Jump to content

Your New Jersey Devils Regular Season Thread: 2022-2023 Edition


Crisis

Recommended Posts

Obviously this pertains to this year and sure as hell not the last 10 years…

When game day falls on a weekday, at what time during the work day do you become useless since you’re only reading Devils info or posting on njdevs until the drop of the puck?  I think I become partly useless throughout the day since the game is always in the back of my head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, ajsgolf said:

Obviously this pertains to this year and sure as hell not the last 10 years…

When game day falls on a weekday, at what time during the work day do you become useless since you’re only reading Devils info or posting on njdevs until the drop of the puck?  I think I become partly useless throughout the day since the game is always in the back of my head.

8:30 AM, like every other day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am so thankful we have Vitek. He has made some big saves all year, and has far exceeded any expectations I had for him. Once again, amazing trade by Fitz. On another note, Ilya Samsonov, who was splitting starts with Vanecek in Washington, is having a strong season as well. Really sucks for the Caps that they traded away two good goalies.

As far as the Devils' goaltending situation goes, it really goes without saying that even once Blackwood is healthy, Vitek is the starter moving forward. If I had to guess, I would say that Blackwood's time with the Devils is over. Fitz hanging on to Bernier for so long may suggest otherwise, but I also believe that Fitz understands that you need at least 2 solid goaltending options to consistently win games in the NHL. Blackwood's track record is not good enough to warrant continuing to pencil him in when he cannot stay healthy. I also think Schmid is making a case for himself, and likely deserves that backup spot more than anyone else in the system at the moment. And to be honest, a tandem of Vanecek/Schmid might be the best I've felt about the team's goaltending since pre-injury Schneider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

If he can stay healthy I’d love for them not to have to rush Schmid into a full time NHLer at just 22. 

On the whole "not staying healthy" thing, the guy's skate got stuck in a rut on the ice, it was a freak occurrence. Its like saying Nico "can't stay healthy" because PK blasted him in the face. 

If we were talking about the same injury as previous, I would understand the logic. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, mfitz804 said:

On the whole "not staying healthy" thing, the guy's skate got stuck in a rut on the ice, it was a freak occurrence. Its like saying Nico "can't stay healthy" because PK blasted him in the face. 

If we were talking about the same injury as previous, I would understand the logic. 

I’m talking about his career so far as a whole. He’s missed a lot of time. And even played a bunch last year while injured. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Pissing off the entirety of NJDevs, I am sure. 

If he has a couple of bad starts out of the gate, for sure.  Schmid has been terrific up here so far.  But at the same time if he's healthy enough to play, kinda hard to completely mothball him.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

If he has a couple of bad starts out of the gate, for sure.  Schmid has been terrific up here so far.  But at the same time if he's healthy enough to play, kinda hard to completely mothball him.  

I can’t see Blackwood getting much of a contract offer from NJ. I wonder if they explore trading him at the deadline and trusting Schmid to backup into the playoffs. I still think there’s a hell of a goalie in there but it just seems like he can’t catch a break. He was playing well before this latest injury. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

I can’t see Blackwood getting much of a contract offer from NJ. I wonder if they explore trading him at the deadline and trusting Schmid to backup into the playoffs. I still think there’s a hell of a goalie in there but it just seems like he can’t catch a break. He was playing well before this latest injury. 

The reason I don’t want to do that is you are taking a huge gamble if Vitek gets hurt. I don’t want to be in a position to make a deep playoff run and our goalies are Schmid and Daws. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

The reason I don’t want to do that is you are taking a huge gamble if Vitek gets hurt. I don’t want to be in a position to make a deep playoff run and our goalies are Schmid and Daws. 

Yeah personally I’d like to keep Blackwood and Vanecek until the off season and then figure it out. Blackwood has the ability to be a hell of a goalie. Schmid has shown us a bit in his few games this season and Daws showed some promise last season. It’s nice to have a pipeline of goalies for once 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

The reason I don’t want to do that is you are taking a huge gamble if Vitek gets hurt. I don’t want to be in a position to make a deep playoff run and our goalies are Schmid and Daws. 

This is where I am.  I feel like Blackwood’s gotta be kept around as insurance.  Which means he’ll have to get some work in here and there.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

This is where I am.  I feel like Blackwood’s gotta be kept around as insurance.  Which means he’ll have to get some work in here and there.  

Exactly. If Schmid goes down and Daws has to take his place, but Vitek is healthy, I would be ok with that. But if Vitek ends up hurt and Blackwood is gone, that could kill our chances of going far. 

Or, it might not, who knows. But you have to play for the worst case scenario, in my opinion. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Exactly. If Schmid goes down and Daws has to take his place, but Vitek is healthy, I would be ok with that. But if Vitek ends up hurt and Blackwood is gone, that could kill our chances of going far. 

Or, it might not, who knows. But you have to play for the worst case scenario, in my opinion. 

And honestly a tandem of Vanecek and Blackwood at a 6.2 salary hit this season is a bargain considering that’s what most starters make alone. So it’s not like we are under some ridiculous contract keeping them both

Edited by Devil Dan 56
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Ruff apparently told Zetterlund and Boqvist to find a place in NJ to live, they're here for the long haul. My guess is we see Holtz sent back down, but I'm mostly curious with what happens when Palat is back in regards to Boqvist... unless Bastian's injury is going to keep him out the whole season, which would suck. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.