GDT: Ottawa Senators @ New Jersey Devils 7PM EST

[HellOnIce]

Yup. Zach and Kovalchuk's departure have nothing to do with the piss poor drafting and an unadaptive philosophy that has really hurt this franchise. In fact, I look Kovalchuk's departure as a blessing because of the back injury which limited his effectiveness as well as discarding those back-loaded years on his contract.

Of course they can't be excused forever on 9/17 - of course not - but it's not even been 3 seasons. This is 2nd without 17. And again, it's near impossible to get those kinds of players anymore without the draft - where it'll look like we are headed for a lovely pick this summer.

What part of the philosophy is unadaptive?

The drafting thing - can you give him credit for the D and goaltending being set up for the next 7 seasons. Can you do that?

 

[Tundra]

I think Lou gets nudged into retirement but at least he's directed to make changes within hockey ops such as scouting and certainly a new coaching staff.

If the team finishes bottom 5 bad, I think the screws will tighten on him. I can't see him being nudged out this early though. 2015-2016 definitely though.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

No way everyone gets a pass.

Even if you mainly blame the players for not playing their best and most competent game (because playing hard doesn't mean they play smart) then you have to hold management responsible because it's the coach and GMs job to hold players accountable. To blame the players is by definition blaming coaching and or management.

Only other way is to think nothing is wrong here. And well I don't see how one can think that.

It is extremely tough seeing a team I always expected to see win, now lose consistently. But if I'm evaluating performances of everyone involved in this organization, I have a hard time saying that Lou and Deboer haven't gotten more out of what they've been given. Evaluate them as you would anyone that performs a job. The conditions or circumstances an employee works within are factors. This is the real world. We shouldn't be making changes willy nilly just because the results aren't there. Results aren't there for many reasons. Everything needs to be taken into account, and if you're gonna be accurate, your personal feelings should be kept out.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I think Lou gets nudged into retirement but at least he's directed to make changes within hockey ops such as scouting and certainly a new coaching staff.

Would be coaching staff first. New ownership doesn't care about drafting history under Jeff's time. They aren't even hockey people.

It would take another year or two of zero improvement for them to nudge Lou out.

They will give me a new coach and at least this offseason to show progress.

 

[HellOnIce]

If the team finishes bottom 5 bad, I think the screws will tighten on him. I can't see him being nudged out this early though. 2015-2016 definitely though.

This summer is a big one.

Should be a big pick and he needs to hit a homer.

The team will have plenty of cap space too. So they got cap space, a great young D, a very good prime year goaltender. A couple of forward pieces, we just need some centers and we'll see what next year brings.

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

I don't agree with the booing because the team is actually trying, most of the time. I can't honestly say that they didn't bust it tonight. That was a good effort and I agree with Elias that they deserved better. They tried, but the team is ****, unfortunately.

With that said, I understand why people are booing. If you have any type of connection to the team and want to see them do well, then what's going on right now couldn't possibly be more frustrating. Despite effort, this team constantly finds ways to lose games. It's a bad team. There appears to be no help coming via trade and there is absolutely nothing to look forward to in regards to promising young forward prospects.

I've tried to take the losses in stride this year because I didn't have high hopes for the team in the first place. That's actually been my feeling for 3 seasons now tbh, but these last couple of weeks have been very difficult. This may not be a playoff team, but they should be able to gain a few more points than they're getting. All that we've seen is any marginal hope of a somewhat decent season just disappear.

There is a lot of talk of tanking and hoping for that first pick, but it's really not enjoyable to lose this much. We still have nearly 4 months of season left. I'd really like to see them win more then one game every 2 - 3 weeks. This **** is for the birds.

 

[sunnyvale]

I was there tn, cousin played mites on ice. Might have been the worst hockey game I ever witnessed live

 

[Devils090]

what's good is that they cant use the advanced stats as an excuse this year, we're pretty bad in that category. although i'm sure injuries and mumps will be the one to go with come years end, but in reality this team flat out stinks.

 

[Tundra]

This summer is a big one.

Should be a big pick and he needs to hit a homer.

The team will have plenty of cap space too. So they got cap space, a great young D, a very good prime year goaltender. A couple of forward pieces, we just need some centers and we'll see what next year brings.

McDavid or Eichel could honestly save his job. Forget about talent but they are a potential marketing coup for a moribund franchise.

 

[Devils Dominion]

If the team finishes bottom 5 bad, I think the screws will tighten on him. I can't see him being nudged out this early though. 2015-2016 definitely though.

You may be right, out of respect of past accomplishnents Lou might get one more season.

But, 4 out of 5 with no playoffs, says a lot.

 

[Devils090]

McDavid or Eichel could honestly save his job. Forget about talent but they are a potential marketing coup for a moribund franchise.

even if we got one of the two we'd still need another strong draft in 2016. one player isnt going to make this all better, we need a few more pieces up front.

 

[NJDevs26]

Would be coaching staff first. New ownership doesn't care about drafting history under Jeff's time. They aren't even hockey people.

It would take another year or two of zero improvement for them to nudge Lou out.

They will give me a new coach and at least this offseason to show progress.

If Lou doesn't want to fire Pete though then it might get tricky. You'd have to think somewhere at some level of this organization there'd be pressure with a third straight miss.

 

[Unknown Caller]

even if we got one of the two we'd still need another strong draft in 2016. one player isnt going to make this all better, we need a few more pieces up front.

Don't think this is true. The only thing we're missing is the elite talent. We have the offensive depth in the pipeline, we have one of the best defensive prospect groups in the league, and with Cory and Kinkaid in net, they should be set there for the next 7 or 8 years. We're missing the Kane and Toews, Crosby and Malkin, Kopitar and Brown (although he's not really elite), etc. to complete the rebuild. Two is ideal, but even adding one franchise forward will have this team set as a contender for a very long time. We would go from the oldest team in the league to the youngest overnight.

 

[tailfins]

Not sure what all the complaining is about tonight. The team made progress in the McDavid / Eichel sweepstakes. What's not to like?

More seriously, they played a good game. The team showed up, played with structure, and dominated possession. This is Deboer's job. If he can get the team to do that night in and night out, it'll do wonders for the kids' development.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

Of course they can't be excused forever on 9/17 - of course not - but it's not even been 3 seasons. This is 2nd without 17. And again, it's near impossible to get those kinds of players anymore without the draft - where it'll look like we are headed for a lovely pick this summer.

What part of the philosophy is unadaptive?

The drafting thing - can you give him credit for the D and goaltending being set up for the next 7 seasons. Can you do that?

3 seasons is not enough time for any GM to fix what happened. The Devils just finished the 2nd longest playoff streak in the past century. in 2010, Lou Picked up Kovy and was stocking up on the Devils biggest weakness at the time, defense. Take the broke owner out of the equation, and everyone involved is gold now. But here we are 4 years later, with a great crop of young D-Men no one up front, and a new owner that picked up the team after the previous owner set the team back years. It was amazing that the Devils went to the cup in the midst of that financial debacle. A lot of fans don't realize how fortunate we were to see that before it all went to hell.

 

[Emperoreddy]

It is extremely tough seeing a team I always expected to see win, now lose consistently. But if I'm evaluating performances of everyone involved in this organization, I have a hard time saying that Lou and Deboer haven't gotten more out of what they've been given. Evaluate them as you would anyone that performs a job. The conditions or circumstances an employee works within are factors. This is the real world. We shouldn't be making changes willy nilly just because the results aren't there. Results aren't there for many reasons. Everything needs to be taken into account, and if you're gonna be accurate, your personal feelings should be kept out.

You can't stay the course consistently through poor performance either.

There comes a point where you realize you have hit a wall and consistently trying to walk through it won't work. Time for a new approach. There are times you need a steady hand to get through bad/hard luck times.

There is also times when you need to get proactive to solve problems. I think we are in a time where we need proactive solutions. Not a simple wait and see approach (which is what we have mostly been doing for the past 3 years since Zach left).

I also think we need a culture shock into this team right now. From the on ice product and all the off ice comments it seems there is an acceptance of this medicority and a complacency of the current state of things. At some point a statement needs to be made that this isn't acceptable. Something that will hit home for the fans, players, and everyone working for the team. Whether it's a trade, a firing, or just Lou coming out and saying enough is enough.

Something has to give.

If you are saying Pete is doing his best wity what he has. Then Lou has to shoulder some blame for putting a bad team together.

If you think Lou did the best he has then Pete deserves some blame for not getting more from the team.

Reality I think is in the middle. No one has done their best here. Obviously there are things that no one can control but if we just look at what everyone in the organization can control. I don't think we can say they are blameless or really doing their best (more so Lou because we know what his best is. Pete doesn't have nearly the same resume so hard to say what his best is exactly)

 

[StnTwnDevil]

Not sure what all the complaining is about tonight. The team made progress in the McDavid / Eichel sweepstakes. What's not to like?

More seriously, they played a good game. The team showed up, played with structure, and dominated possession. This is Deboer's job. If he can get the team to do that night in and night out, it'll do wonders for the kids' development.

I like your perspective.

 

[Devils090]

Don't think this is true. The only thing we're missing is the elite talent. We have the offensive depth in the pipeline, we have one of the best defensive prospect groups in the league, and with Cory and Kinkaid in net, they should be set there for the next 7 or 8 years. We're missing the Kane and Toews, Crosby and Malkin, Kopitar and Brown (although he's not really elite), etc. to complete the rebuild. Two is ideal, but even adding one franchise forward will have this team set as a contender for a very long time. We would go from the oldest team in the league to the youngest overnight.

sorry but i'm not sold at all on Boucher or Matteau. it's early on them but they've shown nothing to inspire confidence they will be regulars in the NHL.

and you're pining your hopes on an 18 year old rookie coming into the team and making them a contender overnight, sorry but that isnt going to happen. this team is a few years away at least.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

I would probably boo if at the game too, but I'd boo after the game was over as a signal to Lou that the product sucks, not so much the effort during the game.

 

[NJDevs26]

I also think we need a culture shock into this team right now. From the on ice product and all the off ice comments it seems there is an acceptance of this medicority and a complacency of the current state of things. At some point a statement needs to be made that this isn't acceptable. Something that will hit home for the fans, players, and everyone working for the team. Whether it's a trade, a firing, or just Lou coming out and saying enough is enough.

Which by the way Marty said publicly LAST year was the case, let's not forget that. And that lassiez faire atitude is so far from what Lou was when we were winning.

 

[NJDevs26]

I would probably boo if at the game too, but I'd boo after the game was over as a signal to Lou that the product sucks, not so much the effort during the game.

Usually that's where I'm at too, or boo at the end of a bad period. The last three minutes were the point they got booed, and by then they'd already started to crap out. I did boo a little in the last thirty seconds out of frustration when they were wetting their pants at the thought of taking a shot. The whole last 5-6 minutes it looked like they got intimidated and were afraid to shoot.

 

[Devils090]

Which by the way Marty said publicly LAST year was the case, let's not forget that. And that lassiez faire atitude is so far from what Lou was when we were winning.

you could make the argument Lou expected more out of the guys because of the talent they had back then, which is accurate. but being ok with being a bottom 5 hockey club regardless of your talent level is never ok.

 

[JK3]

We must lead the league in moral victories. Gold stars and silver linings for everyone!!! Take the next few practices off, you deserve it.

Shut up, take the boos, suck it up, gut it out, stop using excuses for every god damn thing that happens and win a ****ing game in front of your fans. The we tried hard, didn't have any luck, sad sack, poor me, loser attitude seems rampant now. Between Pete and the players just lacing em up and trying is good enough for them. Gomez is the only guy who actually seems concerned.

Where's the flying jelly jars, where's the bench throwing, where's the garbage can smashing, where's the skates flying across the locker room?!?!

They're probably out now celebrating a we tried hard moral victory dinner, followed by the Gold Star sticker ceremony and to finish this wonderful night out, a team building pillow fight at Sal's house.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

You can't stay the course consistently through poor performance either.

There comes a point where you realize you have hit a wall and consistently trying to walk through it won't work. Time for a new approach. There are times you need a steady hand to get through bad/hard luck times.

There is also times when you need to get proactive to solve problems. I think we are in a time where we need proactive solutions. Not a simple wait and see approach (which is what we have mostly been doing for the past 3 years since Zach left).

I also think we need a culture shock into this team right now. From the on ice product and all the off ice comments it seems there is an acceptance of this medicority and a complacency of the current state of things. At some point a statement needs to be made that this isn't acceptable. Something that will hit home for the fans, players, and everyone working for the team. Whether it's a trade, a firing, or just Lou coming out and saying enough is enough.

Something has to give.

If you are saying Pete is doing his best wity what he has. Then Lou has to shoulder some blame for putting a bad team together.

If you think Lou did the best he has then Pete deserves some blame for not getting more from the team.

Reality I think is in the middle. No one has done their best here. Obviously there are things that no one can control but if we just look at what everyone in the organization can control. I don't think we can say they are blameless or really doing their best (more so Lou because we know what his best is. Pete doesn't have nearly the same resume so hard to say what his best is exactly)

Everyone can always be blamed a bit, because I'm sure there is always a little more you can squeeze out of a team. But Deboer has this team in every game, but they don't execute when necessary. I think thats on the individuals. Its tough to say with Lou too though, because I've never seen a GM succeed in replacing a Kovy/Parise in three years while in the midst of bringing in a new young core of d-men. Lou hasn't sat on his hands in trying to acquire players. I doubt players are jumping when they hear that the Devils are interested in them now.

I just don't see anyone to give most of the blame to, other than Vanderbeek. It'll be important for the Devils to get a young big impact player with their first pick this year, whether it be through trade or draft.

 

[Emperoreddy]

If Lou doesn't want to fire Pete though then it might get tricky. You'd have to think somewhere at some level of this organization there'd be pressure with a third straight miss.

I agree but I also don't think Lou would put his job on the line for Pete's sake...unless he wants to retire soon and thus doesn't care (which I don't think is true but it is possible)