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

[Better Call Sal]

i don’t understand. why would he need to walk for an entire year? is this some kind of forrest gump thing like when he ran across the country?

 

[Wingman77]

We can't keep relying on guys from within and then when things don't go as planned, have nothing to fall back on. That is part of the problem we are especially dealing with this year.

Guys from elsewhere need to be brought in, goes without saying that it is easier said than done, however it is going to be one of the few ways to take a step forward without stepping backwards again. The guys from within need competition. This team so sorely needs any type of depth and competition it can get. Very little of that is present right now. Drew Stafford, JSD, and John Quenneville has been this years forwards group competition, if you want to call it that.

 

[New Jack City]

does anyone have any hope McLeod turns into anything?

 

[MartyOwns]

does anyone have any hope McLeod turns into anything?

yep, ever since we drafted him

 

[bodda]

does anyone have any hope McLeod turns into anything?

Yes

 

[Beetlebum]

It’s the money. Buying out Cory would result in paying him $2 mil for another 6 years. Yeah we don’t have cap issues but that is such an unnecessary sunk cost when there are goalies that have proven it takes 2 years to recover from that surgery.

Kinkaid is in a walk year. If Mac proves he’s capable over a prolonged period of time this year, let Kinkaid walk and go in with Schneider hopefully having less pressure and see if he can re-establish some value. Then you can maybe entertain a buyout if he falters or move him if Mac continues to show he’s the real deal and Cory gets himself right again.

I would be shocked if the Devils are approaching the cap max within the next 4 years.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Karlsson not being able to play defense is just something not true. Anyway Sharks are #6 in the league and Karlsson has seems to have gotten into groove. It's not easy to switch to a completely different team/structure as a defenseman. Noted defensive defenseman Vlasic is -15 on a +17 team (not including shootout goals against/for) while Karlsson is +2 and Burns is +8. If that was the other way around I'm sure you would have used that against those two and how they can't 'survive' with both of them. Not that I really care for +/- anyway. Just seems to be an argument always used against him. Karlsson is so much better than any guy on the Devils' blueline and he should be the one turning down the Devils if he comes to UFA and not the other way around.

Of course, if you can add a karlsson and not hamstring your team for years with the contract, you do it. But my assertion is that doughty WILL make a bad team good and a good team great. Karlsson may make a good team a champion, or a mediocre team worse. Vlassic was karlsson's pair for a couple of months and hasn't recovered.

You need a goalie that is oozing confidence to make karlsson work on your team. They get hamburgular on a run and they're in the conference finals. They gind anderson down and they're doormats. Martin Jones has been a question mark all season with ek in front of him. The only reason they are 6 in the league is they've hit a super soft patch of the schedule.

 

[Smitty426]

Hi there, Wings fan who lives in NY and watches a small bunch devils games when I get the chance. Just wanted to make a quick observation. Specifically on the powerplay (like today), Zacha somewhat reminds me of a young Mike zibanejad with his habits and instincts of very quick cross ice east west passes. I'm not sure what Zacha's ceiling will wind up being, but much like Zibanejad had to learn and that many here have iterated over time the past few seasons, one of the things that will help Zacha to be more successful is learning how to play off a shooters mentality and find a balance between his natural instincts of passing and shooting. Easier said than done i know. The good thing is that with Zacha, there is a foundation to work with. Somehow he will either have to gain a moment of insight and evolve on his own (his age is on his side imo), or have a mentor there to activley teach him. No matter what, the time frame of your guy's sucess can only be helped with the development of Zacha (and of course others). I wish you guys and Zacha the best of luck =).

Thx CaptZets

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

I mentioned Niederreiter as a potential Noesen upgrade - a physical type with goal scoring upside.

I didn’t realize Micheal Ferland is UFA this summer. That’s another top candidate. Like Niederreiter, he can play both LW and RW.

 

[njdevils1982]

I'm curious what our record is with JQ this season?

thanks…you got me wondering also


8-3-2

John Quenneville 2018-19 Game Log | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[Comparison Ford]

i know its such a small point, but it was great to see Zacha's reaction to his goal. he seems to never get excited and always stays calm, even when being a part of scoring plays so it was awesome to see him scream after his goal and get stoked. for me those little things show that his confidence is improving and he is starting to realize that he is a player in this league.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Certainly looks like we need that 2C from this years draft. Zacha doesn’t need to be demoted this far though, just patients.

Did we have Maroon with Wood and Zacha last year at all? Seems like that wouldve been a great fit with their hard cycling and his passing skills.

We had wood zacha palms for a bit and they were dynamite.

 

[zharkenby]

i know its such a small point, but it was great to see Zacha's reaction to his goal. he seems to never get excited and always stays calm, even when being a part of scoring plays so it was awesome to see him scream after his goal and get stoked. for me those little things show that his confidence is improving and he is starting to realize that he is a player in this league.

I noticed this as well. Him showing emotion is always a good sign

 

[Better Call Sal]

I would be shocked if the Devils are approaching the cap max within the next 4 years.

Sure I don’t either, but I’d be hard pressed to find a team that would willingly continue to pay $2 million to a guy for 6 years to not play for the team.

It’s just not a smart way to manage things. Maybe entertain it after next season if things get that bad. But they’re going to try and give him the chance to redeem himself after the hip surgery and stating the examples of guys who took more than one offseason to recover fully.

 

[Devils Dominion]

thanks…you got me wondering also


8-3-2

John Quenneville 2018-19 Game Log | Hockey-Reference.com

That's a decent sample size too

 

[Zippy316]

does anyone have any hope McLeod turns into anything?

Like Blackwood, he's a guy who was drafted for his skill set and potential combined with their work ethic rather than the fact that he was a complete product.

Have to be patient with those picks but the upside is still there. He's having a relatively solid first year in the A, nothing extraordinary, but nothing too worrisome.

 

[Zippy316]

I mentioned Niederreiter as a potential Noesen upgrade - a physical type with goal scoring upside.

I didn’t realize Micheal Ferland is UFA this summer. That’s another top candidate. Like Niederreiter, he can play both LW and RW.

I'm going to keep pumping Ferland's tires. Maybe if I say it enough he'll eventually come here.

But in all seriousness, I think he's the type of forward we need. Versatile, big body who can make plays but also plays with some physicality. Would compliment the skill guys we have nicely but can also drop down to play a checking role if need be.

He's had some concussion issues and seems to have tailed off a bit recently. Should be interesting to keep an eye on.

 

[R8Devs]

Sure I don’t either, but I’d be hard pressed to find a team that would willingly continue to pay $2 million to a guy for 6 years to not play for the team.

It’s just not a smart way to manage things. Maybe entertain it after next season if things get that bad. But they’re going to try and give him the chance to redeem himself after the hip surgery and stating the examples of guys who took more than one offseason to recover fully.

They'd save 6 million dollars if they buy him out in the offseason ( have to pay him 12 million dollars instead of the full 18 million). So there's financial incentive to buy him out in this offseason. If coaches/management think that he can't recover him from his injury completely at age 33 it's an option. Or they waive him and let him play in the AHL (don't think anyone will claim him and it would probably help the devils if they do) and hope he regains his form there over this season and next season and if he doesn't maybe the next cba will have another compliance buyout in it.

 

[glenwo2]

Logic thinking is a thing ya know

I don't get what you're saying.

The only thing I do get is that when you make a statement, you should make certain that you are clear in what you're talking about. Otherwise, you might say something else that is incorrect as opposed to what you're trying to state. This would confuse the reader.

Interesting article by Chris Ryan:
What Devils assistant coach Rick Kowalsky sees in Mackenzie Blackwood’s development



Makes me shudder to think our AHL D is even more unstructured.

I've seen some of those games.

Remember how one of our PP's against the Canes looked like Keystone Cops in our own end?

It's kind of like that....except it's all game long.

A mix between Beer League and Pond Hockey at times.

 

[Nubmer6]

I don't get what you're saying.

The only thing I do get is that when you make a statement, you should make certain that you are clear in what you're talking about. Otherwise, you might say something else that is incorrect as opposed to what you're trying to state. This would confuse the reader.




I've seen some of those games.

Remember how one of our PP's against the Canes looked like Keystone Cops in our own end?

It's kind of like that....except it's all game long.

A mix between Beer League and Pond Hockey at times.

That's kind of terrifying. What the heck are they teaching down there? We need to hire Stevens there to whip some guys into shape. I don't care HOW bad the D talent there is, you can still play disciplined and structured.

 

[glenwo2]

That's kind of terrifying. What the heck are they teaching down there? We need to hire Stevens there to whip some guys into shape. I don't care HOW bad the D talent there is, you can still play disciplined and structured.

All I have to say is :

Poor Ty Smith

 

[MichaelJ]

Like Blackwood, he's a guy who was drafted for his skill set and potential combined with their work ethic rather than the fact that he was a complete product.

Have to be patient with those picks but the upside is still there. He's having a relatively solid first year in the A, nothing extraordinary, but nothing too worrisome.

He also seems to have stepped it up recently after a slow start. If he makes the team next year, great. If not, another year in Bing won’t kill him.

 

[Nubmer6]

All I have to say is :

Poor Ty Smith

Not sure what you mean there. You mean his current team is even worse? Also, I presume you know he's not eligible for Bingo next year, if that's what you mean.

 

[Nubmer6]

Heh...

 

[Emperoreddy]

I do hope that we can hold off on buying out Cory for one more year, but we definitely can't have him here for the remainder of his contract. He's likely only going to get worse, as he's gotten even worse the last 2 years since this drop off a cliff first happened. If he was plateauing in poor play and not getting worse and worse, he'd probably be okay to play as a backup for one more year, then either an amnesty or a regular buyout the next year, with only 2 years remaining on his deal. Though I think the buyout cap hit would still be $2 million per, only it would be for 4 years instead of 6.

As I've said though, I think there's a decent chance he's not as bad as he's been to start this year, but I also don't think he's as good as he was for the first 28 games last year. I think he might be somewhere in the middle, which is a serviceable, but still very poor NHL caliber goalie.

If he really is as bad as he's shown this year, it likely means that he's very close to landing on the LTIR sooner than later, as it could be detrimental to his long term health after hockey to continue to play like this.

Why i think they give Cory another year to see if he can recover enough to be at least acceptable backing up Blackwood or whomever.

Next year or the year after the buyout becomes more realistic and dumping him in a trade does too assuming he found some kind of decent play.