Devils 2019-20 team discussion (news and notes) - part XIV

[Nubmer6]

you should listen to the gomez spitting chiclets, where he talks about going out to bars and showing up hungover to practice, smoking cigarettes with claude and partying in new york and having to sleep in his car outside the meadowlands.

whatever your idealization of “the good old days” is doesn’t exist- going out to dinner together is as benign as could be and pales in comparison to the things these guys have done in the past, especially during the glory years.

Ya, but Gomez can do such things cause the team was good. Now that the team is bad, everyone has to stay locked in a dungeon and eat protein gruel for all meals

 

[Billdo]

Was it in October after a loss extended an 0-6 start of the season, when the ship was on fire and there was still time to turn it around? The kind of season that forces you to ultimatly trade your franchise player, fire your coach, fire your GM and tear it all down for another five year rebuild? Nah - that's probably the best time to go out and snap selfies with your bros having a blast, Mr $9million boat anchor. It's really cool that we thought that 4 goal collapse would probably be the WORST loss we'd see this season. How frigging naive of us.

Or, like, did they go out to dinner now - when the season is well beyond caring about and they should just celebrate Zacha potting two goals.

I guess some people can't separate the two in their heads, huh? Let's just say - I don't think that smiling pic would have happened with Toews, or Crosby, or basically anyone who's at all serious about winning a Cup... the dinner may have happened, but they wouldn't have been so stupid as to broadcast it. I can still picture Wood and Severson's stupid faces ...one on his way to another -23 or -28 or whatever this year.

 

[Azathoth]

you should listen to the gomez spitting chiclets, where he talks about going out to bars and showing up hungover to practice, smoking cigarettes with claude and partying in new york and having to sleep in his car outside the meadowlands.

whatever your idealization of “the good old days” is doesn’t exist- going out to dinner together is as benign as could be and pales in comparison to the things these guys have done in the past, especially during the glory years.

See, the real problem with the team now is there is no veteran leadership to keep the young guys focused on Hockey, the way Gomez had a guy like Stevens. Oh wait...

 

[NjDevsRR]

Omg, Dinner Gate again...

 

[Blackjack]

I'm going to put it out there:

I am not opposed to Nas returning next year as an assistant again. I think the team's general better play and level of GAF has been better under him, which makes me go back to something I said early last season:

Nas had no real input on the defensive structure or performance of the team under Hynes.

Sitting Bratt was the last straw for me. That was a bizarre and indefensible decision.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Darn kids and their picture machines ruining everything. Where do they get off leaving work at work and not letting it poison their personal lives?

Back in my day, whenever you lost a game you went home and chugged a bottle of Jack like a man. Then you beat your wife, like a REAL man.

One time we lost three games in a row and I didn't have dinner for 12 days. Eating is for winners.

 

[awegrzyn]

I checked and we are .577 since January 1 (Post Hynes). We are above Capitals, Penguins, and others. Sitting in 14th spot. We would be fighting for a playoff spot right now.

It's very hard to pin point what was wrong with the Devils, but it seems now it was a combination of everything:

Bad coaching. Not necessary technically, but you could tell players were not playing for him.
Player mismanagement. Keeping Hall on a team, while his teammates knew he is not going to be a Devil was a cancer. Exactly same thing happened at NYI. Tavares goes, and team recovers.
Possibly bad goaltanding along with goalie mismanagement. They gave up on Cory too early, while everything else was wrong.
Bad roster (bad trades for PK Subban), but not as bad as people assumed. We have a worse roster now (on paper at least) and we are doing fine.
Playing Hughes top line minutes at center.
Probably few more hidden problems.

NAS has done a good job as a coach now. He may not be great, but he seems like a father figure who calmed them down, and put them together to play more like a team.

To bad, because bad GMing stole a season. Chances are it was like that every year there and we might not even know. Being good GM means a bit more than trades and draft. You still have to put in people that jell everything together including the coach. Can't have negative attitude in the organisation (locker room, with staff, with owners, etc).

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

I checked and we are .577 since January 1 (Post Hynes). We are above Capitals, Penguins, and others. Sitting in 14th spot. We would be fighting for a playoff spot right now.

It's very hard to pin point what was wrong with the Devils, but it seems now it was a combination of everything:

Bad coaching. Not necessary technically, but you could tell players were not playing for him.
Player mismanagement. Keeping Hall on a team, while his teammates knew he is not going to be a Devil was a cancer. Exactly same thing happened at NYI. Tavares goes, and team recovers.
Possibly bad goaltanding along with goalie mismanagement. They gave up on Cory too early, while everything else was wrong.
Bad roster (bad trades for PK Subban), but not as bad as people assumed. We have a worse roster now (on paper at least) and we are doing fine.
Playing Hughes top line minutes at center.
Probably few more hidden problems.

NAS has done a good job as a coach now. He may not be great, but he seems like a father figure who calmed them down, and put them together to play more like a team.

To bad, because bad GMing stole a season. Chances are it was like that every year there and we might not even know. Being good GM means a bit more than trades and draft. You still have to put in people that jell everything together including the coach. Can't have negative attitude in the organisation (locker room, with staff, with owners, etc).

This happened 0 times this year.

 

[njdevils309]

I don't get how anyone here thinks Nas should be back to coach this team next year. The teams underlying numbers are all terrible since he's been coach. Only reason the team is doing well is Blackwood has been playing at like best goalie in the league levels for the past couple of months. That is not sustainable. We are about to hit a rough patch too here, which I would bet will expose some of this.

Even if you think he's been Ok since taking over, which, sure the records been middle of the pack, the coaches available are just no brainers. I'd take Gallant/Boudreu/Lavi over Nas any day of the week.

 

[glenwo2]

Sitting Bratt was the last straw for me. That was a bizarre and indefensible decision.

And we all could see the REAL REASON he was sat : Hayden's Old Man.

But of course Nas would never admit that but instead come up with that BS "consistency" excuse that certain posters here like to use as their go-to comment regarding Bratt while excusing Nas's decision-making.

He COULD have said that he was giving Bratt the night off OR say "It's a Maintenance day". At least THOSE excuses would've sounded like they made sense.

Or he could've just been blunt and said : "Hayden's father is here so we had to scratch bratt in order to have Hayden play so his father could see him in St.Louis."

 

[MullerBrotenVerbeek]

Drinking together builds team chemistry. No problem with it.

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

Nas has not shown enough to be the coach next year. Mac is standing on his head. I’d be okay with retaining Fitz, but we need to clean house behind the bench

 

[Devilsfan118]

Wait are people upset that our players have social lives and are going out together after practice/games?

Would you rather there be no comradery in the locker room? I'm so confused.

 

[Devilsfan118]

I don't get how anyone here thinks Nas should be back to coach this team next year. The teams underlying numbers are all terrible since he's been coach. Only reason the team is doing well is Blackwood has been playing at like best goalie in the league levels for the past couple of months. That is not sustainable. We are about to hit a rough patch too here, which I would bet will expose some of this.

Even if you think he's been Ok since taking over, which, sure the records been middle of the pack, the coaches available are just no brainers. I'd take Gallant/Boudreu/Lavi over Nas any day of the week.

In the darkest and most depressing timeline, Nas is back with Cory as our starter.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Wait are people upset that our players have social lives and are going out together after practice/games?

Would you rather there be no comradery in the locker room? I'm so confused.

Yes, this is by no means a new topic. Not sure what started it back up again though.

 

[billingtons ghost]

you should listen to the gomez spitting chiclets, where he talks about going out to bars and showing up hungover to practice, smoking cigarettes with claude and partying in new york and having to sleep in his car outside the meadowlands.

whatever your idealization of “the good old days” is doesn’t exist- going out to dinner together is as benign as could be and pales in comparison to the things these guys have done in the past, especially during the glory years.

Don't get me wrong man. I'm saying: Pick your spots.

I'd booze it up after work as much as the next guy - but if we were up sh*ts creek with a deadline or an upset customer - I sure as hell wouldn't be living it up until it was resolved. Personal fun would go on hold for a few days.

These guys sure as hell partied it up in the old days - especially when the team sucked - but I think that probably changed significantly when something was at stake - so much so that Lou booked hotels for home games - and Stevens would rattle cages in practice. Gomez is probably the loosest guy that ever played on the Devils - I loved that entire spittin' chiclets - but I hardly think that guys like Carpenter/Broten et al were thinking 'it's just a job' in 95 nor were Lemieux or anyone with any maturity thinking that in the 2000s.

Whether you want to admit it or not, 6 games into the season with a 6 game losing streak after a terrible loss was a pretty good spot to be frigging walking the walk and changing your approach.

The maturity to know when to treat something seriously separates great players who win from ... just another talented guy who maybe gets remembered.

It's all just my opinion, so who cares - but I thought the optics sucked - and to joke about it- yeah, no worries - you just don't get it. That's fine.

This isn't fixing some lady's sink - or showing up to punch a clock it is a *maybe* 10 year window to perhaps win a trophy in the greatest league for this sport in the world - and maybe make big bank as one of 22 guys. Lots of people would give their left nut for that.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Dude, they can live their lives however they please lol. This idea that they should be miserable gym rats when things are bad is just not based in reality. People have bad years in their careers, they don't stop living their lives to the fullest. GTFOH with this nonsense.

Different reality for you then, man. Good luck with that in the real world chief.

 

[billingtons ghost]

So much THIS.

I don't get how some out there think that Sports figures don't have breaks in-between their Games.

THEY'RE NOT VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS, PEOPLE!! THEY HAVE LIVES OUTSIDE THE RINK!!

good lord....

Like I said - generational/cultural disconnect. I've been lucky to have been part of things for which you temporarily sacrifice some of that 'life outside' in order to do something great. Some folks get it, some don't. No worries.

 

[Patrik26]

And we all could see the REAL REASON he was sat : Hayden's Old Man.

But of course Nas would never admit that but instead come up with that BS "consistency" excuse that certain posters here like to use as their go-to comment regarding Bratt while excusing Nas's decision-making.

He COULD have said that he was giving Bratt the night off OR say "It's a Maintenance day". At least THOSE excuses would've sounded like they made sense.

Or he could've just been blunt and said : "Hayden's father is here so we had to scratch bratt in order to have Hayden play so his father could see him in St.Louis."

Maintenance day was the way to go. Saying Hayden was playing so his father could watch him play would be a slap in the face to Hayden and an insult to his dad. It would basically be saying "There's the real likelihood you won't be here next season." That doesn't work even if it's true.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

imagine trying to rip on someones real life because they think professional athletes should be able to get dinner with each other and post on social media. come on now, lets leave that out of it.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Wait are people upset that our players have social lives and are going out together after practice/games?

Would you rather there be no comradery in the locker room? I'm so confused.

No - that's not it at all - it was just the optics of the one social media pic of them all out to dinner after starting the season 0-6 and suffering a terrible loss that night. Someone referred to it - and I foolishly pointed out that... yeah, maybe they took the whole thing a bit too lightly at a time when it might've been good to have actually done something about it.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Like I said - generational/cultural disconnect. I've been lucky to have been part of things for which you temporarily sacrifice some of that 'life outside' in order to do something great. Some folks get it, some don't. No worries.

Ehh the point is, there was never any sacrifice from most people. The only difference now is we see everything on social media. Everything that happens now happened back then, we just didn't see it.

 

[Devilsfan992]

Good lord. It must be pretty cool to finally see one of your guys score 30 points in a season.

In a top 6 role + PP time no less.

 

[Scooooooooooooot]

No - that's not it at all - it was just the optics of the one social media pic of them all out to dinner after starting the season 0-6 and suffering a terrible loss that night. Someone referred to it - and I foolishly pointed out that... yeah, maybe they took the whole thing a bit too lightly at a time when it might've been good to have actually done something about it.

they went 4-1-2 after that picture so this is revisionist history right now.

 

[tailfins]

Don't get me wrong man. I'm saying: Pick your spots.

I'd booze it up after work as much as the next guy - but if we were up sh*ts creek with a deadline or an upset customer - I sure as hell wouldn't be living it up until it was resolved. Personal fun would go on hold for a few days.

These guys sure as hell partied it up in the old days - especially when the team sucked - but I think that probably changed significantly when something was at stake - so much so that Lou booked hotels for home games - and Stevens would rattle cages in practice. Gomez is probably the loosest guy that ever played on the Devils - I loved that entire spittin' chiclets - but I hardly think that guys like Carpenter/Broten et al were thinking 'it's just a job' in 95 nor were Lemieux or anyone with any maturity thinking that in the 2000s.

Whether you want to admit it or not, 6 games into the season with a 6 game losing streak after a terrible loss was a pretty good spot to be frigging walking the walk and changing your approach.

The maturity to know when to treat something seriously separates great players who win from ... just another talented guy who maybe gets remembered.

It's all just my opinion, so who cares - but I thought the optics sucked - and to joke about it- yeah, no worries - you just don't get it. That's fine.

This isn't fixing some lady's sink - or showing up to punch a clock it is a *maybe* 10 year window to perhaps win a trophy in the greatest league for this sport in the world - and maybe make big bank as one of 22 guys. Lots of people would give their left nut for that.

Yeah - when things aren't working well, the best thing to do is TRY HARDER. And get rid of any fun. Squeeze that stick, baby! Loosening the mood never worked in any world I've been a part of. Or something like that.