GDT: Devils @ Buffalo 1:00 PM MSG+

[SterioDesign]

i think ruff deserves a lot of credits and apologies from many of us here

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Obviously still early in Ruff’s time here, but he just feels like the right guy for where this team is.  4-3-2 (and reasonably competitive most games) is a hell of a feat.

I definitely thought McLeod had nothing going on...thought he was on the way towards being another Q.  I’m hoping to be as wrong about that as Mike is making that prediction look.  Love the confidence that he’s playing with.

[mfitz804]

12 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Obviously still early in Ruff’s time here, but he just feels like the right guy for where this team is.  4-3-2 (and reasonably competitive most games) is a hell of a feat.

I definitely thought McLeod had nothing going on...thought he was on the way towards being another Q.  I’m hoping to be as wrong about that as Mike is making that prediction look.  Love the confidence that he’s playing with.

I thought that too, but from game one this year, you could see something was different. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. 

[jagknife]

6 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I thought that too, but from game one this year, you could see something was different. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. 

The guys want to fight for him. It’s amazing how much they didn’t for the “players coach” DBA. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

5 minutes ago, jagknife said:

The guys want to fight for him. It’s amazing how much they didn’t for the “players coach” DBA. 

I soured on DBA too, but I never thought that his team wasn’t trying for him.  Some of the goaltending he got would’ve sunk a lot of teams...so demoralizing.  

Ruff does seem to have more answers though...and simply a better idea of what he wants to see from his team.  

[jagknife]

4 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I soured on DBA too, but I never thought that his team wasn’t trying for him.  Some of the goaltending he got would’ve sunk a lot of teams...so demoralizing.  

Ruff does seem to have more answers though...and simply a better idea of what he wants to see from his team.  

Cant you just let me sh!t on Hynes instead of being a voice of reason and pulling back on the wings?

I’m a peacock, let me fly (off the rails)

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 hours ago, MB3 said:

This Wood-McLeod-Bastian line is just must-watch. They fly around the ice, wreak havoc, hit people, AND now they score goals? 

When everyone is back, it starts to get really interesting who the odd man out is. The chemistry on the first line is exceptional right now. I think the best lineup the Devils can ice is:

Mango-Hughes-Bratt

Gusev-Nico-Sharangovich/Palmieri 

Zacha-Zajac-Boqvist/Sharangovich

Wood-McLeod-Bastian

is one hell of a lineup. more and more it’s looking like Palmieri doesn’t have a spot on this team. Especially with guys like Foote and Holtz making a push towards a top-6 role in the next year or two.

I can almost sense the excitement as you typed this, re:  Palms not having a place on the team.

You may be right though...it’s still too early to say, but in some ways, Palms might be a little like Cory...a guy who spent his best seasons playing on bad teams, and may not have enough to offer once the Devils turn the corner.  Even if he recovers to turn in a decent season, I get the feeling his chances of scoring a UFA overpayment from the Devils (or anyone else) are incredibly slim.  Not so long ago, four or five years at $6 - $7 million per (take a look what Henrique is making) seemed probable.  I’ll be stunned if he gets anything near that now.  

Still think he’s a prime candidate to take a one-year deal somewhere.

[Devils Pride 26]

1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Not trying to argue but just wondering why we "desperately" needed that one specifically? haha 

We've been without our best player for all 9 games... without our #1 goalie for 6 games... etc etc and we're 4-3-2 after 9 games and are not even digging ourselves a hole yet?

Seems like we couldn't ask for much more at the moment

Playing competitive hockey into February and March. We’re missing a ton of guys yeah, but I’d like the season to not be over by the time they get back. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I don’t remember him playing like that last season, but this season he’s been bad...a little less bad lately, but still bad.

The player that I compared him to in the past (even told him this when I met him) was John MacLean.  Both fought and clawed for everything that they got.  

You aren’t wrong, this season he seems to have lost some of his snarl, that “whatever it takes” aura.  Not sure what exactly is going on with him, but I hope he figures it out soon.  Devils simply need him.

[mfitz804]

5 minutes ago, MB3 said:

I have a Kyle Palmieri jersey, man. I loved him from the day we traded for him up until two years ago. 

But watch that Kyle Palmieri, and compare it with even last year’s version. He used to have so much snarl. He used to scratch and claw in dirty areas, forecheck like a mean motherfvcker and his goal-scoring was an added bonus to a legitimately awesome player. 

Starting last year and bleeding horribly into this year became a Michael Ryder. I will make no tough plays, I will make zero effort in any corner, I will show no heart. I will rip one-timers from my circle, and then I will sit on the bench. 

He’s so frustrating *because* he was so awesome. And he really, really was awesome. 

It’s so bad I’m questioning if he has some kind of injury. He looks very, very off and unlike what he used to look like. 

I mentioned in another thread, I don’t know if it’s because we got younger and faster, but he looks like he is moving at half speed. 

[jagknife]

22 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

It’s so bad I’m questioning if he has some kind of injury. He looks very, very off and unlike what he used to look like. 

I mentioned in another thread, I don’t know if it’s because we got younger and faster, but he looks like he is moving at half speed. 

The COVID-“fifteen” is the equivalent, or worse, of the Freshman Fifteen.

Maybe he didn’t gain the weight but he sure looks like his foot speed did

[mfitz804]

7 minutes ago, jagknife said:

The COVID-“fifteen” is the equivalent, or worse, of the Freshman Fifteen.

Maybe he didn’t gain the weight but he sure looks like his foot speed did

Perhaps that asinine beard is covering his newly acquired double chin. 

[vadvlfan]

I doubt Deangelo will be allowed  in any NYR/ Hartford locker room or practice.  Maybe someone will take the bastard.  But honestly, 2/3 of Pens goals yesterday should've been stopped by Georgiev. He sucked imo.  Rangers stuck with 9 mil until next year.

[Nicomo]

6 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

It’s so bad I’m questioning if he has some kind of injury. He looks very, very off and unlike what he used to look like. 

I mentioned in another thread, I don’t know if it’s because we got younger and faster, but he looks like he is moving at half speed. 

And Gusev has been even worse. I would chalk it up to their age, but Zajac was playing well. Hell, even Subban has been good the last couple games. Idk what’s going on with Palms and Gusev, but those two are really killing the PP right now.

I thought for sure we’d re-sign at least one of them, and trade the other at the deadline, but right now it seems like neither have much of a chance at being on this team next year. Ideally, Holtz, Mercer, or even Foote are ready soon (like by next season), but those 25-30 goals you can usually pencil Palms in for are going to be hard to replace. I highly doubt Holtz is going to come in and start scoring 30-40 goals right off the bat like Laine did. 

It does look like Wood’s 19 goal season won’t end up being an outlier though. He looks every bit of a 20 goal scorer. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Nicomo

[mfitz804]

2 hours ago, Nicomo said:

And Gusev has been even worse. I would chalk it up to their age, but Zajac was playing well. Hell, even Subban has been good the last couple games. Idk what’s going on with Palms and Gusev, but those two are really killing the PP right now.I

I’d be inclined to believe it’s age, but Gusev and Palmieri were our two most productive offensive players last season. I don’t think they both just aged out over a year. No gradual decline because of how long it was between seasons, maybe?

If it’s age related, I think it was more along the lines of not maintaining good conditioning during the long break, where the younger players were probably more inclined to work out during that time. 

[vadvlfan]

IMO Gusev is a one trick pony. Great stickhandler/passer. That's it! Horrible defender, perimeter player, potentially good on PP. But if we are heading into 3rd w/ 1 goal lead, he won't see the ice, and rightfully so. I fell off the Gusev train. It's not enough. At least Palms throws big checks & isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. Goose- Get him out! on that Dirty Blvd.

Love the BMW line. Haven't heard any Nico news. Hope he's skating.

[Nicomo]

1 minute ago, vadvlfan said:

Haven't heard any Nico news. Hope he's skating.

He has been. Just hasn’t practiced with the team yet. I’d say we’re probably looking at a couple more weeks. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

4 minutes ago, vadvlfan said:

IMO Gusev is a one trick pony. Great stickhandler/passer. That's it! Horrible defender, perimeter player, potentially good on PP. But if we are heading into 3rd w/ 1 goal lead, he won't see the ice, and rightfully so. I fell off the Gusev train. It's not enough. At least Palms throws big checks & isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. Goose- Get him out! on that Dirty Blvd.

Love the BMW line. Haven't heard any Nico news. Hope he's skating.

Re:  Goose, if anything, it's been made clear that trying to get a read on how some of the top players on those stacked KHL St. Pete teams would perform in the NHL was no easy task.  Kovy came back here and was a shell of his NHL self.  Goose appeared to be figuring things out offensively last year (30 points over his final 37 GP last season), but he's been iffy enough this season that I wouldn't be at all surprised if he just hightailed it right back to the KHL next season.

Re:  Palms, MB3 did bring up a fair point...he does seem to have less snarl this year, and that's a problem, because I think he absolutely needs that to succeed...he has talent, but not so much of it that he can afford to play less on the edge.  He can produce, but has to work hard for it.  I'm not saying he's necessarily become lazier this year, but something is missing.  It's starting to feel like his last chance will be tied to Nico's return...if it's 6-7 games into Nico being back and they're playing together and Palms still looks so off...then I think it's going to be a one-for-one "change of scenery" swap...quite possibly for another UFA-to-be.  If Palms gets hot, then I think he still gets moved, but for future pieces...if Coleman can fetch a first-round pick and a recently drafted first-rounder, then I'm definitely open to seeing what a hot Palms can bring back in future assets.      

[Nicomo]

14 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

If Palms gets hot, then I think he still gets moved, but for future pieces...if Coleman can fetch a first-round pick and a recently drafted first-rounder, then I'm definitely open to seeing what a hot Palms can bring back in future assets.      

Palms probably won’t bring back quite as much only being a rental. Coleman had the extra year. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Palms probably won’t bring back quite as much only being a rental. Coleman had the extra year. 

I agree, just saying that a hot Palms might bring back a little more than expected.  Definitely not the equivalent of a pair of first-rounders though, for sure.  

[2ELIAS6]

18 hours ago, MB3 said:

lol he shanked an open net but he’s unmistakably one of the best defensive forwards on the team and his offense is coming around. 

what a trash take 

yea ok, I don't know if maybe you haven't been watching since he's been drafted at 6 over all.... he's trash and contributes nothing for a "6th selection" ... see brazal.. yea we got screwed. keep drinking the Kool aid. 

[Devil Dan 56]

With the way people go on about Zacha, we should probably just trade Holtz now and save ourselves the stress. 

[Nicomo]

I’ve never been big on Zacha, but trash is way harsh. He’s disappointing for sure, but he’s not completely awful either. He has one more year left of his deal after this season, if he doesn’t take the next step (I don’t think he will) then let him walk. I would also consider trading him, but I doubt we’d get anything decent back if he was the main piece. He’d have to be part of a package. 

[mfitz804]

Even I don’t think he’s trash. He’s roster filler, but he is NHL roster filler. Serviceable guy, does some good stuff on the PK, every once in a while he starts pouting up a couple points. A good enough player to take a 3rd or 4th line spot.

Is that what you want from a guy drafted 6th overall? Of course not. But is he a “bust”? No. If he had left to go play in the KHL, I think you could make that argument. 

The “Almost” stuff is funny because he is constantly close but not quite achieving what he could. He seems to do that more often than anyone I have ever seen, missing the wide open net last game being the latest example. 
 

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Considering there are players drafted in the Top 10 that never make it, I can’t call Zacha trash either.  Those who still hold Zacha to a “6th overall, must be a star someday” standard are setting themselves up to be aggravated.  But if fans hope that he can become a cost-effective, long-term, 3C who can fill in briefly as a Top 6 when needed (and will have random frustrating moments, like missing a wide-open empty net), that’s a reasonable expectation at this point.  I’ll settle for useful.