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

[devilsblood]

Stafford got too much heat IMO. He is what he is.

And truthfully I never thought he was playing poorly, but his offense had dried up, he's found it recently and really could have even a couple more points.

Turned 33 in October too, it's not like he's decrepit.

 

[Blender]

They tried this plenty today; it didn't work. Part of the problem is that Nico as a left shot is going to have a hard time getting loose in the slot and the pass is much more difficult. You need a right-handed shot for that play to work regularly.

No you don't, you can do it on both sides. I also said they don't execute this play, because they are passing far too slowly and not moving enough for it to work. You can't just stand still and do it, everyone has to be moving.

 

[MartyOwns]

 

[devilsblood]

Blake Coleman has 5 or more shots in a game 6 times this year. 5 of those have come in the last 27 games.

He's had 4 or more shots, 17 times this year.

3 or more shots 27 times.

 

[NJDevils17]

Coleman is easily the biggest pleasant surprise. He has a low shooting percentage and should still put up 20+ goals easily.

It’s an overdone cliche but to me, he is the perfect embodiement of fast, attacking, supportive.

 

[Blender]

Lovejoy is 100% going to get interest at the deadline. He's an effective depth defenseman, and all the numbers back that up.

 

[devilsblood]

Lovejoy is 100% going to get interest at the deadline. He's an effective depth defenseman, and all the numbers back that up.

What playoff teams need pk help?

I think those would be the logical trade partners.

 

[MartyOwns]

Lovejoy is 100% going to get interest at the deadline. He's an effective depth defenseman, and all the numbers back that up.

if we’re a .500 team from now -> february 25th, i wonder how shero handles the trade deadline. i hope he’s smart enough to be a seller

 

[Missionhockey]

if we’re a .500 team from now -> february 25th, i wonder how shero handles the trade deadline. i hope he’s smart enough to be a seller

All the rumblings from the media sounds like he's planning on sending pieces out.

Although I hope he keeps and resigns Johansson.

 

[devilsblood]

All the rumblings from the media sounds like he's planning on sending pieces out.

Although I hope he keeps and resigns Johansson.

The older guys, like Lovejoy, like Boyle, those guys should definitely be on the block.

I might agree on Mojo if the injuries these past 2 years brings his value down to the point where you won't get much of a return in a trade, and he signs at discount relative to the contract we would have expected coming off his 50 point season.

We do have a lot of lw's, nd we have a guy like Boqvist who plays a similar game to Mojo and is likely going to push for a spot next year. But coming off a dissapointing season it might be smart to bring back a proven guy like Mojo, especially if he could be had at a discount.

 

[MartyOwns]

All the rumblings from the media sounds like he's planning on sending pieces out.

Although I hope he keeps and resigns Johansson.

i hope so. in regards to mojo, if we can get a 3rd or better, i’d rather ship him out. we can always try to re-sign him in the offseason if we want

 

[Missionhockey]

The older guys, like Lovejoy, like Boyle, those guys should definitely be on the block.

I might agree on Mojo if the injuries these past 2 years brings his value down to the point where you won't get much of a return in a trade, and he signs at discount relative to the contract we would have expected coming off his 50 point season.

We do have a lot of lw's, nd we have a guy like Boqvist who plays a similar game to Mojo and is likely going to push for a spot next year. But coming off a dissapointing season it might be smart to bring back a proven guy like Mojo, especially if he could be had at a discount.

I think best case scenario, you get a 2nd for Johansson, but I'd rather bring back a proven, .5 point per game player who is still young enough to be good when this team is competing year in and year out. Plus, Hall is a question mark. Not saying Hall will leave but if he does then it would set the team back years. Keeping Mojo can help mitigate the damage a little.

It will depend on the asking price, but we have a lot of cap space, and like you said, he should come at a discount since he's been injured a lot .

 

[devilsblood]

I think best case scenario, you get a 2nd for Johansson, but I'd rather bring back a proven, .5 point per game player who is still young enough to be good when this team is competing year in and year out. Plus, Hall is a question mark. Not saying Hall will leave but if he does then it would set the team back years. Keeping Mojo can help mitigate the damage a little.

It will depend on the asking price, but we have a lot of cap space, and like you said, he should come at a discount since he's been injured a lot .

Mojo might be a guy you keep in an effort to persuade Hall to sign this offseason as well.

 

[Darkauron]

I doubt we are going to keep mojo

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Lovejoy is 100% going to get interest at the deadline. He's an effective depth defenseman, and all the numbers back that up.

Take a gander at the RHD deadline pool, too. Lovejoy is pretty much in the top-5 for realistic deadline bait, which is encouraging.

I really don’t think a 3rd is that far fetched.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

All the rumblings from the media sounds like he's planning on sending pieces out.

Although I hope he keeps and resigns Johansson.

I’m sick of Johansson. His passive style is incredibly frustrating - admittedly, it probably wouldn’t be as egregious if he were playing with aggressive line-drivers. We just don’t have the personnel to maximize his skill set.

I was getting pretty riled up at the game yesterday, too — the guy is just soooo soft on the puck and so weak on his skates. I just can’t get on board with keeping him over a futures package, and then giving him an extension that’ll probably look like Henrique’s... no thanks.

 

[Triumph]

Only drawback I see of bringing back Cory and sticking him in the AHL next season is that he will squeeze either Cormier or Senn to the ECHL. Which is a pretty minor consideration.

There's a myriad of reasons why this is a bad idea.

First and foremost if Cory is no longer an NHL quality goaltender or even close, he's taking up ice time in Binghamton as well as a reserve list spot. It also means that the Devils have no chance of signing an Eddie Lack type, a guy who is on the AHL/NHL border but could fill in as a #3. Gilles Senn isn't signing an NHL contract to go play in the ECHL as a 22 year old.

Second, any free agent goalie signing here would have no reassurance that he can beat out Schneider for the backup goalie spot - what if Schneider comes into camp and is good? They're really going to send $6M to the minors? No, the new backup would be on waivers, going to a city he had no choice in going to. Giving a 1B or backup goalie an NMC solves this problem but also means giving a 1B or backup goalie an NMC.

Third, if Cory gets injured, he can't be bought out, and he can't be placed on LTIR until the following season (if he can be placed on there at all - the CBA is murky on this).

It sucks having to have that extra year on the buyout but that's a much less risky proposition than keeping Cory around.

 

[Triumph]

I’m sick of Johansson. His passive style is incredibly frustrating - admittedly, it probably wouldn’t be as egregious if he were playing with aggressive line-drivers. We just don’t have the personnel to maximize his skill set.

I was getting pretty riled up at the game yesterday, too — the guy is just soooo soft on the puck and so weak on his skates. I just can’t get on board with keeping him over a futures package, and then giving him an extension that’ll probably look like Henrique’s... no thanks.

He just missed 10 games and participated in 0 full practices (or was it 1?) before returning.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

He just missed 10 games and participated in 0 full practices (or was it 1?) before returning.

That’s fair, but it’s been like this for his entire tenure here. Soft on the puck, weak on his skates.

 

[devilsblood]

Comparing some defensive team stats PK vs our team at 5v5.


5v5 we are 25th in the league in terms of corsi against per 60, 26th in shots against, 28th in goals against, 18th in scoring chances against, a respectable 8th in high danger corsi,



On the PK we are 2nd in the league in corsi against per 60, shots against per 60, goals against per 60. 3rd in scoring chances against per 60.

1st in high danger chances against.


In terms of team save% we are 27th in the league at 5v5.

On the PK we are 11th.

So in general our team defensive stats are bad at 5v5, but excellent on the PK.

What is the disconnect? I'd point to the defensemen following opposing players up the boards at 5v5. We play a pretty traditional positioning on the pk.

 

[devilsblood]

There's a myriad of reasons why this is a bad idea.

First and foremost if Cory is no longer an NHL quality goaltender or even close, he's taking up ice time in Binghamton as well as a reserve list spot. It also means that the Devils have no chance of signing an Eddie Lack type, a guy who is on the AHL/NHL border but could fill in as a #3. Gilles Senn isn't signing an NHL contract to go play in the ECHL as a 22 year old.

Second, any free agent goalie signing here would have no reassurance that he can beat out Schneider for the backup goalie spot - what if Schneider comes into camp and is good? They're really going to send $6M to the minors? No, the new backup would be on waivers, going to a city he had no choice in going to. Giving a 1B or backup goalie an NMC solves this problem but also means giving a 1B or backup goalie an NMC.

Third, if Cory gets injured, he can't be bought out, and he can't be placed on LTIR until the following season (if he can be placed on there at all - the CBA is murky on this).

It sucks having to have that extra year on the buyout but that's a much less risky proposition than keeping Cory around.

I'm not that worried about our ability to sign an eddie lack type guy.

More interested in the possiblity of Schneid's finding his game.

 

[StvBroDan]

I'm not that worried about our ability to sign an eddie lack type guy.

More interested in the possiblity of Schneid's finding his game.

He has been searching for a long time already.

 

[devilsblood]

He has been searching for a long time already.

But if we tie it all to the injury then there is hope that once he is fully recovered from the surgery then he can get back to playing good hockey.

Luongo said it took him 2 years. So I'm not looking to bail out 6 months in.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Seney should stop the scrums with the bigger dudes and focus more on controlling the puck and finishing chances.

 

[Triumph]

But if we tie it all to the injury then there is hope that once he is fully recovered from the surgery then he can get back to playing good hockey.

Luongo said it took him 2 years. So I'm not looking to bail out 6 months in.

Luongo said it took him 2 years. He put up a .915 and .929 SV%s in the years following his hip surgery. Adjusting for home rink and playing environment let's say a .915 is a .908 in NJ. For Schneider to be a .908 SV% goalie this season, if he plays 20 more games and averages 32 shots against per game, he needs to put up a .925 SV%.