Confirmed with Link: Devils re-sign Blake Coleman (3 years, $1.8 AAV)

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

There is nothing worse than the "Look at these old takes I found" person...don't be that guy

Just because Coleman defied the odds doesn't really mean much. Odds WERE against him becoming an NHL regular.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

There is nothing worse than the "Look at these old takes I found" person...don't be that guy

Just because Coleman defied the odds doesn't really mean much. Odds WERE against him becoming an NHL regular.

But that's exactly my point. People assumed that he wouldn't make the NHL because of his age (which wasn't fair if you watched the way he played). Why not point out those takes?

 

[Devils731]

There is nothing worse than the "Look at these old takes I found" person...don't be that guy

Just because Coleman defied the odds doesn't really mean much. Odds WERE against him becoming an NHL regular.

Especially when both takes say he could be an NHL player. Neither was absolute, which seems fair.

 

[Nubmer6]

As long as their music is the theme from Smokey and the Bandit.

We got a long way to go... and a short time to get there...

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

But that's exactly my point. People assumed that he wouldn't make the NHL because of his age (which wasn't fair if you watched the way he played). Why not point out those takes?

It IS fair, though...players that aren't regular NHL players by the time they are 25 are almost certainly never going to be. Thats just reality.

Coleman is the exception, not the rule.

 

[Call Me Al]

coleman stayed in college all 4 years and missed a year due to injury, i dont ever recall him being counted out of making the nhl

 

[devilsblood]

coleman stayed in college all 4 years and missed a year due to injury, i dont ever recall him being counted out of making the nhl

End of last year, after he looked very shaky in his time in NJ, I really doubted he'd be a regular NHL'r.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

But that's exactly my point. People assumed that he wouldn't make the NHL because of his age (which wasn't fair if you watched the way he played). Why not point out those takes?

They seemed like fairly reasonable and well thought out posts. The fact that something unlikely happened doesn’t mean it wasn’t unlikely. It’s not like they said there was no chance he’d be a good NHL player, just that he probably wouldn’t. I felt the same way and I’m sure most did.

 

[devilsblood]

There is nothing worse than the "Look at these old takes I found" person...don't be that guy

Just because Coleman defied the odds doesn't really mean much. Odds WERE against him becoming an NHL regular.

I just hate the idea of "odds" in terms of prospects.

Using the success rates of other players to gauge the potential of a completely different player?

Right now between Bratt, Wood, and Coleman, 25% of our fwd's are guys who the odds said would never become NHL'rs.

Butchers rookie season would have been way down the odd's list. Greene's career would never have happened, Lovejoys neither. Meanwhile a 1st rounder like John Moore, odds were much better for him.

 

[Triumph]

But that's exactly my point. People assumed that he wouldn't make the NHL because of his age (which wasn't fair if you watched the way he played). Why not point out those takes?

I would say it again about any player with his history - I'm not biased against Blake Coleman, nor will Blake Coleman's success alter the way I think about aging curves. He came up a year after that post and had a totally unremarkable end of 2016-17 - he looked like a body. I don't think anyone on this board was penning his name into the 2017-18 Devils. Did you go back and dig up any of those takes from summer 2017 where everyone is pretty much saying that Coleman is just another guy and he'll go to Binghamton and be a solid player down there?

I just hate the idea of "odds" in terms of prospects.

Using the success rates of other players to gauge the potential of a completely different player?

Right now between Bratt, Wood, and Coleman, 25% of our fwd's are guys who the odds said would never become NHL'rs.

Butchers rookie season would have been way down the odd's list. Greene's career would never have happened, Lovejoys neither. Meanwhile a 1st rounder like John Moore, odds were much better for him.

You hate the idea of odds in terms of anything. If you just throw your hands up and say 'Anyone can make it', what's the point of even making predictions? Additionally, what's the point of even posting on a website like this if you're against measured predictions of future events? Just want to talk about the past, I guess.

 

[devilsblood]

You hate the idea of odds in terms of anything. If you just throw your hands up and say 'Anyone can make it', what's the point of even making predictions? Additionally, what's the point of even posting on a website like this if you're against measured predictions of future events? Just want to talk about the past, I guess.

Not really. But in this case I do.

What is the point of posting on a website like this? Uh, to talk hockey?

 

[Azathoth]

You hate the idea of odds in terms of anything. If you just throw your hands up and say 'Anyone can make it', what's the point of even making predictions? Additionally, what's the point of even posting on a website like this if you're against measured predictions of future events? Just want to talk about the past, I guess.

I mean, the odds of any prospect outside of maybe the early first round making it in the NHL are pretty slim. So really, whats the point of posting about prospects other than to say odds are they won't amount to much (other than to attempt to assert one's intellectual dominance and admonish posters who a bit more fun with things)?

 

[Triumph]

I mean, the odds of any prospect outside of maybe the early first round making it in the NHL are pretty slim. So really, whats the point of posting about prospects other than to say odds are they won't amount to much (other than to attempt to assert one's intellectual dominance and admonish posters who a bit more fun with things)?

They become more or less slim as the player ages. Where the player was picked in the draft soon fades into the distance as a relevant data point - much more important is their performance.

 

[NJDevs26]

But that's exactly my point. People assumed that he wouldn't make the NHL because of his age (which wasn't fair if you watched the way he played). Why not point out those takes?

Because it's silly and people start playing tit for tat as in since you pulled old posts to show who was wrong on this, then others will pull posts to show you were wrong on other things and it becomes a personal catfight that we (the mods) inevitably have to clean up...the majority of people even if they believed Coleman could be an NHL player would never have believed he would have been as good as he was last year, especially after a meh debut two years ago.

Guys with his pedigree don't often get second chances, the only reason he was on the Opening Night roster is because Zajac and Boyle were both hurt. He got another opportunity and ran with it and we're the beneficiaries.

It's fun when guys come out of nowhere and pop like Coleman, Bratt, etc. What's the point of calling out the naysayers to be a sore winner? At least 95% of the people here are happy to be wrong in that way. Would you want people to stand on the rooftops and constantly point out how they were right on negative predictions when it comes to guys like Matteau, Josefson, etc? We get too much of that here as it is.

 

[Bleedred]

Was anybody actually really high on Coleman before last year? I know a couple were. @Aethon is the only one that I can think of off the top of my head. I think most thought he'd be 4th line call up fodder at best.

 

[Nubmer6]

Was anybody actually really high on Coleman before last year? I know a couple were. @Aethon is the only one that I can think of off the top of my head. I think most thought he'd be 4th line call up fodder at best.

I thought he was going to be a great player in the league. The American league.

 

[Darkauron]

I thought Coleman was going to be a good 3-4th line player for us...and he is. He was pretty known to be a great shooter and faceoff guy in the NCAA and up top for most goals a few years

 

[glenwo2]

Excellent deal. extremely happy about this.

You are?

But aren't you a Maple Leafs fan?


Or did you also "lose a bet"?


Regardless, it's indeed a very team-friendly deal and I'm thrilled to have Blake "John Madden 2.0" Coleman in the Devils fold for the next 3 years.

 

[Cheddabombs]

through my snooping I found that on the penalty kill, Coleman had the league's best (for forwards that played over 100 PK minutes) xGF% at 24.41%.

 

[My3Sons]

Coleman bucked the odds, but if the odds of 25 year old players breaking out are say 5% then someone has to be that 5%. Fortunately NJ had him and the team was better off as a result. Of course the circumstances of his opportunity were fluky. They probably had to be for him to succeed. I think that is typical for the late bloomer. Look at a number of LV players who got an opportunity and ran with it. A number of them likely would have languished with their old teams. Another guy who fits that bill for me is Butcher. I’m not convinced he succeeds on another team. He was in the right place at the right time. His skill set meshed perfectly with what the team needed and on the mediocre group of defenders he didn’t have to beat out anyone special like he would have on a team that had a power play QB or hug draft picks ahead of him. NHL success for the lower drafted player or college free agent can be a tricky thing.

 

[Zippy316]

I thought Coleman had the potential to be a good bottom six utility forward. I think now he's trending more to be a quality third line forward.

His numbers at every step of the way along with his play style meant he had a good chance at being an above-average fourth liner who can do it all. Honestly, I lost a bit of confidence in that after he was mediocre to end the year in 2016-17 but I think looking back it shows you how much of a train wreck that team was after February.

 

[Billdo]

With guys like Coleman, Wood, and Noesen showing they're legit bottom 6 guys at worst and having guys like Hall, Palmieri, Nico, etc it's nice to know we won't necessarily have to rely on old stop gaps like we have for so long.

 

[Triumph]

I thought Coleman had the potential to be a good bottom six utility forward. I think now he's trending more to be a quality third line forward.

His numbers at every step of the way along with his play style meant he had a good chance at being an above-average fourth liner who can do it all. Honestly, I lost a bit of confidence in that after he was mediocre to end the year in 2016-17 but I think looking back it shows you how much of a train wreck that team was after February.

'Above-average 4th liner' is not really a thing in today's NHL. 4th line players' results are so swingy from year to year and 4th lines so variable that I really don't think players have a career like this - circumstance can sometimes keep good players on a 4th line, but they're just 3rd line players playing on a 4th line.

I think Coleman of 2017-18 would've stood out on that terrible 16-17 Devils' team. A better guy showed up to training camp and sometimes that happens.

 

[devilsblood]

Coleman bucked the odds, but if the odds of 25 year old players breaking out are say 5% then someone has to be that 5%. Fortunately NJ had him and the team was better off as a result. Of course the circumstances of his opportunity were fluky. They probably had to be for him to succeed. I think that is typical for the late bloomer. Look at a number of LV players who got an opportunity and ran with it. A number of them likely would have languished with their old teams. Another guy who fits that bill for me is Butcher. I’m not convinced he succeeds on another team. He was in the right place at the right time. His skill set meshed perfectly with what the team needed and on the mediocre group of defenders he didn’t have to beat out anyone special like he would have on a team that had a power play QB or hug draft picks ahead of him. NHL success for the lower drafted player or college free agent can be a tricky thing.

What happened with Vegas, specifically Karlsson, but not just him, really had me thinking about this during the season. How one environment can be more conducive for a players success as opposed to another.

I thought the Devils had that, especially for younger guys trying to make the team, more especially for guys who had speed and attack the play. Bratt early in the season for sure, Gibbons, Coleman, on down the line, but also at the top with Hall.

So I agree I think the environment was right for Coleman. To maintain that environment is now the trick. I think that is where the "culture" will come in to play. With Hall leading the way that's a good start, Nico too, but guys like Coleman and Wood and Bratt need keep doing what they were doing when they were at their most successful.

I also think continuing to infuse young hungry players into the lineup is key to that as well.

 

[JimEIV]

I think Coleman has more to give in terms of production. And I think he still has room to grow. From my POV, I have seen continual improvement from Coleman from the very beginning of his Pro career. I expect a 20 goal season to come out of one of those 3 contract years, maybe even a couple.