Colorado Rockies 1976

Kelenic has gone fully back to showing that he may never figure out how to hit in the majors with anything resembling consistency: Last 18 games (15 starts): 58 PA, 8 hits, 4 BB, 23 K, .148/.207/.167 slash, .374 OPS (yikes). When even the Braves can't find a way to get something out of you...

Yeah, suddenly the Sabres and the Sens are the teams that know what the hell they're doing? Since WHEN?!

Not like Berube doesn't have any say in this. If he has his heart set on the Leafs job (should it become available) and the Leafs want him, not much Fitz is going to be able to do about it.

Jack Dawkins is a freelance scout, analyst and avid watcher of "way too much hockey." He has joined The Hockey Writers team to cover all things Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers. He's an absolute data hound and loves using stats and analytics to calculate and extrapolate data for analysis. Jack Dawkins (thehockeywriters.com) In the end, just another ubermetrics dude with an opinion. I had never heard of him either.

What this tells you, regarding Fitz and Green: Fitz was saying and doing just enough not to burn a bridge in case he felt like his other options weren't going to work out, but Green was NOT his man. Like I said in an earlier post, Fitz absolutely had all of the time in the world to ditch the interim tag and commit to Green, if he felt that strongly about him. Glad this most brief coaching moment in Devils history has officially become just that: a brief moment. Still hoping for Berube when all is said and done. If nothing else, Fitz scored some points today. A number of fans were concerned about him almost blindly sticking with Green, and that's a concern we can joyfully put behind us. Not sure WTF Ottawa is thinking.

I would have been ALL for Lindy being canned earlier and Berube being brought aboard, but we know the deal…Fitz wanted it to work with Ruff. Sadly when Fitz finally saw the damned light, I don’t think he had any real Plan B; hence, the pivot to Green. Speaking of Green, Dreger reporting that Ottawa hiring him is just about done, and a press conference will follow on Wed. And the response from Sens fans that I’ve read…well, let‘s just say that they ain’t happy.

Yeah certain NHLers are "regular season players". That's why I think in spite of how good his regular season numbers are overall, he's not fetching a big return. Feels like a lot of people are simply onto him, and what he really is. Said it elsewhere, but he's the kind of guy a team like the BJs or Flyers sign to long term and big money and feel like they won the offseason. And then are shocked when sure, he puts up some nice glamour numbers, but somehow the team doesn't drastically improve. That being said, I think the buy price will be just low enough in asset cost that it will be too tempting for some team to turn down...as long as that team realizes what it's getting, OK.

I definitely think if Marner's moved, people are going to be surprised at the lack of a big return. But like you said, it's not about trading a star for a star, as much as it changing the team, and not allocating so much money to four players who sure don't appear to be the right mix.

I lean towards no. The guy can obviously play and does put up numbers, and sometimes guys just need a change of scenery. But only so much money to go around and the Devils are already paying their share of forwards and will be paying good money for Luke and Nemec before we know it. And they may have to pay up for a goalie, if they're able to land an established vet. I touched on it before, but I don't think he's going to command the kind of return the Leafs would like, because his cap hit for 2024-25 isn't light, he's a UFA at the end of the year, and he's getting tagged with the "loser" label.

Yeah Marner’s basically going to be able to pick a team to go to, if he’s willing to be moved. He has all the leverage here. Of course Toronto can just keep him and try to sign him for less money on this deal, but Marner would have to be willing to take less…and of course, exactly how many more chances do you want to give these guys if you’re the Leafs?

The thing that’s funny about Green is that even though in-season coaching changes don’t always work long-term, they can often lead to a temporary early surge…say, an 8-2 run or something like that. Green didn’t even give the Devils THAT.

I remember the initial Citi dimensions; they were absurd. Wright hit just 10 HR during Citi's first season (and it's not like he was tearing it up on the road from a power standpoint that year, to be fair...he only had 5 HRs each at home AND on the road), but I read a story about an opponent who hit a ball that would've been a HR in a LOT of ballparks, but went for a deep fly ball out instead...as that player trotted back to his dugout, Wright muttered to him "Nice fvckin' ballpark, right?"

Howard was plenty beastly from 2005-09: .279/.376/.586 slash, .962 OPS, 50 HR and 144 RBI per 162 GP. He was a big-time whiffer but when you can hit for a solid average AND drive in so many runs, you'll live with the Ks. It is fair to point out that he played his home games in bandboxes. He was still good in 2010-11 (.265/.350/.497, .847 OPS, 35 HR and 127 RBI per 162 GP)...not as fearsome, but still a good solid power bat. From his Age 32 season on he was a shell of himself...basically he looked then like Pete's starting to look now...a guy who could still hit some dingers and occasionally have a big day, but prone to way too many strikeouts and simply not able to get enough hits or get on base nearly enough. Funny that you mention Howard, because honestly this is how I see Alonso's career winding down. Howard slashed .226/.292/.427 over his final 545 games, played over 5 seasons...that encompassed his Age 32 - 36 seasons. Sadly Alonso might turn out to be one of those guys who simply didn't have a very long prime...it's not that uncommon to see that with pitchers these days (just ask Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard), but occasionally you see that with hitters too. What makes it doubly sad with Alonso is that it's not like David Wright or Don Mattingly's situation, where their bodies simply betrayed them. Alonso appears to be plenty healthy...but fading fast.

So just for the hell of it: Luke played 80 games with Michigan and put up 27 G and 60 A for 87 points. Seamus played in 77 games with Michigan and put up 15 G and 59 A for 74 points. If Casey actually stays here (still hard to imagine that any true needle-moving "right now" kind of player won't see Casey go as part of a return), will be interesting to see how much his lack of size will be an issue in the pro game. On another note, not saying that I would deal for him, but Mitch Marner's situation is intriguing...for one, I think he's quickly gaining a rep as a loser who puts up nice numbers in the regular season but doesn't get it done when you really need him to...which makes this year's cap hit (over $10 million) and the idea of extending him to massive money not necessarily an attractive proposition for a number of teams. Makes you wonder how much Toronto could realistically expect to get for him in a deal...he has "one year rental" written all over him. I can see some team (like Columbus) making the mistake of signing him to big money and thinking they just landed a major cornerstone piece.

Wow...welcome aboard Seamus! If Fitz was THAT high on Green, he simply would've named him the head coach by now, especially since another team in Ottawa has gotten involved...even if we thought Buffalo was nuts for hiring Lindy, the fact is that they targeted their guy and didn't fvck around with it; FWIW, Fitz is clearly not doing the same with Green. I don't think Fitz is faking interest in other candidates just to keep us happy...put it this way, are we going to be happy if Green's ultimately hired no matter WHEN it happens? What would Fitz gain by dragging things out and pretending to look around? If Green gets the gig then I'm guessing at least 90% of the fan base will be furious, no matter what the circumstances. I suspect most of the hardcore fans will be done with Fitz if he sticks with Green (me among them). Like many Devils fans, I cringe whenever I hear "strong candidate", but let me see Green actually get the job.