GDT: Game 29 - Devils @ Blues, 8PM MSG+2

[MadDog2020]

Can we just pick a new captain now? Pathetic. 
Greene "I think tonight was a step in the right direction, I think we  played a little bit better and a little bit tougher but we gotta take it up another notch and continue to play harder and not feel sorry for ourselves."

'A step in the right direction'... Get bent Andy.


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[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Not Gadzic.

Let's make him captain, and both alternates. 

[Nicomo]

Hall is the future. Give him the C and be done with it. 

[Gunslinger27]

6 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Exactly just went and checked the box score and saw that too.  Outstanding.  Instill fear for over 56 minutes from the bench. Sweet move.

 

 

Masterful ! what a waste

[MadDog2020]

Exactly just went and checked the box score and saw that too.  Outstanding.  Instill fear for over 56 minutes from the bench. Sweet move.
 
 

Truly brilliant.


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[Gunslinger27]

15 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Not Gadzic.

He didnt even break a sweat.......

[NJDevs4978]

42 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Disappointing yet not surprising.  Can't help but wonder how mental this is becoming for Cory.  Gotta be the worst stretch of his career by a country mile.  

These daily reminders of how far the Devils are from contending are really becoming depressing.  Looks like we'll be talking draft position by the end of the month.  Bummer.  

Cory now looks like Marty during the MacLean stretch.  But at least Marty had the excuse of being 40 years old and too old for this ****

[NJDevs4978]

20 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Go with scotch...that will get you to the promised land much quicker...

I'm disappointed, but not in the team...more the reality of what the team is and will be for the immediate future.  As much as I thought this team would have a tough time exceeding last season's point total, I didn't want to BELIEVE that.  I wanted to be surprised.  It's starting to feel like no progress is being made, and that's got me bummed out.

In the immediate future the fact we have 30 more home games is depressing me, not a lot to look forward to other than playing spoiler (maybe), assuming this team actually gets interest in playing hockey at all by then.

[Gunslinger27]

Fast, attacking, supportive ! Ok I'm listening. lol

[Chuck the Duck]

Anyone worth tanking to get with the #1 pick this season?  

Looks like another year outside the playoffs for us.

[NJDevs4978]

Go figure THIS is gonna be the year we bottom out and get a top five pick when the draft's the weakest it's been in years.

At least maybe they can trade some of these losers.

[Nicomo]

3 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

Go figure THIS is gonna be the year we bottom out and get a top five pick when the draft's the weakest it's been in years.

At least maybe they can trade some of these losers.

They'd be lucky to get a bag of pucks for most of this team. 

[MadDog2020]

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[Masked Fan]

This sh!t is painful, but if they get on a streak the the Failures are on, they'd get right back into it!

LETS GO DEVILS! Yer KILLIN me Smalls!!

 

[NJDevs4978]

34 minutes ago, Masked Fan said:

This sh!t is painful, but if they get on a streak the the Failures are on, they'd get right back into it!

[HellOnICE]

I can't watch this crap.

[Weekes Head]

I don't know why I thought that these guys were some group of magic misfits who could overcome adversity and actually be outside contenders. I thought this year would finally be the season we would break through and finally find some form of success. sh!t, we are nearing Johnny Mac level embarrassment. This entire team is completely clueless.

What happens? We fire Hynes? Who the heck could even turn this team around right now? Can we raise the late great Pat Burns from the grave? This is ridiculous. Luke f'n Gazdic is our saviour? Demote Auvitu? I get it...he hasn't exactly thrived lately , but hell...who has? Merrill has no business being in this league, Lovejoy is a fvcking joke, Greene has no clue how to lead this team anymore, and Moore makes about 15 dumbass plays for every goal he scores. 

I feel bad for Taylor Hall. He went from one loser to to another...bet he wishes he was back in Edmonton right now. I wouldn't blame him. 

Cory has either has zero confidence right now or his frustration in this team has translated in the complete opposite direction of success.

Terrible decisions are being made all around. Like others have said, I'm not even mad or sad. I'm throughly disappointed in this team and disappointed in the fact that it seems like we have made zero progress in righting this ship. I'm disappointed that right now it feels like it'll be years before this team will ever contend again. And I'm disappointed in myself for continually thinking some magic bullet will fix these issues and we will have a successful team again.

Alas..I'm still the sucker who will tune into the next game with hopes that they'll pull some crazy win out of their asses. Being a Devils fan is really hard lately.

[NLinfante]

My season ticket rep called me yesterday afternoon just to make sure I didn't need a block of tickets. Ummm, I'm good.

EDIT: no disrespect to the sales staff, but the timing was less than ideal.

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by NLinfante

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 hours ago, Weekes Head said:

1) I don't know why I thought that these guys were some group of magic misfits who could overcome adversity and actually be outside contenders. I thought this year would finally be the season we would break through and finally find some form of success. sh!t, we are nearing Johnny Mac level embarrassment. This entire team is completely clueless.

2) What happens? We fire Hynes? Who the heck could even turn this team around right now? Can we raise the late great Pat Burns from the grave? This is ridiculous. Luke f'n Gazdic is our saviour? Demote Auvitu? I get it...he hasn't exactly thrived lately , but hell...who has? Merrill has no business being in this league, Lovejoy is a fvcking joke, Greene has no clue how to lead this team anymore, and Moore makes about 15 dumbass plays for every goal he scores. 

3) I feel bad for Taylor Hall. He went from one loser to to another...bet he wishes he was back in Edmonton right now. I wouldn't blame him. 

4) Cory has either has zero confidence right now or his frustration in this team has translated in the complete opposite direction of success.

5) Terrible decisions are being made all around. Like others have said, I'm not even mad or sad. I'm throughly disappointed in this team and disappointed in the fact that it seems like we have made zero progress in righting this ship. I'm disappointed that right now it feels like it'll be years before this team will ever contend again. And I'm disappointed in myself for continually thinking some magic bullet will fix these issues and we will have a successful team again.

6) Alas..I'm still the sucker who will tune into the next game with hopes that they'll pull some crazy win out of their asses. Being a Devils fan is really hard lately.

Added numbers so that I could address each one

1) I was hoping for that too, for this group to become a hard-working, scrappy bunch of overachievers, and though I would still make the Larsson-for-Hall trade every time (young forwards like Hall don't become available that often, and the Devils desperately needed his skillset), the D is hurting without Larsson.  As far as this season went, I was more thinking "OK, the Devils may not make much progress in the actual standings/point totals, but they'll show progress in other ways."  Maybe this is just a god-awful slump, but man it seems like they're regressing big time. 

2) I for one don't want to become that team that is forever cleaning house, changing coaches and GMs for the sake of changing coaches and GMs.  Maybe Shero and Hynes will ultimately proven to not be the right guys, but I can't make that determination after such short tenures, when neither one has been blatantly incompetent to date.  No, neither has been perfect, but no one is, and both inherited a highly flawed roster, with minimal minor-league depth.  No one was going to turn this around quickly.  The state of this defense is scary though...it really looks like Shero may have to start from near-scratch with this bunch sooner than later.  With this team quickly heading towards irrelevance/plan for the future, at least it's not as urgent that Severson/Merrill types figure it out right now.  But it's hard to be terribly high on them.  Looks like that young D crop that had us hopeful may all bust.   

3) I think something to be said for being part of something sh!tty, then eventually working up to bigger and better things.  John MacLean...Ken Daneyko...Bruce Driver...even Scott Stevens, who as we all know wanted nothing to do with the Devils, and had to slog through some mehish years here (not because of him, but his team) before hoisting a Cup.  No, of course the Devils aren't guaranteed to win a Cup any time in the future, but players can't always take the "grass is greener" approach either.  I would hope Hall would want to be part of the solution, to be that guy that stubbornly does what he does despite not getting enough help, the kind of guy that makes teammates want to give that little bit extra.  Think 2003-04 Elias. 

4) I don't usually attempt to get inside players' heads, but one thing that Cory has done well through the end of October of this season was stop pucks at a very good rate, either as a backup or the #1.  For the first time in his career, it's not happening.  That has to be screwing with his head on some level.  And yeah, that D is doing nothing to help him out.  It's a brutal cycle, and with each sub-.900 game, it feels more and more like "When the hell (or how the hell) does he bust out of this thing?"  At this point, I'd give him 2-3 games off, but it's not going to get any better with KK.  KK is what he is...a competent NHL backup.  Not a guy who's going to take an opportunity to start a bunch of games in a row and run with it.  Just not that kind of player. 

5) Kind of relates to #1, but yeah, it's not the losses that bug me...like I've said, I was prepared for another meh-record season.  But at least be competitive with these upper-echelon teams.  Through 29 games, it's become obvious that teams on the Devils' level are a chore for them...sure, the Devils have won a chunk of those games, but they've just about all been challenges.  And then against the good ones...not even close.  They've just been SO exposed, and yeah, the schedule has been a nightmare in November and December, from an opponent and travel standpoint...there was a good chance that the Devils were going to experience some kind of slump.  But there's been so little of the, well, little things you look for in seeing the team take steps forward.  Wood has been a fun watch. 

6) Yeah, I was all excited after the Devils went up 2-0, I admit it.  And as soon as it became 2-1, already it felt like "here we go again".  And I hate feeling like that.  But I can't help it.

Edited December 16, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[DevsMan84]

Saw Rogue One yesterday so I missed the game.  I will say that Rogue One was awesome and has a much different feel than the other movies (in a good way).  Up there and as good if not possibly better then Ep. V in my opinion.

Anyways watched the game last night after I came home and pretty much what I expected.  I have to say this team has me worried.  It is not even Christmas yet but I feel if something isn't done sooner rather than later we will be out of the playoff picture by New Year's.  Last year the team didn't seem to throw in the towel until about a week before the trade deadline.

I will say again that I was not expecting this team to make the playoffs.  However I was/am expecting at least some improvement.  About 4-6 points over last year's would be nice and still possible, but at their current pace unless the easy schedule in the 2nd half proves to be a boost and the players get their sh!t together it might not happen.  It will be utterly disappointing if the team takes a step back when they should be taking a step forward.

Also, last year when it came to playing the top teams the Devils were at least competitive for about 50 or so minutes and then lose in a span of 10 min where they are dominated in the game.  This year the Devils play well for 10 minutes but get dominated the rest.  We have seen this happen maybe 5-10 times this happened this season where it happened maybe 5 times all of last year where the Devils were dominated pretty much the entire game.

I really do think at least some of this falls on Hynes.  This is MacLean era of ineptitude.  Auvitu sent down in favor of Gadzic?  Henrique on the half boards on the PP while JJ gets benched?  Combined with the fact that it looks like the players are starting to tune him out is not a good sign.

I also wonder how much some of the busts we signed this year have to do with Mehta and his group.  Was it them that thought it was a good idea to sign Bennett and to re-sign DSP?  Did they really think PAP was the same or better than Lee Stempniak who signed for not a whole lot more money?  I am still not convinced that mediocre teams in the NHL can moneyball their way into the playoffs.

[Nicomo]

Rogue One better than Empire? Blasphemy!!! I'm seeing it tonight though, so glad to hear another good review. 

As far as putting something like sending down Auvitu all on Hynes, how much say does Shero have in something like that? Can he veto the HC? 

Edited December 16, 2016 by Nicomo

[Triumph]

If there's ever a strawman shortage, we can use DM84's last post.  Good to know.

I didn't see most of this one - just the 2nd period.  They definitely got some tough breaks in this period - Zacha's stick breaking and leading to a 4 on 3 PP that the Blues eventually scored on - but the breakout was just awful besides.  Teams are forechecking hard and the Devils don't seem to have any answers for this.  I'm not sure what the fix is here besides getting their own forecheck going, but that doesn't seem to be working much.  So while I did see some improvement - I get why Andy Greene talked about improvement - it's going to have to be better than that.

[DevsMan84]

29 minutes ago, Triumph said:

If there's ever a strawman shortage, we can use DM84's last post.  Good to know.

I didn't see most of this one - just the 2nd period.  They definitely got some tough breaks in this period - Zacha's stick breaking and leading to a 4 on 3 PP that the Blues eventually scored on - but the breakout was just awful besides.  Teams are forechecking hard and the Devils don't seem to have any answers for this.  I'm not sure what the fix is here besides getting their own forecheck going, but that doesn't seem to be working much.  So while I did see some improvement - I get why Andy Greene talked about improvement - it's going to have to be better than that.

God you have the personality of a gnat.  It really is amazing I have have even managed to put up with you after 10,000 posts as I have seen you drive many people away from this board with your endearing personality.

[Daniel]

11 hours ago, Chuck the Duck said:

Anyone worth tanking to get with the #1 pick this season?  

Looks like another year outside the playoffs for us.

It's supposed to be a pretty weak draft.  The projected number one is Nolan Patrick, who a lot of people said would have gone something like fourth or fifth overall last season (he missed the age cutoff by a few days).  He seems kind of like Ryan Nugent Hopkins.  Should be a good player, but not someone who's going to significantly help a team's fortunes on his own.  Really tough year to have the wheels fall off like they have.

[Triumph]

14 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

God you have the personality of a gnat.  It really is amazing I have have even managed to put up with you after 10,000 posts as I have seen you drive many people away from this board with your endearing personality.

You've gotten in insult matches with half the board at one point or another.  Here is another one.  I'll let you have the last word, though.