GDT: NJ at CHI 8:30 EST - MSG+; NHLN - TIME TO GET BACK

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I can't see a reason for any of these arguments other than to try and rationalize that career minor BUM goalie Jon Gillies is really not as bad as we think he is?

It's not all about Gillies. It's about there are more problems than just the goaltending. It was team loss, not just a goaltending loss. Did shitty goaltending play a part? Absolutely. A big part. Was it the only reason for the loss? No way.

Did Gillies get waived today like you've soapboxing for?

No. Because is it's not an intelligent move until a plan to replace him is set.

You're advocating for sacrificing Schmid to be a bench warmer for the rest of the season. You think there's a strong argument for that?

 

[Guttersniped]

I'm okay with letting Daws sit on that game for a night, but if he plays well Monday then f*** Gillies, play Daws again Tuesday.

He's had TWO good games this year in 4 starts. Really, only the Ottawa game where he was overplaying everything was a BAD game from him He didn't really have a chance on most of the goals in the Calgary game, other than weak Lucic 5-hole breakaway goal.

Schmid is the one that was really getting killed out there and I think we've seen enough of him in NHL action for the year, but Daws has certainly earned another game.

Don’t agree at all, playing a rookie goalie (and this is a rookie in terms of professional goaltending) in back to backs in the NHL hopes that he saves our asses is a bad move.

He should be put in best situations to succeed if we are set on playing him and that isn’t it. His development shouldn’t suffer because Gillies sucks and we have nobody else.

 

[Bleedred]

It's not all about Gillies. It's about there are more problems than just the goaltending. It was team loss, not just a goaltending loss. Did shitty goaltending play a part? Absolutely. A big part. Was it the only reason for the loss? No way.

Did Gillies get waived today like you've soapboxing for?

No. Because is it's not an intelligent move until a plan to replace him is set.

You're advocating for sacrificing Schmid to be a bench warmer for the rest of the season. You think there's a strong argument for that?

I was only 50/50 that Gillies would be waived. I still think it could come Monday after Utica has played both weekend games, but maybe not.

My argument was NEVER to call up Schmid to be a bench warmer for the rest of the season. I was advocating to call him up to be a bench warmer for about a week though, until we can figure something else out.

Gillies is KILLING us out there. He's making the coaches look worse, he's making the defense look worse, he's making the forwards look worse. He's got at least one person convinced that Jack Hughes leads to just as many goals against as he does goals for.

The only people he's making look better are the disabled Bernier and Blackwood, who still didn't even look this bad. Blackwood's worst games this year are about on par with an average game from Gillies.

If we really are looking for a goalie for the rest of the year like that tweet suggested the other day, then I have no problems with Schmid on the bench for a week before we figure this out.

You can't keep rewarding this guy. He went out there and basically lost us the last two games. His game against Tampa was even uglier than this one.

 

[Hisch13r]

Don’t agree at all, playing a rookie goalie (and this is a rookie in terms of professional goaltending) in back to backs in the NHL hopes that he saves our asses is a bad move.

He should be put in best situations to succeed if we are set on playing him and that isn’t it. His development shouldn’t suffer because Gillies sucks and we have nobody else.

A back to back isn't going to kill him.

 

[Bleedred]

Don’t agree at all, playing a rookie goalie (and this is a rookie in terms of professional goaltending) in back to backs in the NHL hopes that he saves our asses is a bad move.

He should be put in best situations to succeed if we are set on playing him and that isn’t it. His development shouldn’t suffer because Gillies sucks and we have nobody else.

I don't think giving him one back to back would be the worst thing, assuming he doesn't play poorly in the first game. I was never for playing him last night though.

At this point, I want somebody else here so Gillies could be the bench warmer for the rest of the year and you can give him maybe 5 more starts. Send Daws down, keep Schmid down, get somebody else in here, keep Gillies on the bench as much as possible.

He is really helping the coaching staff out though, as I think we might see them again next year because he's making it impossible to evaluate anybody out there.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I was only 50/50 that Gillies would be waived. I still think it could come Monday after Utica has played both weekend games, but maybe not.

My argument was NEVER to call up Schmid to be a bench warmer for the rest of the season. I was advocating to call him up to be a bench warmer for about a week though, until we can figure something else out.

Gillies is KILLING us out there. He's making the coaches look worse, he's making the defense look worse, he's making the forwards look worse. He's got at least one person convinced that Jack Hughes leads to just as many goals against as he does goals for.

The only people he's making look better are the disabled Bernier and Blackwood, who still didn't even look this bad. Blackwood's worst games this year are about on par with an average game from Gillies.

If we really are looking for a goalie for the rest of the year like that tweet suggested the other day, then I have no problems with Schmid on the bench for a week before we figure this out.

You can't keep rewarding this guy. He went out there and basically lost us the last two games. His game against Tampa was even uglier than this one.

You are the one suggesting Gillies be waived within a week.

What happens when no new G is obtained in a week? Do you think Fitz is just starting to look now and will have someone in a week? If not we're right back where we are now with Gillies and Daws/Schmid.

Your predictions usually have qualifiers and you frequently backpedal on them when you're wrong and adjust your prediction to fit what actually happens.

 

[Guttersniped]

A back to back isn't going to kill him.

It’s pretty mentally fatiguing and he’s not used to playing a lot anywhere, much less at a high level.

Schmid took a lot of abuse in the NHL this season and I’m not interested in the same happening to Daws. His development comes first to me here.

And yes, one game doesn’t matter a ton but the desperation that would lead to him playing a b2b at the start of March wouldn’t go away afterwards so it would likely happen again this season.

“Hey, Daws is playing pretty good, let’s play him into the ground” as a plan would make me sad. (And I could see a desperate Ruff go to that plan.)

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

You've eviscerated every slob goalie we've had here from wedge to kinky to comrie to dell to...
I mean, I get it. These guys suck at goaltending...but looking around the league, they've got jobs. Even Cory's corpse warmed the bench.

Wedge and jf berube are frigging standing on their heads.

Helleybuck and lehner get lit up. There's just not good goaltending to be had if your team defense is a sieve.

Wedgewood with 43 saves last night for Coyotes in win over Vegas.

Would also suggest the Eichel factor played a part.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I was never for playing him last night though.

You weren't completely against it though.

"I’m kind of split."

GDT: - Devils @ Penguins, 7:00 PM, Ode to Roy Batty

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Defensemen and goaltenders are the team defense, don't separate them. With one of then bad a team has a problem. With both bad, you have the NJ Devils.

How do you absolve the forwards for the horrific team defense? The lack of commitment to forechecking, blocking shots, and two-way play is as much a factor in the team's struggles as the play of the goalies and defensemen.

 

[Bleedred]

You weren't completely against it though.

"I’m kind of split."

GDT: - Devils @ Penguins, 7:00 PM, Ode to Roy Batty

I was split, initially. Absolutely I was. It didn't take me too long to think over as not being a good idea though. He had a great game, no reason to push him right back in there.

If he plays well Monday, I can't really see them putting Gillies in there for Tuesday.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I was split, initially. Absolutely I was. It didn't take me too long to think over as not being a good idea though. He had a great game, no reason to push him right back in there.

If he plays well Monday, I can't really see them putting Gillies in there for Tuesday.

So there was no "never" involved then.

I agree about Daws, qualifying it with depending on workload (shots against).

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

It’s pretty mentally fatiguing and he’s not used to playing a lot anywhere, much less at a high level.

Schmid took a lot of abuse in the NHL this season and I’m not interested in the same happening to Daws. His development comes first to me here.

And yes, one game doesn’t matter a ton but the desperation that would lead to him playing a b2b at the start of March wouldn’t go away afterwards so it would likely happen again this season.

“Hey, Daws is playing pretty good, let’s play him into the ground” as a plan would make me sad. (And I could see a desperate Ruff go to that plan.)

Agree his development should be first and foremost

 

[Call Me Al]

lol, gillies is absolutely not getting waived. even if fitz somehow pulls another nhl caliber goalie out of his ass (doubtful) gillies will be the backup and daws will be in utica. the season is over and yes they need to win some games and evaluate the youngsters but not at the expense of ruining the only young goalies in the system

 

[Bleedred]

You are the one suggesting Gillies be waived within a week.

What happens when no new G is obtained in a week? Do you think Fitz is just starting to look now and will have someone in a week? If not we're right back where we are now with Gillies and Daws/Schmid.

Your predictions usually have qualifiers and you frequently backpedal on them when you're wrong and adjust your prediction to fit what actually happens.

So I’ve gotten predictions wrong? Okay?

My worst moment was “Gillies can’t be worse than Blackwood since the start of December”. Now everyone should really give it to me for that one. That one aged really well. I really deserve pies, tomatoes and anything else anyone wants to pelt at me for that one.

It’s funny because the one prediction I took the most heat for on here but nailed easily was that Schneider was finished and never bouncing back. I took more shit for that then any prediction on here. But I’m no prophet, I just don’t understand how everybody else didn’t make that some proclamation. That was the easiest bet of the decade. The fact that we would see somebody come in here and play worse than any of them (Gillies) was really one I never saw coming though. You can lambast me for that one all you want.

I would honestly find some other bozo, even it’s another Gillies. Current Gillies has overstayed his welcome after the last two pathetic games.

With any prediction there really has to be a disclaimer. For instance, I really thought on December 13th that Ruff would be gone probably by January 13th. About a week after this prediction everybody started going down with covid and ending up on the list after the omicron took off. We were losing 2-3 guys some days that were ending up on the list. Every team was. None of us could have seen that coming. That was truly unforeseen circumstances. Then a bunch of games got postponed. Then you had Ruff end up on the list himself. Then his father died and he missed two really bad games.

 

[Call Me Al]

this whole debate is all over the place. gillies is not good enough for the nhl, we all know that. i feel for him because he’s forced into a role he’s not suitable for and he bears a huge responsibility to this team that’s not fair to him.

also, him being what he is does not waive the rest of the team from responsibility for bad defensive play - bad pinches, reads and careless puck handling. it’s not mutually exclusive.

but one game of sloppy play that hangs the goalie out to dry does not mean that the goaltending isn’t an issue and one game of good goaltending and a solid team effort in a blowout win does not prove that goaltending is the only issue. i don’t know why so many people are trying to cherry pick specific games and situations to prove a point as if it were that simple

 

[Bleedred]

lol, gillies is absolutely not getting waived. even if fitz somehow pulls another nhl caliber goalie out of his ass (doubtful) gillies will be the backup and daws will be in utica. the season is over and yes they need to win some games and evaluate the youngsters but not at the expense of ruining the only young goalies in the system

So you're gonna tell me if you got up today to ''Devils waive Gillies'' it would be the most shocking thing you've seen?

Now just because you and even I and just about all of us don't think we should playing Daws (I still maintain he deserves another start though) or have Schmid up, doesn't mean that's how it's gonna go. I'm personally surprised by how many games they kept throwing Schmid out there in the first place. I'm personally surprised that they've been up as much as they have. I'm surprised we haven't at the very least cycled each of them back and forth every week or so, just so that both of them got sufficient time in the AHL in their first pro seasons in North America, rather than sit on the bench up here.

So I think that's one thing MOST of us do AGREE on here. But it seems like the org and coaching staff has had no problems up to this point giving them ice time and keeping at least one of them up here on the bench.

So once again, would you really be surprised if you saw Gillies got waived today? After the last two games?

Someone has an issue that I said he was getting waived today and implying that I backpedaled on this, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I maintained from the start that I was 50/50. 50/50 is a coin flip.

 

[Call Me Al]

So you're gonna tell me if you got up today to ''Devils waive Gillies'' it would be the most shocking thing you've seen?

Now just because you and even I and just about all of us don't think we should playing Daws (I still maintain he deserves another start though) or have Schmid up, doesn't mean that's how it's gonna go. I'm personally surprised by how many games they kept throwing Schmid out there in the first place. I'm personally surprised that they've been up as much as they have. I'm surprised we haven't at the very least cycled each of them back and forth every week or so, just so that both of them got sufficient time in the AHL in their first pro seasons in North America, rather than sit on the bench up here.

So I think that's one thing MOST of us do AGREE on here. But it seems like the org and coaching staff has had no problems up to this point giving them ice time and keeping at least one of them up here on the bench.

So once again, would you really be surprised if you saw Gillies got waived today? After the last two games?

Someone is a bit salty that I said he was getting waived today and saying I backpedaled on this, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I maintained from the start that I was 50/50. 50/50 is a coin flip.

i would be shocked yes, and i didn’t mean to come off so dismissive, but the reality is the devils don’t have any better options. if they did gillies would have been gone months ago. this is what it is, we have to deal with it. the best we can hope for is daws having a little run and taking over starter duties

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Yeah, I was confused myself. ONE, 1, Uno, goalie will not make this present team with present coaches a playoff competitive team. Just not happening. As Devils fans we will not find out.

This all depends on what you consider competitive. I think one good goalie would be enough to make us a bubble playoff team.

 

[Bleedred]

i would be shocked yes, and i didn’t mean to come off so dismissive, but the reality is the devils don’t have any better options. if they did gillies would have been gone months ago. this is what it is, we have to deal with it. the best we can hope for is daws having a little run and taking over starter duties

Well here's the thing and I know I've gotten into it already.

There was a tweet yesterday or the day before (LeBrun? Somebody like that? I don't think it was some rando) suggesting that Tom Fitzgerald is actively seeking out a goalie just for the rest of this season.

Now I'm operating under the assumption that perhaps he's closing in on somebody else to bring in here. When operating from that standpoint, I think it wouldn't be the most unrealistic situation if Gillies were waived today or tomorrow or the day that the new goalie is acquired or picked up on waivers or however he gets here and Schmid was up here temporarily and maybe in a week from now, this is solved and Schmid goes back. Maybe even by that point Daws goes back too and we would role with some newly acquired JAG goalie and Gillies for the rest of the year.

And you're right, we don't have better options right now, as sad as that is, but it's the truth.

But this hypothetical situation (and I don't wanna hear about how everything is hypothetical. Everything we deal with here is in hypotheticals! Whether it's a trade or acquisition suggestion, whether it's who to draft, what coach to hire, what coach to fire, just a lot of what we talk about here is hypothetical!) of Gillies being waived comes with the hypothetical (why do I feel like this is turning into a swear word?) that we are indeed close to acquiring somebody (I know it ain't gonna be somebody good) and we may in fact role with a New JAG Goalie - Daws tandem if we got a new guy and Gillies would be waived? Or Daws could be sent back.

If we don't acquire anybody else this year, it's probably gonna be Gillies and Daws (or Schmid if they swap them out at times) the rest of the year anyway, unless Blackwood comes back. Bernier is already ruled out.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

So I’ve gotten predictions wrong? Okay?

My worst moment was “Gillies can’t be worse than Blackwood since the start of December”. Now everyone should really give it to me for that one. That one aged really well. I really deserve pies, tomatoes and anything else anyone wants to pelt at me for that one.

It’s funny because the one prediction I took the most heat for on here but nailed easily was that Schneider was finished and never bouncing back. I took more shit for that then any prediction on here. But I’m no prophet, I just don’t understand how everybody else didn’t make that some proclamation. That was the easiest bet of the decade. The fact that we would see somebody come in here and play worse than any of them (Gillies) was really one I never saw coming though. You can lambast me for that one all you want.

I would honestly find some other bozo, even it’s another Gillies. Current Gillies has overstayed his welcome after the last two pathetic games.


With any prediction there really had to be a disclaimer. For instance, I really thought on December 13th that Ruff would be gone probably by January 13th. About a week after this prediction everybody started going down with covid and ending up on the list after the omicron took off. None of us could have seen that coming. That was truly unforeseen circumstances. Then a bunch of games got postponed. Then you had Ruff end up on the list himself. Then his father died and he missed two really bad games.

A prediction with a disclaimer isn't really a prediction. Aren't unforeseen circumstances factored into predictions? I don't gamble myself, but I don't imagine any sports book letting you off the hook for a bet (By Jan 13th Ruff will be gone) because of positive Covid tests and a death in the family.

Changing a prediction any time an unpredicted situation occurs is akin to moving goal posts.

 

[Bleedred]

You've eviscerated every slob goalie we've had here from wedge to kinky to comrie to dell to...
I mean, I get it. These guys suck at goaltending...but looking around the league, they've got jobs. Even Cory's corpse warmed the bench.

I responded back to this last night, but I missed this part.

Looking around the league they got jobs? Really?

Okay, the only reason Aaron Dell played in the NHL this year is because Buffalo has used about as many goalies as we have this year. Once they started getting a couple guys back, he was waived. He played in the NHL this year for the SAME reasons Jon Gillies is playing in the NHL right now. He had some decent years with the Sharks, no doubt, but I've already acknowledged all these ''Slob goalies'' (your words) had some semblance of NHL success before they became bad. Gillies hasn't had that. Wedgewood being the one exception BUT Wedgewood isn't quite as bad as Gillies. Wedgewood has 3 shutouts as a Devil in 19 career starts. That's only 7 more starts than Gillies has with us so far.

Cory Schneider has NOT played an NHL game in the regular season since March of 2020 with the Devils. Varlamov missed what I think was the entire first month of the season? And they still played Sorokin. Every. Single. Game. Schneider didn't even get to come into a game in relief. He spent almost all of last season on the NHL roster when we had the taxi squads and they didn't give him one start then either. Not even when they had a playoff spot locked up at the end of the year. He's in the AHL. He don't count as around the league.

Keith Kinkaid was signed the last two years to play in the AHL. He's only played in the NHL the last two years because he got called up when the Rangers had goalie injuries. Once again, AHL goalie. How does this count?

Comrie is in the NHL right now and has been all season as Hellebuyck's backup, but they hardly play him. Hellebuyck, along with Saros and maybe Vasilevskiy are the closest things to a real Marty Brodeur workhorse goalie that we see these days. And besides, Comrie was here for a minute and played one game. I don't really remember having much of an opinion on him, although I thought Dell would be a better option and I couldn't wait to get him on the ice instead of Comrie. You can certainly mock me for that one though, that was pretty embarrassing looking back on it.

So, none of these guys are really ''around the league'' right now, other than Wedgewood, who at 29 years old has now played his career high in games in the NHL. Guys that are in the AHL and called up to the NHL do not qualify as having jobs in the NHL.

 

[Bleedred]

A prediction with a disclaimer isn't really a prediction. Aren't unforeseen circumstances factored into predictions? I don't gamble myself, but I don't imagine any sports book letting you off the hook for a bet (By Jan 13th Ruff will be gone) because of positive Covid tests and a death in the family.

Changing a prediction any time an unpredicted situation occurs is akin to moving goal posts.

And that's why I don't bet actual money. Because there's too many unforeseen circumstances that could happen.

With some of my predictions though, I've certainly given a disclaimer to account for some unforeseen things. You can call this cheating if you want, I don't really care. I'm not getting rich on it, I'm not betting money on these things.

For instance when I was sure that Schneider was NOT bouncing back, I did say that it was quite possible that he has one last good season in him (Bobrovsky was doing this, but has really come toppling down in the last month. Quick is kind of in the same spot) before reverting back to the declining version the next year and likely for good. I also said it was possible he'd bounce in a very reduced backup role, but I think all of that was before the 19-20 season started. After that I was writing him off completely, but there's always a slight chance. Dustin Brown looked cooked in his late 20's and experienced a later career revival in his 30's. Pekka Rinne did it too as a goalie.

But there's also been times where I say ''Yeah, this goalie is not gonna be in the NHL next year'' and they wind up getting signed (sometimes even to two year deals) and there they are again in the NHL. Which is why I have abstained from doing that anymore. And when you see Mike Smith and Craig Anderson still playing, as well as Martin Jones getting NHL deals, you see the league loves to recycle goalies and their reputations take a long time to die. Koskinen and Korpisalo shouldn't be in the league next year, but I'm pretty sure they both will be, unless they decide not to be.

And with as many goalies as you see playing in the league this year (a couple teams have used 6 or more) I could say ''Keith Kinkaid will NEVER play in the NHL again!'' and then when he gets called up you could tell me I was wrong, even though he only came up for injuries and because the Rangers had a very depleted goalie position. Just like we have.

 

[Call Me Al]

the best place for daws is utica so even if we get another goalie on the roster it will be daws going down and gillies backing up. that’s the only scenario i see but we are not in any position to waive a goalie and thin ourselves out even more

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

Well here's the thing and I know I've gotten into it already.

There was a tweet yesterday or the day before (LeBrun? Somebody like that? I don't think it was some rando) suggesting that Tom Fitzgerald is actively seeking out a goalie just for the rest of this season.

Now I'm operating under the assumption that perhaps he's closing in on somebody else to bring in here. When operating from that standpoint, I think it wouldn't be the most unrealistic situation if Gillies were waived today or tomorrow or the day that the new goalie is acquired or picked up on waivers or however he gets here and Schmid was up here temporarily and maybe in a week from now, this is solved and Schmid goes back. Maybe even by that point Daws goes back too and we would role with some newly acquired JAG goalie and Gillies for the rest of the year.

And you're right, we don't have better options right now, as sad as that is, but it's the truth.

But this hypothetical situation (and I don't wanna hear about how everything is hypothetical. Everything we deal with here is in hypotheticals! Whether it's a trade or acquisition suggestion, whether it's who to draft, what coach to hire, what coach to fire, just a lot of what we talk about here is hypothetical!) of Gillies being waived comes with the hypothetical (why do I feel like this is turning into a swear word?) that we are indeed close to acquiring somebody (I know it ain't gonna be somebody good) and we may in fact role with a New JAG Goalie - Daws tandem if we got a new guy and Gillies would be waived? Or Daws could be sent back.

If we don't acquire anybody else this year, it's probably gonna be Gillies and Daws (or Schmid if they swap them out at times) the rest of the year anyway, unless Blackwood comes back. Bernier is already ruled out.

Hypotheticals about something that already happened are different than hypotheticals that are future based.

Any predictions on what G(s) Fitz might be closing in on?