Jump to content

Fan Misery Index - Devils #1....really?


Z-Man

Recommended Posts

http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/07/24/nhl-fan-misery-rankings-30-teams

 

#1 New Jersey Devils

 
Cup drought: 11 seasons
three-time cup champs
Maybe Lou Lamoriello knew what he was doing when he bailed on this organization. These Devils have a dim past (just one playoff appearance in the past five years), a painful present (the NHL’s 29th rated offense in 2014-15) and a grey, dystopian future (arguably the least promising prospect pool in the game). This is a team so bereft of hope that it can only aspire to being dull and dreary.
 
 
Um, ok.  Granted, it's not all roses right now, but I'm guessing teams with ridiculous cup droughts are much more miserable than us.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unnecessarily harsh. We're lower than Arizona? Really? And how about Toronto? Carolina?

 

Bruins are also stupidly high on that list. They've had some very good times of late.

 

And while the Rangers are "well positioned to compete" it's not for the next half decade. And their cup window has likely closed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean, I want to call the guy an idiot but he sounds like a frustrated Devils fan. Actually he might post on this board. Now his explanation for our ranking is hyperbolic and somewhat dumb but on the offensive ranking thing he isn't completely without a point. Aside from Zacha, we have no potential first line forwards coming up in the system, and we might very well have no second line forwards coming up in the system either. However, he didn't point out the plethora of hope we have on defense; actually he completely neglected it.

 

That said, I think fan misery indexes usually always get it wrong. It isn't the fans of constantly losing teams that are most tortured but the fans of teams who repeatedly get close but can't finish the job. I'd have to imagine nothing could be more frustrating than being a Rangers fan right now. in 2011-12 they lost to the Devils in the ECF, in 12-13 they lost in the 2nd round, in 13-14 they lost in the SCF, and in 14-15 they lost in the ECF after winning the President's Trophy. 

 

I am not just trying to take a shot at the Rangers either. I'm a 49ers fan, and the past few years of losing big games when just small little things done differently could have won us those games was waaayyy more misery inducing than the 8 or so years prior of suckdom. Anyway, it looks like we will suck again for the near future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: the Rangers...they have accomplished a lot in recent years, but it reaches a point where constantly coming close but never getting over the hump becomes a different kind of misery unto itself. In a way, sure, it's kind of a nice problem to have, enjoying a window of being both relevant AND a threat, and knowing your team is likely to be in on the juicy player acquisitions...but when a championship doesn't result from it (and one is more than enough in any given window), there's so many what-ifs and if-onlys that can be downright haunting for everyone involved. Even with 2000 and 2003, we still sometimes pick at the scab that will forever be 2001, Unfinished Business.

As for us...11 years isn't that far removed from a Cup win, and we saw our team reach a Stanley Cup Final just three years ago. We've seen the end of a regime that we all appreciate, respect, and will remember fondly, but needed to be ended. We have owners who are clearly willing to spend money on the on-ice product, and seem to want to make the fan experience as good as it can be. Obviously things aren't pretty now, and we'll have to be patient, but at least there's reasons for hope and optimism. That helps a lot, in diluting the misery...the writer is considerably off-base.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

totally stupid. How can our frustration be higher than anyone else. Shouldn't Philly be higher? We've been in existence '82' flyers '67 they have 2 cups, us 3 !

39 years? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re: the Rangers...they have accomplished a lot in recent years, but it reaches a point where constantly coming close but never getting over the hump becomes a different kind of misery unto itself. In a way, sure, it's kind of a nice problem to have, enjoying a window of being both relevant AND a threat, and knowing your team is likely to be in on the juicy player acquisitions...but when a championship doesn't result from it (and one is more than enough in any given window), there's so many what-ifs and if-onlys that can be downright haunting for everyone involved. Even with 2000 and 2003, we still sometimes pick at the scab that will forever be 2001, Unfinished Business.

As for us...11 years isn't that far removed from a Cup win, and we saw our team reach a Stanley Cup Final just three years ago. We've seen the end of a regime that we all appreciate, respect, and will remember fondly, but needed to be ended. We have owners who are clearly willing to spend money on the on-ice product, and seem to want to make the fan experience as good as it can be. Obviously things aren't pretty now, and we'll have to be patient, but at least there's reasons for hope and optimism. That helps a lot, in diluting the misery...the writer is considerably off-base.

Well said CR.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't feel miserable at all as a Devils fan. We just started a new era, we have stable owners, new upper level management, and a young foundation. Sure there are transitional pains and growing pains but misery would be being a Coyotes fan at the present moment, not at all a Devils fan.

 

And Lou did not "bail" on the organization. This guy is a hack and it shows because he is working for SI. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lol the blues, sabres and canucks have never won a Stanley Cup despite being in the league since the 60s/70s. Leafs and flyers haven't won it decades. Florida and the sharks have never won it and it's been 20 years for them already.

I'd rather be a Devils fan any day then a fan of one of those teams.

Edited by Satans Hockey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite frankly, I prefer that the Devils are flying under the radar. I'm usually a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy, but personally I think the Devils future looks very bright. Sure, the Devils probably aren't going to win the Stanley Cup in the next two seasons or so, but I like the template Shero is putting out there. I like the young D corps, I like the cap room, I'm intrigued by the new head coach, our goal tending has the potential to be in the top of the league for the foreseeable future, Zacha looks like he's the real deal, and the Devils have some nice draft picks in the next few years as well. Yeah, the Devils are going to have some growing pains. But as a Devils fan, I'm way less miserably than I was 6 months ago. And, at the very least, our team didn't just trade away Dougie Hamilton. So there's that ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What sucks about being a devils fan is that even when we suck badly, we dont suck enough to get some really high/exciting draft picks.

Nailed it. In a draft where there were like 5 guys who could have gone #1 if they were all in separate years, we had the #6 pick. That's comedy.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing but positive optimism ahead, how can anyone be miserable?

 

We had our share of misery the past 3 years. That's over. We will get better every year going  forward.

 

I think the difference is we are in the very beginning of a rebuild.  I can see how this guy could say we are in the worst spot going forward.  I don't doubt that we are 30th in the league in assets, it's just that assets don't mean everything for success.  But this was obviously a "who is farthest away right now to winning a cup."  I think we are in the miserable situation here because we are starting the rebuild, we aren't 3 years out from it.  Being at the bottom can be uplifting because you can say, "after this year, things can't get any worse."  Some would say it can but so long as you trust Shero can do his job, this year is our bottoming out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the difference is we are in the very beginning of a rebuild.  I can see how this guy could say we are in the worst spot going forward.  I don't doubt that we are 30th in the league in assets, it's just that assets don't mean everything for success.  But this was obviously a "who is farthest away right now to winning a cup."  I think we are in the miserable situation here because we are starting the rebuild, we aren't 3 years out from it.  Being at the bottom can be uplifting because you can say, "after this year, things can't get any worse."  Some would say it can but so long as you trust Shero can do his job, this year is our bottoming out.

I understand exactly what you are saying but I don't think we will be any worse this season than last season

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SI writers know as much about hockey as the average hfboards poster - which is to say, not a whole lot.

It's an interesting discussion piece, but I'd sure as hell rather be a Devils fan than a fan of the Yotes or Panthers, to name just two teams out of about 10.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Edited by Devilsfan118
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand exactly what you are saying but I don't think we will be any worse this season than last season

 

Last season was definitely different.  That was when the house of cards collapsed under the pressure.  Last year we went into the season thinking we had bad luck with shootouts, the same team with the hopes that things would work out better.  We had Jagr, we signed Cam, we had a more mature defense, we had Cory to focus on.  What hopes do we have going into this year?  This is the year where we are starting the rebuild and it is going to be so much worse than last year.  But it hopefully will only get better than this going forward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last season was definitely different.  That was when the house of cards collapsed under the pressure.  Last year we went into the season thinking we had bad luck with shootouts, the same team with the hopes that things would work out better.  We had Jagr, we signed Cam, we had a more mature defense, we had Cory to focus on.  What hopes do we have going into this year?  This is the year where we are starting the rebuild and it is going to be so much worse than last year.  But it hopefully will only get better than this going forward.

I tihnk a lot of us are underestimating what we have in the tank in terms of young players.  We still have Cory and Cam, and young players who can and will make the team.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last season was definitely different.  That was when the house of cards collapsed under the pressure.  Last year we went into the season thinking we had bad luck with shootouts, the same team with the hopes that things would work out better.  We had Jagr, we signed Cam, we had a more mature defense, we had Cory to focus on.  What hopes do we have going into this year?  This is the year where we are starting the rebuild and it is going to be so much worse than last year.  But it hopefully will only get better than this going forward.

 

Well if it helps we won't have Salvador and Zidlicky starting the season with us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.