The New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Regular Season Thread

[Devil Dan 56]

58 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

 

Imagine this offense if they can actually add some decent wingers…

Really would be nice if Holtz can be a true scorer for us. 

I saw a stat posted earlier that said the Devils averaged 4.47 goals per game in February (which is fantastic) but only went 4-5. Just a little bit of goaltending and defense will go a long way too. 

[2ELIAS6]

^ if they can stay healthy, i feel like they really aren’t that far off… goaltending being the biggest and hardest issue to find a fix for.. imagine if we had Schneider when he was prime for us through this season. Id bet that he would’ve been able to help hold things together.

…instead poor guy pretty much blew the couple best years of his career here when he had absolute junk for teammates. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by 2ELIAS6

[Devil Dan 56]

21 minutes ago, 2ELIAS6 said:

^ if they can stay healthy, i feel like they really aren’t that far off… goaltending being the biggest and hardest issue to find a fix for.. imagine if we had Schneider when he was prime for us through this season. Id bet that he would’ve been able to help hold things together.

…instead poor guy pretty much blew the couple best years of his career here when he had absolute junk for teammates. 

It really is a shame. He had one of the highest career save percentages in the entire NHL before his injury. Truly terrible timing for him coming in behind Luongo and then getting stuck behind a few really bad Devils teams. 

I just checked, he’s actually still ranked 10th all time, tied with Lundqvist and Crawford with a career .918

[Nicomo]

 

[Fansinz88]

5 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

 

Wow I’m really impressed by that actually. Look at some of the names on that list. Hopefully he keeps getting better. 

[mfitz804]

1 hour ago, Fansinz88 said:

Wow I’m really impressed by that actually. Look at some of the names on that list. Hopefully he keeps getting better. 

He may end up having been a very good pickup for not a lot of cost. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Fansinz88 said:

Wow I’m really impressed by that actually. Look at some of the names on that list. Hopefully he keeps getting better. 

With the right coaching, the Devils D actually could be decent sooner than later...Hamilton, Graves, and Siegenthaler are solid.  The big questions:  is Ty Smith just having a rotten second season, and can he bounce back?  How far away is L Hughes from joining the Devils?  And are any of the Utes capable of locking up a spot next season (Bahl, Okhotyuk, etc)?  Fitz may have to look at some middle-tier options in UFA.  

[Nicomo]

4 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

He may end up having been a very good pickup for not a lot of cost. 

That 3rd round pick we sent Washington was actually from the Taylor Hall trade, too. That deal was a home run. It ended up resulting in both Mercer and Siegenthaler. 

[mfitz804]

7 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

That 3rd round pick we sent Washington was actually from the Taylor Hall trade, too. That deal was a home run. It ended up resulting in both Mercer and Siegenthaler. 

Also Merkley and Bahl. So let’s call it a double lol. 

[Devil Dan 56]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

With the right coaching, the Devils D actually could be decent sooner than later...Hamilton, Graves, and Siegenthaler are solid.  The big questions:  is Ty Smith just having a rotten second season, and can he bounce back?  How far away is L Hughes from joining the Devils?  And are any of the Utes capable of locking up a spot next season (Bahl, Okhotyuk, etc)?  Fitz may have to look at some middle-tier options in UFA.  

I’d like to think Smith is having a bad year and will be able to right the ship in the offseason. I’m still hoping that missing the preseason just messed him up and he hasn’t been able to recover. But once Luke comes up, I think Smith is a goner. Luke, Graves, Siegs would be solid on the left and at some point they will need to fix the right side. 

[mfitz804]

13 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

I’d like to think Smith is having a bad year and will be able to right the ship in the offseason. I’m still hoping that missing the preseason just messed him up and he hasn’t been able to recover. But once Luke comes up, I think Smith is a goner. Luke, Graves, Siegs would be solid on the left and at some point they will need to fix the right side. 

Are we convinced Graves will still be here when Luke gets here? Unless he is coming next year, I'm not sure if that will happen. 

[Devil Dan 56]

11 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Are we convinced Graves will still be here when Luke gets here? Unless he is coming next year, I'm not sure if that will happen. 

I’d hope Fitz can get a deal done with Graves. He seems like a solid addition who brings a lot more good than bad. I’m thinking we see Luke in 2023-24. No need to rush him up next season unless they truly feel he is ready  

[mfitz804]

12 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

I’d hope Fitz can get a deal done with Graves. He seems like a solid addition who brings a lot more good than bad. I’m thinking we see Luke in 2023-24. No need to rush him up next season unless they truly feel he is ready  

I wouldn’t mind it, he’s only had a couple of bad games. I just feel like that situation doesn’t usually work out for us, he’ll have options. 

[devlman]

Someone in the media finally sees what we see on Minus Man.

From the Athletic:

Dom: Every Devils game I’ve watched over the last month or so has included Damon Severson doing something colossally stupid on defense. Great player, can move the puck well, but he has to be up there for most face-palm moments per 60. He’s this generation’s Jake Gardiner.

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, devlman said:

most face-palm moments per 60

Now that's an advanced stat I can support. 

[mfitz804]

Hughes for the Lady Byng?

 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

11 minutes ago, devlman said:

Someone in the media finally sees what we see on Minus Man.

From the Athletic:

Dom: Every Devils game I’ve watched over the last month or so has included Damon Severson doing something colossally stupid on defense. Great player, can move the puck well, but he has to be up there for most face-palm moments per 60. He’s this generation’s Jake Gardiner.

And you keep thinking that at some point, those face-palm moments would start to lessen.  Only they never do.  EVER.  That's how you get to be -129 in 538 career CP (yes, he's played on bad teams and occasionally in front of some awful goaltending, but still, you're never surprised when he makes a brutal mistake that always feels like it's going to wind up in the back of the net shortly thereafter).  

[devlman]

14 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

And you keep thinking that at some point, those face-palm moments would start to lessen.  Only they never do.  EVER.  That's how you get to be -129 in 538 career CP (yes, he's played on bad teams and occasionally in front of some awful goaltending, but still, you're never surprised when he makes a brutal mistake that always feels like it's going to wind up in the back of the net shortly thereafter).  

He’s the same player as he was day 1. He hasn’t improved at all and has been the common thread through all these losing years. And for the record, the other Athletic writer on the article immediately corrected the ‘he’s a great player’ part.

Oh I stand corrected- he has added to his game. He now commits a crucial penalty almost every game.

Edited March 4, 2022 by devlman

[Devil Dan 56]

9 minutes ago, devlman said:

He’s the same player as he was day 1. He hasn’t improved at all and has been the common thread through all these losing years. And for the record, the other Athletic writer on the article immediately corrected the ‘he’s a great player’ part.

Oh I stand corrected- he has added to his game. He now commits a crucial penalty almost every game.

He’s on a 48 point pace too. It’s a shame his defense never caught up with his offense because he’d be a hell of a player. That Jake Gardiner comparison is pretty good 

[mfitz804]

25 minutes ago, devlman said:

Oh I stand corrected- he has added to his game. He now commits a crucial penalty almost every game.

Yup, always in a "game on the line" moment too lol. 

[Aitchmack]

54 minutes ago, devlman said:

Someone in the media finally sees what we see on Minus Man.

From the Athletic:

Dom: Every Devils game I’ve watched over the last month or so has included Damon Severson doing something colossally stupid on defense. Great player, can move the puck well, but he has to be up there for most face-palm moments per 60. He’s this generation’s Jake Gardiner.

Should fit right in with Toronto then. Get that deal done Fitz!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

He’s on a 48 point pace too. It’s a shame his defense never caught up with his offense because he’d be a hell of a player. That Jake Gardiner comparison is pretty good 

That's why in spite of the "Well what will the Devils do without Seves?" crowd, I'm not sure if his value will ever be higher than it is right now...does it make sense to hang onto him?  He's having a career-year offensively.  This might be the time to strike...besides, the way I see it, I think Seves is gone after 2022-23, likely to get overpaid in UFA...should Fitz pass up max value for Damon just so that he can be here next season and fetch less (or even nothing at all, if he's kept for the whole season)?  Fitz has done well at the deadline...I could see him fetching more for Seves than we'd ever expect, if he moved him at this year's deadline.  

Edited March 4, 2022 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[MadDog2020]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

Yup, always in a "game on the line" moment too lol. 

Every time.

[Devil Dan 56]

34 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

That's why in spite of the "Well what will the Devils do without Seves?" crowd, I'm not sure if his value will ever be higher than it is right now...does it make sense to hang onto him?  He's having a career-year offensively.  This might be the time to strike...besides, the way I see it, I think Seves is gone after 2022-23, likely to get overpaid in UFA...should Fitz pass up max value for Damon just so that he can be here next season and fetch less (or even nothing at all, if he's kept for the whole season)?  Fitz has done well at the deadline...I could see him fetching more for Seves than we'd ever expect, if he moved him at this year's deadline.  

I don’t think it’s possible to sign him to a fair contract. He’s the exact type of guy who will point to 30-40 point seasons on a bad team when he hits UFA and get a ridiculous overpayment. We see that happen so often.

You’re absolutely right. Now is where you get the best value in a trade 

[Fansinz88]

10 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

With the right coaching, the Devils D actually could be decent sooner than later...Hamilton, Graves, and Siegenthaler are solid.  The big questions:  is Ty Smith just having a rotten second season, and can he bounce back?  How far away is L Hughes from joining the Devils?  And are any of the Utes capable of locking up a spot next season (Bahl, Okhotyuk, etc)?  Fitz may have to look at some middle-tier options in UFA.  

I believe middle tier options is on table. Like Hughes is a huge maybe. Depends on how Michigan does in tournament and what the team looks like next year will probably tell the tale on that. I predict he stays another year there though. Which is fine with me.