Player Report Cards

[Devils Dominion]

As the person who started this thread, I don't really mind people grading management/coaching as well as players if they want to. I'd like the biggest focus to remain on the players, but if management/coaching is brought up a bit as well, I think that's perfectly fine.

Yep, Lou and the coaching staff are part of the team.

I understand that some fans get defensive when Lou is critiqued since he gave us 3 Cups. Our fans will always be gracious for that and what Lou has done for this franchise.

But, his grades in this thread reflect the poor job he did this season.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Rich Chere stole an idea from us and published his own player and management grades. Be warned that you have to click through like twenty-seven slides to read a sentence explaining everyone's grade instead of everything being organized on one page for easy scrolling. Also, he makes about a dozen spelling errors as usual.

Link: http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2015/04/devils_final_grades_including_gm_lou_lamoriello_an.html

 

[Devils Dominion]

Rich Chere stole an idea from us and published his own player and management grades. Be warned that you have to click through like twenty-seven slides to read a sentence explaining everyone's grade instead of everything being organized on one page for easy scrolling. Also, he makes about a dozen spelling errors as usual.

Link: http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2015/04/devils_final_grades_including_gm_lou_lamoriello_an.html

He gave grades too high to a few players, especially Fraser, but was spot on with others such as Merrill, Elias, Cory, Cammy and a few others.

Here's what he had to say about Lou, interesting points:

Lou Lamoriello: D Didn't do well assembling the team and the oppressive atmosphere around the team he's created is a negative in this era.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

FORWARDS

Cammalleri (B+) - Everything you could have asked for. Dinged a bit for his injuries and benefiting from a ton of empty net goals.

Gomez (B+) - Provided some much needed creativity and passing ability to our stone handed forward corps. Hope he's around next year for a reasonable price.

Henrique (B) - Performed about to expectations. Is a good complimentary player but stuck in the 45-55 point range. Improved quite a bit on faceoffs which is nice to see.

Bernier (B) - Probably didn't play that much better than he did in 13-14, but got the bounces this year. Still, brings a solid physical presence and more than delivered for his price tag.

Tootoo (B) - a Career high 13.3% shooting percentage won't last into next year, but Tootoo exceeded expectations for a camp tryout signed to close to the minimum.

Josefson (B-) - Provided everything you would want from a 4th line center. Showed good speed, responsible defensively and even contributed a bit short handed and on the powerplay.

Gionta (B-) - A lot of improvement in Gionta's game this year, as he is no longer a possession sieve. Moving him to wing for times was a big help. I moved from hating him to liking him.

Ruutu (C) - Probably should be utilized in more than a 4th line plug role from the coaching staff. If he were making $1.0MM the grade would be a B, but at $3.8MM it's tough to swallow.

Elias (C) - Not a great season for Patrik as age is finally catching up to him. Would have scored more on a better offensive team though.

Zajac (C) - Good on faceoffs and defensively but really struggled offensively. I wonder if he should be moved to wing so he has less responsibility with the puck.

Ryder (C) - Got a raw deal from the coaching staff, as he was producing pretty solidly at the beginning of the season. He is too streaky to be a pure scorer, but still, for a team deprived of goals, we could have used the 15-20 that Ryder likely would have put up over a full year.

Havlat (C-) - Probably didn't get a fair shake with how much he was scratched, but 14 points in 40 games isn't going to do it for a one dimensional offensive forward.

Zubrus (D) - One of the worst players in the NHL at this point. 13th worst GVT among forwards last year, and plays way too much under our coaching staff.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

DEFENSE

Larsson (B+) - Really came on after the coaching change. 25th among NHL defensemen in ESP/60 and had the 8th highest defensive zone start % in the NHL.

Greene (B+) - Old reliable. Good possession metrics despite a high defensive zone start percentage. Provides needed skating and passing ability from the back end.

Gelinas (B-) - Showed some defensive progression from last year. Offense appeared to stagnate, but that was largely the result of bad luck on secondary assists. If our team scored more Gelinas would probably have had close to 30pts.

Damon Severson (B-) - His rookie campaign started guns blazing but the mid season injury hurt him down the stretch. Definitely has all the tools to be a stud.

Jon Merrill (C) - Definitely a bit of a sophomore slump. His offensive output was poor and his possession metrics were pretty poor despite starting in the defensive zone less than Larsson, Greene, Severson and Harrold.

Peter Harrold (C-) - He is what he is. Should not be playing 43 games and definitely should not be receiving 37.3% defensive zone starts when he does play.

Fraser (D) - The fact that Fraser saw NHL ice time above Helgeson or even Dan Kelly for that matter is very curious. Fraser had the 6th worst Relative Fenwick % in the NHL.

 

[tr83]

DEFENSE

Larsson (B+) - Really came on after the coaching change. 25th among NHL defensemen in ESP/60 and had the 8th highest defensive zone start % in the NHL.

Greene (B+) - Old reliable. Good possession metrics despite a high defensive zone start percentage. Provides needed skating and passing ability from the back end.

Gelinas (B-) - Showed some defensive progression from last year. Offense appeared to stagnate, but that was largely the result of bad luck on secondary assists. If our team scored more Gelinas would probably have had close to 30pts.

Damon Severson (B-) - His rookie campaign started guns blazing but the mid season injury hurt him down the stretch. Definitely has all the tools to be a stud.

Jon Merrill (C) - Definitely a bit of a sophomore slump. His offensive output was poor and his possession metrics were pretty poor despite starting in the defensive zone less than Larsson, Greene, Severson and Harrold.

Peter Harrold (C-) - He is what he is. Should not be playing 43 games and definitely should not be receiving 37.3% defensive zone starts when he does play.

Fraser (D) - The fact that Fraser saw NHL ice time above Helgeson or even Dan Kelly for that matter is very curious. Fraser had the 6th worst Relative Fenwick % in the NHL.

No F's? This was a bad team.

 

[R8Devs]

no f's because you cant expect guys to play over their talent level

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

No F's? This was a bad team.

Yeah, when you're the 6th worst team in the entire league, you have to have lots of Ds and Fs on the team. Especially when you actually are getting strong goaltending for the most part.

 

[devilsblood]

no f's because you cant expect guys to play over their talent level

So you're grading on a curve then.

Which is fine, but from an objective "how did they play this season?" analysis, there should be plenty of F's and only 1 A.

I'm not going to grade, but a few positives for this season.

Schneid's obviously.

Greene, is he a true #1? Maybe not, but at worst he's just a notch below. Extra credit for being the only serviceable veteran d-man on the roster.

Larsson, getting a chance and playing well.

Sev's. I'm not gushing as much as some, but I didn't expect him to make the team, let alone making a case for best young d-man on the squad.

JJ, not so much for playing really well, played OK, need more offensive production from him, but staying healthy, which was a major hurdle. hopefully this season was a stepping stone and we finally see his game blossom next year.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

I grade the players relative to their talent level and ability. I see no point in awarding an F to harrold or Fraser when they're tasked with playing above their heads by our management.

Who really deserved an F on this team? Guys like havlat and Ryder possibly, but they were not given a good opportunity to succeed.

 

[devilsblood]

FORWARDS



Bernier (B) - Probably didn't play that much better than he did in 13-14, but got the bounces this year. Still, brings a solid physical presence and more than delivered for his price tag.



Zajac (C) - Good on faceoffs and defensively but really struggled offensively. I wonder if he should be moved to wing so he has less responsibility with the puck.


.

Per Bernier: Did puck luck play a role in a very dramatic production turnaround? Of coarse, but he clearly played much better then last season. Look to some of the creative passes he made during the season for proof. I'm becoming more and more an believer in the importance of confidence, especially when it comes to puck skills. Bernier found some this year after having little last season.

Per Zajac: 2nd time I heard the Zajac to wing thought. But minimizing the aspects of his game that he is actually good at in order to spark an aspect of his game which has been severely lacking in recent years? Seems counter productive.

Elias to wing, given his age, makes way more sense imo.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I grade the players relative to their talent level and ability. I see no point in awarding an F to harrold or Fraser when they're tasked with playing above their heads by our management.

Who really deserved an F on this team? Guys like havlat and Ryder possibly, but they were not given a good opportunity to succeed.

What grades would you assign to:

Lou
Conte
Oates
Stevens
Foligno
Pete
Barr

 

[devilsblood]

I grade the players relative to their talent level and ability. I see no point in awarding an F to harrold or Fraser when they're tasked with playing above their heads by our management.

Who really deserved an F on this team? Guys like havlat and Ryder possibly, but they were not given a good opportunity to succeed.

I guess we can't help but implement a curve to some extent. But just the same giving out a bunch of good grades to the 6th worst team in the league? Doesn't seem grounded in reality.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

Per Bernier: Did puck luck play a role in a very dramatic production turnaround? Of coarse, but he clearly played much better then last season. Look to some of the creative passes he made during the season for proof. I'm becoming more and more an believer in the importance of confidence, especially when it comes to puck skills. Bernier found some this year after having little last season.

Per Zajac: 2nd time I heard the Zajac to wing thought. But minimizing the aspects of his game that he is actually good at in order to spark an aspect of his game which has been severely lacking in recent years? Seems counter productive.

Elias to wing, given his age, makes way more sense imo.

Yeah, but Zajac's offensive game just does not translate to center. I can see him as a good winger - in on the forecheck, firing the puck off the wing. Elias has soft hands and is so smart, so center was a natural fit.

Granted, Zajac's good defensive work becomes lessened, but if he can become a 45 point player on the wing and still take faceoffs, I'd do it.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I never would have thought of that, but moving Zajac to RW would make a lot of sense in the near future when we have another center or two. At the same time, I don't like Henrique as much on the wing. He's finding open ice to receive passes/shoot way less often when he isn't coming up through the middle, and I've always liked his ability to dish off the rush.

 

[NJDevs26]

What's moving Zajac to wing going to accomplish? You're taking away basically one of his two strengths left (faceoffs), and backchecking/defensive work is also more necessary from centers than wings imo.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

He can still take a draw and play the wing.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

He can still take a draw and play the wing.

Jarome Iginla in particular did this all the time.