Devils 2018-19 team discussion (player news and notes) - offseason part V

[blood gin]

The thing that seemed to hurt Larsson the most was Larry Robinson leaving. But he was such a good assistant that his leaving would have a negative impact on a lot of players.

So far as Stevens as a defensive coach, my brother was friendly with someone on the team at the time. His comment was that Stevens' main philosophy was for defensemen to be really physical and look to hit people and that it's not something that most defensemen can do well.

He should know better. Just because HE could do it well, doesn't mean every defenseman can be Scott Stevens and adapt a style of play similar to his. That's what always made Robinson so great as a defensive coach. He could get through and maximize the game of so many different players with different styles, backgrounds, skill levels. Such a great communicator.

 

[billingtons ghost]

$2 million AAV obviously not, but something in the the $3 million range might work. There's a risk to Zacha that his next contract looks something like what Noessen just signed if he waits until next summer.

Yes, but Nose didn't 'prove' himself before, and certainly made strides towards becoming a solid 3rd liner -

I see what you're getting at, and yeah, from a team standpoint it certainly makes sense... if Zacha has a breakout year and we have Anze Kopitar II on our hands locked up for 7 years at $3... then great...
but from a player's standpoint... I think a 'you're in our long-term plans, but prove it' contract is in order - with a bit of cash but a chance to be a free agent in the not too distant future.

It's gotta work both ways. If Zacha sux or gets dinged, then you're in Noesen's situation and set up another prove me contract. If he's great, then of course we wished we had him locked up, but I don't think he'd be too psyched going into year 3 of a 7 year at a super-discounted price either...

might not help his motivation in a league where motivation is everything.

 

[BahlDeep]

It's not board bias. Show me how any defenseman has progressed in a positive way under Naz. Larsson's transformation was started by Stevens. Vatanen and Butcher both came in as outsiders with no experience under him. Everyone else has been inconsistent.

On a tactics level there is nothing to appreciate or applaud. We watched some of the game's better defenses in the past two decades. The game has changed on a transition game and playmaking level but basic habits with stick and body positioning do not change and that has deteriorated in a big way under Hynes and Nasreddine. We have players reinventing the wheel on every breakout - the number of bonehead decisions is not a youth vs. experience thing. It's a coaching thing.

We finished 6th in the conference as far as GA. Considering how shitty Corey played in the second half, I'll consider that very good.

 

[JimEIV]

The thing that seemed to hurt Larsson the most was Larry Robinson leaving. But he was such a good assistant that his leaving would have a negative impact on a lot of players.

So far as Stevens as a defensive coach, my brother was friendly with someone on the team at the time. His comment was that Stevens' main philosophy was for defensemen to be really physical and look to hit people and that it's not something that most defensemen can do well.

I have talked to him personally on numerous occasions and that is nonsense. He's extremely technical and cerebral in regards to the defense position and anyone that has heard him anywhere knows this. He's almost professorial when breaking down things down...

And what hurt Larsson is poor skating not any coach .

 

[billingtons ghost]

I have talked to him personally on numerous occasions and that is nonsense. He's extremely technical and cerebral in regards to the defense position and anyone that has heard him anywhere knows this. He's almost professorial when breaking down things down...

And what hurt Larsson is poor skating not any coach .

I'll second this. Stevens was certainly a linebacker on skates - but he was a middle linebacker, and thought the game the way Mike Singletary thought the game. He is/was ridiculously cognizant of what should be happening and where people should be on the ice at all times.

 

[JimEIV]

"Scott is a teacher," Lamoriello told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after Stevens was hired as an assistant coach with the Wild in 2016. "He's a student of the game and has an incredible way of explaining things to defensemen, whether they're skilled, physical, defensive, so they understand. He touches all the right points with very few words."

I remember seeing this on the NHL network and I remember it because I took away that he was showing the nuanced difference between a guy who can just hit and being a good hockey player...and I don't think it was a coincidence that he picked on Phaneuf in the first example.

 

[Triumph]

We made the playoffs, played in a bunch of close, competitive games, so all in all no one can say things are a disaster. I just don't think this particular iteration of Hynes' tactics is conducive to sustained success or flatters any of the players in the system (save for a protected rookie). We're observing the same mistakes, regardless of experience and skill with the breakouts being a very noticeable point of unforced error. I don't think my criticism on breakouts is purely anecdotal, but I am open to being corrected.

I don't think either of us really are going to get anywhere here - I think we can both agree that the breakout needs work; I'm just not sure that coaching is an issue in this spot.

To go back to your point on the youth of the forwards: if you're going to have aggressive forwards with weaker defensive leanings, mitigating risk from your defensemen seems a lot more sensible than doubling down on it. Tactically, I suppose you then have to lean on the forwards to generate transition which is easier to gameplan against. But I also wonder how many times our breakouts were a forward carrying the puck from the circles (and below) anyway rather than having the defense touch the puck at all.

I guess I'm not sure how Nasreddine's breakout 'doubled down' on risk. I think we've disagreed in the past about the breakout pass that uses the middle, but I may be misremembering.

Ultimately, you could say I'm being impatient with a team that is young and inexperienced as a whole with a key veteran in decline, but I think that let's the coaching off the hook. The youth is a parameter they have to manage and I don't know that they do it all that well. Not seeing Moore's impact on Severson is one instance of that.

This is one of those things - there's only so much a coach can do with a player. Yeah, Moore sucks, and he wasn't a good partner with Severson. But he was an absolute disaster with Lovejoy, so that's another pairing that isn't really going to work out. Putting Greene with Severson was likely to create some issues as well. Hopefully Severson has a better partner this season, but there's no guarantee he will.

 

[Goptor]

"Scott is a teacher," Lamoriello told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after Stevens was hired as an assistant coach with the Wild in 2016. "He's a student of the game and has an incredible way of explaining things to defensemen, whether they're skilled, physical, defensive, so they understand. He touches all the right points with very few words."

I remember seeing this on the NHL network and I remember it because I took away that he was showing the nuanced difference between a guy who can just hit and being a good hockey player...and I don't think it was a coincidence that he picked on Phaneuf in the first example.

I see a lot of the big hitting defensemen carrying their stick like a flag when they are going for a hit. Phaneuf is a regular offender. Gudas is probably the worst. He's always doing something that takes him out of the play.

 

[devilsblood]

I have talked to him personally on numerous occasions and that is nonsense. He's extremely technical and cerebral in regards to the defense position and anyone that has heard him anywhere knows this. He's almost professorial when breaking down things down...

And what hurt Larsson is poor skating not any coach .

Just by watching him on NHL network I'd say very professional. For such a physically dominating d-man, (as well as his other attributes) it's very interesting how cerebral he has become. To the point of him being a hockey nerd. Or maybe a hockey professor.

Dano? His persona matches his play. Stevens? It's is odd how almost aloof he now appears to be.

 

[Quest for Stanley]

Does anybody else foresee Hischier, McLeod, Zacha as our 1C, 2C, 3C by 2020?

Hischier, Seney, Zacha

 

[Billdo]

Hischier, Seney, Zacha

Hischier, not here yet, Zacha

 

[MartyOwns]

do people think mcleod will be a winger? or do they think he’ll be (at best) a 4th line center by 2020?

 

[glenwo2]

anyone know who wood's agent is

I think his name is "drift".

(okay I'll see myself out)

 

[Nubmer6]

I think his name is "drift".

(okay I'll see myself out)

I actually didn't get that till I saw your 2nd line of text.

 

[Wingman77]

"Scott is a teacher," Lamoriello told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after Stevens was hired as an assistant coach with the Wild in 2016. "He's a student of the game and has an incredible way of explaining things to defensemen, whether they're skilled, physical, defensive, so they understand. He touches all the right points with very few words."

I remember seeing this on the NHL network and I remember it because I took away that he was showing the nuanced difference between a guy who can just hit and being a good hockey player...and I don't think it was a coincidence that he picked on Phaneuf in the first example.

Stick positioning was something Colin White excelled at and it ultimately altered his career which was a shame because he wasn't the same after the eye injury. Even after it though, what always stood out with him was how many times opposing players coming into the zone had their shots deflected up into the netting behind the net or elsewhere because of his stick positioning. He may have struggled in other areas, more so later in his career, but this was always a strong point of his career, something that often gets overlooked in players because it is a little part of the game.

 

[JRZ DVLS]

"Scott is a teacher," Lamoriello told Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune after Stevens was hired as an assistant coach with the Wild in 2016. "He's a student of the game and has an incredible way of explaining things to defensemen, whether they're skilled, physical, defensive, so they understand. He touches all the right points with very few words."

I remember seeing this on the NHL network and I remember it because I took away that he was showing the nuanced difference between a guy who can just hit and being a good hockey player...and I don't think it was a coincidence that he picked on Phaneuf in the first example.

I remember hearing Lemaire always say that about the sticks in front. I believe he cited the Soviets and how they defended. And was the same with Fetisov. Stick on the ice and always in front of you.

 

[Hypernova]

I remember hearing Lemaire always say that about the sticks in front. I believe he cited the Soviets and how they defended. And was the same with Fetisov. Stick on the ice and always in front of you.

Stevens on NHL Network is money. I learn something new every time he does one of those.

 

[Emperoreddy]

All this keeps giving me nightmares about how bad Moore was with stick positioning.

 

[HBK27]

do people think mcleod will be a winger? or do they think he’ll be (at best) a 4th line center by 2020?

McLeod is apparently really good on faceoffs and solid defensively, so I'd be surprised if he wasn't a center long-term. I see him as at least Boyle's replacement on the 4th line by the start of the 2019 season.

 

[Missionhockey]

I have talked to him personally on numerous occasions and that is nonsense. He's extremely technical and cerebral in regards to the defense position and anyone that has heard him anywhere knows this. He's almost professorial when breaking down things down...

And what hurt Larsson is poor skating not any coach .

Whenever Stevens would comment on defense on the NHL Network I always got this sense too.

 

[HBK27]

Good article on Gignac...

Gignac aims to impress at Devils Training Camp

 

[Devils Dominion]

Good article on Gignac...

Gignac aims to impress at Devils Training Camp

speed speed speed

He's a good hockey player.
An easy guy to root for too.

 

[Devils731]

Good article on Gignac...

Gignac aims to impress at Devils Training Camp

Interesting that the coaches specifically said they want 2 guys from development camp to make the main squad.

 

[HBK27]

Interesting that the coaches specifically said they want 2 guys from development camp to make the main squad.

Yeah, I thought that was interesting as well.

Excited for camp to open up as there will be 2-3 roster spots completely up for grabs with a good amount of guys having a realistic chance of filling those spots (especially after seeing Bratt come out of nowhere to get one last year).

 

[Billdo]

Gignac aims to impress at Devils Training Camp
Nice read