GDT: It finally ends tonight - 1900

[jagknife]

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

[MadDog2020]

I’ll be there. LGD.

[mfitz804]

 

[NJDevils1214]

The answer was in the locker room.... Errrr.... Yea!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

The answer was in the locker room.... Errrr.... Yea!

Picture being married to someone who both looked like this and SOUNDED like this (minus the mammarial assets)...even had a VERY similar personality.

That was the hell my brother knew for ten years, before he (mercifully) got divorced.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

But yeah glad this is coming to an end.

There will be plenty of time to analyze what should be done in the offseason, but for now, I can certainly understand why most of the fanbase would lose confidence in Fitz.

And on that note, I don't want to hear a peep about processes or patience.  Sorry Fitz, pretty sure that's not the sales pitch you made to Hamilton when you signed him.  I get that the goalie situation messed things up for THIS season, but you can't already be halfway into punt mode for next season...and both you and your predecessor seem a little too comfortable with letting seasons effortlessly get away from you.  You could've shaken up the coaching staff, and you chose to (almost mindlessly) continue to back them.  How'd that work out?

And that staff better be gone.  You can't sell me on them being the answer in any possible way.  If you believe that they are, then you can't sell me on YOU being the answer either; as far as I'm concerned, if ANY one of those three are back in any capacity, then as far as being the right guy to build this team goes, you're dead to me.  That's it.

And sometimes, less is more.  Maybe you were trying to build up Hammond's confidence, I don't know...and given the price paid, I don't mind that you brought in another warm body.  But probably would've been better for everyone if you hadn't tried to blow the move up to be more.  Right now you just look clownish...when you emerge from your cave long enough to show us much of anything.

It's this offseason or bust for Fitz.  By October, I might very well be 100% done with him.    

Edited April 29, 2022 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[RunninWithTheDevil]

The end is finally here. Another wasted season. Here's hoping for a good lottery ball. 

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

What pisses me off is that I can't wait for this season to end , and the second it does I will miss it and be desperate for any news or action, in the hope that we are on the up.

It's been like this every fvcking year for a decade. But it feels like

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

17 minutes ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

What pisses me off is that I can't wait for this season to end , and the second it does I will miss it and be desperate for any news or action, in the hope that we are on the up.

It's been like this every fvcking year for a decade. But it feels like

Yeah my daughter even said "I'm going to miss the Devils and going to games...but I'm not going to miss the LOSING."  I got to the point where I would occasionally "vet" the games (I'd record them but not watch, and check the score on my phone...if the Devils were getting crushed (like last night), I'd just say "Nah, we're doing something else."   But yeah, within a week or two, I will be thinking about next season, and hoping that the promise of something MUCH better starts there. 

For some reason, it hit me today...my daughter is now right around the age I was, when my parents took me (and my brother, a casual Rangers fan) to our first game, back in December 1983.  I'm just really hoping that she gets to see some good hockey before she's off to college...we have four years left.  It was my senior year in high school that the Devils went on that magical 1988 run.  I keep telling her what fun going to a playoff game can be...I want her to actually EXPERIENCE it. 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Aitchmack]

50 minutes ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

What pisses me off is that I can't wait for this season to end , and the second it does I will miss it and be desperate for any news or action, in the hope that we are on the up.

It's been like this every fvcking year for a decade. But it feels like

I'm exactly the same with it. Hate to be looking at the top end of the draft, but excited for the prospect we pick. Roll on the final whistle tonight and, hopefully, some coaching changes sooner rather than later.

[Devs3cups]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

But yeah glad this is coming to an end.

There will be plenty of time to analyze what should be done in the offseason, but for now, I can certainly understand why most of the fanbase would lose confidence in Fitz.

And on that note, I don't want to hear a peep about processes or patience.  Sorry Fitz, pretty sure that's not the sales pitch you made to Hamilton when you signed him.  I get that the goalie situation messed things up for THIS season, but you can't already be halfway into punt mode for next season...and both you and your predecessor seem a little too comfortable with letting seasons effortlessly get away from you.  You could've shaken up the coaching staff, and you chose to (almost mindlessly) continue to back them.  How'd that work out?

And that staff better be gone.  You can't sell me on them being the answer in any possible way.  If you believe that they are, then you can't sell me on YOU being the answer either; as far as I'm concerned, if ANY one of those three are back in any capacity, then as far as being the right guy to build this team goes, you're dead to me.  That's it.

And sometimes, less is more.  Maybe you were trying to build up Hammond's confidence, I don't know...and given the price paid, I don't mind that you brought in another warm body.  But probably would've been better for everyone if you hadn't tried to blow the move up to be more.  Right now you just look clownish...when you emerge from your cave long enough to show us much of anything.

It's this offseason or bust for Fitz.  By October, I might very well be 100% done with him.    

Fitz has been GM for less than 2 years. This honestly seems premature to me. Him keeping the coaching staff would make me question him, but I'd still be far from wanting him fired.

People want to hold the goaltending against him, but he's tried to fix it for 2 years in a row, and it (miraculously) blew up in his face twice. The goaltending market was f*cked this year and people would've been just as pissed if he gave up major assets for a stopgap goaltending solution. In less than a year, he basically revamped the whole D with Hamilton, Siegenthaler and Dougie. Hamilton getting injured sucked and definitely impacted his play, but at the start of the year he was great. Siegenthaler was one of the top defensive d-men in the league this season and a shrewd move. Graves is a fine top-4 guy. The team is fine offensively, we're extremely good off the rush and scoring goals is not a problem (even with a sh!tTY PP). Sure, we could use more weight in general to score more off the cycling/zone pressure, and from what Marty/Fitz are on record of saying, this should be addressed. With proper goaltending, this team would've most likely been a bubble team, which is pretty much where we thought they'd be to start the season. Fitz has also drafted pretty well, especially in regards to Mercer and Muk (Holtz and Luke were obvious picks). Stillman is sort of questionnable, but I think he could be a good bottom-6 guy for us eventually. 

In all honesty, I think we should move on from the coaching staff, especially considering we know Ruff isn't the "coach of the future". Will they be gone? Who knows, maybe Fitz puts as much stock as we do in the goaltending as we do and is willing to give Ruff another shot after fixing the goaltending. The offense has been fine with Ruff. To me, the PP is inexcusable though, as is the defensive system. That has to be addressed imo. I wouldn't put Fitz's job at risk though. 

I honestly believe Fitz's moves and decisions have been pretty darn good, and he seems to have a good vision/plan as to how to build this team. Wanting to can him after less than 2 years at the helm and the moves he's made seems to me like impatience with winning, which is a fine way to feel, more so than what he's actually accomplished as a GM, which is pretty good in less than 2 years. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 minutes ago, Devs3cups said:

Fitz has been GM for less than 2 years. This honestly seems premature to me. Him keeping the coaching staff would make me question him, but I'd still be far from wanting him fired.

People want to hold the goaltending against him, but he's tried to fix it for 2 years in a row, and it (miraculously) blew up in his face twice. The goaltending market was f*cked this year and people would've been just as pissed if he gave up major assets for a stopgap goaltending solution. In less than a year, he basically revamped the whole D with Hamilton, Siegenthaler and Dougie. Hamilton getting injured sucked and definitely impacted his play, but at the start of the year he was great. Siegenthaler was one of the top defensive d-men in the league this season and a shrewd move. Graves is a fine top-4 guy. The team is fine offensively, we're extremely good off the rush and scoring goals is not a problem (even with a sh!tTY PP). Sure, we could use more weight in general to score more off the cycling/zone pressure, and from what Marty/Fitz are on record of saying, this should be addressed. With proper goaltending, this team would've most likely been a bubble team, which is pretty much where we thought they'd be to start the season. Fitz has also drafted pretty well, especially in regards to Mercer and Muk (Holtz and Luke were obvious picks). Stillman is sort of questionnable, but I think he could be a good bottom-6 guy for us eventually. 

In all honesty, I think we should move on from the coaching staff, especially considering we know Ruff isn't the "coach of the future". Will they be gone? Who knows, maybe Fitz puts as much stock as we do in the goaltending as we do and is willing to give Ruff another shot after fixing the goaltending. The offense has been fine with Ruff. To me, the PP is inexcusable though, as is the defensive system. That has to be addressed imo. I wouldn't put Fitz's job at risk though. 

I honestly believe Fitz's moves and decisions have been pretty darn good, and he seems to have a good vision/plan as to how to build this team. Wanting to can him after less than 2 years at the helm and the moves he's made seems to me like impatience with winning, which is a fine way to feel, more so than what he's actually accomplished as a GM, which is pretty good in less than 2 years. 

He can't back those horses again...ESPECIALLY nASS and Recchi.  No way.  I do think he's done a pretty good job bringing defensemen in (we were THRILLED with Hamilton, and I absolutely believe that he can bounce back), and I've defended many of his personnel moves (if you read my post I wasn't really killing him there at all).  Some of his "roll the dice" moves (Tatar and Johnsson in particular) haven't worked out, but no GM bats 1.000.  That being said, I'm done with "If this guy can bounce back..." kind of moves.  At least Tatar only has one year left on his deal.   

If you've read my other posts, you'll see that I actually don't hold the goaltending situation against him.  There was no way that Blackwood wasn't going to get another shot this season, and I was on board with Bernier.  When both your goalies go down, and you don't have that kid that's ready to step right up...yeah, not a whole lot that you can do.  There was no one goalie out there that was available that was going to save the season.

I've been one of the most patient people on here...the one unforgivable sin that I hold against Fitz this season is sticking with this coaching staff and not even attempting a shakeup, but given that both the power play AND the PK were actually appearing to round into form during the midseason, there's a part of me that kinda-sorta (though I really don't want to) understands why he was ultimately hoping that they would indeed turn out to be the answer.  But now Fitz has to see that they're NOT.  And he can't let the wrong cooks turn what could be a pretty tasty meal into something barely edible yet AGAIN.        

[ajsgolf]

Would you prefer them to lose or win tonight based on the attachment?

[MadDog2020]

3 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Picture being married to someone who both looked like this and SOUNDED like this (minus the mammarial assets)...even had a VERY similar personality.

That was the hell my brother knew for ten years, before he (mercifully) got divorced.

If you are going at my girl Lacey Chabert, we may have to fight later- she’s on my list! 🤣

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

17 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

If you are going at my girl Lacey Chabert, we may have to fight later- she’s on my list! 🤣

Oh no she's actually quite attractive, I meant more the character she was embodying.  

[mfitz804]

4 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Picture being married to someone who both looked like this and SOUNDED like this (minus the mammarial assets)...even had a VERY similar personality.

That was the hell my brother knew for ten years, before he (mercifully) got divorced.

 

47 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

If you are going at my girl Lacey Chabert, we may have to fight later- she’s on my list! 🤣

I don't think her father, the inventor of Toaster Strudel, would be pleased to hear any of this. 

[DevsMan84]

1 hour ago, Devs3cups said:

Fitz has been GM for less than 2 years. This honestly seems premature to me. Him keeping the coaching staff would make me question him, but I'd still be far from wanting him fired.

People want to hold the goaltending against him, but he's tried to fix it for 2 years in a row, and it (miraculously) blew up in his face twice. The goaltending market was f*cked this year and people would've been just as pissed if he gave up major assets for a stopgap goaltending solution. In less than a year, he basically revamped the whole D with Hamilton, Siegenthaler and Dougie. Hamilton getting injured sucked and definitely impacted his play, but at the start of the year he was great. Siegenthaler was one of the top defensive d-men in the league this season and a shrewd move. Graves is a fine top-4 guy. The team is fine offensively, we're extremely good off the rush and scoring goals is not a problem (even with a sh!tTY PP). Sure, we could use more weight in general to score more off the cycling/zone pressure, and from what Marty/Fitz are on record of saying, this should be addressed. With proper goaltending, this team would've most likely been a bubble team, which is pretty much where we thought they'd be to start the season. Fitz has also drafted pretty well, especially in regards to Mercer and Muk (Holtz and Luke were obvious picks). Stillman is sort of questionnable, but I think he could be a good bottom-6 guy for us eventually. 

In all honesty, I think we should move on from the coaching staff, especially considering we know Ruff isn't the "coach of the future". Will they be gone? Who knows, maybe Fitz puts as much stock as we do in the goaltending as we do and is willing to give Ruff another shot after fixing the goaltending. The offense has been fine with Ruff. To me, the PP is inexcusable though, as is the defensive system. That has to be addressed imo. I wouldn't put Fitz's job at risk though. 

I honestly believe Fitz's moves and decisions have been pretty darn good, and he seems to have a good vision/plan as to how to build this team. Wanting to can him after less than 2 years at the helm and the moves he's made seems to me like impatience with winning, which is a fine way to feel, more so than what he's actually accomplished as a GM, which is pretty good in less than 2 years. 

No one is blaming Fitz for the goalies getting injured.  What I will blame him for is his handling of it.  When the season is floundering and the best you can do is keep the same pathetic coaches and the extent of your creativity in solving the goaltending issue is trading nothing for an ECHL player and a Comet for a goalie who hasn't played in the NHL for almost 4 years and didn't know he was injured, yeah I will start to question/blame him.

I am not sure why you are saying Muk is "drafting well."  He is still a gigantic question mark and we are still not even 100% sure if he will come over to NA.  Saying Stillman is questionable is being very optimistic.  He has had a pretty rough D+1 year and is looking like at best a AAAA player.

My greatest concern is if Fitz is being held back by those above him (Reynolds, Weber, Harris, Blitzer).  I do have a sneaking suspicion that is the reason why the coaches have not been fired (don't want be paying for 2 HC's) and why we had to bribe Buffalo with a draft pick to take Butcher the same afternoon we signed Hamilton even though we had a ton of cap space.

[moustic]

And i will miss Devil's hockey the second the game is over... 
October... dammit... it's not even may yet ! 

[Jerzey]

So this summers checklist is pretty much just the draft and find a goalie? Might be a long summer. Can’t really see any big trades or free agent signings going down for us unless Blackwood is gone. I guess we’re going to have to get rid of Zacha and maybe a LHD eventually.

 

Edit: And coaching changes. I’m actually somewhat ok with Ruff for another year but the supporting cast has to go. Ruff didn’t get to choose his assistants.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Jerzey

[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, Jerzey said:

So this summers checklist is pretty much just the draft and find a goalie? Might be a long summer. Can’t really see any big trades or free agent signings going down for us unless Blackwood is gone. I guess we’re going to have to get rid of Zacha and maybe a LHD eventually.

If that's the plan we should be prepared for another long season. 

[moustic]

26 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

If that's the plan we should be prepared for another long season. 

Or a short one... But yeah what you say ! 

[Jerzey]

38 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

If that's the plan we should be prepared for another long season. 

I guess an rhd should be on order too. Don’t see the need for any forwards though. Need to probably shed a couple.

[MadDog2020]

56 minutes ago, moustic said:

And i will miss Devil's hockey the second the game is over... 

While I’ll miss Devils hockey, I need a break from these clowns. So thank God this season ends tonight. 

[MadDog2020]

51 minutes ago, Jerzey said:

So this summers checklist is pretty much just the draft and find a goalie? Might be a long summer. Can’t really see any big trades or free agent signings going down for us unless Blackwood is gone. I guess we’re going to have to get rid of Zacha and maybe a LHD eventually

Uh, no. The checklist is quite long. There better be MAJOR moves.