Injury Report: Zajac injured, out 4-6 months.

[Merrills Marauders]

you make this huge assumption that he isn't playing center and you aren't even the one that mentioned it. bowl cut did so slow your roll.

i believe he will play center. i'm not worried about the kids getting steam rolled or shelled night after night. there are 0 expectations this year from any of them and the team in general.

Zacha was proclaimed by Devils staff to be a winger; that did not need to be brought back up. Give it a rest bud.

 

[JrFischer54]

Zacha was proclaimed by Devils staff to be a winger; that did not need to be brought back up. Give it a rest bud.

just super strange you don't mention that at any point in your arguments to me until bowl cut mentions it. lol yeah weird

 

[devilsblood]

Hall Rico McLeod across the top.

Mojo Nico Palms 2nd line.

Blender/Q Zacha Noesen

Wood Boyle Hayes.

Edit: threw Blender in as an option to that 3rd line LW.

And there is still the option of Mojo at RW, so we could go Palms-Mojo-Noesen-Hayes down the right side. That's without including either of Speers Mcleod, or even Lappin.

Even with Zajac hurt we still have a ton of options. Youngins for the most part, but a lot of options nonetheless.

 

[Merrills Marauders]

just super strange you don't mention that at any point in your arguments to me until bowl cut mentions it. lol yeah weird

weird that as soon as multiple other people chime in that Zacha likely isn't the answer at 2C, your argument absolutely implodes and now we have issues

 

[Emperoreddy]

Zacha was proclaimed by Devils staff to be a winger; that did not need to be brought back up. Give it a rest bud.

That was two years ago and they proceeded to play him at center last year.

 

[VoidCreature]

That was two years ago and they proceeded to play him at center last year.

This. Hynes called him a winger once, when he was talking about someone else.

 

[NJDevs26]

Well to be technical it was last offseason after the draft when they made the comment about McLeod being the center to go along with Zacha the winger (something in the vein of 'we drafted a center this year after a winger last year'). But their subsequent usage of Zacha at C belies that so I don't think people should be citing quotes more than a year old that have already been contradicted a bit.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I still don't think McLeod is physically ready for the NHL.

He needs to bulk up and get stronger first.

 

[devilsblood]

I still don't think McLeod is physically ready for the NHL.

He needs to bulk up and get stronger first.

He's a pretty darn big kid. Maybe some of that is pad's, but if Nico is ready for the NHL physically then McLeod is certainly ready.

Watching McLeod at the summer showcase, and then the shift by shift in the prospects thread, seems to me size is one of his best attributes. I think his skating has been overblown a bit. He's a good skater, especially for his size, but some have said he will step in as one of the best skaters in the league, which I was not seeing at all.

 

[JrFischer54]

weird that as soon as multiple other people chime in that Zacha likely isn't the answer at 2C, your argument absolutely implodes and now we have issues 😂

huh? tbc is multiple?

then put nico at 2c. losing zajac isn't the doom and gloom you think it is. so not sure what your saying. the kids will be just fine. relax

 

[devilsblood]

huh? tbc is multiple?

then put nico at 2c. losing zajac isn't the doom and gloom you think it is. so not sure what your saying. the kids will be just fine. relax

Especially if it's only 2 months.

The lack of support on the back end could be a bigger concern.

 

[Merrills Marauders]

That was two years ago and they proceeded to play him at center last year.

I admit that I had never heard this was misquoted - even if I'm fairly sure this was not two years ago. This has morphed so far from my original point it borders on hilarity. Secondly, this is not the Pavel Zacha thread, and I never intended for it to morph into such. But, while we're here. Let's not pretend that Zacha was used exclusively at center last year, if I recall correctly he even started out last year on the wing. If Zacha was mistakenly labeled a winger by Hynes and/or Shero, maybe they were onto something given his underlying stats which leave a lot to be desired to build on this year, especially if he is to be given heavy duty minutes as 2C.

huh? tbc is multiple?

then put nico at 2c. losing zajac isn't the doom and gloom you think it is. so not sure what your saying. the kids will be just fine. relax

Sigh. Never did I say doom and gloom and nor did I say the kids wouldn't be "fine" . They aren't going to die without Zajac. Likely this was a lost season anyway, and no Zajac wouldn't have changed that. My original point was that Zajac is the best defensive forward on the team, and there could be up to 2 rookie centers/Zacha underneath him. That is far from ideal and to me, really can't be challenged. Nico at 2C? Right, he must be in McDavid company to be penciled in there now since Zacha, as your linchpin, would cause issues for the team should he not be in the 2C role. If you want to continue this, feel free to PM me as I have no desire to continue a trivial pissing match on a message board for all else to sift through.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Losing Zajac isn't doom and gloom because we aren't contending. This is a development year.

Get these kids to cut their teeth

 

[Merrills Marauders]

Losing Zajac isn't doom and gloom because we aren't contending. This is a development year.

Get these kids to cut their teeth

And I'm in complete agreement that this is a development year. But proper development is key to avoid the Edmonton syndrome.

 

[Emperoreddy]

And I'm in complete agreement that this is a development year. But proper development is key to avoid the Edmonton syndrome.

We still have good vets around the kids, and I don't think we have any Yak level potential busts either.