New Around The League Thread

[Lateralous]

I get that they haven’t had the luck the Devils have had in the draft, but my bigger issue is where is this headed?  They got  Seider and a Raymond and now just spent a whole lot on Compher, Ghost, Kostin, Sprong and Reimer so I guess they’re not planning any type of tank going forward.   Yzerman was supposedly the savant that built out the Tampa offense with only one 1st round pick but I haven’t seen much evidence of any of that on its way.   What are they doing that leads to them ever being out of that 18-26ish range in the league going forward?   

Edited July 5, 2023 by Lateralous

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

36 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

I get that they haven’t had the luck the Devils have had in the draft, but my bigger issue is where is this headed?  They got  Seider and a Raymond and now just spent a whole lot on Compher, Ghost, Kostin, Sprong and Reimer so I guess they’re not planning any type of tank going forward.   Yzerman was supposedly the savant that built out the Tampa offense with only one 1st round pick but I haven’t seen much evidence of any of that on its way.   What are they doing that leads to them ever being out of that 18-26ish range in the league going forward?   

For starters, Yzerman better hope that Husso plays a hell of a lot better than he did last year.  That’s one move that simply did NOT work out in Year 1 of Husso coming aboard.

Yeah they’re not in a great spot…they don’t really have much of a talented core yet.  They’re kinda in that “If everything breaks right then maybe a WC spot” malaise.  Where I feel for Yzerman is if you don’t draft that top-end talent guy and you’re not willing to pull a Panarin-type move in paying a fortune for a guy who will only have so many prime years left, it’s easy to get stuck.  

Edited July 5, 2023 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Tatar still not signed yet.  Curious to see where he winds up, and what he winds up getting...with Toffoli, Fitz brought in a better and slightly younger version of what Tatar would've brought (their career numbers are close, but Toffoli's the more productive player), so obviously he won't be coming back here.  There's a forward slot open (11 forwards currently under contract with the big club), but don't see any reason not to leave that open for any kid not named Holtz (I'd rather Clarke or Foote getting Bottom 6 minutes).  

Tomáš Tatar vs. Tyler Toffoli: Head-to-Head Stats Comparison | Stathead.com

[Nicomo]

My local ECHL team has gone to the dark side. 🤮 

 

[Jerrydevil]

4 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Tatar still not signed yet.  Curious to see where he winds up.  

Tomáš Tatar vs. Tyler Toffoli: Head-to-Head Stats Comparison | Stathead.com

LOL, I just posted that sentiment in another thread. I am curious, too.

[jagknife]

8 hours ago, Nicomo said:

My local ECHL team has gone to the dark side. 🤮 

 

Unrelated: I’m trying to make a trip up to Savannah to see the Ghose Pirates next year

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Tarasenko canned his agent.  Maybe getting restless?

[Nicomo]

48 minutes ago, jagknife said:

Unrelated: I’m trying to make a trip up to Savannah to see the Ghose Pirates next year

They have one of the best team names in all of hockey. 

[jagknife]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

They have one of the best team names in all of hockey. 

I have a shirt and sticker from them… it was even before they played a game haha

i want one of their glow in the dark jersey’s too haha

[Nicomo]

Pretty much what @Colorado Rockies 1976 has been saying about Lou and Isles for a while now. Yikes. 

[RunninWithTheDevil]

I'm surprised we've never had a board discussion about Lou's last few years here

[vincois]

I'll always love Lou for Devils success, but if this year Isles fail at least make playoffs. Stick a fork in it. Retire, it's time.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

12 hours ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

I'm surprised we've never had a board discussion about Lou's last few years here

I actually see Devil Lou and Islander Lou as different entities...Lou the Devils GM obviously had a killer run and cemented himself as one of the all-time great GMs in pro sports, and even though it obviously was NOT pretty at the end here, that happens eventually when you're in one place for so damned long.  You'll hit a downturn in time...that's why when I mention Lou at all these days, it's almost entirely with regards to his Islander tenure.

And as far as Lou the Islander GM goes ...as a guy who got to see Lou's best (and of course he was so great at outside-the-box thinking), it's so sad to see what he's become.  His best move by far and away was hiring Trotz...which he managed to undo because he just had to bring in...Lane Lambert?!  THAT'S the guy who's going to take you to the next level?

And he's just been SO recklessly irresponsible with their cap...look, Fitz is definitely taking some risks with the number of long-term contracts, but at least it's for guys who should have several prime years left (not to mention there's considerable talent involved)...the Islanders are already not terribly young and don't figure to get BETTER as all of these ill-thought-out max term deals age.  Imagine having $17.65 million combined locked up in Barzal and Horvat?!  Those are just not cornerstone guys, sorry.  Lou is just so nonchalant about throwing money around now...he was actually much more deliberate and cautious when he DIDN'T have to navigate a salary cap.

Some Devils fans (we know who) actually take some level of glee at seeing what's happening with the Islanders; sure, it's good for me that the Isles don't appear to have any chance to compete for a Cup as long as Lou keeps on Lou-ing, but I hate seeing a guy who was such a huge part of making the Devils a top team for decades and who was SO heralded, respected, and even FEARED going out on this kind of note.  It stings for the Devil fan in me to see another fanbase likely thinking "Will you get this befuddled senile idiot out of here already?!"  It's a such a sh!tty way for Lou to go out, but at the same time, he's done this to himself.  He inherited too much for things to have gotten this ugly; he's simply done a very bad job overall there, and that can't be disputed.  The back-to-back conference final appearances made him a look a lot better than he's really been, but that's long since worn off.  He's built a mess and will leave behind a mess.  Just...sucks.

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Jerrydevil]

For those of you who like puzzle games. An Immaculate Grid for hockey. https://www.puckdoku.com/

[Satans Hockey]

30 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Some Devils fans (we know who) actually take some level of glee at seeing what's happening with the Islanders; sure, it's good for me that the Isles don't appear to have any chance to compete for a Cup as long as Lou keeps on Lou-ing, but I hate seeing a guy who was such a huge part of making the Devils a top team for decades and who was SO heralded, respected, and even FEARED going out on this kind of note.  It stings for the Devil fan in me to see another fanbase likely thinking "Will you get this befuddled senile idiot out of here already?!"  It's a such a sh!tty way for Lou to go out, but at the same time, he's done this to himself.  He inherited too much for things to have gotten this ugly; he's simply done a very bad job overall there, and that can't be disputed.  The back-to-back conference final appearances made him a look a lot better than he's really been, but that's long since worn off.  He's built a mess and will leave behind a mess.  Just...sucks.

 

I can't stand the Islanders and their fans so I'm perfectly fine with seeing their team become an absolute mess.

I've always been a logo on the front of the jersey fan over caring about the names on the back so once they are outta here I really don't care about them or their success/failures. I think Lou would respect that lol

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

7 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

I can't stand the Islanders and their fans so I'm perfectly fine with seeing their team become an absolute mess.

I've always been a logo on the front of the jersey fan over caring about the names on the back so once they are outta here I really don't care about them or their success/failures. I think Lou would respect that lol

Oh I love seeing the Islanders look like they're firmly on their way to being expensive but middling.  I just hate seeing Lou be such a big part of it.  But not like I'd ever be rooting for him to SUCCEED at our expense, so there's that.

[RunninWithTheDevil]

1 hour ago, Jerrydevil said:

For those of you who like puzzle games. An Immaculate Grid for hockey. https://www.puckdoku.com/

I don't give enough of a sh!t about other teams to even have a shot at this 

[NJDevils1214]

1 hour ago, Jerrydevil said:

For those of you who like puzzle games. An Immaculate Grid for hockey. https://www.puckdoku.com/

Fun but not easy.

[MadDog2020]

Zadina hitting the open market: https://thehockeynews.com/news/red-wings-filip-zadina-agree-to-terminate-contract?fbclid=IwAR0JyE8RE3R2XQVCBlpTuSiRMjAPXxjUPEoy2JiAEPIENyuk1fe0vDgVSSw_aem_AWpdloFGeMzlXBHFt5P5fguQRXwMM2ekT0o07LkdfIthU452BAwQjMhdCCK5wLec3_0

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

11 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Zadina hitting the open market: https://thehockeynews.com/news/red-wings-filip-zadina-agree-to-terminate-contract?fbclid=IwAR0JyE8RE3R2XQVCBlpTuSiRMjAPXxjUPEoy2JiAEPIENyuk1fe0vDgVSSw_aem_AWpdloFGeMzlXBHFt5P5fguQRXwMM2ekT0o07LkdfIthU452BAwQjMhdCCK5wLec3_0

[DevilMinder]

14 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Pretty much what @Colorado Rockies 1976 has been saying about Lou and Isles for a while now. Yikes. 

@ByronMBader

·

Jul 5

 

9. New Jersey Devils Top 5 Skater Prospects: L. Hughes, Nemec, Casey, Holtz and Gritsyuk The Devils pool is heavily driven by L. Hughes and Nemec, two of the best O dmen prospects outside of the NHL. It'll drop down quickly after those two graduate.

[NJDfan1711]

4 hours ago, Jerrydevil said:

For those of you who like puzzle games. An Immaculate Grid for hockey. https://www.puckdoku.com/

This is awesome. I got 3/9.  Tough without hints, requires you to have a good memory and thinks across all eras. I was going back too far and didn't consider very recent players. 

[eldon]

I tried puckdoku too. It is hard.

Though the one I tried had the Sharks, ducks and blues. I imagine 3 or 4 eastern conf or metro teams might be a bit easier.

Gordle has been around for at least a year, and is tough but easier than puck puzzle above.

(and probably brought up before on our forum, but I'll re-paste it.)

https://gordle.herokuapp.com/

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by eldon

[Jerrydevil]

6 minutes ago, eldon said:

I tried puckdoku too. It is hard.

Though the one I tried had the Sharks, ducks and blues. I imagine 3 or 4 eastern conf or metro teams might be a bit easier.

Gordle has been around for at least a year, and is tough but easier than puck puzzle above.

(and probably brought up before on our forum, but I'll re-paste it.)

https://gordle.herokuapp.com/

 

I aced the one today, but I did the Sharks-Ducks-Blues one and didn't do too well. I'm better at remembering Eastern Conference players because I'm more familiar with them, especially the depth players.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

4 minutes ago, Jerrydevil said:

I aced the one today, but I did the Sharks-Ducks-Blues one and didn't do too well. I'm better at remembering Eastern Conference players because I'm more familiar with them, especially the depth players.

I got 7/9 and a "uniqueness" score of 270.  Got all of Calder winners, but was stumped on the Buf-Bos and Van-Bos connection.  Felt like they were right there but just couldn't get those damned names.

Some of the players that I came up with I ready had to dive deep in my memory well:  Bryan Smolinski, Barry Pederson, heh heh.