2020 Free Agency Megathread

[Devilsfan118]

On 10/12/2020 at 1:13 AM, MadDog2020 said:

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/2957549/jonathan-toews-and-the-rest-of-the-core-are-fvcking-pissed-at-stan-bowman-for-off-season-moves?fbclid=IwAR273SqzHOMqJshdqZn35ZHhv5itlK14ro2qmXmMs73nUBCRMnz5rpjXZWc

Yikes,  Pretty slanted article (not necessarily surprising noting the site and author) but still, pretty tough look.  Crawford was clearly a leader in that locker room.

Probably not the worst idea in the world to consult your best and highest paid players before making a major shakeup.

17 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

 

Maybe it's just the angle but.. from one balding to another... it's coming for you Taylor.  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

25 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

When SD and CR1976 get into it, I have to stop reading, not because I don’t find their posts interesting, I just don’t have the time to read a novel about hockey. 

 

My posts this time around really weren't that long.  But yeah there's definitely times where I go for detail.  

 

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

My posts this time around really weren't that long.  But yeah there's definitely times where I go for detail.  

For sure. I  ‘ed because I always read those posts, clearly I am not averse to back and forth NJDevs drama lol. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

For sure. I  ‘ed because I always read those posts, clearly I am not averse to back and forth NJDevs drama lol. 

Part of the attention to details is ingrained from my line of work; I run an electrical engineering/solar design business.  Suffice it to say that when it comes to quotes/submittals/drawings/layouts etc, every last little detail is essential.  That spills over into other aspects of my life sometimes...can't help it, heh heh.  But I do like being thorough.  

 

[Devil Dan 56]

8 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

Did i get you in a corner or something? lol How 'bout you address what i actually said instead of getting personal attempting to discredit my point? Especially since you engaged the conversation with me and asked questions.

Go on and answer something smart. Your russian thing makes no sense. You know what i get tired of? People like you who don't want to understand what im saying so even if im making a long post going in details, they still miss my point completely cause they don't want to. I literally explained in details how he let go of his #1 goalie who was nominated for the vezina and replaced it with a goalie who didn't have a good season. Yet you bring it down to me making it about letting a backup goalie. You completely missed the whole point.

you literally asked me 

Well what does it tell a team when you let the goalie who led them to the finals, got nominated for the vezina and that the coach wanted walk when he wanted to stay and sign another goalie who just had a subpar season? Tell me how that is a smart decision

Do you even have any arguments here?

Yes. It was a smart decision because his team was in the conference finals after he made it. Clearly the team didn't have that much of a problem with it.

Meanwhile we were waiting to see which player shero got for a 2nd round pick a couple of years ago would be traded to get back another 2nd round pick. 

[Crisis]

9 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

Did i get you in a corner or something? lol How 'bout you address what i actually said instead of getting personal attempting to discredit my point? Especially since you engaged the conversation with me and asked questions.

Go on and answer something smart. Your russian thing makes no sense. You know what i get tired of? People like you who don't want to understand what im saying so even if im making a long post going in details, they still miss my point completely cause they don't want to. I literally explained in details how he let go of his #1 goalie who was nominated for the vezina and replaced it with a goalie who didn't have a good season. Yet you bring it down to me making it about letting a backup goalie. You completely missed the whole point.

you literally asked me 

Well what does it tell a team when you let the goalie who led them to the finals, got nominated for the vezina and that the coach wanted walk when he wanted to stay and sign another goalie who just had a subpar season? Tell me how that is a smart decision

Do you even have any arguments here?

I'm not getting pulled into this back and forth but I just want to make it abundantly clear to you that we DO understand what you are saying.  We just do not agree with you.

Carry on

[NJDevils1214]

7 minutes ago, Crisis said:

I'm not getting pulled into this back and forth but I just want to make it abundantly clear to you that we DO understand what you are saying.  We just do not agree with you.

Carry on

Fool! You're supposed to remain still, now he's noticed you!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

9 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

I literally explained in details how he let go of his #1 goalie who was nominated for the vezina and replaced it with a goalie who didn't have a good season. 

Varlamov's 6 seasons prior to last year:  301 G, 293 starts, 2.71 GAA, .917 save%, four seasons of 50+ starts (and another where he started 49)

Lehner's 6 seasons prior to last year:  240 G, 230 starts, 2.69 GAA, .918 save% , two seasons of 50+ starts

You yourself have spoken about how goalies can be a little up-and-down from season to season; shouldn't a track record based on a number of seasons be a better predictor (as opposed to just picking each player's 2018-19 season), as to how a player will perform going forward?  Based on the above (and the fact Varlamov has been more stable and able to consistently start more games), should Varlamov be really be considered that severe of a drop-off from Lehner?  The numbers over a six-season sample don't really point to that.  

[jagknife]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Yikes,  Pretty slanted article (not necessarily surprising noting the site and author) but still, pretty tough look.  Crawford was clearly a leader in that locker room.

Probably not the worst idea in the world to consult your best and highest paid players before making a major shakeup.

Maybe it's just the angle but.. from one balding to another... it's coming for you Taylor.  

The way that video from him froze for the preview, he also looks miserable already and as if he’s STILL trying to convince himself this was a good idea. 
 

Hey Taylor, not that it isn’t cold in Alberta, but just wait until you get the cold AND the lakefront winds in February. That’s the only way they close school up there, freaking wind chill (source - lived there, taught there). Good luck with those lips homey, hope you buy industrial sized chapsticks.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Yikes,  Pretty slanted article (not necessarily surprising noting the site and author) but still, pretty tough look.  Crawford was clearly a leader in that locker room.

Probably not the worst idea in the world to consult your best and highest paid players before making a major shakeup.

Maybe it's just the angle but.. from one balding to another... it's coming for you Taylor.  

Yeah I noticed that too.  He has just enough left that he can kinda-sorta use his bangs to make it look like he's got more up there than he really does, but he's about 5-7 years from making the difficult "Do I fire my hair now, or let it quit on me?" call.  Maybe even a little sooner than that.

I permanently fired my hair about two years ago.  There's days where I definitely miss my once think-head-of-hair, but I'd rather shave it than try to fake it (or jump through fire hoops to try to trick people into thinking I'm not really losing it).

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

9 minutes ago, jagknife said:

The way that video from him froze for the preview, he also looks miserable already and as if he’s STILL trying to convince himself this was a good idea. 
 

Hey Taylor, not that it isn’t cold in Alberta, but just wait until you get the cold AND the lakefront winds in February. That’s the only way they close school up there, freaking wind chill (source - lived there, taught there). Good luck with those lips homey, hope you buy industrial sized chapsticks.

I went into the bolded into a previous post, and on some levels I think the move to Buffalo for him isn't a bad one (Eichel, a coach he's apparently comfortable with), but he kinda strikes me as a guy who doesn't truly know what he wants, or what will make him happy.  It wouldn't surprise me if he plays for another 3-4 teams before his career ends.

[NJDevils1214]

28 minutes ago, jagknife said:

The way that video from him froze for the preview, he also looks miserable already and as if he’s STILL trying to convince himself this was a good idea. 
 

Hey Taylor, not that it isn’t cold in Alberta, but just wait until you get the cold AND the lakefront winds in February. That’s the only way they close school up there, freaking wind chill (source - lived there, taught there). Good luck with those lips homey, hope you buy industrial sized chapsticks.

With the way the NHL might have to structure hub cities because of the border being closed, it could be a great time to be a Sabre...he might not actually have to play a single game in Buffalo. Hall no like lake effect weather.

 

[Devil Dan 56]

37 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah I noticed that too.  He has just enough left that he can kinda-sorta use his bangs to make it look like he's got more up there than he really does, but he's about 5-7 years from making the difficult "Do I fire my hair now, or let it quit on me?" call.  Maybe even a little sooner than that.

I permanently fired my hair about two years ago.  There's days where I definitely miss my once think-head-of-hair, but I'd rather shave it than try to fake it (or jump through fire hoops to try to trick people into thinking I'm not really losing it).

It's a difficult thing to come to terms with. I started receding at 16 and I was in definite denial until about 24 when I leaned against the wall and the back of my head was cold. 

I'm not proud of this, but I definitely had the scull-ett going for a bit. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

5 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

It's a difficult thing to come to terms with. I started receding at 16 and I was in definite denial until about 24 when I leaned against the wall and the back of my head was cold. 

I'm not proud of this, but I definitely had the scull-ett going for a bit. 

I was starting to thin in my late-20s, but it didn't really become that noticeable until my early 40s (I had insanely thick hair prior)...and even then, it wasn't too too bad.

I'd shaved my head at times before, so deciding to commit to it permanently wasn't too bad.  I used to have long hair when I was young, and I gave it one last try in my mid-40s (when it just starting to become "too too bad"...I was doing the "comb backward", to try to cover up the crown beanie (this only helped to show off the receding hairline...I see pictures and I'm not really sure who I thought I was fooling)...even with all of the gel in the world, eventually it gets to be too difficult to try to cover up 20' square feet of real estate with a 10' blanket.  One day I just said fvck it, went to a barber, and just said "Shave it off.  ALL of it!"...that was November 2018.  Now I just do it myself, once every 4-7 days...a Norelco to get down as far as I can, and then a razor to get it all of the way down...I like the look best at 1-3 days, as I like a little bit of a shadow.  

You can't beat the ease...and with the way my hair was at the end, when I woke up in the morning I looked an absolute homeless wino.  That look I'll NEVER miss. 

[SterioDesign]

2 hours ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

Yes. It was a smart decision because his team was in the conference finals after he made it. Clearly the team didn't have that much of a problem with it.

Meanwhile we were waiting to see which player shero got for a 2nd round pick a couple of years ago would be traded to get back another 2nd round pick. 

Come on you know damn well that's not how you judge decisions. If it was i'd be bashing Lou about trading for Schneider cause in hindsight it hurt us a lot more than it helped. But i'm not doing that cause it WAS a good decision then.

But fine be that way and twist things in a way that make sense to you.

i'll never understand how you guys keep on supporting the silly idea that it's totally fine to let your top players test the market risking to lose them for nothing. 

[jagknife]

1 hour ago, NJDevils1214 said:

With the way the NHL might have to structure hub cities because of the border being closed, it could be a great time to be a Sabre...he might not actually have to play a single game in Buffalo. Hall no like lake effect weather.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun living in Buffalo in my early to mid 20s. Good food (awesome wings when you ignore Anchor Bar), good beer, a good amount of night life when you ignore the Long Island invasion to UB. But man those winters ALWAYS sucked.

[jagknife]

48 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I was starting to thin in my late-20s, but it didn't really become that noticeable until my early 40s (I had insanely thick hair prior)...and even then, it wasn't too too bad.

I'd shaved my head at times before, so deciding to commit to it permanently wasn't too bad.  I used to have long hair when I was young, and I gave it one last try in my mid-40s (when it just starting to become "too too bad"...I was doing the "comb backward", to try to cover up the crown beanie (this only helped to show off the receding hairline...I see pictures and I'm not really sure who I thought I was fooling)...even with all of the gel in the world, eventually it gets to be too difficult to try to cover up 20' square feet of real estate with a 10' blanket.  One day I just said fvck it, went to a barber, and just said "Shave it off.  ALL of it!"...that was November 2018.  Now I just do it myself, once every 4-7 days...a Norelco to get down as far as I can, and then a razor to get it all of the way down...I like the look best at 1-3 days, as I like a little bit of a shadow.  

You can't beat the ease...and with the way my hair was at the end, when I woke up in the morning I looked an absolute homeless wino.  That look I'll NEVER miss. 

I luckily can’t grow it long but I know I’m in absolute denial that I have hair left. I shaved it once in ‘16 and didn’t like the look, so I’m grasping at every thin follicle I have left. The time is near, I just still am Not ready

[SterioDesign]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Varlamov's 6 seasons prior to last year:  301 G, 293 starts, 2.71 GAA, .917 save%, four seasons of 50+ starts (and another where he started 49)

Lehner's 6 seasons prior to last year:  240 G, 230 starts, 2.69 GAA, .918 save% , two seasons of 50+ starts

You yourself have spoken about how goalies can be a little up-and-down from season to season; shouldn't a track record based on a number of seasons be a better predictor (as opposed to just picking each player's 2018-19 season), as to how a player will perform going forward?  Based on the above (and the fact Varlamov has been more stable and able to consistently start more games), should Varlamov be really be considered that severe of a drop-off from Lehner?  The numbers over a six-season sample don't really point to that.  

You still didnt answer my previous post in which i asked multiple questions. whats up with that?

And see, again, instead of looking at the big picture ive been pointing out, every single time you go case by case trying to make sense out of it when it's just a huge pattern. Are you denying that pattern?

The point is Lou once again waited last minute and let one of his top UFA walk and lost him for nothing. How Is that NOT a problem to you and not a position you should put yourself into? This is basic common sense. No other GM plays with fire that much historically. Do i need to repeat the list of top players he let walk ? Adding to the list Elias, Lee and all the guys that actually decided to stay. Doesn't mean it's a good move.

Like... players have come out to call him out on that stuff. Again recently. We've seen it happened god knows how many times. How can you guys still be in denial about that stuff? I simply don't understand

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by SterioDesign

[NJDevils1214]

10 minutes ago, jagknife said:

Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun living in Buffalo in my early to mid 20s. Good food (awesome wings when you ignore Anchor Bar), good beer, a good amount of night life when you ignore the Long Island invasion to UB. But man those winters ALWAYS sucked.

I think we have talked about this before, since my friend is a Sabres fan and we would go up from time to time to catch a game, but I've always enjoyed it there. Fun atmosphere, fairly nice people, great food, and it's a hockey town so everyone is out on game night.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

You still didnt answer my previous post in which i asked multiple questions. whats up with that?

And see, again, instead of looking at the big picture ive been pointing out, every single time you go case by case trying to make sense out of it when it's just a huge pattern. Are you denying that pattern?

The point is Lou once again waited last minute and let one of his top UFA walk and lost him for nothing. How Is that NOT a problem to you and not a position you should put yourself into? This is basic common sense. No other GM plays with fire that much historically. Do i need to repeat the list of top players he let walk ? Adding to the list Elias, Lee and all the guys that actually decided to stay. Doesn't mean it's a good move.

Like... players have come out to call him out on that stuff. Again recently. We've seen it happened god knows how many times. How can you guys still be in denial about that stuff? I simply don't understand

No I saw the list of questions, just not interested in answering them.  You already know where I stand on his wretched ways.  He's not warm-and-fuzzy.  He's not a coddler.  I've already told you how his way can and has proven to get results, and how if his regime isn't getting it done in certain key areas (drafting, needing to know when it's time to blow things up), then yeah, it can get very ugly.  

My point (and I was strictly talking about the two goalies you brought up in a completely civil way, which of course to led you to ranting about every "mistake" Lou's made, even though why you continue to lose your sh!t about Lou making these so-called mistakes for ANOTHER FRANCHISE TWO FRANCHISES REMOVED from the Devils is a bit baffling).  You're SO anti-Lou now that I don't think even when an occasion calls for it, you'll ever be able to give him any credit.  If Varalmov and Sorokin turn out to be a terrific tandem next season and beyond, it won't be about how Lou did a good job bringing them in...it will be about how he was lucky that allowing Lehner and Greiss to leave didn't blow up on him.  When the results finally went the wrong way for the Devils over the final years of Lou's time here, you had all the ammo you needed to go off on him...now that he's overseeing a team that's currently doing some winning, and you can't point to results, it's going to be about what he inherited and how he's lucky.  You're so biased against him simply because he won't do things the way that you believe they should be done...everyone can see this except for you...you want him to be a seller in situations that don't even call for him to sell...he simply can't win with you, and nor can anyone who doesn't see things completely your way.  So be it, but a hell of a lot of respected sports minds think that even if his way isn't always easy to embrace and isn't 100% foolproof, he's still one of the very best GMs ever in sports.  All the complaining and ranting and posts pointing out every single example of him doing (or not doing) something that you try to paint as some major travesty isn't going to ever change that.  

[jagknife]

"BAH GAWD KING THATS FITZY'S MUSIC!" - NHL World, next summer, probably. (hopefully)

[Crisis]

2 minutes ago, jagknife said:

"BAH GAWD KING THATS FITZY'S MUSIC!" - NHL World, next summer, probably. (hopefully)

He and Ty Smith train together in the off season at Gallagher's dad's gym.  He's as good as signed, if you ask me.

[Crisis]

Here's a video of them hanging together.  Ty shows up at 5:30

https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/video/daytripping-w-brendan-gallagher/t-277437414/c-68710303

[Devil Dan 56]

29 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

Come on you know damn well that's not how you judge decisions. If it was i'd be bashing Lou about trading for Schneider cause in hindsight it hurt us a lot more than it helped. But i'm not doing that cause it WAS a good decision then.

But fine be that way and twist things in a way that make sense to you.

i'll never understand how you guys keep on supporting the silly idea that it's totally fine to let your top players test the market risking to lose them for nothing. 

You'll never understand. Exactly. Because you refuse to believe that there's different ways to do things. You focus entirely on asset management and forget about actually winning anything. 

The other thing you will never understand is that just because most of us UNDERSTAND  why Lou builds his teams the way he does, it doesn't mean we necessarily AGREE with it. I don't agree with all of his ideals but I get it. 

For some reason you take anyone who happens to understand a different strategy as a personal attack, and it shows with your page-length responses.

 

[SterioDesign]

8 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

No I saw the list of questions, just not interested in answering them.  You already know where I stand on his wretched ways.  He's not warm-and-fuzzy.  He's not a coddler.  I've already told you how his way can and has proven to get results, and how if his regime isn't getting it done in certain key areas (drafting, needing to know when it's time to blow things up), then yeah, it can get very ugly.  

My point (and I was strictly talking about the two goalies you brought up in a completely civil way, which of course to led you to ranting about every "mistake" Lou's made, even though why you continue to lose your sh!t about Lou making these so-called mistakes for ANOTHER FRANCHISE TWO FRANCHISES REMOVED from the Devils is a bit baffling).  You're SO anti-Lou now that I don't think even when an occasion calls for it, you'll ever be able to give him any credit.  If Varalmov and Sorokin turn out to be a terrific tandem next season and beyond, it won't be about how Lou did a good job bringing them in...it will be about how he was lucky that allowing Lehner and Greiss to leave didn't blow up on him.  When the results finally went the wrong way for the Devils over the final years of Lou's time here, you had all the ammo you needed to go off on him...now that he's overseeing a team that's currently doing some winning, and you can't point to results, it's going to be about what he inherited and how he's lucky.  You're so biased against him simply because he won't do things the way that you believe they should be done...everyone can see this except for you...you want him to be a seller in situations that don't even call for him to sell...he simply can't win with you, and nor can anyone who doesn't see things completely your way.  So be it, but a hell of a lot of respected sports minds think that even if his way isn't always easy to embrace and isn't 100% foolproof, he's still one of the very best GMs ever in sports.  All the complaining and ranting and posts pointing out every single example of him doing (or not doing) something that you try to paint as some major travesty isn't going to ever change that.  

Are you even following? I straight up just gave him credit for bringing in Schneider. Saying THAT was a good move that didn't pan out and i don't fault him for that. If i was biased against him i'd blindly blame him for that wouldn't i? I can make the difference between a good decision that didn't pan out, and a bad decision that didn't turn too bad. It's still bad decisions. And again, they are often not even decisions with him. You're doing exactly what you're calling me out for "only looking at results" Well no, that's never what i did. I never once looked at results in hindsight 20/20 and then say if something was a good decision or not. You know i've been calling how the team WILL end up if he didn't adjust. Yet that's exactly what happened and it's because you guys kept on denying those things that it's escalating every damn time. To be fair you're one of the main one who eventually turned the corner and admitted some of his fault. I mean the guy let almost ALL our top guys walk at some point. GMs simply don't do that. And you know what? Most of them walked. We lost them for nothing, simply cause he refuses to talk contract during the season, for no other fvcking reason than "just because i say so". How is that not infuriating you guys?