Final On Roster Forwards Rankings

[DanteDevilsHockey]

Ranking On Roster Forwards #6

Once again as expected a dominant vote this time for Trav.

Things will get interesting now

Current List:
1. Hall
2. Cammalleri
3. Henrique
4. Palmieri
5. Zajac

 

[Better Call Sal]

Based on what he did last year, and because I think he'll get a crack at one of those RW spots early, I'm going with DSP.

Zacha is next on my list.

 

[DanteDevilsHockey]

Based on what he did last year, and because I think he'll get a crack at one of those RW spots early, I'm going with DSP.

Zacha is next on my list.

I really can't disagree with you here. In this no.6 spot I wouldn't mind seeing Zacha, Boucher, or DSP here. I just chose Zacha because he has the most importance to this club in the future. However Boucher and DSP are just as deserving for this spot for their respective relevance.

 

[OmNomNom]

too early for zacha just yet, IMO.

 

[mike30]

boosh for me

 

[Devil X]

This one is tough. I dont think Zacha fits here we have no idea what he will be. I'd say its between Boucher and DSP.

 

[Bleedred]

I love Josefson, but I don't see any way how he ends up in last. Luke Gazdic should be in this poll in my opinion and he is easily the worst forward on the roster in that case. Josefson might have a bit of an edge on Kalinin in terms of usefulness though.

That being said, if Josefson is one of our worst forward, that will be a very good sign as far as forward depth goes.

I was going to say "If Gazdic was in this poll, Josefson probably wouldn't come in last.

I certainly could justify Josefson over Kalinin, but I'd probably give it to Kalinin because I'd sooner give him the benefit of the doubt on improving from last year. First year in North America and in the league, whereas Josefson hasn't improved at offense at all, year after year.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Well, it's certainly NOT Bennett, Blandisi, Fiddler, Kalinin, Josefson.

I think the "safest" pick here is DSP he's got speed and physicality even when he's not producing.

I think it's fair to expect Zacha to be at DSP's level or better. I guess that depends really on how much DSP regresses, he's not going to score at a 35 goal pace this year.

I expect Zacha to get around 35 points, and DSP to get around 30, we'll see if Zacha has rookie struggles or not.

Boucher, not sure how much he's going to produce from the #3 LW spot and how much PP time he'll get.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I think Luke Gadzic is probably in the AHL, which is likely why he's not in this poll. JJ might be better than Gadzic, but since Gadzic isn't an option, JJ is easily the worst in my opinion. And he was one of our worst forwards last season, too, so that doesn't mean our depth is amazing. It just means JJ isn't a good NHL player. Lest we forget how bad JJ is: Gionta gave him a pity head pat this season on Marty night. You know you are bad at NHL hockey when Gionta feels sorry for you.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Zacha for me.

 

[Bleedred]

I think Luke Gadzic is probably in the AHL, which is likely why he's not in this poll. JJ might be better than Gadzic, but since Gadzic isn't an option, JJ is easily the worst in my opinion. And he was one of our worst forwards last season, too, so that doesn't mean our depth is amazing. It just means JJ isn't a good NHL player. Lest we forget how bad JJ is: Gionta gave him a pity head pat this season on Marty night. You know you are bad at NHL hockey when Gionta feels sorry for you.

I don't even think he was one of our worst forwards last year, just because of how many bums played in the bottom 6.

But considering his time on ice, he probably passes the worst per minute test. We did have Tootoo, Ruutu, Gionta and a couple others that were certainly worse. But Gionta was never playing the 3rd line center role either.

Luckily we've taken out the trash on the rest of them.

Tlusty may have actually had the lowest point per 60, when adjusted for games played. He only played 30 games but was in the top 6/9 the entire time and only scored 4 points.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I don't even think he was one of our worst forwards last year, just because of how many bums played in the bottom 6.

But considering his time on ice, he probably passes the worst per minute test. We did have Tootoo, Ruutu, Gionta and a couple others that were certainly worse. But Gionta was never playing the 3rd line center role either.

Luckily we've taken out the trash on the rest of them.

Tlusty may have actually had the lowest point per 60, when adjusted for games played. He only played 30 games but was in the top 6/9 the entire time and only scored 4 points.

Thing with JJ is he doesn't look bad, but he never produces, and with the amount of ice time he was getting (and he also got good line mates at the beginning of the season, and failed at doing anything with the opportunity) something more than his paltry four goals was expected. JJ might have been marginally better than players everyone agrees weren't NHL caliber at all, which makes him what--borderline an NHLer, I guess. Having a borderline NHLer as one of your worst forwards doesn't make our depth great, yet somehow around here, JJ is a golden standard fourth liner. That is a theory I object to most strenuously. At best JJ is a functional fourth liner.

 

[Bleedred]

Thing with JJ is he doesn't look bad, but he never produces, and with the amount of ice time he was getting (and he also got good line mates at the beginning of the season, and failed at doing anything with the opportunity) something more than his paltry four goals was expected. JJ might have been marginally better than players everyone agrees weren't NHL caliber at all, which makes him what--borderline an NHLer, I guess. Having a borderline NHLer as one of your worst forwards doesn't make our depth great, yet somehow around here, JJ is a golden standard fourth liner. That is a theory I object to most strenuously. At best JJ is a functional fourth liner.

I'm not disagreeing with you one bit. I'm still annoyed that he got a 40% raise and Boucher got $750k and a two way way deal. The money is no problem, but a 40% raise screams a vote of confidence to me. This to me signals they might like him more than we do and I wouldn't be surprised if he at least starts the season as the 3rd line center.

I personally think that he suffered from bad luck at even strength last year, only it was made up by him overachieving in production on the power play. That was the percentages evening out. I think he'll score more at even strength this season, but less on the power play. Thus continuing to be the same player that struggles to break 20 points per 82 games.

 

[Bleedred]

And on Gazdic, I feel like he'll be on the NHL team. Which I have no problem with as long as he isn't forced into the lineup every night, like Tootoo last year.

If he's played like Farnham last year, I feel that's alright. Although I'd prefer if he played even less than Farnham. Farnham probably played more than he hopefully otherwise would have, due to scoring almost half of the total goals from out bottom 6 last year.

I've read that Gazdic isn't a horrible possession player, so I'm okay with him in very small doses. I'd very much like it if goons were banned from the NHL (not fighting but just useless one dimensional facepunchers) once and for all, if I had my choice. They are disappearing one by one over the last 4 or 5 seasons alone, but there's still 10-12 teams that insist on having a fighter of some kind on the NHL roster, and we might unfortunately still be one of them. But I think the fact that Tootoo and Farnham are gone, only increases our chances of keeping him on the NHL roster.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I'm not disagreeing with you one bit. I'm still annoyed that he got a 40% raise and Boucher got $750k and a two way way deal. The money is no problem, but a 40% raise screams a vote of confidence to me. This to me signals they might like him more than we do and I wouldn't be surprised if he at least starts the season as the 3rd line center.

I personally think that he suffered from bad luck at even strength last year, only it was made up by him overachieving in production on the power play. That was the percentages evening out. I think he'll score more at even strength this season, but less on the power play. Thus continuing to be the same player that struggles to break 20 points per 82 games.

I think we have pretty similar opinions on JJ's overall usefulness (or lack thereof, really) to this team as a hockey player, so no worries there, and you make good points about the percentages evening out where JJ is concerned.

 

[Bleedred]

I think we have pretty similar opinions on JJ's overall usefulness (or lack thereof, really) to this team as a hockey player, so no worries there, and you make good points about the percentages evening out where JJ is concerned.

I could only hope this is the last year we see him as a Devil and someone pushes him out of this spot.

Of course, I would welcome him sticking around for a long time in a role that was exactly like Gionta's last season. But out of all the fringe and borderline carryovers from Lou, he seems to be the one that's gotten the longest leash and been kept around. Whereas the other guys have walked the plank on out of here this offseason. I'm not arguing against us bringing him back this season, but the significant raise heavily hints at a vote of confidence from Shero and company.

Although we could be sitting here in a couple weeks and see that Gionta was re-signed or given a PTO.

 

[Zippy316]

Thing with JJ is he doesn't look bad, but he never produces, and with the amount of ice time he was getting (and he also got good line mates at the beginning of the season, and failed at doing anything with the opportunity) something more than his paltry four goals was expected. JJ might have been marginally better than players everyone agrees weren't NHL caliber at all, which makes him what--borderline an NHLer, I guess. Having a borderline NHLer as one of your worst forwards doesn't make our depth great, yet somehow around here, JJ is a golden standard fourth liner. That is a theory I object to most strenuously. At best JJ is a functional fourth liner.

5-on-5, yes he could be considered a 'functional' fourth liner, although I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that.

However, when you consider he can play the PP, PK, and is exceptional in the shootout, wouldn't that make him a valuable fourth liner?

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I could only hope this is the last year we see him as a Devil and someone pushes him out of this spot.

Of course, I would welcome him sticking around for a long time in a role that was exactly like Gionta's last season. But out of all the fringe and borderline carryovers from Lou, he seems to be the one that's gotten the longest leash and been kept around. Whereas the other guys have walked the plank on out of here this offseason. I'm not arguing against us bringing him back this season, but the significant raise heavily hints at a vote of confidence from Shero and company.

Although we could be sitting here in a couple weeks and see that Gionta was re-signed or given a PTO.

One of the few issues I had with Hynes last season was that I felt he overused Josefson, especially at the beginning of the year. I thought he cut back a bit by the end of last season, which I thought was a sign that he had seen the light with regard to JJ. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that is the case, but the new raise could be an ominous sign about JJ being overvalued by Devils management and coaching staff. Only time will tell, but if JJ has another season of substandard production, I hope I don't have to hear complaints about his line mates or about him not getting enough opportunities when if anything he's gotten too many.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

5-on-5, yes he could be considered a 'functional' fourth liner, although I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that.

However, when you consider he can play the PP, PK, and is exceptional in the shootout, wouldn't that make him a valuable fourth liner?

A functional fourth liner meaning one you'd see on every NHL team. Not anything special, and no I really don't see JJ as particularly valuable. Best thing that can be said about him is that he's not as bad as some of the absolutely not NHL players that we've had come through this organization the past few years, but that's a low barometer to set.

 

[Zippy316]

A functional fourth liner meaning one you'd see on every NHL team. Not anything special, and no I really don't see JJ as particularly valuable. Best thing that can be said about him is that he's not as bad as some of the absolutely not NHL players that we've had come through this organization the past few years, but that's a low barometer to set.

That's entirely fair.

How many of those fourth liners you see on every team can play PP, PK, and have a shootout rate over 50%?

I'll leave it at that as to not derail the thread.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

That's entirely fair.

How many of those fourth liners you see on every team can play PP, PK, and have a shootout rate over 50%?

Many fourth liners can play on the PP and PK, though normally a fourth liner on PP would provide more of
of a net-front presence than the passing role JJ plays. JJ looks better than most fourth liners, but I’m not sure it produces more results, certainly not in the points column.

I will grant that JJ's shootout ability is a bit unique, but I thinl the importance of those abilities are a bit inflated around this forum because of the Devils' woes at the shootout in recent years. Even last season, the shootout was less important than in year's past, since the Devils seemed to be getting in less of them. As the team continues to improve, hopefully we'll see its significance continue to lessen.

I just think there is a tendency around here to look at JJ with very rose-tinted glasses and to defend him in a way that other players aren't (making excuses about his line mates, lack of opportunities, coaching, etc...instead of calling a spade a spade).

ETA: Sorry, didn't see your last bit until after I posted. I'll let it go here too. Peace

 

[DanteDevilsHockey]

Ranking On Roster Forwards #7

Boucher takes the no.6 spot on the list as it is well deserved. After putting up 19 points in 39 games last season playing with Zajac and Palmieri we as Devil fans will be looking for him to take the next step and become the bonafide sniper we know he can become.

I think if Pavel Zacha played at least 25 games last season with NJ (despite this being impossible due to his contract with Sarnia of the OHL unless he made the pro roster right out of the gates) IMO he probably would put up around 15 points if not more and would've taken the no.6 spot. I know some of you guys aren't as excited about Zacha as I am, but I've seen this kid play in person 4 times. Number one being his appearance in the 2015 World Juniors with Czech, two and three being 2 OHL games this past season, and 4 being prospect camp last season. I'm aware I went on a bit of a rant but Zacha will do big things for this franchise.

Back On Track. We are looking to rank our no.7 forward

Current List
1. Hall
2. Cammalleri
3. Henrique
4. Palmieri
5. Zajac
6. Boucher

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Zacha still.

 

[MartyOwns]

oh my god someone else voted for fiddler!

 

[VoidCreature]

Boucher takes the no.6 spot on the list as it is well deserved. After putting up 19 points in 39 games last season playing with Zajac and Palmieri we as Devil fans will be looking for him to take the next step and become the bonafide sniper we know he can become.

I think if Pavel Zacha played at least 25 games last season with NJ (despite this being impossible due to his contract with Sarnia of the OHL unless he made the pro roster right out of the gates) IMO he probably would put up around 15 points if not more and would've taken the no.6 spot. I know some of you guys aren't as excited about Zacha as I am, but I've seen this kid play in person 4 times. Number one being his appearance in the 2015 World Juniors with Czech, two and three being 2 OHL games this past season, and 4 being prospect camp last season. I'm aware I went on a bit of a rant but Zacha will do big things for this franchise.

Back On Track. We are looking to rank our no.7 forward

Current List
1. Hall
2. Cammalleri
3. Henrique
4. Palmieri
5. Zajac
6. Boucher

I watched almost all of Zacha's games last year for the Sting, and I couldn't agree more. Especially the playoffs onwards. His attention to detail in his game in New Jersey was phenomenal, he's a possession monster already.

I think he's going to be a perennial Selke candidate in his prime. He's that good.