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Lmfao Francesa is such a dipsh!t. Missed opportunity though for the second caller- Francesa asked why he lied to his producer, and the guy didn't really answer. I would've taken the opportunity to become confrontational with Fatso and tell him what a joke he is for not covering hockey. Why don't you tell us who's gonna win the 5th on Thursday at Saratoga, like anyone cares ya fat fvck.

Kane is not a guy to be investing in long term you soon could find yourself with a long term problem. Physically talented player but if Buffalo has grown tired of him that is two organizations already, that is enough homework for me to conclude I don't want him. Somebody earlier made a good point about his antics in markets like Winnipeg and Buffalo, how is he going to be around NYC. My preference would be to stay away from him.

He's awful. My least favorite thing out of many is how he fills time by saying the exact same thing 4-5 times in a row. He does it constantly. Constantly. He does it constantly. Constantly he does it.

Last season, the Devils inserted a lot of youth throughout their lineup. Big names like Zacha made the initial jump, Steven Santini and Miles Wood joined him midway through the year, then you had guys like John Quenneville and Blake Speers play sporadic roles over the course of the season. I think this would be a good place to reflect on some of the young talent we have to look forward to over the next few years. I want to also include the big CHL, NCAA and Euro prospects as well. Pro Players Pavel Zacha: When you look at the total body of work this season, I think the numbers look pretty underwhelming. He had a decent start, disappeared during November and December, but really picked it up after the new year until an injury ruined a very nice streak. Coming into the year, the book on him was that he had fantastic tools but his hockey IQ was somewhat lacking. To my surprise, I thought his hockey IQ is actually fantastic. He was very good on breakouts, gave dmen fits on the forecheck and his vision was better than advertised. I will say that he needs to do better at finding the 'soft spots' in the offensive zone. A little more aggression and willingness to shoot would do wonders for him. I'm really excited to see what kind of season he has, because I think he can be a legit top 6 forward as early as next year if he irons some things out. Steve Santini: When John Moore and Ben Lovejoy play prominent roles on your backend, you're gonna have a bad time. There's something to be said when a 21 year old is one of your more stabilizing defenders. It probably goes to show how much help the Devils need on the blueline, but Santini deserves some credit too. He's what Shero thought Ben Lovejoy was when he signed him last July. A great skater in all direction and plays with an edge that is rare today. He didn't look out of place at all, imo. Miles Wood: His combination of size and speed is insane. When he came into the league and had early success, I, and I think many others, felt that he could be a real key guy going forward. Then I watched him play for a week and banged my head against the wall for thinking that. He has no clue what he's doing without the puck, in all three zones. To his defense, prior to the year, he only played 40 games between high school and the NHL. That didnt allow him much time to learn the game. He can either turn out to be our Chris Kreider or a 4th liner who posts abhorrent possession numbers. Him taking the next step would be such a godsend for us. John Quenneville: I dont want to harp on his NHL time because he only played 12 games, but he was fine. 4 points and nearly 2 shots per game are pretty impressive for a 20 year old. However, he was phenomenal in Albany and was one of the best rookies. Things were looking pretty grim for him in his draft +1 year where he was well below 1 ppg. He could be a big part of our middle six in the future and I would not be shocked if he didnt play another AHL game. Mackenzie Blackwood: A 19/20 year old goalie being a starter in the AHL is so damn rare. It's not a shock that Blackwood struggled out of the gate and was well below a .900 save percentage in the early going. It seems like when Appleby went down and Blackwood was starting consistently, a switch flipped. He ended the year with a .907 save percentage in the regular season and a .928 in 4 playoff games. Thatcher Demko, who is a year older and regarded as one of the best goalie prospects, had the same stats. Blackwood has a legit shot at being an above average starter at some point. NCAA Joey Anderson: Most pundits thought we got a steal when we snagged him Joey in the third round last year. Well, he did nothing but go onto post nearly a point per game as a freshman, which is very impressive. He was also a part of the US' WJC victory. NJ needs some talented RW prospects and if Anderson improves next season, I would not be shocked to see him turn pro after his sophomore season. Jeremy Davies: Davies started his freshman year at Northeastern as a 19 year old and fared pretty well on an average team. 23 points in 38 games is nothing to sneeze at for a young dman. Hopefully he can build on this and do even better next year. NJ needs a fluke development for one of their D prospects and he could be a candidate. OHL Michael McLeod: The controversial pick in the 2016 draft did nothing to alleviate our fears with his slow start. In a bit of a surprise, he made the Canadian WJC team and was efficient notching 3 points in something like 30 minutes of play (he was used sparingly). When he got back, Mississauga got reinforcements in the name of Spencer Watson and Ville Saarajarvi and they took off. McLeod put up something like a 1.6 ppg over the last 5 months of the season, playoffs included. Whenever I watched the Steelheads, McLeod was usually the best player on the ice and is super fun to watch when he gets his motor going. I don't know if he's ready or not for the NHL, but he took a massive step forward and his size, speed and skill down the middle will be something this team has been missing for years. Nathian Bastian: The other "Super Buddy", Bastian had a rough season. His production slipped and he sustained a nasty concussion midway through the year. In my viewings, he didn't stand out much, but he does have quite a bit of skill for a guy of his frame. I'm not overly optimistic about his NHL future, but something like .4 ppg in the AHL next year will really go a long way in showing he can play at this level. Blake Speers: We got a small taste of his game during the preseason and for a handful of games early in the season. Unfortunately, he broke his hand in his first contest back at SSM, which caused him to miss two months. Even so, he made the Canadian WJC team and played a key role with the Soo as captain. His stats weren't overly impressive but he did raise his shots per game to 3.5, which represented a pretty big jump. He'll likely start the year in Binghamton and he's a guy to watch. I wouldnt be overly surprised to see him post a similar campaign to the one Quenneville did. Colton White: One of NJ's few d prospects who has a chance to be a player at the next level, albeit a small one. Just glancing at stats, his offensive numbers actually decreased slightly and it's not like they were impressive to begin with. I put him in the same range as Josh Jacobs, who I didn't review because I'm not sure how much of a prospect he is. He'll begin his pro career either in the AHL or ECHL. QMJHL Brandon Gignac: Had a nice season with Shawinigan. He crossed the point per program threshold and I think JasonMacIssac mentioned that his linemates were two .5 ppg guys aka scrubs. He's another guy with a ton of speed that fits Shero's mantra. He'll likely go pro next year and will add to Bingo's intriguing pool of young forwards. Europe Yegor Rykov: He went undrafted in his first year of eligibility and was touted as a guy who played a well rounded game, but wont wow you with one facet. After watching him in the WJC in a prominent role for Russia, I think this guy has serious potential. He capably quarterbacked the Russian power play and played a very sound defensive game. His offensive numbers on a stacked SKA, with limited minutes are pretty impressive for a teenager. Hopefully, he'll get even more playing time next year and maybe make the jump to NA after that. He's one dman in our system, other than Santini, that could realistically be a top 4 dman. Jesper Bratt: Another player who guys like Pronman and Kourianos felt were a steal. I think many were surprised he didnt make the Swedish WJC team. It looks like his numbers marginally improved and it should be noted that he just signed an ELC. I would not be shocked if he took a major step forward next season, but maybe a guy like Marshall could expand on this. Incomplete Michael Kapla Evan Cormier Mikhail Maltsev My grades: The Good- These are the ones who did a lot to improve their stock, or future outlook. Michael McLeod, John Quenneville, Yegor Rykov, Joey Anderson, Jeremy Davies, Miles Wood (I had trouble placing him as he has a ton to work on, but you cant deny his contributions) The Solid- Did what was expected of them, but didn't do much to alter expectations. Pavel Zacha, Steve Santini, Mackenzie Blackwood, Blake Speers, Brandon Gignac, Jesper Bratt The Meh- Took a step back this season. Nathan Bastian, Colton White

I think cause the Stanley Cup is still going on he doesn't want to announce anything and take away focus from the Cup finals

Wherever Kovy goes, he's going to be the ultimate merc. Seems like all that he cares about at the moment is getting that Cup on his resume. I think he'll go to a team that gives him a great chance to do it, even if it's not exactly what he wants at this point...parachute in, win a Cup, yay I won a Cup, adios.

My favorite parts of his show these days when I do listen is when he whines about being pre-empted on the Fox Sports television simulcast by European soccer. He cannot wrap his head around the fact that there are people who would rather watch European soccer than him stammering through his interviews, spilling his diet coke and falling asleep on the air.

On this one, I'd rather he NOT cover hockey at all, because he knows very little about it, and him trying to fake having much knowledge about it (or any real interest for that matter) is more painful than him not talking about it. Part of the reason I think Mike likes talking horse racing is that it's a much easier topic to bullsh!t about to the masses...most sports fans don't even have a casual familiarity with the ins and outs of horse racing, so when Mike is loving listening to himself talk and not many know enough to call him out on anything he's likely getting wrong, it's a great situation for Mike...to the idiots who actually think Mike is some kind of sports radio god, they actually think "Duuuuuuuuuh, wow, dis guy actually knows a lot about dis stuff!" And admittedly this is what I don't get...he's become so bad at what he does and almost such a parody of himself that some people actually find him more charming now? Hell, if he had even the slightest ability to laugh at himself and not take himself so fvcking seriously every minute of every show, I could almost understand how that could somehow make him more tolerable...for someone who likes to come across as some tuff-guy Noo Yawker, he has a very thin skin. It's funny...just once I would love it if one of his guests responded to yet another Fatso trampling of an answer to say "Hey Mike, you asked me a question, can you let me answer it please?" There's been times when he's had an old-timer on who was in the middle of relating either a really good on- or off-the-field story (always cool to hear tales like that from the players who actually lived them), and there's Mike, interjecting details in because he needs everyone to hear just how much he ALREADY knows about this story...of course, Mike doing this often throws his interviewee off-rhythm, and the recollection winds up becoming that much more disjointed as a result...I really wish one of these guests would just say "Mike, you asked me to relate this experience and I'm trying to do that...your audience listens to you for 5+ hours a day...can you shut the fvck up for five minutes and stop trying to impress everyone with your memory so I can tell this story in my own words? You can comment and add whatever details you want, but right now you're really screwing me up and it's really pissing me off! And probably a good chunk of your listeners too." Sometimes you have to know when to back off and just listen, especially for the benefit of your audience. Francesa is far too full of himself to be capable of that.

http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/nhl/devils/fireandice/2017/06/03/seen-heard-news-and-notes-scouting-combine/368333001/ 4. As to that point, the Devils potentially trading down from the No. 1 pick, my sense is that is only a remote possibility. Yet if Shero does get a great offer – or makes one – which can improve the Devils immediately and also keep them higher up in the draft, I don’t think it’s such a crazy idea. Remember, the Devils have plenty of cap space. That, the first overall pick, the potential of Ilya Kovalchuk wanting to return to the NHL (and potentially netting the Devils assets in a sign-and-trade) and cap space makes the Devils potentially the most flexible team entering the draft. 6. Great Nico Hischier anecdote out of his interview with the Devils, courtesy of NHL.com’s great Devils’ reporter Mike Morreale. Per Morreale, Hischier was interviewing with Dr. Aimee Kimball, the Devils director of team and player development who handled most of the prospect questioning when he was told by the good doctor that when he attends Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Nashville on Monday, if he throws a catfish on the ice, the Devils would take him first. Hischier did not give an immediate response, instead answering the rest of Kimball’s questions. As the interview concluded, Kimball asked Hischier if he had any questions for her. He immediately quipped, “Where can I buy a catfish?” Not quite sure where sense of humor fits on the player evaluation scorecard, but Hischier certainly has one.

He's an out-of-touch fool.. and the sooner he's off the radio come December, the better. I used to be one of his biggest fans when he was with Russo. Shame how he sucks now.

It's fvcking ridiculous how much they are dragging this series out with offdays.

So Nolan it is.

Nice writeup, Mantzas. I am worried that Zacha is missing that extra awareness that would make him a 1st line forward, but he is only 19. The concussions are a little concerning as well. I would not trade him for players like Dumba, Brodin, or Vatanen.

I see it like what you're told to do on a multiple choice test. If you pick an answer, but later aren't sure, only change your answer if you're absolutely positive your first choice was wrong.