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

[vtdevils2k]

Those are big ifs. Let's hope for Hughes or Kakko.

Hinting at something that you heard? This is very interesting.

 

[Bleedred]

I'm not disparaging the team at all. I'm trying to defeat the fallacy that a great goaltender would have made a difference this season. Stick Jonathon Quick on this team and the improvement would've been slight. Just as he's been getting torn up by the Kings. Is his .891 SV% and 3.28 GAA because HE sucks as much as Kinky, or?

No one seems to be getting the fact that we're in danger of destroying MB29's career here by feeding him to the sharks. (9! goals against!!!) I love the kid and this team, and I just don't want to see the rest of the year devolve into posts about how terrible MacBlack's goaltending is, as his SV% will sink slowly below the horizon because of the team in front of him.

Overall I wouldn’t say Quick sucks as much as Kinkaid, but he certainly does this year.

Here’s the problem with Quick this year, which I’ve pointed out several times. Even when Quick doesn’t look like he’s playing bad, he spends half the game on his ass, swims and flops around all night. Overshoots himself across the crease and all the way to Santa Monica. So even when it looks like he’s allowing goals he has no chance on and goals that are not stoppable, the truth is that they probably really are stoppable because his style of play causes a lot of open nets and it appears he has no chance on many of them because he’s always out of position.

Kinkaid seriously became one of the most popular players of very limited ability that we've had in years. Probably since Cam Janssen. He has a very small but cult like following here. I'd give him a D for his play this year and only because he's a CAREER BACKUP that had to be a starter and it's obvious he wasn't capable of playing as one, nor being one. Any other player I'd give an F for that play.

 

[Billdo]

Hinting at something that you heard? This is very interesting.

How did that post make you think that? He's literally just saying he's hoping for one of the top two guys in the draft because he, and a few others, feel that this team has nothing to look forward to.

 

[vtdevils2k]

How did that post make you think that? He's literally just saying he's hoping for one of the top two guys in the draft because he, and a few others, feel that this team has nothing to look forward to.

Read what he previously said. Relax. Misquoted.

Was in reference to the comment about Panarin and Yak being best friends (which I and others did not know) and Panarin possibly being an option IF we land Hughes/Kakko and Yak is resigned.

Sweede has connections if I'm not mistaken.

Could be nothing, but curious nonetheless.

 

[Oneiro]

If we draft Hughes and sign Panarin, I will be drunk for the entire month of July.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Overall I wouldn’t say Quick sucks as much as Kinkaid, but he certainly does this year.

Here’s the problem with Quick this year, which I’ve pointed out several times. Even when Quick doesn’t look like he’s playing bad, he spends half the game on his ass, swims and flops around all night. Overshoots himself across the crease and all the way to Santa Monica. So even when it looks like he’s allowing goals he has no chance on and goals that are not stoppable, the truth is that they probably really are stoppable because his style of play causes a lot of open nets and it appears he has no chance on many of them because he’s always out of position.

Kinkaid seriously became one of the most popular players of very limited ability that we've had in years. Probably since Cam Janssen. He has a very small but cult like following here. I'd give him a D for his play this year and only because he's a CAREER BACKUP that had to be a starter and it's obvious he wasn't capable of playing as one, nor being one. Any other player I'd give an F for that play.

I give you an F for your analysis in that second paragraph. The thing that is wrong WTH quick is that he's being exposed by a big slow team that doesn't work on defense and cannot defend.

The guy is rolling around in the crease because he's forced to.

 

[Bleedred]

I give you an F for your analysis in that second paragraph. The thing that is wrong WTH quick is that he's being exposed by a big slow team that doesn't work on defense and cannot defend.

The guy is rolling around in the crease because he's forced to.

How many games have you watched Quick? I've watched EVERY goal scored in the NHL this year.

Bet you haven't.

And what was wrong with what I said in the second paragraph? How is Kinkaid more than a career backup? He tried to be more this year and failed miserably, unlike any goalie we've seen here in quite some time.

 

[Billdo]

If we draft Hughes and sign Panarin, I will be drunk for the entire month of July.

This actually made me lol. Well done.

 

[Cage Helmet]

I give you an F for your analysis in that second paragraph

An eff for saying Kinkaid is a career backup who wasn’t capable of playing as #1? What’s so false of that analysis? Can it even be debated any longer? Think Reuben put that argument to bed this season.

 

[MartyOwns]

If we draft Hughes and sign Panarin, I will be drunk for the entire month of July.

that would be amazing, although ridiculously unlikely. people would forget about mojo real quick

 

[Cage Helmet]

If the NJD drafts Hughes and signs Panarin then we win the offseason. You can’t have much better an offseason.

 

[Billdo]

If the NJD drafts Hughes and signs Panarin then we win the offseason. You can’t have much better an offseason.

Oh come on, you know people would still find something to gripe about.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Panarin is a bit too pie-in-the-sky for me. The fact that he's interested in the New York area works in our favor, but I'd still be surprised if he signed here.

On a more realistic note, the fact that Shero made an offer to JVR last summer leads me to believe he'll be in on the Skinners and Nyquists of this year's class. We've been linked to Nyquist in the past.

 

[Cage Helmet]

Why do you think goalies get injured? Marty played 20 years behind a team commited to team defense and was hurt exactly once. Not to take ANYTHING away from the legendary machine that was Marty, as you all know I'm a strict Martyist - but we've watched 3 goalies go down to injury in the last 100 games - including guys under the age of 30. MB29 had one stint on the IR, and after watching last night, I hope against hope he doesn't end up there again.

Marty was infrequently injured because he’s of the most highest example of durability. Not because he was playing behind a team committed to playing team defense. Come on, guy. If you really are a strict Martyist then you should understand this. That argument sounds like the middle school arguments I used to hear from fans of the NY Piles that Marty was only good because of the system and Tommy Soderstrom was only bad because of the Piles lack of defense. No other player at the position was as durable as Marty over the last 40 years of more. Roy was pretty durable but was never a 70 game player in the regular season. Hasek was durable but he didn’t play 70 games and he retired one year before coming back again and then getting injured. He was upper 30s then. Robby Lu has missed games here and there in his prime and missed a stretch of time when he was 29. And so has Hanky and MA Fleury. Quick gets injured every 2-3 years. #30 was the most durable player at the position probably ever.

 

[Cage Helmet]

Oh come on, you know people would still find something to gripe about.

Probably about Sevo not getting traded and letting Tyler Myers sign elsewhere.

 

[MartyOwns]

 

[JrFischer54]

Bruh.. the Devils were.. I mean, the Devils were pretty badly mismanaged from 2005 onwards (when they implemented a salary cap - not a coincidence). Perhaps not the most poorly managed team in the NHL - hard to top the Oilers amIrite - but man it's closer than many of us would like to admit.

Lou deserves all the credit in the world for building that mini-dynasty. No one is taking that away from him. But he pretty much f***ked up the majority of the major roster management and drafting decisions that the Devils faced from 2005 on. Granted, we don't know exactly what was going on behind the scenes but, make no mistake, Lou dug us this massive hole and eventually, finally, got 'fired' for it. Still pisses me the f**k off that he refused to rebuild here, yet goes to Toronto and essentially tanks the team for Auston Matthews in his first season.

I'm all for utilizing cap space efficiently - I was one of the guys getting impatient this past summer. But honestly I don't know what realistic options are there for us to spend this cap space on that would really benefit us.

And FWIW - the Devils would have benefitted MASSIVELY imo from an expansion draft scenario in 2014-2016. Are you kidding me using Vegas as a measuring stick - I'd have killed to have the Devils get a chance to stack the cupboards like Vegas did at any point in those years. There isn't a single player currently on the roster from 2014 or 2015 that I'd want on today's roster (spoiler alert: there aren't many actually here anyway). Hall is the only guy from 2016 I'd want to somehow keep. I'd have dissolved the Devils' roster and started over without thinking twice about it if given the chance.

This is all just imo, of course. And I'm just a fan with zero insight into the actual process. So what do I know.

Woah who is this guy? I’m in love!!!!! Couldn’t agree more. When you actually look back on lous tenure here there is a lot of fail mixed in with those cups. a lot!

Missing playoffs after cup win rangers bounce in second round then back to back first round knock out by the sens and Pens. Then after the last cup they make it past the first round a couple times and don’t make it past the second round 9 years after their last cup win. Keep in mind this is with the team constantly finishing first in the division and top 5ish?

Then he goes to the leafs and people give him credit for Matthews lol. Then he goes to the islanders and inherits barzal who his boy conte and him passed on.

 

[MartyOwns]

ok we don’t have to do this, do we? criticize him all you want for the salary cap era, but he gave us 3 cups for god’s sake

 

[Bleedred]

Woah who is this guy? I’m in love!!!!! Couldn’t agree more. When you actually look back on lous tenure here there is a lot of fail mixed in with those cups. a lot!

Missing playoffs after cup win rangers bounce in second round then back to back first round knock out by the sens and Pens. Then after the last cup they make it past the first round a couple times and don’t make it past the second round 9 years after their last cup win. Keep in mind this is with the team constantly finishing first in the division and top 5ish?

Then he goes to the leafs and people give him credit for Matthews lol. Then he goes to the islanders and inherits barzal who his boy conte and him passed on.

Oh come on, f***in stupid bullshit calling out Lou for some stupid playoff failures that happened 20 f***in years ago, in between cup wins.

Jesus, get out of here with this. That's why nobody takes the blind anti-Lou bias seriously. There's so many things you can indict him on in the last several years he was here, you gotta go reaching with playoff eliminations from 20-22 years ago and (16-18 years before Lou was last here) and a playoff miss 23 years ago? 19 years before Lou was outed, no less.

 

[Bleedred]

ok we don’t have to do this, do we? criticize him all you want for the salary cap era, but he gave us 3 cups for god’s sake

I mean, if you have to look back to the 1990's in your case to shred Lou, that's pretty bad.

I understand he gave us plenty of material to shred in his last several years, even his last decade here, but using stuff from the 1990's, that came in between multiple cup wins?

 

[JrFischer54]

How many games have you watched Quick? I've watched EVERY goal scored in the NHL this year.

.

Uhhhh why

 

[JrFischer54]

Oh come on, ****in stupid bull**** calling out Lou for some stupid playoff failures that happened 20 ****in years ago, in between cup wins.

Jesus, get out of here with this. That's why nobody takes the blind anti-Lou bias seriously. There's so many things you can indict him on in the last several years he was here, you gotta go reaching with playoff eliminations from 20-22 years ago and (16-18 years before Lou was last here) and a playoff miss 23 years ago? 19 years before Lou was outed, no less.

Your right I guess we can just judge him by his success here? Which surprisingly is pretty loooooooong time ago too. Weird right

 

[Bleedred]

Uhhhh why

Goals against review, as per request from at least 2 other posters. To see which goals I think goalies could have stopped and which ones goalies had no chance on. Currently, I think I've counted about 28% of the goals scored this year to be stoppable of some kind or that the goalie had a chance on. And what I've found is that aside from the guys that have played very limited games still, the guys in the toilet in save percentage are in the toilet in my stoppable goal percentage and vice versa. One major exception is that Fleury looks A LOT better than his save percentage and Devan Dubnyk (who has a similar save percentage) looks a bit worse than his. Koskinen from the Oilers looks like one of the worst in the league on my eye test, despite an above average save percentage. I think his percentage of goals counted stoppable is higher than Keith Kinkaid's from me. Mike Smith has been the worst, but he's been restrained to fewer games because of it.

Check out the out of town scoreboard if you're interested.

 

[JrFischer54]

I mean, if you have to look back to the 1990's in your case to shred Lou, that's pretty bad.

I understand he gave us plenty of material to shred in his last several years, even his last decade here, but using stuff from the 1990's, that came in between multiple cup wins?

I didn’t realize there was a statute of limitation with this? Guess we can write off that cup win from 95 then?

I’m just saying these were conference winning teams that couldn’t do squat in the playoffs even in the middle 2000s. That’s bad imo

 

[JrFischer54]

Goals against review, as per request from at least 2 other posters. To see which goals I think goalies could have stopped and which ones goalies had no chance on. Currently, I think I've counted about 28% of the goals scored this year to be stoppable of some kind or that the goalie had a chance on. And what I've found is that aside from the guys that have played very limited games still, the guys in the toilet in save percentage are in the toilet in my stoppable goal percentage and vice versa. One major exception is that Fleury looks A LOT better than his save percentage and Devan Dubnyk (who has a similar save percentage) looks a bit worse than his. Koskinen from the Oilers looks like one of the worst in the league on my eye test, despite an above average save percentage. I think his percentage of goals counted stoppable is higher than Keith Kinkaid's from me. Mike Smith has been the worst, but he's been restrained to fewer games because of it.

Check out the out of town scoreboard if you're interested.

Good stuff dude.