The New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Regular Season Thread

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 hours ago, jagknife said:

 

 

"DoN't BlAmE uS, wE'rE jUsT tHe SoCiAl MeDiA tEaM"

 

Ruff realizing he needs to try and save his job

About fvcking time Lindy!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Tomas Tatar on the 1st line…

Well at least if the Devils are losing 5-1, Captain Cosmetic should pot at least one with five minutes or so left in the game.

[Devil Dan 56]

2 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Tomas Tatar on the 1st line…

The least he could do is score a few goals considering he beheaded our goalie

[Nicomo]

2 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

The least he could do is score a few goals considering he beheaded our goalie

*When they actually matter 

[Devil Dan 56]

1 minute ago, Nicomo said:

*When they actually matter 

You’re right, I should have been much more clear. Now it’ll be a goal to make it 6-1 with 1:20 left. 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Devil Dan 56

[2ELIAS6]

22 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

This team that can’t beat anybody has the social media team calling the Red Wings, a team who is actually doing their rebuild correctly and winning consistently this season, the ‘wheel chickens’. This sh!t is funny when the team isn’t a nightly embarrassment. It’s tone deaf and unfunny under the current circumstances.

They just make themselves and the franchise look like raging tools. This team is just about the joke of the league as of late and doing nothing to change the course. Maybe the social media “Kids” should just shut the fvck up with the insults as we get crushed and embarrassed night after night.

[jagknife]

Another post-run-post from me:

During the interview with PJ Stock on Chiclets (~2 hour mark of the episode), they discuss how there used to be veteran voices in locker rooms to help the new generation of players learn how to lead in the league. But now, with the league getting younger and younger, and teams heading leadership roles to guys who really have only had to worry about their own game to get to the league, that veteran voice is lacking for teams. I cannot help but look at our squad and the guys who should lead are still learning and the older players (looking at Severson/Subban) aren’t helping the cause at least from an outsiders view.
 

Then, they talked about how teams would have good leaders at both the NHL & AHL and specifically name dropped nASS and Recchi. While these guys may have been great to help guys develop while players, it is becoming painfully obvious that their skills have not transferred to off the ice leadership ability or coaching prowess.

the longer Fitz waits to make the necessary changes, the longer we rob our team of a chance to develop and learn how to actually be successful. Fitz might be able to amass a competitive roster, but he is showing an inability to judge coaching leadership.

[MadDog2020]

https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/devils-canadiens-thursday-game-postponed/c-329155840?fbclid=IwAR1NgyFouYsqc6kM_Oa-IE9RhJmZQT6F3Qg7tUXpgjkqmgagOKi7ZRiPJOc

[jagknife]

5 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/devils-canadiens-thursday-game-postponed/c-329155840?fbclid=IwAR1NgyFouYsqc6kM_Oa-IE9RhJmZQT6F3Qg7tUXpgjkqmgagOKi7ZRiPJOc

Aaaaand no game for me and the fam this trip…

[mfitz804]

5 minutes ago, jagknife said:

Aaaaand no game for me and the fam this trip…

Did you send them a “thank you” note?

[Crisis]

I'm not having fun, guys.  At the moment, I'm finding myself looking forward to training camp in September 2022.  These last 3 months have been worse than the summers of no hockey.  At least then there was hope.  Right now, there is no hope.

[MadDog2020]

14 minutes ago, Crisis said:

I'm not having fun, guys.  At the moment, I'm finding myself looking forward to training camp in September 2022.  These last 3 months have been worse than the summers of no hockey.  At least then there was hope.  Right now, there is no hope.

This season was supposed to be one where the team tried to compete. Fitz has a lot of explaining to do right now, if he ever decides to crawl out of his hole. Obviously BS excuses are allowing these coaches to continue to be employed. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by MadDog2020

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Crisis said:

I'm not having fun, guys.  At the moment, I'm finding myself looking forward to training camp in September 2022.  These last 3 months have been worse than the summers of no hockey.  At least then there was hope.  Right now, there is no hope.

Yeah to have this friggin' season be almost IDENTICAL to what happened last season...it's a wide-toed spiky boot to the balls, no question.  And my interest in the 2021-22 Devils is waning very quickly.  

I think Fitz has done some good things...he's a solid seller and gets back good pieces, and I can't really say he's made any moves that made me wondering "What the hell did he do THAT for?"  Tatar's been very meh, but as a stopgap signing, I understood it.  Liked Bernier...made perfect sense at the time, as another stopgap-type who figured to be at least average when healthy.  Not that he has to make daily statements on the state of the Devils, but man it would be nice to hear SOMETHING from the guy.  He had no problems talking about long-term plans, which have clearly gone beyond awry in the short-term.  

I think more and more that something major has to happen, and not just with the coaching staff...we keep thinking this young core (and some of these guys have been here a while now) is going to turn the corner, progress, build off good personal stretches...and then it doesn't happen, and before we know it, it's "next year...more experience, blah blah blah".  Sure, I think this staff is borderline useless and they really need to just be shown the door at this point and put out of their collective misery...they have no answers, and it's the same sh!t game after game.  But after having had a lot of patience for the last several years, and defending these players, I can't do it anymore.  Maybe they really are just aren't that good.

AFAIC, the only untouchables are Jack, Nico, Bratt, Mercer, and Hamilton.  Not saying that Jack and Nico are sure things, but young centers aren't easy to come by, and I want to see what a competent coaching staff can do with them...Hamilton's not going anywhere anyway, and as down as I was on Bratt earlier, he's done enough this year that I want to see if he can consistently put it all together and play close to 80 games.  The rest are candidates to be moved...not saying ALL them will be or should be, or that you just give them away, but I'm now open to hearing offers for anyone not on my short list...I believe that it's reached this point.  If some fans want to give some of the others a little more time to see how they fare with new coaches, I'm OK with that.  But this team is missing something valuable...and it feels like whatever it is that's needed (snarl, hating to lose, etc), it's not coming from within.      

Edited December 20, 2021 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[DevsMan84]

25 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah to have this friggin' season be almost IDENTICAL to what happened last season...it's a wide-toed spiky boot to the balls, no question.  And my interest in the 2021-22 Devils is waning very quickly.  

I think Fitz has done some good things...he's a solid seller and gets back good pieces, and I can't really say he's made any moves that made me wondering "What the hell did he do THAT for?"  Tatar's been very meh, but as a stopgap signing, I understood it.  Liked Bernier...made perfect sense at the time, as another stopgap-type who figured to be at least average when healthy.  Not that he has to make daily statements on the state of the Devils, but man it would be nice to hear SOMETHING from the guy.  He had no problems talking about long-term plans, which have clearly gone beyond awry in the short-term.  

I think more and more that something major has to happen, and not just with the coaching staff...we keep thinking this young core (and some of these guys have been here a while now) is going to turn the corner, progress, build off good personal stretches...and then it doesn't happen, and before we know it, it's "next year...more experience, blah blah blah".  Sure, I think this staff is borderline useless and they really need to just be shown the door at this point and put out of their collective misery...they have no answers, and it's the same sh!t game after game.  But after having had a lot of patience for the last several years, and defending these players, I can't do it anymore.  Maybe they really are just aren't that good.

AFAIC, the only untouchables are Jack, Nico, Bratt, Mercer, and Hamilton.  Not saying that Jack and Nico are sure things, but young centers aren't easy to come by, and I want to see what a competent coaching staff can do with them...Hamilton's not going anywhere anyway, and as down as I was on Bratt earlier, he's done enough this year that I want to see if he can consistently put it all together and play close to 80 games.  The rest are candidates to be moved...not saying ALL them will be or should be, or that you just give them away, but I'm now open to hearing offers for anyone not on my short list...I believe that it's reached this point.  If some fans want to give some of the others a little more time to see how they fare with new coaches, I'm OK with that.  But this team is missing something valuable...and it feels like whatever it is that's needed (snarl, hating to lose, etc), it's not coming from within.      

That's likely how Devils management sees it, but I think Nico and Bratt shouldn't be untouchables.  Mercer pushes Nico down to 3C whose offensive upside is appearing to be smaller and smaller with each passing season.  If he can be used to acquire a goal-scoring winger then you have to do it.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

5 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

That's likely how Devils management sees it, but I think Nico and Bratt shouldn't be untouchables.  Mercer pushes Nico down to 3C whose offensive upside is appearing to be smaller and smaller with each passing season.  If he can be used to acquire a goal-scoring winger then you have to do it.

 I like Nico and I do want to see what a more legit coaching staff could do with him, but yeah, I can understand where you're coming from on this one.  

[mfitz804]

9 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

That's likely how Devils management sees it, but I think Nico and Bratt shouldn't be untouchables.  Mercer pushes Nico down to 3C whose offensive upside is appearing to be smaller and smaller with each passing season.  If he can be used to acquire a goal-scoring winger then you have to do it.

I’d let people touch them all day for the right price. 

Wait, what are we talking about??

[SterioDesign]

21 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I’d let people touch them all day for the right price. 

Wait, what are we talking about??

What's the price in your mind for letting people touch them all day?

[mfitz804]

14 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

What's the price in your mind for letting people touch them all day?

I prefer they set their own price, but apparently between $7.25 and $8m per year, so that’s like $19,863.01 per day for Nico and $21,917.81 for Jack. 

[SterioDesign]

11 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I prefer they set their own price, but apparently between $7.25 and $8m per year, so that’s like $19,863.01 per day for Nico and $21,917.81 for Jack. 

if you had a 22,000 budget for one day. Would you just pick one or try to deal to get half a day with both?

[MadDog2020]

https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/key-returnees-skate-before-flight-to-pittsburgh/c-329170052?fbclid=IwAR11BDgYAGR9Grc4hvC-SCZL2zLBwqiSNIGHTS4egcFWPFTJnPW8slJnLNc

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2020-21, after 30 GP:  12-14-4, 75 GF, 93 GA (-18)

2021-22, after 30 GP:  10-15-5, 82 GF, 105 GA (-23)...this after landing a top UFA in Hamilton and bringing in Graves (both of whom were upgrades)

Under Lindy:  29-45-12

For the love of God Fitz...

[Aitchmack]

17 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

2020-21, after 30 GP:  12-14-4, 75 GF, 93 GA (-18)

2021-22, after 30 GP:  10-15-5, 82 GF, 105 GA (-23)...this after landing a top UFA in Hamilton and bringing in Graves (both of whom were upgrades)

Under Lindy:  29-45-12

For the love of God Fitz...

I'm hoping Fitz is going to pull the trigger after the Pittsburgh game, giving a new coach six days before the next game. Unless, of course, he's going to do what Lou did to PDB and fire Ruff the day after Christmas.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 minutes ago, Aitchmack said:

I'm hoping Fitz is going to pull the trigger after the Pittsburgh game, giving a new coach six days before the next game. Unless, of course, he's going to do what Lou did to PDB and fire Ruff the day after Christmas.

SD has alluded to the fact that Fitz may be working behind the scenes to try to find new coaching personnel (which is why the timetable feels like it's nonexistent, as far as making a damned change goes), but what ticks me off is that, after last year, I think he should have been much more prepared in realizing that this staff (in part or whole) may not be the right guys to lead this team going forward.  They're now 3-12-3 in their last 18 games...I'm sorry, it should not have gotten to this fvcking point, where the season is just about toast, with so many "Rock Bottom" moments that screamed for a change to be made...and it's not like these three have done ANYTHING to earn the benefit of the doubt here.  And sorry Fitz, you don't get to make moves that support your assertion that it's time for the Devils to become more competitive, then just punt another year away.  TWO other teams acted and tried to save their seasons...like I said, still lots of time, maybe those changes won't ultimately pay off, but FFS, as least those teams TRIED while there was still time.  

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Does this mean no games till after Christmas? If so perfect time to sh!t can the coaching staff. 

 

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

21 minutes ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

Does this mean no games till after Christmas? If so perfect time to sh!t can the coaching staff. 

I'm with you, but I'm guessing Fitz will see it as more of "bonus time" for The Three Stooges to have extra time to work with their players and "correct" the issues...that's assuming they'll run legit practices.  With Covid blowing up yet again, wouldn't surprise me if they just took a full-on break until after the holidays.

 

Anyway, sadly this is a bit of an early gift...I can spend at least the next week not watching Devils hockey.  Any day without a game is a day they won't lose.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Colorado Rockies 1976