GDT: Your New Jersey Devils @ Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 PM, MSG+

[Devils Dominion]

Homer Detroit media picks 2 Red Wings in the 3 stars-in the 4-3 loss.

 

[Devils Dominion]

It also taught the media and general public that NJ Devils = trap regardless that the rest of the league does it, but it's smart defense.

I think we should create and broadcast stereotypes for every other team in the league.

Rangers = 6 goalies
Detroit = Diving Divas
Buffalo = Tankers
Minnesota = Homesick haven
Chicago = Home slush advantage

Add Carolina to the divers category.
Pitts/Vanc: whiners
Wash/Blues: chokers

So many more to do

 

[njdevil26]

Larkin really pissed me off last night... but that means he's effective. They have a good player there.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Larkin really pissed me off last night... but that means he's effective. They have a good player there.

And he throws the whole "development" excuse for Conte out the window.

The kid is a highly talented player who can do everything.

Detroit scouts have a tremendous eye for talented players-and have for many years.
Their track record is 2nd to none.

 

[njdevil26]

And he throws the whole "development" excuse for Conte out the window.

The kid is a highly talented player who can do everything.

Detroit scouts have a tremendous eye for talented players-and have for many years.
Their track record is 2nd to none.

You're absolutely right about that. There's no reason you can't develop talented players while still making the playoffs every year. Guys like him and Jurco/Tatar make the Josefson/Tedenby/Matteau picks look that much worse.

 

[Devils Dominion]

You're absolutely right about that. There's no reason you can't develop talented players while still making the playoffs every year. Guys like him and Jurco/Tatar make the Josefson/Tedenby/Matteau picks look that much worse.

Yep, they make a lot of team's picks look bad in addition to Conte.

Jurco/Tatar are good examples of non-1st round finds, but also in recent years:

Pulkkinen-4th round
Mrazek-5th round
Nyquist-4th round
Janmark-3rd round (on Dallas now)
***Svechnikov remains to be seen, but I think they got a steal at 19 last draft

Going back a ways:

Abdelkater-2nd round
Helm-5th round
Matthias-2nd round
Fleischmann-2nd round
Franzen-3rd round
Hudler-2nd round
Fillpula-3rd round
Zetterberg-7th round
Datsyuk-6th round

Of course they have had a few busts too like all 30 teams, but they sure found a lot of gems over a long haul.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

And he throws the whole "development" excuse for Conte out the window.

The kid is a highly talented player who can do everything.

Detroit scouts have a tremendous eye for talented players-and have for many years.
Their track record is 2nd to none.

Larkin is exceeding all expectations at this point by everyone except maybe his family. And he's dropped into flat spells while staying on the top line too. The initial thought was he'd be a great call up to fill a spot and get exposure with his fantastic speed and hockey IQ but they didn't expect the production or it to continue. I mean how often do you get someone scoring goals in the NHL as a rookie at the same rate they did in NCAA hockey the year before? That just doesn't happen and you sure don't expect it.

This is the epitome of "forcing the coach to keep you up" that we talk about with seizing the opportunity afforded to you. No arguing he's great, but this is all years ahead of the "plan" if you will. Mantha, Jurco and Pulkkinen were supposed to be ahead of him at this point.

 

[NJDevs26]

We could have conceivably drafted Larkin if we had our regular pick that year, but that's another can of worms

 

[John Pedro]

Not a nice win, but a win anyway. PP still sucks though.

 

[217 Forever]

You're absolutely right about that. There's no reason you can't develop talented players while still making the playoffs every year. Guys like him and Jurco/Tatar make the Josefson/Tedenby/Matteau picks look that much worse.

The lesson learned should be that you can compete and rebuild/develop players at the same time which is a point I tried to make all off-season when most people on here basically wanted to wipe the slate completely clean and let all of the young kids battle it out. The reality was that most of our kids weren't ready (and may never be). And to underscore that point even more look where we are in the standings. Wouldn't Gomer look good in our bottom six right about now?

 

[Burner Account]

There is no better development for a young team than winning games. Even if this team made the playoffs and got swept in the first round, playing in playoff games would be huge.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

The lesson learned should be that you can compete and rebuild/develop players at the same time which is a point I tried to make all off-season when most people on here basically wanted to wipe the slate completely clean and let all of the young kids battle it out. The reality was that most of our kids weren't ready (and may never be). And to underscore that point even more look where we are in the standings. Wouldn't Gomer look good in our bottom six right about now?

Agree with you about it being possible to compete (not necessarily be Cup contenders, but be a competitive team that can make the playoffs) while also rebuilding/developing young players. That would probably be the ideal situation. Either way, I said during the off-season that I'd rather just miss the playoffs than be picking bottom five again. I'm tired of being in the league basement. I want the team to be somewhat competitive again, and I want our younger players playing meaningful games at the end of the season even if we end up falling short.

I said during the off-season that I wish Shero had brought Gomez back, and I still wish it. I'd prefer him to JJ. JJ got his big opportunity when Gomez wasn't brought back, and as I feared, he has continued to fail to produce. We do miss Gomez's playmaking abilities. The Gomez decision was one thing I think Shero messed up, although overall I think Shero has done a good job so far.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I rip Tootoo a lot here but I must give him credit.

His goal was a good hockey play.
He abused Smith in the corner then headed right to the net and had the awareness to have his stick in the right place.

 

[Brodeur]

Jurco/Tatar are good examples of non-1st round finds, but also in recent years:

There's a certain degree of luck as well. Detroit had the 24th pick in 2011 and was intending to take Tyler Biggs. Toronto traded up to #22 and took Biggs. Detroit then traded #24 for a pair of 2nds which included Jurco. Not exactly sure I'd call Jurco a find per se, he was 29th on TSN's list, 25th on ISS.

I remember a pre-draft interview with Tomas Tatar and he mentioned how he met the most with the Kings. But LA passed on him at #35 and took Kyle Clifford.

 

[Devils Dominion]

There's a certain degree of luck as well. Detroit had the 24th pick in 2011 and was intending to take Tyler Biggs. Toronto traded up to #22 and took Biggs. Detroit then traded #24 for a pair of 2nds which included Jurco. Not exactly sure I'd call Jurco a find per se, he was 29th on TSN's list, 25th on ISS.

I remember a pre-draft interview with Tomas Tatar and he mentioned how he met the most with the Kings. But LA passed on him at #35 and took Kyle Clifford.

Luck and fortune of players falling into your lap play a part at times for every team but their scouts have proven to be the best at finding talent in the draft.
They still could have made other selections than those players.

It's no coincidence that they haven't missed the playoffs in eons and they also have some hardware in their trophy case.

I'm hopeful that Shero will give Castron better funding and resources to establish a staff that can keep up with the Detroit's.
I could be wrong, but, I don't think Conte was given the funds nor manpower to properly scout all over the world.
Conte also kept around his good ole boy network for too long and did not hold certain men accountable for repeated errors in judgment.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I think Detroit (in terms of getting the best results out of where they draft) probably has the greatest scouting staff in the league, at least when it comes to forwards, because I believe they've struggled more with drafting defensemen that can really contribute in the NHL. They haven't really drafted a good defenseman since Kronwall in my opinion. Still Detroit's scouting staff deserves a ton of credit and respect for helping to keep Detroit's long playoff streak alive. Their forward scouting is absolutely top-notch. Not saying they won't have a few whiffs, but they definitely have a lot of out-of-the-ballpark grand slams as well.

 

[217 Forever]

Agree with you about it being possible to compete (not necessarily be Cup contenders, but be a competitive team that can make the playoffs) while also rebuilding/developing young players. That would probably be the ideal situation. Either way, I said during the off-season that I'd rather just miss the playoffs than be picking bottom five again. I'm tired of being in the league basement. I want the team to be somewhat competitive again, and I want our younger players playing meaningful games at the end of the season even if we end up falling short.

I said during the off-season that I wish Shero had brought Gomez back, and I still wish it. I'd prefer him to JJ. JJ got his big opportunity when Gomez wasn't brought back, and as I feared, he has continued to fail to produce. We do miss Gomez's playmaking abilities. The Gomez decision was one thing I think Shero messed up, although overall I think Shero has done a good job so far.

The bottom line is that unless you are doing something truly harmful to the future of the franchise then you simply put out the best team possible. You sell more tickets, your team gains confidence and likes that winning feeling, and so on and so forth. Only in a completely lost season like last year would I ever say it's ok to lose a few games while experimenting, but I would never ever go into a brand new season with the mindset that we just aren't going to be competitive and for whatever reasons that might be ok.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

The bottom line is that unless you are doing something truly harmful to the future of the franchise then you simply put out the best team possible. You sell more tickets, your team gains confidence and likes that winning feeling, and so on and so forth. Only in a completely lost season like last year would I ever say it's ok to lose a few games while experimenting, but I would never ever go into a brand new season with the mindset that we just aren't going to be competitive and for whatever reasons that might be ok.

I think you and I are pretty much in agreement about that philosophy.

 

[217 Forever]

I think you and I are pretty much in agreement about that philosophy.

Glad someone on here agrees with me about something

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Blashill being a bit of a sore loser:

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/12/23/after-devils-rough-up-larkin-blashill-says-we-dont-want-our-young-stars-in-the-league-getting-targeted/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=4807659&utm_source=FB%20-%20NHL%20on%20NBC%20Sports&utm_tags=srm%5Bhockey%2Carticle%5D

I didn't see the Devils roughing Larkin. I saw Larkin making some embarrassing dives.

 

[Bleedred]

I thought we were better than the score indicated. Penalty killing was a joke.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

I rip Tootoo a lot here but I must give him credit.

His goal was a good hockey play.
He abused Smith in the corner then headed right to the net and had the awareness to have his stick in the right place.

It's been awhile, however, Tootoo had a good game. Very physical and scored a goal. Can't ask for more,

 

[Brooklyndevil]

Blashill being a bit of a sore loser:



http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/12/23/after-devils-rough-up-larkin-blashill-says-we-dont-want-our-young-stars-in-the-league-getting-targeted/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=4807659&utm_source=FB%20-%20NHL%20on%20NBC%20Sports&utm_tags=srm%5Bhockey%2Carticle%5D

I didn't see the Devils roughing Larkin. I saw Larkin making some embarrassing dives.

I agree. the USA OLYMPIC diving team should have him tryout.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I agree. the USA OLYMPIC diving team should have him tryout.

Rio is approaching. He might be peaking as a diver at just the right time.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Blashill being a bit of a sore loser:

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/12/23/after-devils-rough-up-larkin-blashill-says-we-dont-want-our-young-stars-in-the-league-getting-targeted/?utm_network=facebook&utm_post=4807659&utm_source=FB%20-%20NHL%20on%20NBC%20Sports&utm_tags=srm%5Bhockey%2Carticle%5D

I didn't see the Devils roughing Larkin. I saw Larkin making some embarrassing dives.

The Wings' diving and hitting the ice like a ton of bricks after minimal contact was an absolute joke last night.

Shame on them and they should not have to resort to such embarrassing tactics since they are a high skilled/energy team.