Positives from the 2023-24 Season Thread

[PizzaAndPucks]

Rough season as we all know. There still is some positives though. I'll start off by saying I really hated how badly Meier was playing the first half of the season but once he was utilized properly and got healthier he really found his game. He lead the team in goals despite playing less games than Nico and Bratt while also getting a good chunk of the season not on the first powerplay. All this despite his really slow start too. It's encouraging stuff for next year.

I'll say Luke had a decent rookie season breaking the team record for points by a rookie defensman. Hopefully his defensive game and his clumsiness on the ice improves but he could be something special for us. Nemec also had a pretty good rookie season too. The Hamilton injury really forced those 2 into a bigger role than expected. I keep forgetting how young they are and that no other NHL team ever had 2 players that young on their blueline playing that many minutes.

I'll give Allen a shout out for coming in here and playing some inspired hockey for us. He can't stand on his head every game and steal us a win but he was pretty good for us the majority of his starts. Even Kahkonnen had some good games for us posting a .923 Sv% & a 2.51 GAA. The guy posted our only shutout of the season.

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[Satans Hockey]

Stadium series win and jerseys.

That's all I got.

 

[Killing Joke]

The season ended

 

[Devs3cups]

Nico
Bratt
Timo getting back to 100% and performing well
Jack being on a 100 point pace with 1 shoulder
Luke
Nemec

 

[Goptor]

Got 3 rookies in on Defense. Won't be rookies next year.

Management knows Green sucks so they'll be able to fire him.

Cap structure of the team hurt us this year but sets us up very well for the blow up over the next couple years.

Management knows Green sucks so they'll be able to fire him.

Management knows Green sucks so they'll be able to fire him.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Nico, Bratt, Jake Allen when he got a stretch, the rookie dmen in spurts. That's pretty much it

Nico
Bratt
Timo getting back to 100% and performing well
Jack being on a 100 point pace with 1 shoulder
Luke
Nemec

Yeah I forgot Timo and Jack, Timo specifically, I think he scores 40 next year

 

[Bleedred]

The one positive to Ruff being fired on March 4th is that we already tried the Travis Green thing and it failed to the point where it won’t happen again.

Worst thing would be for us to try it next year full time after Ruff got fired tomorrow.

 

[Killing Joke]

Too many of you have faith that Tom isn’t just a stupid f***ing moron

 

[MadDevil]

It's weird. For such a disappointing season, I feel like the core (at least up front) were all fine. Nico and Bratt were pretty consistently our best forwards. Timo, once he got healthy and put in the right role looked like Timo again. Jack was a PPG player with a bum shoulder. Mercer was probably the most disappointing this season, but I'm not sure I'd label him as part of the core just yet. A healthy Jack and Timo next year, and a bounce back from Mercer and I think the offense will be fine.

Defensively, obviously Luke and Nemec are positives. Luke played too much but powered his way through the wall he hit. Nemec looks wise beyond his years and along with Luke is going to be a monster with more experience.

Goaltending...I guess Allen might be an okay backup? That's about all I've got. I guess Daws looked decent for a while too before they ran him into the ground.

Coaching...f*** all of 'em. Except Sarge.

Management...Fitz has a key off-season coming up. The honeymoon is over and he needs to get the ship righted this summer before we become Buffalo.

 

[britdevil]

Luke.

That's about it.

 

[Patrik26]

Timo (post-injury)
Nemec (fingers crossed for the future)
Bratt (sans the occasional disappearing act)

That's about it.

 

[Guadana]

McDermid

Thats about it.

Nico, Bratt, Timo, Jack can be ppg+ even when he is playing with one hand. Timo post injury redemption tour. Simon and Luke will be great top 4 D, both show it. Allen can be good, if team can protect him from Bahlisms.
I liked what video coach did to protect the team from "face off" scoring against.
Devils were good in some games against very good teams. Its a pity I will remember more games vs bottom feeders than games with Colorado or Vegas.
Core is good but the construction of complimentary stuff building needs more work.

 

[SJinNewJersey]

Lazar had a nice season. Didn't think he was going to add anything to the team when Fitz dealt for him, and he's been a positive impact player since he's gotten here.

 

[JimEIV]

There was literally nothing good about this season.

The young defense getting reps is necessary not a positive. I personally think they were thrown to the wolves in a really shitty way.

Bahl's inconsistencies should have been expected. The kid was playing games 67 through 148 of his career... unfortunately there is little support for a young defender on this team and the losing, lack of structure, injuries compound the problems that any young defender was going to have to work through.

Luke was as expected. Undeniable raw skill on display all season but very much like a kitten chasing a laser pointer on defense. Probably going to be a couple of seasons before he is where we need him to be but the raw skill can and will mask a lot of the uglies while he's growing over the next two years.

Nemec didn't look as bad defensively but was. He's had the benefit of playing in Pro leagues against men in Slovakia and in AHL for well over 150 games now...he definitely was more prepared for his opportunity than Luke but his game is still far away from being adequate. His timing and decision making needs to get much quicker...he hesitates frequently, probably something that was never an issue for him against inferior players in other leagues but it is now as the play develops much faster than he's ever seen...that will no doubt get cleaned up but it's going to take some time and adjustment. Timing and overall polish of another full season probably gets Nemec close to where we need him.

None of what transpired is a positive, it was necessary learning but it happened under the absolute worse conditions for young Dmen in my opinion.

This team is not close to competing and won't be until the Defense is more mature. 2 years.

Edit:
And even though my entire focus was on the young defenders, Jack also needs to grow and mature as player just as much as these defenders. Jack needs to get his game to another level for us to succeed. A more well rounded game with more attention to detail and not just a guy that rushes the puck up ice and puts up points. Or we will never be a good team.

 

[Devs3cups]

McDermid

Thats about it.

Nico, Bratt, Timo, Jack can be ppg+ even when he is playing with one hand. Timo post injury redemption tour. Simon and Luke will be great top 4 D, both show it. Allen can be good, if team can protect him from Bahlisms.
I liked what video coach did to protect the team from "face off" scoring against.
Devils were good in some games against very good teams. Its a pity I will remember more games vs bottom feeders than games with Colorado or Vegas.
Core is good but the construction of complimentary stuff building needs more work.

Spot on imo. Luke and Simon will develop into top pair guys and will be key parts for a long time. I also agree the complimentary players need to be better.

 

[theoptimist]

Jesper Bratt

 

[Wierzbowski426]

Devils sucking enough with Green that we shouldn't have to worry about him staying the coach, this is the big one. Meier after his injury and the Ruff shenanigans. Bratt and Nico.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Luke and Nemec were good. Like for a pair of guys who were 20 or younger the whole season they were legitimate NHL caliber players, second pairing caliber, despite some ugly runs of games and the occasional (and sorry doomers, seriously overblown) defensive miscues. I'm legitimately excited to watch them suit up for the foreseeable future. I wish they had been eased in a little more smoothly than getting thrown right in the fire, but they're good enough to overcome it. I think some of you will be legitimately shocked by how fast they end up remarkably steady options on the back end.

Healthy Timo was really f***ing good. If he can play like that for more than a month and a half, he'll be a real difference maker next year.

Bratt was really good most of the year. Good things just happen whenever he's on the ice. Devils best forward (because Jack shoulder was shredded but nonetheless).

Lazar was what I have been begging for for years. Bottom 6 guy who plays hard and mostly clogs up the ice. Happy to not score when he's out there if the opponents also aren't scoring. If I could sign 2 more of him I'd be over the moon.

McLeod is finally off my f***ING team.

 

[britdevil]

There was literally nothing good about this season.

The young defense getting reps is necessary not a positive. I personally think they were thrown to the wolves in a really shitty way.

Bahl's inconsistencies should have been expected. The kid was playing games 67 through 148 of his career... unfortunately there is little support for a young defender on this team and the losing, lack of structure, injuries compound the problems that any young defender was going to have to work through.

Luke was as expected. Undeniable raw skill on display all season but very much like a kitten chasing a laser pointer on defense. Probably going to be a couple of seasons before he is where we need him to be but the raw skill can and will mask a lot of the uglies while he's growing over the next two years.

Nemec didn't look as bad defensively but was. He's had the benefit of playing in Pro leagues against men in Slovakia and in AHL for well over 150 games now...he definitely was more prepared for his opportunity than Luke but his game is still far away from being adequate. His timing and decision making needs to get much quicker...he hesitates frequently, probably something that was never an issue for him against inferior players in other leagues but it is now as the play develops much faster than he's ever seen...that will no doubt get cleaned up but it's going to take some time and adjustment. Timing and overall polish of another full season probably gets Nemec close to where we need him.

None of what transpired is a positive, it was necessary learning but it happened under the absolute worse conditions for young Dmen in my opinion.

This team is not close to competing and won't be until the Defense is more mature. 2 years.

Edit:
And even though my entire focus was on the young defenders, Jack also needs to grow and mature as player just as much as these defenders. Jack needs to get his game to another level for us to succeed. A more well rounded game with more attention to detail and not just a guy that rushes the puck up ice and puts up points. Or we will never be a good team.

You'll catch heat for this, but you're right.

Going into this season with this defense was a gamble. It didn't pay off.

 

[MartyOwns]

i agree with the consensus and i’ll add that nico had a great year.

 

[Cheddabombs]

HFDevils was entertaining sometimes

 

[Blackjack]

(Watches Luke and Nemec play great hockey while the vets get injured or cratered)

“You know what the problem is? All these rooks on defense!”

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Nico
Bratt
Timo getting back to 100% and performing well
Jack being on a 100 point pace with 1 shoulder
Luke
Nemec

The 6 most important pieces in the organization too. There's stuff to build off of for next year for those 6. The supporting cast is where most of my concerns lie at the moment.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

There was literally nothing good about this season.

The young defense getting reps is necessary not a positive. I personally think they were thrown to the wolves in a really shitty way.

Bahl's inconsistencies should have been expected. The kid was playing games 67 through 148 of his career... unfortunately there is little support for a young defender on this team and the losing, lack of structure, injuries compound the problems that any young defender was going to have to work through.

Luke was as expected. Undeniable raw skill on display all season but very much like a kitten chasing a laser pointer on defense. Probably going to be a couple of seasons before he is where we need him to be but the raw skill can and will mask a lot of the uglies while he's growing over the next two years.

Nemec didn't look as bad defensively but was. He's had the benefit of playing in Pro leagues against men in Slovakia and in AHL for well over 150 games now...he definitely was more prepared for his opportunity than Luke but his game is still far away from being adequate. His timing and decision making needs to get much quicker...he hesitates frequently, probably something that was never an issue for him against inferior players in other leagues but it is now as the play develops much faster than he's ever seen...that will no doubt get cleaned up but it's going to take some time and adjustment. Timing and overall polish of another full season probably gets Nemec close to where we need him.

None of what transpired is a positive, it was necessary learning but it happened under the absolute worse conditions for young Dmen in my opinion.

This team is not close to competing and won't be until the Defense is more mature. 2 years.

Edit:
And even though my entire focus was on the young defenders, Jack also needs to grow and mature as player just as much as these defenders. Jack needs to get his game to another level for us to succeed. A more well rounded game with more attention to detail and not just a guy that rushes the puck up ice and puts up points. Or we will never be a good team.

How to change the topic of a thread completely upside down. Well done.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I don't see a whole lot of positives from this season. Luke and Nemec showing they have the raw talent we hoped for in drafting them...yes great long-term...but within this season...off-set by the fact that they were thrown into the fire and Luke in particular was being forced out there when it was clear he should have taken a seat for at least a few games. I'm not so sure that's a good thing for their development.

The outdoor game was a lot of fun and clearly the high point of the season. That was short-lived and quickly overshadowed by an implosion of piss poor performances which I would categorize as amongst the most pathetic and disgraceful I've witnessed in more than two decades of following this team.

This was another year where almost every skater - including the core minus Nico - doesn't execute the fundamentals, doesn't seem to care for the little details, and still plays immature sloppy hockey. I've pinned most of the blame on this on a poor coaching staff and lack of accountability - now we are relying on a GM who architected that staff and oversaw this lack of accountability to ace the next coaching decision and change the culture. There's also the possibility that the core themselves are part of the problem.

Only time will tell if this was merely a blip on the radar aggravated by circumstances out of their control, or part of a continued pattern reflecting poor organizational leadership and roster construction.