Devils 2018-19 team discussion (news and notes) part IV

[Call Me Al]

lol

 

[Call Me Al]

considering how the rest of the division is doing and the devils games in hand, the season is not sunk based on this stretch and we are not st a point where we are playing catch up. it’s the games going forward that count

 

[MadDevil]

We are at a crossroads in the season already.

A bad stretch of 5 losses out of 7 can sink the season.

We don't have enough firepower to play catch up in the standings.

Unless you're the Florida Panthers.

 

[BahlDeep]

We are at a crossroads in the season already.

A bad stretch of 5 losses out of 7 can sink the season.

We don't have enough firepower to play catch up in the standings.

I mean you still tried to predict the flyers would make the playoffs after they lost 9 straight 2 seasons ago, but whatever

Same goes for the Panthers last year.

 

[My3Sons]

oh i was very clear about that, i also didn’t want to pick up any pricey UFA’s (would’ve been happy if we kicked the tires on de haan but not a big deal). i wanted us to stay the course, hopefully get a good draft position and continue to stock the pond. but, i knew that meant a potentially rough season...which was fine. i lowered my expectations accordingly.

one thing i didn’t anticipate was this seeming lack of effort- we haven’t played 60 solid minutes of hockey in a very long time. to me, that’s more concerning than this **** roster

I think that is a function of human nature. It’s not feasible to stay keyed up all the time. That’s why coaches like Keenan and Torts don’t last. They push people beyond what they can do and then they turn off the message. That’s why football teams swing so up and down year to year. If you rely on emotion and outworking the opponent as the means of wining you can only sustain it for so long. At some point you have to be able to win in other ways or be god enough you can win when your team is at 75% like NJ is now. They need talent in the worst way. They can use a full second line (maybe Bratt helps there) and a true number one defender but that will take time. They will get their second wind and start winning again but they won’t win many games when they aren’t at their best.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

We are at a crossroads in the season already.

A bad stretch of 5 losses out of 7 can sink the season.

We don't have enough firepower to play catch up in the standings.

Just like last year right?

 

[NJ07102]

Just like last year right?

The difference is: We had a 9-2 start last season and never had a .500 record after that. In fact, we never were even close to being .500. The worst was probably 33-25-8 in March after losing to Vegas at home. This is why it is not out of the question that DD is right.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

*whispers*

33-25-8 IS .500....

 

[NJ07102]

*whispers*

33-25-8 IS .500....

74 point out of 66 games is not .500

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

33-25-8 is 33 wins and 33 losses

thats .500. The fact that the NHL awards a loser point is a different discussion.

 

[NJ07102]

33-25-8 is 33 wins and 33 losses

thats .500. The fact that the NHL awards a loser point is a different discussion.

In that case we are under .500 at this point which we haven't been last season at any stage. Alright?

 

[Cult of Hynes]

*whispers*

33-25-8 IS .500....

We're below 500 right now and are coughing up leads when we have them. Last year this team could at least fight back while down, this team hasn't even shown they can hold a lead recently let alone come back and fight.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

marketing sucks.

fixed that for you.

 

[JimEIV]

Only 2 solutions left as I see it:

1. A major trade

2. Fire the coaching staff

Or just give up and play for the draft.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

The only players I see as in the core right now are Hall, Nico, Palms, Bratt, Wood, Coleman, Vats, Sevs, Butcher and Mueller. Greene and Zajac are solid players but are not long term core guys due to age.

We really need some of Zacha, Quenneville, Seney, McLeod, Anderson, Speers, Boqvist, Zetterlund, Studenic, Gignac and Talvitie to develop.

Looks like Ty Smith is the real deal and there are a few other young D coming like Walsh. Plus Santini should replace Lovejoy next year.

If MarJo doesn’t show anything we basically have a 1st line, Bratter and a 3rd line. This is what a rebuild looks like.

Good news is we have good cap room and a ton of young players and prospects. All depends on how they develop and what moves Shero makes. It’s not all gloom and doom. It’s not a bad place to be in but it’s still the beginning of working back to relevance.

This. Building a cup contender takes time. Bad drafting sets you back. I think the long term looks good for the Devils. Last nights lineup card on the other hand...….

 

[JimEIV]

This. Building a cup contender takes time. Bad drafting sets you back. I think the long term looks good for the Devils. Last nights lineup card on the other hand...….

This is why I kept complaining about all the 2nd and 3rd round picks we wasted over the last year.

Just the picks in the Johansson, Maroon and Grabner deals are practically an entire draft year worth of prospects.

Maroon 2019 3rd
Grabner 2018 2nd
Johansson 2018 2nd and 2018 3rd
We gave a 2018 3rd in the Vatanen deal

That's 5 top 100 picks.

You don't do that if you're a rebuilding team, especially on the rentals... I could understand on Vatanen and Johansson cause you think that they could become part of a long term plan...but thats still a lot of picks without a lot to show for it

 

[OmNomNom]

This is why I kept complaining about all the 2nd and 3rd round picks we wasted over the last year.

Just the picks in the Johansson, Maroon and Grabner deals are practically an entire draft year worth of prospects.

Maroon 2019 3rd
Grabner 2018 2nd
Johansson 2018 2nd and 2018 3rd
We gave a 2018 3rd in the Vatanen deal

That's 5 top 100 picks.

You don't do that if you're a rebuilding team, especially on the rentals... I could understand on Vatanen and Johansson cause you think that they could become part of a long term plan...but thats still a lot of picks without a lot to show for it

johansson and vatanen were worth it, since they're actually players
maroon would've been a top 9 player if he wasn't called home
grabner is a stupid anomaly who couldn't make it work here, but if he had, we might've had a different outcome in the playoffs

the logic behind the trades aren't stupid, at least

 

[jkrdevil]

This is why I kept complaining about all the 2nd and 3rd round picks we wasted over the last year.

Just the picks in the Johansson, Maroon and Grabner deals are practically an entire draft year worth of prospects.

Maroon 2019 3rd
Grabner 2018 2nd
Johansson 2018 2nd and 2018 3rd
We gave a 2018 3rd in the Vatanen deal

That's 5 top 100 picks.

You don't do that if you're a rebuilding team, especially on the rentals... I could understand on Vatanen and Johansson cause you think that they could become part of a long term plan...but thats still a lot of picks without a lot to show for it

The Maroon trade right now is preventing us to make a serious play at Nylander. We would be able to offer sheet Nylander and given the Leafs cap situation they might not match.

However, without our our own third (and Philly now owns it so we aren’t going to be able to get it back) the only conceivable offer sheet is 4 first round pick, which is wasted capital IMO.

And we probably don’t have the prospect assists to make a trade with the Leafs.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

The Maroon trade right now is preventing us to make a serious play at Nylander. We would be able to offer sheet Nylander and given the Leafs cap situation they might not match.

However, without our our own third (and Philly now owns it so we aren’t going to be able to get it back) the only conceivable offer sheet is 4 first round pick, which is wasted capital IMO.

And we probably don’t have the prospect assists to make a trade with the Leafs.

just nonsense

we have absolutely nothing to believe Shero would offer sheet anyone

talk about making something out of nothing

 

[jkrdevil]

more of an observation that criticism. They probably don’t give an offer sheet, but it is leverage if you get into trade talks.

Still Shero would have to have a crystal ball to know how it played out. And if Edmonton doesn’t end up flipping it to Philly would could make a deal to get it back

 

[Blender]

This is why I kept complaining about all the 2nd and 3rd round picks we wasted over the last year.

Just the picks in the Johansson, Maroon and Grabner deals are practically an entire draft year worth of prospects.

Maroon 2019 3rd
Grabner 2018 2nd
Johansson 2018 2nd and 2018 3rd
We gave a 2018 3rd in the Vatanen deal

That's 5 top 100 picks.

You don't do that if you're a rebuilding team, especially on the rentals... I could understand on Vatanen and Johansson cause you think that they could become part of a long term plan...but thats still a lot of picks without a lot to show for it

Meh, Vatanen has been a good trade. Maroon was an excellent trade that helped get us in the playoffs, and Shero tried hard to keep him but he went to St. Louis on a bargain for his kid. Grabner was a bust worse than even the detractors at the time thought he would be. Johansson trade hasn't worked out so far with all his injuries and his lackluster play.

 

[MadDevil]

Only 2 solutions left as I see it:

1. A major trade

2. Fire the coaching staff

Or just give up and play for the draft.

Or players who aren't playing well now could play better. Or we could stop taking a bunch of dumb penalties. Or making dumb mental errors. It seems weird how pretty much the exact same roster as last year is somehow written off after a bad 7 games.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

Or players who aren't playing well now could play better. Or we could stop taking a bunch of dumb penalties. Or making dumb mental errors. It seems weird how pretty much the exact same roster as last year is somehow written off after a bad 7 games.

A lot of people around the league and some NJ fans think last season was a fluke

Id like a trade for a top 6 guy either way, whether we are in a slump or the team is this bad. Only way I dont want a trade is if we end up like really really bad this year (which i doubt), then sell off a few guys and go for first overall lol

 

[Billdo]

The Maroon trade right now is preventing us to make a serious play at Nylander. We would be able to offer sheet Nylander and given the Leafs cap situation they might not match.

However, without our our own third (and Philly now owns it so we aren’t going to be able to get it back) the only conceivable offer sheet is 4 first round pick, which is wasted capital IMO.

And we probably don’t have the prospect assists to make a trade with the Leafs.

I mean nobody does offer sheets but yeah.

 

[JimEIV]

Meh, Vatanen has been a good trade. Maroon was an excellent trade that helped get us in the playoffs, and Shero tried hard to keep him but he went to St. Louis on a bargain for his kid. Grabner was a bust worse than even the detractors at the time thought he would be. Johansson trade hasn't worked out so far with all his injuries and his lackluster play.

The rationalization, or even the effectiveness of said players avoids the core issue though. That is how wise is it for a team obviously still very much in the rebuilding phase to be giving 5 top 100 picks in a year?

You remember in 2014 when everyone was saying "worst prospect pool in the league" the pool with Santini, Severson, Merrill, Coleman, Wood, Wedgewood, Kinkaid, Boucher, Quenneville, Matteau, Jacobs, Pietila....
Well, I don't think we have anything near that right now. Certainly not in terms of Defense.