavsson (and Ian Cole then traded for a 3rd that was used to move up to acquire Sogaard's pick IIRC)

It was very painful to go through because fans WOULD WANT them to build a team around their (young-ish) favorite players, not FIRESALE them...

But fast forward a few years later, the pain has somewhat gone away and it is starting to pay dividends but we'll see how much. It needs to be damn good for having to endure those 3-4 years.

 

[Wierzbowski426]

Tim Stützle wins this for Ottawa ALONE

I completely agree. Once the Sens figure out how to have him play all six positions at the same time the rest of the teams in the NHL should just pack it in.

 

[Edmonton East]

I don't really have any interest to spend time talking with someone making that kind of condescending childish/dumb comment but quickly :

Note that I have said "ALMOST a decade" so you talking about NJ's SCF appearance means you can't read on top of everything? Ouch.

New Jersey :

2012–13 : 82 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2013–14 : 88 pts, Did not qualify
2014–15 : 78 pts, Did not qualify
2015–16 : 84 pts, Did not qualify
2016–17 : 70 pts, Did not qualify
2017–18 : 97 pts, Lost in First Round vs. Tampa Bay Lightning 1–4
2018–19 : 72 pts, Did not qualify
2019–20 : 81 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2020–21 : 66 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify

Ottawa :

2012–13 : 96 pts (pro rated), Won in Conference Quarterfinals, 4–1 (Canadiens), Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Penguins)
2013–14 : 88 pts, Did not qualify
2014–15 : 99 pts, Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Canadiens)
2015–16 : 85 pts, Did not qualify
2016–17 : 98 pts, Won in First Round, 4–2 (Bruins), Won in Second Round, 4–2 (Rangers), Lost in Conference Finals, 3–4 (Penguins)
2017–18 : 67 pts, Did not qualify
2018–19 : 64 pts, Did not qualify
2019–20 : 72 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify
2020–21 : 75 pts (pro rated), Did not qualify

In those 9 years, Devils made the playoffs once and won 1 game. Ottawa made them 3 times, won 3 series (1 ECF) and won 18 games...

Even if the last 3-4 seasons were pretty bad for Ottawa, their overall record during that 9 years period was 292-289-86 while NJ was 274-289-102. Remove the last 4 years? Ottawa 187-137-52 vs NJ 152-160-64 (playoffs 3/5 for Ottawa, won 3 series and 18 games, ECF appearance. New Jersey didn't even make the playoffs once)

So yes, obviously this is exactly what I have said :

"Devils have sucked for almost a decade now (Sens 4 years)"


Why are people not looking at cold straight facts before making stupid comments is beyond me.

What a clown show. I do admire the willful ignorance though. Let's recap:

You: Infer Devils had/have major advantage vs Sens in rebuild because the Devs have sucked for almost 10 years, while the Sens have only sucked for 4.
Me: Uh, both these teams have been comparably bad over the last decade.
You: REEEEEEEEEE

Icing on the cake, you post point totals and include this season....draft hasn't even happened yet bud. So let's take the preceding 9 seasons, that's almost 10 right? Oh wait, that might confuse ya, so I will just use the #s YOU provided over YOUR own defined timeframe that conveniently ignores the Devs' SCF appearance:

Devs avg points (excl current as it serves ZERO purpose to your initial argument): 81.5
Sens: 83.6

OH MY GOD THE SENS WERE SO MUCH BETTER!

Ah, and if ya don't cherry pick the SCF season and omit it, they are within 1 point of each other.

I rest my case. Both these teams have been comparably trash.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

I'll say Devils simply due to ownership. Sens ownership can build a team but that means nothing if you're handling it like they are.

With the new TV deals and Melnyk swimming in cash due to pandemic(he's in healthcare) Ottawa will not have any troubles moving forward. Melnyk lucked out so hard.. so did Sens fans but whatever.

Devils because Blackwood.

Blackwood is stellar, but Ottawa probably has the deepest G pool in the league with Gustavsson looking like potential star.

 

[MNRube]

I voted for NJ but meant to vote for OTT. Im pretty high on Pinto - I think he ends up as a Pavelski like player with less peak scoring. Having him and Stutzle at C with all their depth on the wing and D gives them the edge. Devils need another draft or two to stock the cupboards but they do have an excellent foundation in Hughes, Hischier and Smith.

 

[AfroThunder396]

NJ has some work to do on defense, but if you asked me which team I'd rather take over I'd pick them over Ottawa. They have center and goalie basically figured out and are starting to turn some later round wingers into gems.

If NJ can come out of the draft with one of Power/Hughes/Clarke that would be icing on the cake.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I completely agree. Once the Sens figure out how to have him play all six positions at the same time the rest of the teams in the NHL should just pack it in.

Agreed, once the Devils actually get NHL talent on their roster, the rest of the league is screwed.

 

[jetsforever]

In theory I prefer the Senators' pieces although there could be some confounding factors.

 

[Xspyrit]

What a clown show. I do admire the willful ignorance though. Let's recap:

You: Infer Devils had/have major advantage vs Sens in rebuild because the Devs have sucked for almost 10 years, while the Sens have only sucked for 4.
Me: Uh, both these teams have been comparably bad over the last decade.
You: REEEEEEEEEE

Icing on the cake, you post point totals and include this season....draft hasn't even happened yet bud. So let's take the preceding 9 seasons, that's almost 10 right? Oh wait, that might confuse ya, so I will just use the #s YOU provided over YOUR own defined timeframe that conveniently ignores the Devs' SCF appearance:

Devs avg points (excl current as it serves ZERO purpose to your initial argument): 81.5
Sens: 83.6

OH MY GOD THE SENS WERE SO MUCH BETTER!

Ah, and if ya don't cherry pick the SCF season and omit it, they are within 1 point of each other.

I rest my case. Both these teams have been comparably trash.

There's no such thing as someone who hasn't been blessed by natural selection talking down on others. You're "asking for it" so here we go

My initial statement was :

Devils have sucked for ALMOST a decade now (9 years to be exact since you couldn't figure it out by yourself)

Made the playoffs once, won 1 playoff game. Losing regular season record, 29th overall on 31 teams during that period. Are you arguing that?

Sens have sucked for 4 years

Self explanatory, 30th overall in standings, no playoffs of course


So IF the initial statement was NOT true and the Sens sucked as long as the Devils, it would mean that the Sens also sucked during the first 5 years of that period, don't you think little genius?

187-137-52, 14th overall in the standings. Made the playoffs 3 seasons out of 5, won 3 rounds, 18 playoffs games, made the ECF once. I never said they were an elite team during that period but compared to the Devils during those 9 years (even worse if you compare the same 5 years), I'll take that easily. Are you arguing that?


So before agressively trying to mock someone else, make sure you understand what is going on? Now the question is... are you going to triple down on this? It's getting embarassing.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

Agreed with most of this. NJ are among the best young cores going forward (Rangers, Colorado, Carolina, Kings, Ottawa... Detroit and Anaheim are also probably in that club, maybe a few others are arguable)

I can think of one team that is easily in that group and close to if not at the top.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Dorion thinks Stützle will one day be an 'elite NHL winger, a superstar'

Some context to that clip: Dorion initially called Stutzle a "defenseman" then quickly corrected himself and called him a winger. So I don't think it means much for future plans

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

Sens , and rather easily. Both in quality and quantity of young players. People questioning the Sens down the middle seems strange ; Stutzle, Norris, Pinto looks like a fairly ideal combination to trot out considering the diversity of skill sets and age ( yes Stutzle is likely to be a C ).

 

[Mrb1p]

Hughes, Hischier,Smith, Holtz for me

 

[Sting]

Hughes, Hischier,Smith, Holtz for me

I can't help but feel like Tkachuk, Norris, Batherson, Stutzle, Brann, Sanderson, Gustavsson/Daccord just might be...significantly better than the Devils young core.

 

[Mrb1p]

I can't help but feel like Tkachuk, Norris, Batherson, Stutzle, Brann, Sanderson, Gustavsson/Daccord just might be...significantly better than the Devils young core.

Smith is a top pair D already... Sanderson may be a #2 but well see.
Hischier is already a two-way top 6 C, Norris is close enough but you'd be lying if you said they had similar talent level.
Hughes and Stutzle are close enough to wash
Tkachuk and Zacha should be around the same value
Bratt is about equal ot Batherson
Mercer and Pinto should be similar\
Mukhamadulin > Branstrom
Sharangovich, Blackwood and Holtz tip the scale hard

Comes down to centers and D for me.

 

[Sting]

Smith is a top pair D already... Sanderson may be a #2 but well see.
Hischier is already a two-way top 6 C, Norris is close enough but you'd be lying if you said they had similar talent level.
Hughes and Stutzle are close enough to wash
Tkachuk and Zacha should be around the same value
Bratt is about equal ot Batherson
Mercer and Pinto should be similar\
Mukhamadulin > Branstrom
Sharangovich, Blackwood and Holtz tip the scale hard

Comes down to centers and D for me.

Your evaluations look completely unbiased.

 

[Korpse]

Smith is a top pair D already... Sanderson may be a #2 but well see.
Hischier is already a two-way top 6 C, Norris is close enough but you'd be lying if you said they had similar talent level.
Hughes and Stutzle are close enough to wash
Tkachuk and Zacha should be around the same value
Bratt is about equal ot Batherson
Mercer and Pinto should be similar\
Mukhamadulin > Branstrom
Sharangovich, Blackwood and Holtz tip the scale hard

Comes down to centers and D for me.

What about Chabot and Subban?