GDT: Devils @ Toronto 7:00 PM MSG+

[Bonginator11]

Shoot the former Flyer to the moon. His powerplay is straight up trash. We have all the tools to have a great powerplay and he continually holds us back

[ajsgolf]

Everyone seen Purge?  Everyone knows who ruff, recchi, nas is?  Should be based on a true story

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Dear Fitz,

You have talent.

Some of it you sucked and lucked into.

Some of it you acquired through impressive moves.

There’s three morons who are getting in the fvcking way constantly.  Please put an end to that this offseason.  PLEEEEASE!!!

[Nicomo]

That might be the most frustrating loss of the season for me. We got beat up for 60 minutes, gave up 2 short handed goals, failed to score on a 4 minute power play, and our big money veteran defenseman told Ty Smith to hold his beer. 

[Devilsfan118]

Pretty apparent that when the Devils win they're doing so on talent alone, despite this coaching staff's involvement.

[SterioDesign]

I don't know what Recchi is drawing on his board. But my guess is that this is it.

"Just get in this formation, stand there, be as static as possible and just exchange as many passes between those 3 guys as much as possible.... Both guys on the outside systematically have a guy right on them ready to block a shot or prevent them to go towards the net.... BUT maybe something will open up." - Mark Recchi

"also for the zone entry, it's simple. If you're the first guy ahead carrying the puck, you MUST drop the puck to the next guy behind... if that guy has other guys behind, he MUST drop it to them... up until you have 4 players waiting at the blue line... then the last puck carrier must now try to plow his way through 8 players OR dump the puck... we don't get there first cause we don't have any speed coming in." - Recchi

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by SterioDesign

[Bonginator11]

At this rate until Recchi is fired we should just hold the puck behind our goalie for the entire 2 minutes on our powerplay. Better than getting scored on

Edited March 24, 2022 by Bonginator11

[devlman]

3 minutes ago, Bonginator11 said:

At this rate until Recchi is fired we should just hold the puck behind our goalie for the entire 2 minutes on our powerplay. Better than getting scored on

When we have got late powerplays in crucial situations, I always pray there was the option to decline the man advantage.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

10 minutes ago, MB3 said:

I'm not on the "fire Fitz" train but I refuse to believe there's a single player on this roster who was "acquired through impressive moves". Maybe Siegenthaler, lol? Graves? Dawson Mercer maybe, but that should go to scouting and not Fitz. 

Aside from "give an elite defenseman the richest UFA contract ever lmao", his "moves" -- Johnsson, Tatar, PK Subban, Kuokkonen -- have all spectacularly blown up in his face. 

He’s done a good job getting first-round picks as a seller.  Devils don’t get Mercer otherwise.  We’ll see about Muk and Stillman.

Graves and Siegs were solid acquisitions.  He went hard after Hamilton and made it happen.

PK was a Shero (I think with ownership interference) move.  Not sure how much the Devils should‘be expected to get for Vatanen, really.  Like I said previously, I’m done with the “roll the dice and hope for the best “ Tatar and Johnsson moves.  As the team was transitioning, I understood those moves…but enough of that.  

[MadDog2020]

32 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

I don't know what Recchi is drawing on his board. But my guess is that this is it.

"Just get in this formation, stand there, be as static as possible and just exchange as many passes between those 3 guys as much as possible.... Both guys on the outside systematically have a guy right on them ready to block a shot or prevent them to go towards the net.... BUT maybe something will open up." - Mark Recchi

"also for the zone entry, it's simple. If you're the first guy ahead carrying the puck, you MUST drop the puck to the next guy behind... if that guy has other guys behind, he MUST drop it to them... up until you have 4 players waiting at the blue line... then the last puck carrier must now try to plow his way through 8 players OR dump the puck... we don't get there first cause we don't have any speed coming in." - Recchi

 

This is probably not far off what Recchi actually tells them.

[SterioDesign]

Just now, MB3 said:

He traded a Hart trophy winner for a first round pick. I refuse to write any songs about that. 

I’d rather Blake Coleman was still on this roster than Muk. Palmieri deal was fine, but Chase Stillman won’t see the roster for 3 more seasons and he is widely considered a late-second round pick the Devils horribly reached for.

Except Coleman eventually became a UFA and signed somewhere else and not here so we might not even have coleman either way

[RunninWithTheDevil]

24 minutes ago, MB3 said:

He traded a Hart trophy winner for a first round pick. I refuse to write any songs about that. 

In all fairness, Hall was done with us and a lot of us here especially were done with him too. That hand-to-the-ear move after a goal drought during which he complained about fans booing as if we didn't rescue him from the 'perennial bottom feeder turned annual Stanley Cup favorite until their eventual January collapse' that is the Edmonton Oilers. (Ironically if he hadn't got too big for his britches at the time, he very well might have been leading the young core we have right now.) The trade market wasn't particularly strong at that time IIRC and he obviously wasn't going to re-up with us, he had to go for something. I can sleep at night knowing what we got for shipping out the diva and charging an overweight carry-on fee for his lips. 

[SterioDesign]

9 minutes ago, MB3 said:

Might not have, fine. 

I'm glad we agree

[Nicomo]

I think Fitz has done a pretty good job with everything except for his coaching hires. Ruff was bad enough, but to then saddle him with Nas was just brutal. No idea who decided on Recchi, but honestly that’s been the worst move of the bunch. And at the end of the day Fitz should have a say in everything. 

It’s hard to even blame him for the goaltending situation though. Crawford and  Bernier both made sense at the time, but we know how that went. And he’s just as frustrated with Blackwood as the rest of us.

This offseason will likely be make or break for Fitz in NJ. Can’t waste anymore time with this coaching staff now that the young guys have reached the next level. He has to nail his next hire, and figure out a solution for the goaltending, or he’ll likely be gone. 

[NJDevils1214]

We're the only team in the league that can claim that we lost because of TOO MANY power plays.

[Nicomo]

25 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

We're the only team in the league that can claim that we lost because of TOO MANY power plays.

How long before teams start taking flagrant penalties against us because not only do they not fear the power play - they also know they could get some good chances short handed. 

[Rock]

18 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

How long before teams start taking flagrant penalties against us because not only do they not fear the power play - they also know they could get some good chances short handed. 

That's what I said when the Devils got the double minor power play

[SterioDesign]

This is Recchi's track record as a PP assistant coach

2017-2018 (PIT)

Season - 26.2% 1st/31

Playoffs - 22.7% 8th/16

 

2018-2019 (PIT)

Season - 24.6% 5th/31

Playoffs - 9.1% 15th/16

 

2019-2020 (PIT)

Season - 19.9% 16th/31

Playoffs - 27.6% 13th/24

 

2020-2021 (NJ)

Season - 15.1% - 28th/31

 

2021-2022 (so far)

Season - 18.1% - 27th/32

 

After 2 seasons finishing at the bottom like this. He truly need to go. 

[Bonginator11]

3 hours ago, Nicomo said:

How long before teams start taking flagrant penalties against us because not only do they not fear the power play - they also know they could get some good chances short handed. 

Before they started the 4 minute powerplay I said to myself “I don’t care if they don’t score as long as they don’t get scored on.” Well we all know how well that went. It’s pathetic how often teams get good chances on OUR powerplay

[mfitz804]

9 hours ago, MB3 said:

He traded a Hart trophy winner for a first round pick.

I decided to look at Hall’s season and Mercer’s season. Mercer has 3 more goals and 12 fewer assists for a point differential of -9 compared to Hall. As a 20 year old rookie on a team that is in last place. Hall is 30 years old and getting paid $6.4m on a playoff bound 83 point team. 

If you could add one of these guys to your team, production, ages and contracts being as they are…who would you rather have?

I can’t imagine anyone picking Hall. 
 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

8 hours ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

In all fairness, Hall was done with us and a lot of us here especially were done with him too. That hand-to-the-ear move after a goal drought during which he complained about fans booing as if we didn't rescue him from the 'perennial bottom feeder turned annual Stanley Cup favorite until their eventual January collapse' that is the Edmonton Oilers. (Ironically if he hadn't got too big for his britches at the time, he very well might have been leading the young core we have right now.) The trade market wasn't particularly strong at that time IIRC and he obviously wasn't going to re-up with us, he had to go for something. I can sleep at night knowing what we got for shipping out the diva and charging an overweight carry-on fee for his lips. 

Also fair to point out that Hall still had "Buyer Beware" on him...there was no guarantee that the team trading for him would be able to re-sign him, he was coming off a season where he'd missed 49 games, and wasn't really lighting it up with the Devils at the time he was dealt.  I thought that under the circumstances, Shero did pretty well there, in getting something back for a sure-to-leave asset.  And at least the Devils nailed the pick...and who knows, maybe Bahl can still turn into something (though can't say that I'm counting on it).  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

53 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I decided to look at Hall’s season and Mercer’s season. Mercer has 3 more goals and 12 fewer assists for a point differential of -9 compared to Hall. As a 20 year old rookie on a team that is in last place. Hall is 30 years old and getting paid $6.4m on a playoff bound 83 point team. 

If you could add one of these guys to your team, production, ages and contracts being as they are…who would you rather have?

I can’t imagine anyone picking Hall. 

Hall is a merely good player who had one great season.  It's pretty obvious now.  

Mercer is just getting started and figures to be cost-effective for several years.  

[Devilsfan118]

If Hall's attitude wasn't fvcking piss poor I would've loved to keep him here to lead this core.

Turns out, shocker, that stuff that was said about him in Edmonton wasn't too far off.  And @RunninWithTheDevilhas me over here pissed off reminding me about the hand to the ear thing after he flubbed the shot on a breakaway and it managed to luckily sneak in.

Was so done with that loser that year.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

24 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

If Hall's attitude wasn't fvcking piss poor I would've loved to keep him here to lead this core.

Turns out, shocker, that stuff that was said about him in Edmonton wasn't too far off.  And @RunninWithTheDevilhas me over here pissed off reminding me about the hand to the ear thing after he flubbed the shot on a breakaway and it managed to luckily sneak in.

Was so done with that loser that year.

Meh, we all loved the dude when he was shredding it during his MVP year...given that state of the team at that time, I'd have to say that was the single-best season by a Devils forward.  I'd rank Elias' 2003-04 season second (this is strictly based on surrounding talent, how good his team actually was, etc...obviously Patrik was an absolute beast in 2000-01, but that was a much better TEAM than the 2003-04 group).  

My thoughts re:  that whole ear-cupping thing haven't changed...a guy who seems like he has an awkward sense of humor and probably isn't great at reading the room tried to make his version of a mild funny, and it went badly.  I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but given how sh!tty things had gone since the end of the 2017-18 season, most Devils fans weren't in the mood.

For me, it had reached a point where "Is Hall going to be worth a top end contract?  Is he ever going to come close to having another season like 2017-18?"  That was a no, and I'm glad he wasn't re-signed for, say $8-9 million per year...would've been a disaster.

Boston is perfect for him...he's not wildly overpaid and can be a complementary player, and no one there is holding him to too high of a standard.  Here he would've forever been compared to 2017-18 Hall, all while earning a sh!t-ton of money...the "real" Hall wouldn't ever have been good enough in our eyes.  The Devils got one incredibly memorable and special season out him...and it kinda feels now like that's how it was meant to be.   

Edited March 24, 2022 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[SterioDesign]

37 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Meh, we all loved the dude when he was shredding it during his MVP year...given that state of the team at that time, I'd have to say that was the single-best season by a Devils forward.  I'd rank Elias' 2003-04 season second (this is strictly based on surrounding talent, how good his team actually was, etc...obviously Patrik was an absolute beast in 2000-01, but that was a much better TEAM than the 2003-04 group).  

My thoughts re:  that whole ear-cupping thing haven't changed...a guy who seems like he has an awkward sense of humor and probably isn't great at reading the room tried to make his version of a mild funny, and it went badly.  I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but given how sh!tty things had gone since the end of the 2017-18 season, most Devils fans weren't in the mood.

For me, it had reached a point where "Is Hall going to be worth a top end contract?  Is he ever going to come close to having another season like 2017-18?"  That was a no, and I'm glad he wasn't re-signed for, say $8-9 million per year...would've been a disaster.

Boston is perfect for him...he's not wildly overpaid and can be a complementary player, and no one there is holding him to too high of a standard.  Here he would've forever been compared to 2017-18 Hall, all while earning a sh!t-ton of money...the "real" Hall wouldn't ever have been good enough in our eyes.  The Devils got one incredibly memorable and special season out him...and it kinda feels now like that's how it was meant to be.   

I feel the same way. The fan reaction to the hear thing is overblown and if anything i was glad he did it. That they were in the mood or not. To boo and sh!t on a guy who singlehandedly got them in the playoffs the year before cause he was having a rough patch, that's just as low. And then they can't handle a guy giving it back to them? Who's fragile here lol people need to learn to take if they dish. It's literally like a Karen going to a store and ripping a new a$$hole to an employee there and being insanely rude but at the second an employee push back and call her out, she freaks out and wants him fired. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by SterioDesign