GDT: Devil's Vs Aren't we playing the Sharks in like 10 minutes?

[Nicomo]

“Way too small and weak”

What year is this? It’s like people completely forget Alex Debrincat scored 40 goals at 5”7 165 his second season in the NHL. Johnny Gadreau had almost 100 points last year. The age and experience is every bit as important as size and strength. 

Does Jack need to get a little stronger? Sure, but he’s not that far off, imo. I’m sorry, but it’s just impossible to accurately judge him considering who he’s played with most of the season. He looked really good with Palms in the 3rd tonight, but Jones made some great saves and the pucks just weren’t going in. 

Next year I’d like to see Hughes take a decent step forward and at least have 40 or 50 points. By his age 20 season I’m hoping we see the emergence of a star. 

It’s not like Kakko with all his size and strength is doing any better...

Edited February 21, 2020 by Nicomo

[SterioDesign]

1 hour ago, NJDfan1711 said:

Man I couldn't disagree more with Sal's take just now on resting Blackwood and not "overworking" him.  Why in the blue mother fvcking fvck would we bring Schneider back up?  It's just continuing to muddy the waters and do the same thing over and over and OVER again.  Let me spell it out for you Devils' management.... Schneider is DONE.  He does not need to start another game for the New Jersey Devils.  What's more, Mackenzie Blackwood is our STARTER.  He's a big boy.  He may be young, but he is capable of being a starting goaltender.  Do not treat him like a baby.  He is not going to "lose confidence" by playing him too much.  If anything, he'll gain confidence.  He's playing WELL. If he falters, then you can give him rest.  Until then, be thankful that you have a competent goaltender, and USE HIM.  Because it's been a while. 

The End.

My angle on this is that... well the season is lost.

Then I'm thinking... for the long term what's the best things that could happen to the team? (here it's important to make the distinction between what's legit best for the team vs the fans temporary feelings)

Top 2 things IMO... 1- Get Lafrenière or Byfield. 2- Get rid of Schneider or that he somehow get back his mojo.

So doing this is technically giving a better shot at those 2 things. We now know Mac is solid. Again in a loss season do we want to risk him getting a Schneider'esque injury that will ruin him too? who knows lol

I mean right now... when we're watching Hughes or Nico play... are we thinking about how great it is to have them or we're thinking about the games we lost those years? 

 

 

[Nicomo]

Bratt has sneaked his way into the top 5 in points, and 3rd in goals after Palms and Nico. Points in 3 out of the last 4 now. Seems like he might be getting a second wind, and adjusting better to the long season. It’s encouraging. 

[Satans Hockey]

Obviously not the best game but was nice to get another home win since there's been so few this year. 

Mac is awesome. I hope he starts Saturday, give Cory the game in Detroit on Tuesday. There's no excuse for anything else. 

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

3 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Bratt has sneaked his way into the top 5 in points, and 3rd in goals after Palms and Nico. Points in 3 out of the last 4 now. Seems like he might be getting a second wind, and adjusting better to the long season. It’s encouraging. 

Helps when players above you are getting traded 😂. Still feel like there is a lot more to come from him. 

I am looking forward to Nolan Foote making this team. There are plenty of players who can make nice passes as we saw in this game, just not a lot of finish. 

I hope the only trades left in the window are to get something for Simmonds and to try and shift Vats if he is close to a return. I want us to keep Palms and Goose. 

 

[Nicomo]

1 hour ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

Helps when players above you are getting traded 😂. Still feel like there is a lot more to come from him. 

Well, player singular. It’s not like Andy Greene leaving effected it lol

[jagknife]

This team, as atrocious as they are, play with confidence now. They aren’t out of any game, except when they play the Blues apparently. Putting Cory Schneider into net and allowing his sad-sack ways to pollute this never-quit mindset is a terrible decision by management. I loved what Cory did for us, but he is a confidence cancer now for the Devils. This is a foul on Fitz (UNLESS he is in fact trading Cinco Domingo, in which case fine) but when DBA 2.0 makes the stupid decision of starting him Saturday and not against the Wings, it should be the final nail in his pathetic coaching career coffin. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by jagknife

[MadDog2020]

9 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Don’t even stress it, there’s no way Ovi doesn’t score #700 off us. 

It’s a foregone conclusion.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Since 12/6, Mac is 12-4-4 with a .930 save%.  With an often rotten defense in front of him to boot.

As for Cory...guess if he’s not up here for cap reasons, it’s because he’s Not-Cinco?  If he somehow plays fairly well down the stretch and Fitz is fooled by that and suddenly Cory goes into 2020-21 with newfound relevance...damn am I gonna be pissed.  

[Steadevils]

9 hours ago, Nicomo said:

“Way too small and weak”

What year is this? It’s like people completely forget Alex Debrincat scored 40 goals at 5”7 165 his second season in the NHL. Johnny Gadreau had almost 100 points last year. The age and experience is every bit as important as size and strength. 

Does Jack need to get a little stronger? Sure, but he’s not that far off, imo. I’m sorry, but it’s just impossible to accurately judge him considering who he’s played with most of the season. He looked really good with Palms in the 3rd tonight, but Jones made some great saves and the pucks just weren’t going in. 

Next year I’d like to see Hughes take a decent step forward and at least have 40 or 50 points. By his age 20 season I’m hoping we see the emergence of a star. 

It’s not like Kakko with all his size and strength is doing any better...

I mean Hughes should have had 1G, 1A tonight easily, really starting to feel bad for the guy luck wise at the moment. Miracle stick save on Gusev to rob an assist and then Palmeri shooting that puck in the 3rd when he had a WIDE OPEN Hughes on the back door for a tap in....That play by palms was soooo bad..I get being a shoot first guy, but have even the littlest bit of vision there and it is a tap in. 

[Nicomo]

8 minutes ago, Steadevils said:

I mean Hughes should have had 1G, 1A tonight easily, really starting to feel bad for the guy luck wise at the moment. Miracle stick save on Gusev to rob an assist and then Palmeri shooting that puck in the 3rd when he had a WIDE OPEN Hughes on the back door for a tap in....That play by palms was soooo bad..I get being a shoot first guy, but have even the littlest bit of vision there and it is a tap in. 

He needs to move out of the sad sack’s house ASAP lol

He was involved in 3 prime scoring chances last night, and...nothing. 

[NJDfan1711]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

It’s a foregone conclusion.

I'm hoping Mac gets a shutout, but if he doesn't I hope we win 5-1, and Ovi gets 700.  Then 20 years from now when Mac is retiring with 5 Cups, we'll reminisce about all of the victories he's had, and say "Oh yeah, and remember when Ovi scored his 700th on him?  That was cool, but he's not remembered for that because of everything else he accomplished". 

[Nicomo]

26 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Since 12/6, Mac is 12-4-4 with a .930 save%.  With an often rotten defense in front of him to boot.

As for Cory...guess if he’s not up here for cap reasons, it’s because he’s Not-Cinco?  If he somehow plays fairly well down the stretch and Fitz is fooled by that and suddenly Cory goes into 2020-21 with newfound relevance...damn am I gonna be pissed.  

I’ll take it a step further, if Fitz brings back either Nas or Cory next year I’ll be instantly done with him. 

[Devilsfan118]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

It’s a foregone conclusion.

I could see 700, 701 and 702 if we elect to start Cory for some reason.

[Devilsfan118]

48 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

As for Cory...guess if he’s not up here for cap reasons, it’s because he’s Not-Cinco?  If he somehow plays fairly well down the stretch and Fitz is fooled by that and suddenly Cory goes into 2020-21 with newfound relevance...damn am I gonna be pissed.  

Very torn, because I like Cory "the dude" because he seems like a really good teammate who is genuinely trying.

But I feel compelled to root for him to fail because, like you said, I'll be furious if he manages to play decent during this final stretch of meaningless games (which we've seen plenty of times before) and he fools the team into thinking he's a viable option next year.

Fortunately I'm feeling pretty confident that he'll be bought out but.. you never know.

[titans04]

Looking at the goal scoring numbers for this team is equivalent to cutting onions. 

Palmieri with 22, Nico with 13 and Bratt with 12. That's the leader board. 

As underwhelming as it gets. What IF Palmieri gets moved? 

[jagknife]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Since 12/6, Mac is 12-4-4 with a .930 save%.  With an often rotten defense in front of him to boot.

As for Cory...guess if he’s not up here for cap reasons, it’s because he’s Not-Cinco?  If he somehow plays fairly well down the stretch and Fitz is fooled by that and suddenly Cory goes into 2020-21 with newfound relevance...damn am I gonna be pissed.  

The ginger needs to be gone from this team. It’s Mac’s net now.

If Fitz doesn’t see that, then he shouldn’t be GM.

5 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Looking at the goal scoring numbers for this team is equivalent to cutting onions. 

Palmieri with 22, Nico with 13 and Bratt with 12. That's the leader board. 

As underwhelming as it gets. What IF Palmieri gets moved? 

Remember when Henrique lead the team with 42 points one year?

[Nicomo]

6 minutes ago, titans04 said:

Looking at the goal scoring numbers for this team is equivalent to cutting onions. 

Palmieri with 22, Nico with 13 and Bratt with 12. That's the leader board. 

As underwhelming as it gets. What IF Palmieri gets moved? 

Could be worse, Wings don’t even have a 20 goal scorer. Neither do the Preds or Kings. 

[jagknife]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Could be worse, Wings don’t even have a 20 goal scorer. Neither do the Preds or Kings. 

For the Preds, I blame underachieving and piss poor coaching strategies. How your top line guys barely get 14 minutes is beyond me. And yes I’m salty as duck cause my fantasy team was being carried by Forsberg and Duchene for a little while there. Now they’re more of a detriment thanks to DBA’s idiocy. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by jagknife

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, jagknife said:

The ginger needs to be gone from this team. It’s Mac’s net now.

If Fitz doesn’t see that, then he shouldn’t be GM.

I don't think that the net belonging to Mac is in doubt at all.  

It's more who is going to be the 30 starts or so backup (who could also handle starting a string of games in case Mac is injured, slumping, or still adjusting to a #1's workload)?  Cory absolutely cannot be considered to be a candidate for that role, no matter what he does this year.  And Fitz can't even try to sell me on that.  If he does, like Nicomo posted, if Cory's somehow a part of the picture next year, I gotta wonder if Fitz is the right guy going forward.

1 hour ago, Nicomo said:

I’ll take it a step further, if Fitz brings back either Nas or Cory next year I’ll be instantly done with him. 

The only positive I have for Nas is that he hasn't lost the team...they're 14-10-5 in their last 29, and though it gets ugly at times, his players do play hard for him.  But yeah, Baby Hynes can't be back next year.

[titans04]

All fair points especially if I cared about any other team but the one I'm a fan of. Combine these numbers with a group of pylons on the blue line and I don't see this ship being righted quickly. 

Nico and Jack may grow into studs you start to build a team abound but if that's all you've really got now that's scary. Neither is remotely capable of being that guy at this time. The fact we don't have any other choice outside of maybe Palms is a bummer. 

I fear we're going to continue to be stuck in this rut for a few more years. 

And yeah Kakko continues to be junk numbers wise. He and Jack project out to under 30 points while being minus 31. Far from ideal. Next year should be key in how Jack develops but if it depends on his getting snipers for his wings I'd like to know where they're coming from. 

 

[Nicomo]

2 minutes ago, titans04 said:

All fair points especially if I cared about any other team but the one I'm a fan of. Combine these numbers with a group of pylons on the blue line and I don't see this ship being righted quickly. 

Nico and Jack may grow into studs you start to build a team abound but if that's all you've really got now that's scary. Neither is remotely capable of being that guy at this time. The fact we don't have any other choice outside of maybe Palms is a bummer. 

I fear we're going to continue to be stuck in this rut for a few more years. 

And yeah Kakko continues to be junk numbers wise. He and Jack project out to under 30 points while being minus 31. Far from ideal. Next year should be key in how Jack develops but if it depends on his getting snipers for his wings I'd like to know where they're coming from. 

 

I wouldn’t say Nico and Jack are all they have to build around. I think it’s becoming more and more clear we have our goalie in Mac. That’s 3 nice young pieces. Bratt is a keeper, imo. Ty Smith is still only 19, and could be ready soon. And with the amount of d prospects they have in the system now it’s likely at least one or two will pan out. Foote is a sniper so we already know where one will be coming from. And we should get a really good prospect in the top 7 this year as well. 

[EdgeControl]

Colton white is a tough kid despite his baby face .. he doesn't shy away from covering those dump ins. He got drilled at the boards a few times and just shrugged it off  ...showed patience and poise..

[Nicomo]

1 minute ago, EdgeControl said:

Colton white is a tough kid despite his baby face .. he doesn't shy away from covering those dump ins. He got drilled at the boards a few times and just shrugged it off  ...showed patience and poise..

Even his name sounds tough lol

I haven’t noticed him too much, so that has to be a good thing. 

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

16 minutes ago, titans04 said:

All fair points especially if I cared about any other team but the one I'm a fan of. Combine these numbers with a group of pylons on the blue line and I don't see this ship being righted quickly. 

Nico and Jack may grow into studs you start to build a team abound but if that's all you've really got now that's scary. Neither is remotely capable of being that guy at this time. The fact we don't have any other choice outside of maybe Palms is a bummer. 

I fear we're going to continue to be stuck in this rut for a few more years. 

And yeah Kakko continues to be junk numbers wise. He and Jack project out to under 30 points while being minus 31. Far from ideal. Next year should be key in how Jack develops but if it depends on his getting snipers for his wings I'd like to know where they're coming from. 

At least it looks like the Devils can expect better goaltending than we're used to.  Mac's put up a .916 save% so far in his young career (65 GP), and appears to be settling in.  If the Devils can realize that Cory can't be part of the equation going forward, and can find a reliable vet to back up Mac, that will make a serious difference.  League average in save% this season and last is .905...Devils were at .895 last season and are at .897 this season (Cory's put up .890, KK was at .891 last year, and Domingue put up an .882 save% while he was here).  The Devils' team save% has a legit chance to be above average next season...they gotta find a decent vet though.  

Edited February 21, 2020 by Colorado Rockies 1976