woody footbreaker

excatly what i was looking at earlier today ... considering that much teams still in it they probably can afford to loose one game and in best case two max. most realistically you have catch the metro teams

sorry, i went a bit of topic ... I just want to add, credit to Fitzy for getting the core guys signed longterm (Nico, Jack, Bratt and Timo all took discounts imo). If he was serious, Toffoli should have take a discount too after we heard how much he wanted to stay and win. Like some said, he did a lot of good stuff until last offseason. The Lazar signing was good too. This season just everything what went wrong for Devils went wrong, much like everything went their way last season. Hard to judge individual performances and players potential with all the injuries we had and the depth not being there. The linecombos we saw this season were made mostly to not get scored on in first place. I hope Mercer will get his mojo back, he could use someone playmaking abilities next to him. That 3rd line is mostly hacking wacking right now lol Back to Fitzy, turned it around last second at the deadline. He really scared me the days ahead of the deadline.

Thanks for the welcome folks, just an avarage fan here that follows the NHL and my Swiss guys ever since Streit signed for the Isles. Regarding McLeod, i just think its a big loss since we lost already Wood and Tatar plus he was outperforming his contract. We need more players that can push the play up the ice, make it hard on defenders, finish checks, win puck battles, creating choas with their speed etc. Its not just one player and then everything is fine. Same mistake they make with Timo, bringing him in and then think thats enough beef in our top6. He becomes the focal point for the opposition aside from Nico and Jack and if you take him out the Devils Top6 really become soft. Timo had guys like Thornton, Pavelski and Hertl centering his line in SJ. If you pair power forwards with another big guy, they usually become even more effective. Because of that, I think Palat is fine on that line and you probably get the most out of him with Nico and Timo. Its the 6M AAV i dont like and the length of the contract

After it was clear Graves, Tatar and Wood wouldnt be back, i waited for appropriate replacements. But none, just depthsignings. Watching the end of last regular season and the playoffs, it sure looked like they run out of gas. Just like this season. Boys really try, but there is just not enough left ... The injuries didnt help and are a fact, not an excuse. So, very disappointed and a little worried going into te season. After the first games and when injuries started to hit the team, it became clear this team would need help. But no qualityplayers were brought in all season to fix certain holes in the lineup. I think they knew about a potential case coming up for McLeod, another player in this mold: big body, fast ... Anyway they had him on the 4th line to start the season. A guy that had all the tools and qualities you search in a player to play alongside Jack. This was the biggest blow to the devils season imo aside from douggie out and Jack not being at 100% almost all season. So thats 3 guys missing upfront whit no replacement which led to changes in the system when they finally realized they couldnt play last years system because all of a sudden we simply dont have the personal to do it. This team needs a big body center to play on jacks line, someone that can win puckbattles and play solid defensively, so this line doesnt become a liability, a warrior that can take draws and shield him kinda. We need more warriors on this team and preferably another guy for our bottom 6. Jenner, Bennett, Pinto, Stephenson ... Just throwing names out there that either become UFA or might be available. Look at the Sabres, Yotes, Sens, Philly ... Someone would like to play on a line with Jack and Bratt/Meier i would think. You have to maximize the lines of your two Nr. 1 drafts and provide them with the right players. I dont think Toffoli or Palat should be in the Top 6 of a true contender. Second priority would be a big physical defenseman that could play top pair minutes. You might have to ship someone like Siegenthaler out. Other teams showed that its possible. Upfront Hertl for Palat would have been a dream haha. As for defense, guys like Rasmus Anderson, Matt Roy, Montour or the Dillons and melons from WPG could be available next summer. Those teams that just loaded up for their playoff run cant sign all their guys, teams still in the rebuild might not be able to bring in all their young talent upfront. There should be plenty of talent out there, but this roster needs work in the offseason. The last thing I want to hear is our GM stating publicly that he cant force players to sign, he did it twice at least smh. Its like to say, i cant get the job done. There is really something that has to be said about constantly putting yourself in a tough spot, be it for trades (looking very desparate which drives prices up) or just unnecessary statements that potentially come back to bite you. In poker they call it "fish" and everybody (other GMs) wants to play with him ... From all the action or none-action therefore, i constantly get the feeling that they dont evaluate their players right, same with where the teams stands as of right now and what they truly need. Like whats the true identity of this team and the vision they have to turn this into a serious contender for upcoming years. Maybe after next season with the right pieces in place we have our first real shot, i dunno. I just cant get the feeling, that necessary pieces will be adressed and brought in this summer. The tradedeadline is another missed opportunity, i am just glad he stayed away bringing in Markstrom and resigning Toffoli. Either deal had the potential to get him fired in the end. Money spent on the wrong players and in one case you would even have to sent players/picks to calgary which would be again bad asset management. Sometimes i wonder, if this all is missinformation by our management to hide from their true priorities in players and to drive prices up for other teams, but it sure doesnt look like. In fact, all this looks more like someone desperately trying to save his job then making the right decisions. Speaking about accountability and holding yourself to high standards means also you have to look in the mirror first and be honest with yourself. This season is a complete miss by our GM and they still seem to hold onto their believes that it was just injuries and the team is mostly fine, its definitely not. Like Bizz said on the TNT-pregame show to the LA Game,: "Looking at the devils top 6 aside from Meier, where is the beef, maybe Toffoli nahh ... And Liam just followed up with: Yeah the devils are soft. For them to make such statements should tell you something. To go on a run, we would potentially have to go through the Rangers, Hurricans, Panthers and in the end get one of those heavy teams from the west. Anybody seriously think this team is somewhere close?!?Just look how the successful teams are build. Its nothing personal, its just from all i have seen this season, i am not convinced that TF is the right guy to get this team back on the right path and i think i really could get worse this summer. I always try to be positive and i think this season could be a positive in the long run for devils. As they say one step back, to make two ... If that may have helped to identify their true needs, so be it. New contracts for Mercer and other RFAs might come cheaper now, we saved a 1st by not making the playoffs and get to pick higher then expected. Our guys get a longer offseason to diggest this season and get a good rest, get back to work on individual stuff (Gym comes to mind). And finally i dont want to see them crushed by the Rangers or whoever they would play against. Nemec was brought up and got almost a full season under his belt. Not sure why Fitzy goes out and says that wasnt the plan this season. You want to accelerate his developement, the earlier he becomes a force from the backend the better, so we might a have true chance after next season. Good thing the young guns battled through the grind this season has been and all the adversity. They know now what to expect and will be prepaired for the upcoming campaigns and get better with experience. They look promising, no doubt. I knew this was going to be a long post as the season has piled up some frustrating and more things could be said. its not the time for depthsingings anymore. Need to plant some major flags upfront and on the backend. I bet the guys in net will look a lot better too once they can play again as unit and get defensively sound like last season showed they can. Everything went perfect and nobody should have expected that this season will go just as smooth and that all the young players will take a big step forward simultaniously. So, groundcontrol to major tom ... Please get your head of the clouds and make some hockeytrades to get this team on the path to future success. LGD