The 2021 Offseason Thread

[Devil Dan 56]

3 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

I feel like I should thank you for taking this debate over for me and allowing me to “Homer into the bushes”. 

I would like to tag back out please. 

[Crisis]

30 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

With the flat cap, a lot of teams couldn't fit his contract in.

Why the Devils passed on him at the time is baffling to me.  If right now the Devils are thinking about giving up assets for 1 season of Risto, we might as well have put in a claim for Ghost who is cheaper, signed for 2 more years and we wouldn't have to give up assets.

My point is, if the rumors are true and we give up assets for Risto while passing on Ghost for zero assets, then the Devils are piss-poor at their asset management.

Alright, now I know for sure that you just have a raging hate boner for this team.  You talk sh!t about all of these "reclamation projects" but despite the fact that not one team in the league wanted to pick this guy up (and there are plenty of other sh!tty teams with enough cap space, don't act like the Devils are the only ones not spending to the cap), you still think that the Devils are fools for not wanting to take on this project.  Risto is much bigger, he's younger, and in the past 3 seasons he's been more productive on a much sh!ttier team.  We don't know how he is valued on the trade market so let's not assume these assets are a first round draft pick or a blue chip prospect.  It could be a 3rd round pick, which you have time and again pointed out how useless those are for this team to acquire.  And if it doesn't work out, you won't be tied to him for another year like Ghost.  We need big D (enter mfitz), not another Will Butcher.

I'm not saying to make getting Risto a priority, but fvck man, who hurt you?

[mfitz804]

2 minutes ago, Crisis said:

We need big D (enter mfitz)

That’s what she said. 😉

Also, I am ready to start a metal band called Raging Hate Boner when everyone else is ready. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by mfitz804

[Crisis]

5 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That’s what she said. 😉

Also, I am ready to start a metal band called Raging Hate Boner when everyone else is ready. 

I could get up for that

[DevsMan84]

14 minutes ago, Crisis said:

Alright, now I know for sure that you just have a raging hate boner for this team.  You talk sh!t about all of these "reclamation projects" but despite the fact that not one team in the league wanted to pick this guy up (and there are plenty of other sh!tty teams with enough cap space, don't act like the Devils are the only ones not spending to the cap), you still think that the Devils are fools for not wanting to take on this project.  Risto is much bigger, he's younger, and in the past 3 seasons he's been more productive on a much sh!ttier team.  We don't know how he is valued on the trade market so let's not assume these assets are a first round draft pick or a blue chip prospect.  It could be a 3rd round pick, which you have time and again pointed out how useless those are for this team to acquire.  And if it doesn't work out, you won't be tied to him for another year like Ghost.  We need big D (enter mfitz), not another Will Butcher.

I'm not saying to make getting Risto a priority, but fvck man, who hurt you?

Maybe the Devils being a piss-poor team for 7 out of the last 8 seasons had something to do with that.  Or that teams such as Colorado that bottomed out and had easily the worst record in the league in 16-17 are now contenders.  Or how about the Rangers rebuild that appears to be further ahead than ours?  Or that a team that is 4 seasons old is better managed than our own?  Sorry if I don't think that constant mediocre drafting outside getting two #1 picks and trading away 2nd-4th rounders for reclamation projects while praying they turn into another Palmieri is the way to go.

I never said Ghost is much better than Risto.  At best he is maybe marginally better.  However the key is that he isn't a free agent in a year and won't require giving up any assets to get him, no matter  how much or little that is.  I don't give two sh!ts that other teams passed on Ghost, we should have put a claim in.  And who cares if we are tied to Ghost for one more year, we have the cap space.

I guess hearing the same bullsh!t from the team for yet another year in a row while we end up with another bottom 5/6 finish in the league has jaded me.  Apologies if I won't believe the lip service from the team that seems to have a sizeable portion of their fanbase somehow believing them or distracting them with light shows, statues and IG primadonnas.  

[DevsMan84]

21 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That’s what she said. 😉

Also, I am ready to start a metal band called Raging Hate Boner when everyone else is ready. 

I never thought that after trades for big D-men like Mueller and now Siegenthaler (who looks to be a complete non-factor) that our fans would be smart enough to not get fooled by this team making those same moves over and over again.  Yet, here we are.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

35 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That’s what she said. 😉

Also, I am ready to start a metal band called Raging Hate Boner when everyone else is ready. 

The opening act can be Throbbing Cyclops...

[SterioDesign]

28 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Maybe the Devils being a piss-poor team for 7 out of the last 8 seasons had something to do with that.  Or that teams such as Colorado that bottomed out and had easily the worst record in the league in 16-17 are now contenders.  Or how about the Rangers rebuild that appears to be further ahead than ours?  Or that a team that is 4 seasons old is better managed than our own?  Sorry if I don't think that constant mediocre drafting outside getting two #1 picks and trading away 2nd-4th rounders for reclamation projects while praying they turn into another Palmieri is the way to go.

I never said Ghost is much better than Risto.  At best he is maybe marginally better.  However the key is that he isn't a free agent in a year and won't require giving up any assets to get him, no matter  how much or little that is.  I don't give two sh!ts that other teams passed on Ghost, we should have put a claim in.  And who cares if we are tied to Ghost for one more year, we have the cap space.

I guess hearing the same bullsh!t from the team for yet another year in a row while we end up with another bottom 5/6 finish in the league has jaded me.  Apologies if I won't believe the lip service from the team that seems to have a sizeable portion of their fanbase somehow believing them or distracting them with light shows, statues and IG primadonnas.  

Just about everything you said in here is taken the wrong way. No wonder you're angry.

Colorado massively underachieved in 16-17, look at their roster from that year and compare it to our 2015 roster. It's not even apples and oranges, its apples and firefighter trucks. Then the Rangers we're not THAT terrible but figured they wouldnt win a cup with that core and decided to take a step back and rebuild from that point, they didn't start rebuilding cause they hit absolute rock bottom like we did.

Literally no team in the entire NHL has hit a lower point roster wise than the Devils in 2015. How long do you think it was going to take to rebuild from that? Taking low risk high rewards type of deal was literally the only way to put NHLers on our team cause we had no assets to get them and we were obviously not attractive to UFAs outside of over the hill vets with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. 

I mean i obviously understand the frustration. But i just can't understand how someone can look at our roster and prospect pool from 2015 and realistically think that we could get back on track sooner than later. I just can't. 

 

[RunninWithTheDevil]

 

 

 

 

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Just about everything you said in here is taken the wrong way. No wonder you're angry.

Colorado massively underachieved in 16-17, look at their roster from that year and compare it to our 2015 roster. It's not even apples and oranges, its apples and firefighter trucks. Then the Rangers we're not THAT terrible but figured they wouldnt win a cup with that core and decided to take a step back and rebuild from that point, they didn't start rebuilding cause they hit absolute rock bottom like we did.

Literally no team in the entire NHL has hit a lower point roster wise than the Devils in 2015. How long do you think it was going to take to rebuild from that? Taking low risk high rewards type of deal was literally the only way to put NHLers on our team cause we had no assets to get them and we were obviously not attractive to UFAs outside of over the hill vets with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. 

I mean i obviously understand the frustration. But i just can't understand how someone can look at our roster and prospect pool from 2015 and realistically think that we could get back on track sooner than later. I just can't. 

 

And to Shero's credit, he did try to speed up the process whenever possible, whenever the opportunities presented themselves...trading for Palms and Hall, among other "Let's do what we can to try to move this along"-type moves.

Some GMs would've come here, seen how desolate the talent level was at both the NHL and AHL levels, and said "OK, we're going to bring in guys we know aren't very good but will at least give us an honest effort and try to compete, and let's see what we can get for Cory, because with the timeline that I have in mind, he isn't going to fit in." The fact that Shero never explored dealing Cory leads me to believe that Ray himself truly believed he could turn this around more quickly than many expected...I think he very much relished the challenge.  But that's just what it was...a real fvcking CHALLENGE.  When you've got so little to work with throughout the organization, you need so much to go your way...and as we know, despite most definitely trying, a lot did NOT go Ray's way.  

Edited June 17, 2021 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[SterioDesign]

1 hour ago, DevsMan84 said:

Maybe the Devils being a piss-poor team for 7 out of the last 8 seasons had something to do with that.  Or that teams such as Colorado that bottomed out and had easily the worst record in the league in 16-17 are now contenders.  Or how about the Rangers rebuild that appears to be further ahead than ours?  Or that a team that is 4 seasons old is better managed than our own?  Sorry if I don't think that constant mediocre drafting outside getting two #1 picks and trading away 2nd-4th rounders for reclamation projects while praying they turn into another Palmieri is the way to go.

I never said Ghost is much better than Risto.  At best he is maybe marginally better.  However the key is that he isn't a free agent in a year and won't require giving up any assets to get him, no matter  how much or little that is.  I don't give two sh!ts that other teams passed on Ghost, we should have put a claim in.  And who cares if we are tied to Ghost for one more year, we have the cap space.

I guess hearing the same bullsh!t from the team for yet another year in a row while we end up with another bottom 5/6 finish in the league has jaded me.  Apologies if I won't believe the lip service from the team that seems to have a sizeable portion of their fanbase somehow believing them or distracting them with light shows, statues and IG primadonnas.  

 

1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Just about everything you said in here is taken the wrong way. No wonder you're angry.

Colorado massively underachieved in 16-17, look at their roster from that year and compare it to our 2015 roster. It's not even apples and oranges, its apples and firefighter trucks. Then the Rangers we're not THAT terrible but figured they wouldnt win a cup with that core and decided to take a step back and rebuild from that point, they didn't start rebuilding cause they hit absolute rock bottom like we did.

Literally no team in the entire NHL has hit a lower point roster wise than the Devils in 2015. How long do you think it was going to take to rebuild from that? Taking low risk high rewards type of deal was literally the only way to put NHLers on our team cause we had no assets to get them and we were obviously not attractive to UFAs outside of over the hill vets with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. 

I mean i obviously understand the frustration. But i just can't understand how someone can look at our roster and prospect pool from 2015 and realistically think that we could get back on track sooner than later. I just can't. 

 

piggybacking on my previous post. You sound like you think we're in a tough spot because we made poor decisions and poorly drafted in recent years. Let's look at our current roster and how our picks have panned out vs the roster we had in 2015 when we were forced to start a rebuild. You'll see where the true problem came from. 

CURRENT TEAM

Kuokkanen (trade) - Hughes (drafted 2020 #1) - Sharangovich (drafted 2018 #148)

Zacha (Drafted 2015 #6) - Hischier (drafted 2017 #1) - Bratt (drafted 2016 #162)

Wood (Drafted 2013 # 100) - McLeod (drafted 2016 #12) - Bastian (drafted 2016 #41)

Nolan Foote (trade*) - Boqvist (drafted 2017 #36) - Johnsson (trade**)

 

Murray (ufa) - Severson (drafted 2012 #60)

Will Butcher (Free agent) - Siegenthaler (trade)

Bahl (trade***) - Subban (trade)

 

Blackwood (drafted 2015 #42)

 

* we got Foote, Mercer & Mukkamadullin trading a guy we drafted #75 in 2011

** we got Johnsson trading Anderson that we drafted #73 in 2016

*** basically the falling out of the Larsson trade we drafted #4 in 2011

 

2014-2015 ROSTER

Cammalleri (ufa) - Henrique (drafted 2008 #82) - Jagr (ufa)

Elias (drafted 1994 #51) - Zajac (drafted 2004 #20) - Ruutu (ufa)

Ryder (ufa) - Josefson (drafted 2009 #30)- Zubrus (ufa)

Brunner (ufa) - Gomez 2.0 (drafted 1998 but ufa) - Gionta (undrafted signing)

Bernier (ufa) - Tootoo (ufa) - Clowe (ufa)

Havlat (ufa) - Boucher (drafted 2011 #99) - Matteau (drafted 2012 #29)

 

Zidlicky (trade) - Greene (undrafted signing)

Merrill (drafted 2010 #38) - Larsson (drafted 2011 #4)

Gelinas (drafted 2009 #54) - Salvador (trade)

Fraser (drafted 2005 #84) - Severson (drafted 2012 #60)

 

Schneider (traded for out #9)

Kinkaid (undrafted signing)

 

So not only, where are those guys now. But then where are these other guys we drafted. Where were they in 2015?

Parise

Tedenby

Burlon

Cormier

Urbom

Corrente

Bergfors

Wedgewood

Santini

Quenneville

Speers

 

So if you're under the impression that our drafting is bad now. Sweet lord.  I didn't even point out the age of those players on that 2015 roster, it would only make things even worst. 

Let it be clear, we've been in the mess were in because of decisions made BEFORE 2015, not after.

Edited June 17, 2021 by SterioDesign

[SterioDesign]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

And to Shero's credit, he did try to speed up the process whenever possible, whenever the opportunities presented themselves...trading for Palms and Hall, among other "Let's do what we can to try to move this along"-type moves.

Some GMs would've come here, seen how desolate the talent level was at both the NHL and AHL levels, and said "OK, we're going to bring in guys we know aren't very good but will at least give us an honest effort and try to compete, and let's see what we can get for Cory, because with the timeline that I have in mind, he isn't going to fit in."  The fact that Shero never explored dealing Cory leads me to believe that Ray himself truly believed he could turn this around more quickly than many expected...I think he very much relished the challenge.  But that's just what it was...a real fvcking CHALLENGE.  When you've got so little to work with throughout the organization, you need so much to go your way...and as we know, despite most definitely trying, a lot did NOT go Ray's way.  

yeah Shero was insanely unlucky with decent paper moves that just didn't pan out, it's almost ridiculous. And i did think that we'd have a decent window with Hall, palms etc in their prime and the younger guys as a supporting cast. But it just didn't pan out at all. But the fact that we made the playoffs 8 years after that 2015 is a pure miracle to me.

I was happy at the time but man trading for Schneider when the team was in the state it was at the time was such a big mistake. Of course we needed a good goalie but again that was a win now move that was just patching holes

[DevsMan84]

1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Just about everything you said in here is taken the wrong way. No wonder you're angry.

Colorado massively underachieved in 16-17, look at their roster from that year and compare it to our 2015 roster. It's not even apples and oranges, its apples and firefighter trucks. Then the Rangers we're not THAT terrible but figured they wouldnt win a cup with that core and decided to take a step back and rebuild from that point, they didn't start rebuilding cause they hit absolute rock bottom like we did.

Literally no team in the entire NHL has hit a lower point roster wise than the Devils in 2015. How long do you think it was going to take to rebuild from that? Taking low risk high rewards type of deal was literally the only way to put NHLers on our team cause we had no assets to get them and we were obviously not attractive to UFAs outside of over the hill vets with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove. 

I mean i obviously understand the frustration. But i just can't understand how someone can look at our roster and prospect pool from 2015 and realistically think that we could get back on track sooner than later. I just can't. 

 

Oh FFS stop with your insidious Lou-bashing schtick.  I know you have repeatedly posted that 2015 lineup countless times as justification for the Devils rebuild being stuck in neutral for years.  However, at some point, the Devils will have to start taking steps forward which is what other teams do.

In 2015 we were a bottom 5/6 team.  In 2021 we are a bottom 5/6 team.  How is that any sort of improvement?  I never said I expected cup contenders in 6 years, but at least better than being a team continually stuck in the toilet.

Signing for the likes of Simmonds/Stafford/et al. hasn't worked, trades for Mueller/Johnsson/Johansson/Subban/et al hasn't worked, so what has our high risk/low rewards approach worked?  Hint; it hasn't and it looks like more of the same crap with Risto.

Oh and since 2016 we have traded away 7 2nd-round picks and 5 3rd round picks.  Combine that with selecting a 2nd/3rd rounder with the 20th overall and you have some wonderful asset management by the Devils.

But nah, I guess it's more of "trust the process." crap from this team and you guys believe it.

LOL.

[Chuck the Duck]

27 minutes ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

 

 

 

 

 

Gomer is perfect for this role.  I love these types of segments where you get a real peek behind the curtain of what goes on inside the locker room and at the NHL level.

[DevsMan84]

8 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

 

piggybacking on my previous post. You sound like you think we're in a tough spot because we made poor decisions and poorly drafted in recent years. Let's look at our current roster and how our picks have panned out vs the roster we had in 2015 when we were forced to start a rebuild. You'll see where the true problem came from. 

CURRENT TEAM

Kuokkanen (trade) - Hughes (drafted 2020 #1) - Sharangovich (drafted 2018 #148)

Zacha (Drafted 2015 #6) - Hischier (drafted 2017 #1) - Bratt (drafted 2016 #162)

Wood (Drafted 2013 # 100) - McLeod (drafted 2016 #12) - Bastian (drafted 2016 #41)

Nolan Foote (trade*) - Boqvist (drafted 2017 #36) - Johnsson (trade**)

 

Murray (ufa) - Severson (drafted 2012 #60)

Will Butcher (Free agent) - Siegenthaler (trade)

Bahl (trade***) - Subban (trade)

 

Blackwood (drafted 2015 #42)

 

* we got Foote, Mercer & Mukkamadullin trading a guy we drafted #75 in 2011

** we got Johnsson trading Anderson that we drafted #73 in 2016

*** basically the falling out of the Larsson trade we drafted #4 in 2011

 

2014-2015 ROSTER

Cammalleri (ufa) - Henrique (drafted 2008 #82) - Jagr (ufa)

Elias (drafted 1994 #51) - Zajac (drafted 2004 #20) - Ruutu (ufa)

Ryder (ufa) - Josefson (drafted 2009 #30)- Zubrus (ufa)

Brunner (ufa) - Gomez 2.0 (drafted 1998 but ufa) - Gionta (undrafted signing)

Bernier (ufa) - Tootoo (ufa) - Clowe (ufa)

Havlat (ufa) - Boucher (drafted 2011 #99) - Matteau (drafted 2012 #29)

 

Zidlicky (trade) - Greene (undrafted signing)

Merrill (drafted 2010 #38) - Larsson (drafted 2011 #4)

Gelinas (drafted 2009 #54) - Salvador (trade)

Fraser (drafted 2005 #84) - Severson (drafted 2012 #60)

 

Schneider (traded for out #9)

Kinkaid (undrafted signing)

 

So not only, where are those guys now. But then where are these other guys we drafted. Where were they in 2015?

Parise

Tedenby

Burlon

Cormier

Urbom

Corrente

Bergfors

Wedgewood

Santini

Quenneville

Speers

 

So if you're under the impression that our drafting is bad now. Sweet lord.  I didn't even point out the age of those players on that 2015 roster, it would only make things even worst. 

Let it be clear, we've been in the mess were in because of decisions made BEFORE 2015, not after.

I said it is mediocre lol.  Again you are so blinded in trying to prop up the post-Lou management that you cannot even do basic reading comprehension.  It's not the dumpster-fire that it was in the 2000-2015 era, but for a team that desperately needs to build through the draft it hasn't gotten better.

Add to the mix that the Devils have an extremely tough time signing top-tier UFA and their trades have blown up in their faces more often than not since the Taylor Hall trade, I don't have much faith in this current management.

BTW posting Kuokkanen on our top line and somehow trying to justify that as a good thing is both funny and sad.  That and the fact that 4 of of our 6 bottom 6 players are complete scrubs is also funny.  Overall, our 2021 roster is maybe slightly better than our 2015 roster, but only slightly.

[DevsMan84]

13 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

And to Shero's credit, he did try to speed up the process whenever possible, whenever the opportunities presented themselves...trading for Palms and Hall, among other "Let's do what we can to try to move this along"-type moves.

Some GMs would've come here, seen how desolate the talent level was at both the NHL and AHL levels, and said "OK, we're going to bring in guys we know aren't very good but will at least give us an honest effort and try to compete, and let's see what we can get for Cory, because with the timeline that I have in mind, he isn't going to fit in." The fact that Shero never explored dealing Cory leads me to believe that Ray himself truly believed he could turn this around more quickly than many expected...I think he very much relished the challenge.  But that's just what it was...a real fvcking CHALLENGE.  When you've got so little to work with throughout the organization, you need so much to go your way...and as we know, despite most definitely trying, a lot did NOT go Ray's way.  

Palms trade was 2015.  Hall trade was in 2016.  Where are the trades to improve the team from 2017-2020 where we aren't trading away picks/parts for other team's most expendable players or deadline deals for our players on expiring contracts?

[SterioDesign]

1 minute ago, DevsMan84 said:

Oh FFS stop with your insidious Lou-bashing schtick.  I know you have repeatedly posted that 2015 lineup countless times as justification for the Devils rebuild being stuck in neutral for years.  However, at some point, the Devils will have to start taking steps forward which is what other teams do.

In 2015 we were a bottom 5/6 team.  In 2021 we are a bottom 5/6 team.  How is that any sort of improvement?  I never said I expected cup contenders in 6 years, but at least better than being a team continually stuck in the toilet.

Signing for the likes of Simmonds/Stafford/et al. hasn't worked, trades for Mueller/Johnsson/Johansson/Subban/et al hasn't worked, so what has our high risk/low rewards approach worked?  Hint; it hasn't and it looks like more of the same crap with Risto.

Oh and since 2016 we have traded away 7 2nd-round picks and 5 3rd round picks.  Combine that with selecting a 2nd/3rd rounder with the 20th overall and you have some wonderful asset management by the Devils.

But nah, I guess it's more of "trust the process." crap from this team and you guys believe it.

LOL.

You can try to deflect it saying its just Lou-Bashing cause it doesn't fit your narrative but it's still the truth. You're not taking it in consideration at all.

We took major steps forwards, you just don't want to acknowledge it.

How in hell do you expect to rebuild from that so fast? The situation we were in is 100% the reason we were FORCED to make those type of deals. We were literally between a rock and a hard place with no other options. All you do is bash moves we've made but you never brought any sort of realistic suggestions. 

You can't just judge a team by its results in the standings, there's SO many factors at play and anyone who knows hockey can look at the current team and the 2015 roster and see that this team is a LOT better and in better shape going forward. 

I also don't support getting Risto by the way. But that type of moves was our only chance to get maybe an NHL in the past, i do think we're past that now.

Again, you're 100% the type of fan who always supported the all-in approach, all you cared about was winning now and you never cared about the future / how reckless it was. Well the future is now and we pay the price for decades of those decisions and terrible drafting. But now you hate it and want things to be okay. Well it doesnt work like that, you reap what you sow.

 

[Crisis]

3 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Oh FFS stop with your insidious Lou-bashing schtick.  I know you have repeatedly posted that 2015 lineup countless times as justification for the Devils rebuild being stuck in neutral for years.  However, at some point, the Devils will have to start taking steps forward which is what other teams do.

In 2015 we were a bottom 5/6 team.  In 2021 we are a bottom 5/6 team.  How is that any sort of improvement?  I never said I expected cup contenders in 6 years, but at least better than being a team continually stuck in the toilet.

Signing for the likes of Simmonds/Stafford/et al. hasn't worked, trades for Mueller/Johnsson/Johansson/Subban/et al hasn't worked, so what has our high risk/low rewards approach worked?  Hint; it hasn't and it looks like more of the same crap with Risto.

Oh and since 2016 we have traded away 7 2nd-round picks and 5 3rd round picks.  Combine that with selecting a 2nd/3rd rounder with the 20th overall and you have some wonderful asset management by the Devils.

But nah, I guess it's more of "trust the process." crap from this team and you guys believe it.

LOL.

Because in 2015 our roster was mostly entirely over 30 and sh!tty and our top prospects were like Matt Corrente and Steve Santini.  And now our entire roster is under 30 (mostly under 25), 90% drafted by the Devils, and we have one of the best (probably top 3) prospect pools in the league.  This is building a franchise from the ground up.  The Devils didn't have players to trade to restock the cupboards.  Just look at the difference in less games!

[mfitz804]

12 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

yeah Shero was insanely unlucky with decent paper moves that just didn't pan out, it's almost ridiculous. And i did think that we'd have a decent window with Hall, palms etc in their prime and the younger guys as a supporting cast. But it just didn't pan out at all. But the fact that we made the playoffs 8 years after that 2015 is a pure miracle to me.

I was happy at the time but man trading for Schneider when the team was in the state it was at the time was such a big mistake. Of course we needed a good goalie but again that was a win now move that was just patching holes

The Schneider trade wasn’t the mistake. That was a great pickup at the time and he played amazingly well for several years considering the team around him. 

I am not a big “he doesn’t fit the timeline” guy anyway, because I think its a defeatist attitude, but I definitely don’t feel that way about a goalie. Get the best possible goalie you can to plug that hole. 

The mistake was not working on the rest of the roster. Like I have pointed out, look at how many of those 2015 guys never had an NHL job again after the Devils. Those were, quite literally, not NHL players on anyone else’s roster. 

[SterioDesign]

11 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

I said it is mediocre lol.  Again you are so blinded in trying to prop up the post-Lou management that you cannot even do basic reading comprehension.  It's not the dumpster-fire that it was in the 2000-2015 era, but for a team that desperately needs to build through the draft it hasn't gotten better.

Add to the mix that the Devils have an extremely tough time signing top-tier UFA and their trades have blown up in their faces more often than not since the Taylor Hall trade, I don't have much faith in this current management.

BTW posting Kuokkanen on our top line and somehow trying to justify that as a good thing is both funny and sad.  That and the fact that 4 of of our 6 bottom 6 players are complete scrubs is also funny.  Overall, our 2021 roster is maybe slightly better than our 2015 roster, but only slightly.

I literally took the lineup from this site. So yeah, try to discard my point with your own bullsh!t narrative. They've put Kuokkanen there, not me.

https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations/

And it's fine if you dont trust current management. But putting your head in the sand about the previous management and all the sh!t were still in because of it is laughable and insanely biased.

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by SterioDesign

[SterioDesign]

1 minute ago, Crisis said:

Because in 2015 our roster was mostly entirely over 30 and sh!tty and our top prospects were like Matt Corrente and Steve Santini.  And now our entire roster is under 30 (mostly under 25), 90% drafted by the Devils, and we have one of the best (probably top 3) prospect pools in the league.  This is building a franchise from the ground up.  The Devils didn't have players to trade to restock the cupboards.  Just look at the difference in less games!

Well yeah, anyone looking at this roster now and not seeing that we made a HUGE progress is out of their mind. Just the fact that there's at least "hope" ahead is something we didn't have in 2015

[Lateralous]

2 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

Maybe the Devils being a piss-poor team for 7 out of the last 8 seasons had something to do with that.  Or that teams such as Colorado that bottomed out and had easily the worst record in the league in 16-17 are now contenders.  Or how about the Rangers rebuild that appears to be further ahead than ours?  Or that a team that is 4 seasons old is better managed than our own?  Sorry if I don't think that constant mediocre drafting outside getting two #1 picks and trading away 2nd-4th rounders for reclamation projects while praying they turn into another Palmieri is the way to go.

I never said Ghost is much better than Risto.  At best he is maybe marginally better.  However the key is that he isn't a free agent in a year and won't require giving up any assets to get him, no matter  how much or little that is.  I don't give two sh!ts that other teams passed on Ghost, we should have put a claim in.  And who cares if we are tied to Ghost for one more year, we have the cap space.

I guess hearing the same bullsh!t from the team for yet another year in a row while we end up with another bottom 5/6 finish in the league has jaded me.  Apologies if I won't believe the lip service from the team that seems to have a sizeable portion of their fanbase somehow believing them or distracting them with light shows, statues and IG primadonnas.  

This is a little unfair because it seems like you're comparing when our rebuild started against the last year that the Avalanche were terrible.   They originally bottomed out in 2009 when they drafted Duchene #3 and then they were able to add Landekog and MacKinnon in '11 and '13 before that tough year they had in '17 that got them Makar.  If we're following that timeline, we should be about 6 years behind the Avs which has us turning the corner in 2024-25?

As for the Rangers, I'm not convinced how great their rebuild is really going considering they have a few veterans stars taking all the tough matchups.   Do you think Jack would look better if he had Zibanejad and Panarin taking the toughest matchups?    

   

[Lateralous]

6 minutes ago, Crisis said:

Because in 2015 our roster was mostly over 40 and sh!tty and our top prospects were like Matt Corrente and Steve Santini.  

 

 

Fixed it for you 😉

Edited June 17, 2021 by Lateralous

[SterioDesign]

5 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

The Schneider trade wasn’t the mistake. That was a great pickup at the time and he played amazingly well for several years considering the team around him. 

I am not a big “he doesn’t fit the timeline” guy anyway, because I think its a defeatist attitude, but I definitely don’t feel that way about a goalie. Get the best possible goalie you can to plug that hole. 

The mistake was not working on the rest of the roster. Like I have pointed out, look at how many of those 2015 guys never had an NHL job again after the Devils. Those were, quite literally, not NHL players on anyone else’s roster. 

Well in this case when i say mistake, it's from an angle based on the results. Not the intentions. Which i always judge a GM by the intention and decisions, not the results.

And i say mistake in hindsight, cause well we now know that we'd be a way better team now if we never got Schneider. We would have got wtv player at #9 and we would have gotten better picks at the draft those years, which could legit have been mcdavid or matthews lol But i repeat, this is hindsight 20/20 and not saying it was a bad decision, just ultimately a mistake.

[DevsMan84]

11 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

You can try to deflect it saying its just Lou-Bashing cause it doesn't fit your narrative but it's still the truth. You're not taking it in consideration at all.

We took major steps forwards, you just don't want to acknowledge it.

How in hell do you expect to rebuild from that so fast? The situation we were in is 100% the reason we were FORCED to make those type of deals. We were literally between a rock and a hard place with no other options. All you do is bash moves we've made but you never brought any sort of realistic suggestions. 

You can't just judge a team by its results in the standings, there's SO many factors at play and anyone who knows hockey can look at the current team and the 2015 roster and see that this team is a LOT better and in better shape going forward. 

I also don't support getting Risto by the way. But that type of moves was our only chance to get maybe an NHL in the past, i do think we're past that now.

Again, you're 100% the type of fan who always supported the all-in approach, all you cared about was winning now and you never cared about the future / how reckless it was. Well the future is now and we pay the price for decades of those decisions and terrible drafting. But now you hate it and want things to be okay. Well it doesnt work like that, you reap what you sow.

 

You know the bolded is a veiled reference to your constant crying about us not trading away Parise at the 2012 deadline.  We all know you aren't sincere in saying that you are not trying to Lou-bash again because that last line proved it.