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UPDATE 3/11/22 - Wood Practicing (Non-Contact) Again - Had Hip Surgery 11/8/21


RunninWithTheDevil

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29 minutes ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

Posted to his Instagram story minutes ago

Screenshot_20220109-130425_Instagram.jpg

Awesome news!

22 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Good stuff! I really hope this works out. I definitely feel like he is missed.

He is definitely missed. He brings speed and sandpaper we could sorely use.

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On 1/9/2022 at 2:43 PM, MB3 said:

he’s an RFA. qualifying him only costs 1y/$3.5m (its “base salary in final year” not “cap hit” or “AAV”, smart bit if contract setup by his agent). 

I can’t imagine he won’t at the very least he qualified. He’s worth $3.5m to a team that will struggle to hit the floor next season after PK’s contract goes bye bye.

New Jersey Devils Salary Cap, Draft Picks, and Player Contracts - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Bratt figures to get a healthy raise...gotta think Zacha will get one too, especially if he picks it up, but yeah, with PK's money coming off, that's a lot of money to play with.  I won't be surprised to see Graves extended.  Three Devils are already making $7+ million AAV, but there's teams a LOT top-heavier than that.  And outside of Nico, Jack, and Dougie, no one else is signed long-term.    

Will be interesting to see how the D-corp is handled...gotta think Luke and Muk will be joining the Devils within the next two years (two more cheap ELCs).  Siegenthaler is making a case for being extended.  Smith is obviously having a brutal time, but I'm not ready to give up on him.  

Yeah, definitely not going to hurt the 2022-23 Devils to qualify Wood for a season...the cap room is absolutely going to be there.  Also can see Fitz pulling off a mid-tier signing or two this offseason...gotta think Holtz makes the team next year, which will be a cheap cap hit.  And I just don't see enough in Utica that can be counted on to fill spots on the cheap.      

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12 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

If push comes to shove and someone in this group has to go then right now my vote would be for Zacha.  After showing promise last season, he has seemingly fell back to Earth and is playing like Zacha of old.

You could argue that last season was “almost” his breakout year.

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1 hour ago, DevsMan84 said:

I am not sure if I would consider 1G and 3A in his last 16GP as top 6 level production.

Given the full-season (although it came over three seasons) sample that preceded this, I have to at least give him the rest of this season to see if he can start producing again.  But yeah, if he disappears for the rest of the year, I'm open to moving him...that being said, given that he's arb-eligible, things would be a little murkier...Devils could let things go to arbitration, see what the settlement is, and then either let that contract become a "Show Me" deal, or then deal him...of course, given that he'd be on a one-year deal and heading into UFA (I think), not sure how much he'd fetch in a return.

The last 16 games have been disappointing, no doubt, but I do think he did enough to not give up on him before the season's over.  

Also fair to wonder who's really pushing Zacha at this point.  Anytime any of the Utes are called up, they've pretty much done nothing offensively.  The Devils are already a major longshot to sniff the playoffs...they might as well try to figure out if that 82-game stretch was legit or not.    

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Given the full-season (although it came over three seasons) sample that preceded this, I have to at least give him the rest of this season to see if he can start producing again.  But yeah, if he disappears for the rest of the year, I'm open to moving him...that being said, given that he's arb-eligible, things would be a little murkier...Devils could let things go to arbitration, see what the settlement is, and then either let that contract become a "Show Me" deal, or then deal him...of course, given that he'd be on a one-year deal and heading into UFA (I think), not sure how much he'd fetch in a return.

The last 16 games have been disappointing, no doubt, but I do think he did enough to not give up on him before the season's over.  

Also fair to wonder who's really pushing Zacha at this point.  Anytime any of the Utes are called up, they've pretty much done nothing offensively.  The Devils are already a major longshot to sniff the playoffs...they might as well try to figure out if that 82-game stretch was legit or not.    

I am not advocating for trading him now for peanuts.  What I am saying is that given the recent raises and soon-to-be raises for guys like Bratt, Graves, etc and ones further down the line (Mercer), push comes to shove then if there is an odd-man out I would rather it be Zacha.  For most of his career of nearly 350 games he has been invisible minus a 40ish game stretch last season.  I am not going to want to give a guy a payday based on something he did in 20-21 season for future 22-23 and beyond seasons.

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3 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

That sample falls in line with the rest of his career minus a 40ish game stretch last season.

2019-20 (final 20 GP):  5 G, 9 A, 14 Pts

2020-21 (50 GP):  17 G, 18 A, 35 Pts

2021-22 (first 14 GP):  7 G, 4 A, 11 Pts

Total:  84 GP, 29 G, 31 A, 60 Pts

That's a pretty decent-sized sample...it's not like the Devils have had a whole lot of players lately who've been able to do that.

Re:  your most recent post, the Devils are in a bit of rock and a hard place with him...if he's meh to flat-out unproductive the rest of the season, teams will try to get him on the cheap...if he picks it back up, does it really make sense to deal him, assuming the Devils don't re-sign him long-term, and he's on a one-year arb-settlement deal?  And that there doesn't seem to be much in Utica capable of providing much offense with the big club?

The big question that hasn't been fully answered yet...did the sample above truly represent him turning a corner (which would render the games that came before it pretty much moot), or was it a fluke?  That's what the Devils have to find out.  

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12 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

I am not advocating for trading him now for peanuts.  What I am saying is that given the recent raises and soon-to-be raises for guys like Bratt, Graves, etc and ones further down the line (Mercer), push comes to shove then if there is an odd-man out I would rather it be Zacha.  For most of his career of nearly 350 games he has been invisible minus a 40ish game stretch last season.  I am not going to want to give a guy a payday based on something he did in 20-21 season for future 22-23 and beyond seasons.

Pure spec, but I'm guessing if Zacha is mediocre, Devils try to avoid arbitration by signing him to a one or two-year deal.  If he picks it up and finishes at around a 50 point per 82 GP pace, he'll get three or four years.  Don't think he'll get paid an insane amount, which would make his contract tradeable down the line.      

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48 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

2019-20 (final 20 GP):  5 G, 9 A, 14 Pts

2020-21 (50 GP):  17 G, 18 A, 35 Pts

2021-22 (first 14 GP):  7 G, 4 A, 11 Pts

Total:  84 GP, 29 G, 31 A, 60 Pts

That's a pretty decent-sized sample...it's not like the Devils have had a whole lot of players lately who've been able to do that.

Re:  your most recent post, the Devils are in a bit of rock and a hard place with him...if he's meh to flat-out unproductive the rest of the season, teams will try to get him on the cheap...if he picks it back up, does it really make sense to deal him, assuming the Devils don't re-sign him long-term, and he's on a one-year arb-settlement deal?  And that there doesn't seem to be much in Utica capable of providing much offense with the big club?

The big question that hasn't been fully answered yet...did the sample above truly represent him turning a corner (which would render the games that came before it pretty much moot), or was it a fluke?  That's what the Devils have to find out.  

Zacha has now played 349 NHL games.  Those 84 games were nice, but the 16 games since then and the 249 games previous were very underwhelming.

I would hate to give Zacha a hefty raise only for him to turn into the Zacha we have seen in the 265 games before and after that nice 84 game burst.

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1 minute ago, MB3 said:

“if you take away the games where he was good, his stats are less good” 

DM84 with the hard hitting analysis we all come to expect. thanks, king.

So we gonna give Zacha a pay raise based on the 25% of his GP that he has played well?

Sounds like the incoherent ramblings of the board's resident man-child who is upset someone is pointing out his boy's recent 16 games of sh!t play.

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53 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Pure spec, but I'm guessing if Zacha is mediocre, Devils try to avoid arbitration by signing him to a one or two-year deal.  If he picks it up and finishes at around a 50 point per 82 GP pace, he'll get three or four years.  Don't think he'll get paid an insane amount, which would make his contract tradeable down the line.      

I guess I am alright with that.  I just don't think he is worth any kind of "hefty" pay raise at least now.

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49 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Zacha has now played 349 NHL games.  Those 84 games were nice, but the 16 games since then and the 249 games previous were very underwhelming.

I would hate to give Zacha a hefty raise only for him to turn into the Zacha we have seen in the 265 games before and after that nice 84 game burst.

I can find examples of players who took a while to figure things out...check out Shane Doan's first four years in the NHL.  That being said, starting with his Age 23 season, Doan became a guy who could be counted on for about 26 goals and 36 assists per 82 GP for the next 14 seasons and 1066 GP.  I am not asking Zacha to match that (either in raw numbers or pure longevity), but based on what we saw just before this slump, I need him to be able to ink him in for 25+ goals and 50+ points per 82 GP going forward, while improving his all-around game.  And I'd like to think he could do that for at least 5 more seasons, given his age.      

19 games is a relatively small sample (it's been 19 games (5 points) since the 84 games I referred to), and the 84 games that came before them have bought him some time...to be clear, I'm not suggesting that he gets to live off those 84 games forever.  Like I've said, I feel like he has until the end of the year to prove himself, or at least show that he's not going to return to previous Zacha form.  If he finishes with less than 0.5 PPG this year (after a promising start), I think it's very fair to question what exactly he's going to be, and to have doubts about him.  Like you just mentioned, I'm OK with a short-term "This is your last chance" deal off a meh year, and a longer-term "OK, you appeared to have turned the corner" contract if he finishes strong.  We'll know better how he feel about him as the season draws to a close.     

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1 hour ago, MB3 said:

“if you take away the games where he was good, his stats are less good” 

DM84 with the hard hitting analysis we all come to expect. thanks, king.

Wouldn’t that mean you were also saying “he’s good only if you consider a small sample of games where he was good”? And wouldn’t yours be way smaller? 

Last sentence above not an accident lol. 
 

 

Edited by mfitz804
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1 minute ago, mfitz804 said:
Daws is still hurt and is unavailable. Our current goalies are Jon Gillies and the first fan to show up at the arena with goalie equipment. 

This looks like a job for...

CINCO DOMINGO!

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