GDT: TBL @ NJD 7pm MSG+

[Nicomo]

2 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

What coaching staff/GM puts an ECHL goalie up against this team? The guy was in a no win situation, literally.

Yeah, and when you know your goaltending is not even close to being NHL level you should be running a completely different defensive system. Ruff just plays it like normal though.

Fitz should get one more coaching hire, and he he doesn’t get that one right, he needs to go, too. 

[Devil Dan 56]

Just now, NJDevils1214 said:

What coaching staff/GM puts an ECHL goalie up against this team? The guy was in a no win situation, literally.

An incompetent coaching staff/GM, that’s who.

Fitz comes into this season knowing Blackwood is injured coming off surgery, decides Bernier and Wedgewood is a good solution (it wasn’t) then puts Wedgewood on waivers when Bernier is clearly battling something. Then when he loses Wedge he goes in the bargain basement for Gillies. That mismanagement alone should have us GM hunting.

And that’s not even mentioning the insane loyalty to Nas and defense that couldn’t shut down a peewee team.

[NJDevs4978]

5 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Yeah, and when you know your goaltending is not even close to being NHL level you should be running a completely different defensive system. Ruff just plays it like normal though.

Fitz should get one more coaching hire, and he he doesn’t get that one right, he needs to go, too. 

If they were trying to win he probably would.  They're nine hundred points out and trying to make sure Jack, Nico and the other younger players get theirs offensively.

[MadDog2020]

9 minutes ago, slasher72 said:

Answers in the room brah

[Nicomo]

4 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

If they were trying to win he probably would.  They're nine hundred points out and trying to make sure Jack, Nico and the other younger players get theirs offensively.

I guess. But you’d think he should be fighting for his job. 

[Puckbuster]

Terrible.

[NJDevils1214]

Always enjoy listening to Chico after these games. He doesn't sugar coat it.

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Always enjoy listening to Chico after these games. He doesn't sugar coat it.

Every time I have to listen on the radio, I’m reminded of just how good Chico is at his job. 

[hit the post]

1 hour ago, slasher72 said:

Time for new horses.....This ones beat to death.

[NJDfan1711]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

.800sv%

The fvck are the skaters supposed to do with that

The team in front has a lot to do with that poor save %. (4 different goalies put up the same save % this season.  Not one, not two, not three...FOUR)

1 hour ago, NJDevils1214 said:

What coaching staff/GM puts an ECHL goalie up against this team? The guy was in a no win situation, literally.

I get that none of us wanted to see Gillies, Schmid, or Daws in net this season, but both Blackwood and Bernier are hurt....what exactly are the coaching staff supposed to do?  Goalies aren't exactly readily available around the league.  I could understand if they kept riding Gillies out there night after night, but they literally tried 2 other goalies and are getting the exact same result.  Not many teams around the league could accomplish much if they were seeing their fourth and FIFTH string goalies on a semi-regular basis. 

[Nicomo]

37 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Always enjoy listening to Chico after these games. He doesn't sugar coat it.

I miss him and Doc almost as much as I miss good Devils teams on the ice. 

[Fansinz88]

We have to rebuild the rebuild. 

[mfitz804]

16 minutes ago, NJDfan1711 said:

The team in front has a lot to do with that poor save %. (4 different goalies put up the same save % this season.  Not one, not two, not three...FOUR)

It’s not 4, it’s 6. Blackwood, Bernier, Wedgewood, Daws, Schmid, Gillies. All have between a .833 and .902 save percentage. The team in front has a lot to do with it. The fact that 3 of those 6 are not NHL ready and 2 were hurt didn’t help. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by mfitz804

[Fansinz88]

5 hours ago, MB3 said:

Ok this is going to come off as overly optimistic and you’ll all roll your eyes at me but…. Trust the process. 

The sixers gm said that in 2012. He was going to build a young team that was going to have immense growing pains with an end goal of assembling high-quality talent through the draft and through trades. 

The results? Brutal at first. And fans mockingly chanted “trust the process.” 4 consecutive last (or second to last) place finishes in the east, with a low-water mark (is that a phrase?) of 10-72 (!!!!!!!). 10-72, jesus christ. 

But look what happened. The pieces fell into place. 4 consecutive playoff appearances, on their way to a 5th with a team many experts think is best suited to win the whole thing this year. 

The Devils are frustratingly bad. But they aren’t frustratingly bad and old. They’re young. They’re “don’t know who tom cruise is” young. Their best players are 23, 20, and 19 years old. They’ve played the majority of the season without their superstar defenseman. They have gotten abhorrent goaltending.

I dunno. I think we turn this ship around soon. There are few teams as well set up for the future as the Devils are and maybe we do just need to trust the process a little bit more. 

Still frustrating as fvck tho.

Interesting point. I believe their best players’s nickname is “The Process”. What’s that tell you. 

[Devilsfan118]

6 hours ago, MB3 said:

Ok this is going to come off as overly optimistic and you’ll all roll your eyes at me but…. Trust the process. 

The sixers gm said that in 2012. He was going to build a young team that was going to have immense growing pains with an end goal of assembling high-quality talent through the draft and through trades. 

The results? Brutal at first. And fans mockingly chanted “trust the process.” 4 consecutive last (or second to last) place finishes in the east, with a low-water mark (is that a phrase?) of 10-72 (!!!!!!!). 10-72, jesus christ. 

But look what happened. The pieces fell into place. 4 consecutive playoff appearances, on their way to a 5th with a team many experts think is best suited to win the whole thing this year. 

The Devils are frustratingly bad. But they aren’t frustratingly bad and old. They’re young. They’re “don’t know who tom cruise is” young. Their best players are 23, 20, and 19 years old. They’ve played the majority of the season without their superstar defenseman. They have gotten abhorrent goaltending.

I dunno. I think we turn this ship around soon. There are few teams as well set up for the future as the Devils are and maybe we do just need to trust the process a little bit more. 

Still frustrating as fvck tho.

I'm with you, except I don't know if Ruff and company are the guys to help develop these kids during the sh!t years.

Have we seen a ton of progress across the board this year from the kids? Definitely with Hughes (one could argue that was going to happen regardless), but Smith, Nico...

Then again, Mercer looks great. So, who knows. Obviously I'm not in that room.

[MadDog2020]

14 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Obviously I'm not in that room.

You what is in that room though? The answers.

[Devil Dan 56]

8 hours ago, MB3 said:

Ok this is going to come off as overly optimistic and you’ll all roll your eyes at me but…. Trust the process. 

The sixers gm said that in 2012. He was going to build a young team that was going to have immense growing pains with an end goal of assembling high-quality talent through the draft and through trades. 

The results? Brutal at first. And fans mockingly chanted “trust the process.” 4 consecutive last (or second to last) place finishes in the east, with a low-water mark (is that a phrase?) of 10-72 (!!!!!!!). 10-72, jesus christ. 

But look what happened. The pieces fell into place. 4 consecutive playoff appearances, on their way to a 5th with a team many experts think is best suited to win the whole thing this year. 

The Devils are frustratingly bad. But they aren’t frustratingly bad and old. They’re young. They’re “don’t know who tom cruise is” young. Their best players are 23, 20, and 19 years old. They’ve played the majority of the season without their superstar defenseman. They have gotten abhorrent goaltending.

I dunno. I think we turn this ship around soon. There are few teams as well set up for the future as the Devils are and maybe we do just need to trust the process a little bit more. 

Still frustrating as fvck tho.

You’re absolutely right. Big picture, we are adding pieces. Jack looks like a stud. Nico shows signs, Mercer looks like a special player. Luke seems to be tearing up college hockey. Gotta figure out the goaltending and some of the defense, a right winger who can score would be nice. 

But damn when we watch this crew blow a 3-1 lead and wander off the ice losing 6-3 it’s hard to keep that in focus. Especially when it’s clear the rebuild already stalled once or twice on the way here. 

I just don’t trust this GM and coaching staff to take it to the next level I guess

[Crisis]

2 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I'm with you, except I don't know if Ruff and company are the guys to help develop these kids during the sh!t years.

Have we seen a ton of progress across the board this year from the kids? Definitely with Hughes (one could argue that was going to happen regardless), but Smith, Nico...

Then again, Mercer looks great. So, who knows. Obviously I'm not in that room.

I don't know about that.  I think Fitz brought in Ruff to teach the kids how to be professionals.  He has been around the game for a long, long time.  Look at all the pros that came out of those Buffalo years he coached - Peca, Drury, Briere, Campbell, Pominville, Hecht, Connolly, Stafford, Roy.. guys that played a lot of hard games.

Yeah Ruff's systems seem to suck and even though this season is trash, I'm trying to find some silver lining here.  I think the hire made sense at the time for a team of kids that was probably going to have to throw away a season or two.

[Jimmy Leeds]

12 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I'm not mad at the AHL guy. I'm mad at Fitz for not fixing this fvcking disaster in net.

What's your solution?

[Jimmy Leeds]

12 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Fascinating how this guy gets away with not having a press conference for months at a time.

Press conference?  Who even covers the Devs to ask questions?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

25 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

You’re absolutely right. Big picture, we are adding pieces. Jack looks like a stud. Nico shows signs, Mercer looks like a special player. Luke seems to be tearing up college hockey. Gotta figure out the goaltending and some of the defense, a right winger who can score would be nice. 

But damn when we watch this crew blow a 3-1 lead and wander off the ice losing 6-3 it’s hard to keep that in focus. Especially when it’s clear the rebuild already stalled once or twice on the way here. 

I just don’t trust this GM and coaching staff to take it to the next level I guess

This is about where I’m at…yeah, it’s lovely that the Devils have sucked their way into getting some key young pieces, and they even stepped out of character in landing Hamilton.

My issue is that it wasn’t like the plan this season was yet another “Be patient”-type year.  I’m pretty damned sure Hamilton didn’t sign for up that.  Even though we’ve seen some fine individual progress this year (most notably Bratt and Hughes), I gotta see some legit TEAM progress next season.  No more looking solid for the first 10-15 games before slamming into the canyon floor a la Wile E fvcking Coyote…and doing absolutely nothing about it.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

11 minutes ago, Jimmy Leeds said:

What's your solution?

I gotta admit, even though it hasn’t been pretty, I’m glad both Schmid and Daws have gotten a little time up here…they gotta know that they both might be getting even more of a look next season.  Blackwood and Bernier are question marks at best, going into next year.

[SterioDesign]

15 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

This is about where I’m at…yeah, it’s lovely that the Devils have sucked their way into getting some key young pieces, and they even stepped out of character in landing Hamilton.

My issue is that it wasn’t like the plan this season was yet another “Be patient”-type year.  I’m pretty damned sure Hamilton didn’t sign for up that.  Even though we’ve seen some fine individual progress this year (most notably Bratt and Hughes), I gotta see some legit TEAM progress next season.  No more looking solid for the first 10-15 games before slamming into the canyon floor a la Wile E fvcking Coyote…and doing absolutely nothing about it.

except its hard to make progress when your top 2 players miss significant amount of games, that both your goalies are injured and that you miss one of your top producer / spark plug for the whole season.

If everyone stayed healthy and we just sucked sure but things really went bad early too

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

21 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

except its hard to make progress when your top 2 players miss significant amount of games, that both your goalies are injured and that you miss one of your top producer / spark plug for the whole season.

If everyone stayed healthy and we just sucked sure but things really went bad early too

No the Devils did not get the best of luck this year, on some fronts.

That being said, like I said, unless Hughes winds up missing all of 2022-23 or something else truly catastrophic happens next season, 2022-23 can't be a repeat of 2020-21 and 2021-22.  If this year turns out to be the season some guys showed significant improvement (like Bratt and Hughes) within an otherwise lousy year, as much as a big chunk of this season was terrible to watch, I'll guess I'll live with it.

And even with the goalie situation being less than ideal and some costly injuries, I still don't see any semblance of a system.  Some of those ugly "grind it out" 2005-06 through 2010-11 teams, despite not being that talented, at least had enough of a system in place where guys knew about what they were supposed to and where they were supposed to be...guys are just left wide-open constantly with Ruff & Co, and like DD56 (I think) alluded to, maybe it really is just a question of getting better coaches in here.  I'm pretty well convinced that this staff isn't ever getting it done here.   

[SterioDesign]

2 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

No the Devils did not get the best of luck this year, on some fronts.

That being said, like I said, unless Hughes winds up missing all of 2022-23 or something else truly catastrophic happens next season, 2022-23 can't be a repeat of 2020-21 and 2021-22.  If this year turns out to be the season some guys showed significant improvement (like Bratt and Hughes) within an otherwise lousy year, as much as a big chunk of this season was terrible to watch, I'll guess I'll live with it.

And even with the goalie situation being less than ideal and some costly injuries, I still don't see any semblance of a system.  Some of those ugly "grind it out" 2005-06 through 2010-11 teams, despite not being that talented, at least had enough of a system in place where guys knew about what they were supposed to and where they were supposed to be...guys are just left wide-open constantly with Ruff & Co, and like DD56 (I think) alluded to, maybe it really is just a question of getting better coaches in here.  I'm pretty well convinced that this staff isn't ever getting it done here.   

i do think better coaches need to be put in place. But like i said yesterday. We better sh!t the bed HARD for the rest of the season so that management is truly forced to do something in the offseason.