GDT: Ducks @ Devils, 7:00 PM

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Do you not think Gilles is the worst goalie we've seen in goal for the Devils in the last.......I dunno, perhaps ever? He is just that bad.

Yes, AND, NOT BUT, there were other issues plaguing the team have also improved along with steady goaltending Daws is providing.

I'm really happy for Daws. I can just leave at that without having to drag Gillies into it. He didn't play. Daws talked to him before the shootout. That's only time I thought about him tonight.

 

[Bleedred]

If you are going to call out others you should expect it back. I do.

I just think it's myopic to think Gillies was sole problem with this team in the last month.

Gillies hasn't played for seven consecutive games. Why even bring him up?

I wonder why that is that he hasn’t played for seven games? I wonder what our goals against is in those games? I wonder what our save percentage is in those games? I wonder what our record is in those games?

 

[Bleedred]

Do you not think Gilles is the worst goalie we've seen in goal for the Devils in the last.......I dunno, perhaps ever? He is just that bad.

Louis Domingue might have been slightly worse.

Schneider had some really abysmal starts to his last two seasons here, as well as a really bad death spiral in his last 10-15 games (forgot exactly how many) in 17-18. And that’s why he was bought out.

But at least he did have those increments of .920% goaltending. I never thought I would also start rationalizing the good stretches from Cory in his decline years, but those are basically what makes Gillies worse than even decline era Schneider.

Even frickin Wedgewood had 3 shutouts in I think it was his first 11 or 12 games played (albeit, over two different seasons that were 5 years apart) as a Devil.

 

[MasterofGrond]

I had already successfully memory holed Louis domingue, so thanks putting him back in my head

 

[glenwo2]

I hate that play by Hamilton.

Bratt just sit down. Not a great game at all.

Nope not a great game indeed...

...then he comes back and scores the Shootout Game-Winner.

But overall he's been sloppy lately.

 

[BurntToast]

It’s wild. Maybe the “learn to win” Motto, should be changed to “learn to make it to OT/SO”. It’s the one thing the Jets/Ducks have over the Devils.

I am happy that the Devils last few wins/losses were lower scoring games. I’ll post my thoughts on Nico Jaws in the team thread.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Daws had a good game.....Should he go back to the AHL and continue to properly develop his game imo yes.....This season is lost but to pick apart his play or rate him a possible 1b not a true number one goalie in the future is laughable kid has shown he has stones and can handle pressure kinda the criteria needed for a possible future number one goalie which he may be with continued growth and development....

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Nope not a great game indeed...

...then he comes back and scores the Shootout Game-Winner.

But overall he's been sloppy lately.

I did think the Ducks did a good job of making it difficult for the Devils to enter their zone last night....They seemed to frustrate everyone not just Bratt and in the end he got the last laugh

 

[Camille the Eel]

Have we won another game all year when we only scored one goal?

Dawes mentioned in the post game that his game has grown by practicing with and against, and playing against NHL players. That’s why you keep him up no matter if Blackwood comes back. As long as we keep playing him regularly and he keeps maturing. He’s already markedly better than he was a few weeks back.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Thing is at this point he's probably going to play long enough the rest of the season where it's enough of a sample size to see whether he could hack it as a starter. But I'm still a bit gunshy after the Blackwood thing when too much, too soon probably hurt him in the long run.

Agree with this, let Blackwood come back and find his form.

Blackwood and Daws as a 1a/1b combo looks like the solution, but there will be a clearer picture once the season is done.

Daws is looking like a stud though!

 

[Bleedred]

Agree with this, let Blackwood come back and find his form.

Blackwood and Daws as a 1a/1b combo looks like the solution, but there will be a clearer picture once the season is done.

Daws is looking like a stud though!

No, it does not look like the solution. Thank god you're not the GM. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but this is how you get version 2.0 of the Schneider/Blackwood tandem that was evident that it would not work by the very first week of that season.

Especially if Blackwood sucks and while I think it's possible he bounces back (unlike when I absolutely wrote Cory Schneider off after his first 2-3 bad years), I'm also not betting on it. I think it's a MISTAKE and it could be a grave one to bet on a Blackwood/Daws combo to start next season. Just like the mistake the last GM made with the Schneider/Blackwood combo to start the 19-20 season. It put us in a hole very early, it got the head coach fired (nothing I was against or that I cried over) and then the GM got fired in the middle of the season. And it was evident during opening week that this tandem was not going to work out because Schneider was just f***ing shot and Blackwood probably wasn't ready to really be a starter.

Although, Blackwood actually did play well, it's just that the problem was that we had nobody behind him except for Louis Domingue and Schneider's cremains when we called him back up from the minors. I'm pretty sure we didn't win a single game against a team other than the Red Wings with a goalie that wasn't Blackwood until like January of that season. Domingue won at least one game against the Red Wings in the first few months and that was it, other than Blackwood winning all the games we did win in the 2019 part of the 19-20 season.

Because of Blackwood's GIGANTIC question marks, this is NOT a good idea.

The better idea would be to acquire a new goalie and pair him with Blackwood to start the year and if Blackwood fails, you waive him and that's when Daws comes up. Blackwood has one year left after this and if he bombs that's it for him. He won't be worth his qualifying offer the next year if he bombs next season and will only be one year away from UFA by then anyway.

Can't make the same f***in mistake they made with Schneider 3 years ago.

I'm mostly convinced that Blackwood's time here is coming to an end. And not even because I think he can't be revived, but because it feels like the relationship may have been severed between him and the team. He may have problems with the way his injury was handled.

 

[devilsblood]

Have we won another game all year when we only scored one goal?

Dawes mentioned in the post game that his game has grown by practicing with and against, and playing against NHL players. That’s why you keep him up no matter if Blackwood comes back. As long as we keep playing him regularly and he keeps maturing. He’s already markedly better than he was a few weeks back.

And this is a positive when he is playing well and has confidence, but can be a negative if he is struggling.

Who knows when Blackwood will come back, but if/when he does there won't be a ton left in the season so Daws going back down to Utica for the playoff run is the logical call. Maybe, you go a week or two with the 2 of them, but I don't think you finish the season with that tandem.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I wonder why that is that he hasn’t played for seven games? I wonder what our goals against is in those games? I wonder what our save percentage is in those games? I wonder what our record is in those games?

Henrique's posts would have gone in if Gillies were in net.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Henrique's posts would have gone in if Gillies were in net.

He would’ve let in 3+ other goals. He stinks bro.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

He would’ve let in 3+ other goals. He stinks bro.

Didn't say he didn't stink.

I knew I was doing this right.

 

[Bleedred]

Henrique's posts would have gone in if Gillies were in net.

Sure they would have.

Because Gillies has not had a puck hit the post and not go past him this year.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Sure they would have.

Because Gillies has not had a puck hit the post and not go past him this year.

I know we're just having fun with this, but I'm glad I'm finally getting it now.

 

[Bleedred]

I was expecting the Henrique goal the entire game.

And after thinking about it, Henrique has been gone for so long that hardly anybody that was in last night's lineup ever played here with Henrique.

Severson

Bratt was teammates with him for like a minute.

Nico (who didn't play) was teammates with him for like a minute also.

Zacha was teammates with him for about a minute and a year.

Wood (didn't play) was teammates with him for like a year-ish.

There might be a couple of other guys that he crossed paths with in preseason/training camp games here. Bastian, McLeod and Blackwood (didn't play).

 

[tailfins]

I was expecting the Henrique goal the entire game.

And after thinking about it, Henrique has been gone for so long that hardly anybody that was in last night's lineup ever played here with Henrique.

Severson

Bratt was teammates with him for like a minute.

Nico (who didn't play) was teammates with him for like a minute also.

Zacha was teammates with him for about a minute and a year.

Wood (didn't play) was teammates with him for like a year-ish.

There might be a couple of other guys that he crossed paths with in preseason/training camp games here. Bastian, McLeod and Blackwood (didn't play).

In the end, we did ok by trading Henrique. We'd be sunk without Daws, and he was that 3rd round pick we got for Vats. And I still have hope for Kuokkannen.

But, I also think this was a case of the Devils outsmarting themselves. Maybe Boqvist ends up being the 3C the Devils need. But, Henrique would absolutely fit the bill. He's basically been the same guy he was while he was here: a reasonable #2C / good 3C who can do a llittle PK, can work on the PP. Chips in .45 - .6 ppg. Maybe $5.8 is too much for that - but that contract was signed in a rising cap era. And, that contract wouldn't have hurt the Devils at all.

I think this is somewhat instructive when we look at Severson.

Sure, we're afraid of an overpay with Severson's next contract. But, if we keep him, we also get someone who fits well with the team and has helped build what we have here. If we get rid of him, maybe we can say "wow we avoided that contract." But, will we still be looking for a reasonable 2RD four - five years from now?

 

[Bleedred]

In the end, we did ok by trading Henrique. We'd be sunk without Daws, and he was that 3rd round pick we got for Vats. And I still have hope for Kuokkannen.

But, I also think this was a case of the Devils outsmarting themselves. Maybe Boqvist ends up being the 3C the Devils need. But, Henrique would absolutely fit the bill. He's basically been the same guy he was while he was here: a reasonable #2C / good 3C who can do a llittle PK, can work on the PP. Chips in .45 - .6 ppg. Maybe $5.8 is too much for that - but that contract was signed in a rising cap era. And, that contract wouldn't have hurt the Devils at all.

I think this is somewhat instructive when we look at Severson.

Sure, we're afraid of an overpay with Severson's next contract. But, if we keep him, we also get someone who fits well with the team and has helped build what we have here. If we get rid of him, maybe we can say "wow we avoided that contract." But, will we still be looking for a reasonable 2RD four - five years from now?

I was very against re-signing Henrique because I didn't think he'd be good on his next contract or at least not by the end. He was waived last year early in the season, I'm not sure he deserved it at that point, but he was waived.

The thing with Henrique though is that his shooting percentage just doesn't drop, although it has this season, but this season I think Henrique is on pace for a career high in shots on goal, so his goal scoring numbers aren't really dropping as much as they should. I don't expect him to be a better shot producer going forward, that's usually not something that happens. At least last I looked (several weeks ago) Henrique was on pace to have his most shots on goal in a year.

I'm not afraid of Severson's next contract, as much a Zacha's next contract. Zacha is the guy I'm currently sweating for a new contract.

And since it's ''Bring up the past and name drop those out of the organization'' day, I think one area in retrospect that Shero probably deserves criticism on is the fact that we had to have Zacha here in 16-17 when he was 19 because he couldn't play in the AHL and he had ''Nothing more to prove'' in the OHL. That's caused Zacha to be a UFA a year earlier at age 26 and not age 27.

That's actually interesting that Daws came from the pick we got for Vatanen. I didn't realize that. I'm not too high on Kuokkannen anymore, but he is still contracted to play in the NHL this year, while Vatanen is not. Add in the fact that we got Vatanen back for free (although he SUCKED, A LOT. He was toast and that's why he's out of the league now) and that trade actually looks pretty low key good right now.

 

[Oneiro]

Expectations were a little different in '18. Intended timeline was faster given Hall, Palmieri, etc. I guess a half tool / half rebuild. Cap matters even more in that scenario.

And, despite the '12 run, I'd say this team's defense had been a mess for a long, long time until now. Remember all those discussions about needing a puckmoving D? And now everyone wants more safety...Haha.

I don't remember, in aggregate, people being super upset about the trade.

 

[Guttersniped]

In the end, we did ok by trading Henrique. We'd be sunk without Daws, and he was that 3rd round pick we got for Vats. And I still have hope for Kuokkannen.

But, I also think this was a case of the Devils outsmarting themselves. Maybe Boqvist ends up being the 3C the Devils need. But, Henrique would absolutely fit the bill. He's basically been the same guy he was while he was here: a reasonable #2C / good 3C who can do a llittle PK, can work on the PP. Chips in .45 - .6 ppg. Maybe $5.8 is too much for that - but that contract was signed in a rising cap era. And, that contract wouldn't have hurt the Devils at all.

I think this is somewhat instructive when we look at Severson.

Sure, we're afraid of an overpay with Severson's next contract. But, if we keep him, we also get someone who fits well with the team and has helped build what we have here. If we get rid of him, maybe we can say "wow we avoided that contract." But, will we still be looking for a reasonable 2RD four - five years from now?

We can’t discuss Rico’s contract as if automatic that 1) that he would re-signed with the Devils 2) at that price.

He was bummed about being traded but we were still rolling in late November 2017 when we traded him.

The Ducks extended him a year early, signing him in July 2018 to a deal that started in 2019-20.

Maybe coming off of the playoffs (assuming in this alternate universe we also sneak in as the 8th seed) he signs? Shero didn’t sign any UFAs early like though. (Or at all really.) And I don’t see an unsigned Rico making it past the 2019 TDL. (Assuming 2018-19 sucks in this version as well.)

We could have gotten Henrique on this deal when he was waived on Feb 20, 2021. He had played in 16 games and had 4 points (w/ 1 goal) and had 3 years/5.825m left on his deal after the 2020-21 season. So while he’s had a nice little bounce back season, and has been on a tear in Feb, it’s not exactly shocking no one took him when he was waived.

Rico barely PKs at all for the Ducks, he gets plenty of PP time though.

 

[Saugus]

I had already successfully memory holed Louis domingue, so thanks putting him back in my head

I know Louis Domingue played for us at some point but I honestly have no memory of any games he played. Same thing with Aaron Dell and Yann Danis.

In the end, we did ok by trading Henrique. We'd be sunk without Daws, and he was that 3rd round pick we got for Vats. And I still have hope for Kuokkannen.

But, I also think this was a case of the Devils outsmarting themselves. Maybe Boqvist ends up being the 3C the Devils need. But, Henrique would absolutely fit the bill. He's basically been the same guy he was while he was here: a reasonable #2C / good 3C who can do a llittle PK, can work on the PP. Chips in .45 - .6 ppg. Maybe $5.8 is too much for that - but that contract was signed in a rising cap era. And, that contract wouldn't have hurt the Devils at all.

I think this is somewhat instructive when we look at Severson.

Sure, we're afraid of an overpay with Severson's next contract. But, if we keep him, we also get someone who fits well with the team and has helped build what we have here. If we get rid of him, maybe we can say "wow we avoided that contract." But, will we still be looking for a reasonable 2RD four - five years from now?

I know Vatanen's game fell off a cliff surprisingly fast, but considering what he brought in the years when he was good, that trade was worth it.

 

[Bleedred]

I know Louis Domingue played for us at some point but I honestly have no memory of any games he played.

---

---

You mean you don’t remember this one from Hynes final game here?

 

[Triumph]

In the end, we did ok by trading Henrique. We'd be sunk without Daws, and he was that 3rd round pick we got for Vats. And I still have hope for Kuokkannen.

But, I also think this was a case of the Devils outsmarting themselves. Maybe Boqvist ends up being the 3C the Devils need. But, Henrique would absolutely fit the bill. He's basically been the same guy he was while he was here: a reasonable #2C / good 3C who can do a llittle PK, can work on the PP. Chips in .45 - .6 ppg. Maybe $5.8 is too much for that - but that contract was signed in a rising cap era. And, that contract wouldn't have hurt the Devils at all.

I think this is somewhat instructive when we look at Severson.

Sure, we're afraid of an overpay with Severson's next contract. But, if we keep him, we also get someone who fits well with the team and has helped build what we have here. If we get rid of him, maybe we can say "wow we avoided that contract." But, will we still be looking for a reasonable 2RD four - five years from now?

At the time, the Devils had Hischier, Zacha, and Zajac down the middle. One had to be traded or moved to wing. Moreover, they had Steven Santini playing 1D with Greene, which was shaping up to be a disaster.

I don't think Henrique is playing that much center, either - he's averaging 6 faceoffs a game, 2 years ago he was averaging well over 10 faceoffs a game, and his percentages are quite good. He's played 200 minutes with Getzlaf this year.