NJDfan1711 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 (edited) 44 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: The earlier losses to subpar teams really loom large when you consider what the Devils will have to do just to reach the playoffs. Having an extra 8-10 points banked would be huge right now. To me it's not even that. Good teams lose to bad teams here and there. What's more appalling to me is this team's inability to get any kind of momentum or decent run going. The season has literally just been 55 games of up down up down. No consistency in terms of winning. Also, 13-13 at home is awful. Our arena should be a sanctuary and a place where winning is easy. There's only six teams worse than us at home, and all of those teams are the absolute dregs of the league. Edited February 22 by NJDfan1711 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puckbuster Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 7 hours ago, MadDog2020 said: Punting on this season is completely unacceptable and if it wasn’t for some of his good work on contracts and trades, I’d want Fitz’s head on the same spit as Lindy’s. I agree 100%! Especially, when your window just opened. I could see after multiple runs for the cup punting to retool, but not now. Punting on a season opens a team up to all sorts of issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nessus Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I am starting to worry that Fitz's undying loyalty to Ruff is not only bad for the fate of this season, but it'll also cause him to make a deadline move that sacrifices the future, while still not moving the needle much in the present. The team that did so well last season is not making the playoffs at this rate. As GM, you have to do something, right? That something is not going to be firing the coach unfortunately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 4 hours ago, NJDfan1711 said: To me it's not even that. Good teams lose to bad teams here and there. What's more appalling to me is this team's inability to get any kind of momentum or decent run going. The season has literally just been 55 games of up down up down. No consistency in terms of winning. Also, 13-13 at home is awful. Our arena should be a sanctuary and a place where winning is easy. There's only six teams worse than us at home, and all of those teams are the absolute dregs of the league. I would argue that two issues—losing to bad teams and failing to establish any sort of momentum—are related, and we need only look at the past two weeks to understand why. The Devils posted impressive wins against Colorado, Nashville, and Philadelphia, only to come out the very next game and lay an egg against a lesser team. In two of the above instances, the subsequent loss happened at home. When a team can’t win games it’s supposed to, generating momentum yielding an extended winning streak is virtually impossible. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 9 hours ago, NJDfan1711 said: To me it's not even that. Good teams lose to bad teams here and there. What's more appalling to me is this team's inability to get any kind of momentum or decent run going. The season has literally just been 55 games of up down up down. No consistency in terms of winning. Also, 13-13 at home is awful. Our arena should be a sanctuary and a place where winning is easy. There's only six teams worse than us at home, and all of those teams are the absolute dregs of the league. Absolutely and I've always said that and a certain number of those losses are acceptable (and should be expected, really...every team has them), but the Devils just had too many. And yeah, you are right...too inconsistent, and not good enough at home. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 10 hours ago, nessus said: I am starting to worry that Fitz's undying loyalty to Ruff is not only bad for the fate of this season, but it'll also cause him to make a deadline move that sacrifices the future, while still not moving the needle much in the present. The team that did so well last season is not making the playoffs at this rate. As GM, you have to do something, right? That something is not going to be firing the coach unfortunately. I mean I think the time to do something was probably in late December or early January when it was obvious the goaltending and defense were going to lead to exactly where we find ourselves today. I'm sure Fitz has been trying, but he gets an F for me for not getting anything done and especially for not looking at a coaching change. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 29 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said: I'm sure Fitz has been trying, but he gets an F for me for not getting anything done and especially for not looking at a coaching change. F-. Nero fiddles while Rome burns. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 31 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said: I mean I think the time to do something was probably in late December or early January when it was obvious the goaltending and defense were going to lead to exactly where we find ourselves today. I'm sure Fitz has been trying, but he gets an F for me for not getting anything done and especially for not looking at a coaching change. 1 minute ago, MadDog2020 said: F-. Nero fiddles while Rome burns. Agreed. I can understand Fitz not pulling the trigger on a deal if the asking price was too high, but what’s stopping him from axing Lindy? I get that the two of them are friends, but personal feelings should never get in the way of business decisions. Everyone can see that Lindy’s not the right person to coach this team. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said: I mean I think the time to do something was probably in late December or early January when it was obvious the goaltending and defense were going to lead to exactly where we find ourselves today. I'm sure Fitz has been trying, but he gets an F for me for not getting anything done and especially for not looking at a coaching change. The refusal to make a coaching change is by far the most glaring mistake, AFAIC. Losing Dougie obviously hurt, but if one positive came out of this, it's that Nemec has gotten a lot more games of NHL experience this year than expected, and has largely held his own. We knew we were going to live with some growing pains in having both of them playing as rookies, but I'll make the argument that both of them are already better than Seves (even with their first-year warts) and even though I did like some of what Graves bought, the Penguin faithful are already fed up with him. Re: goaltending, I'm glad that Fitz didn't overpay for Markstrom, and remain so. Given the lack of a real system and the number of absurdly good looks opponents get most games, I'm not that convinced that Markstrom would've made THAT much of a difference. Or another way to put it...Devils are 7-9-2 in their last 18. What are they with Markstrom around? Maybe a couple of points better over that stretch? Yes, obviously that puts them much closer to a WC berth, but I'm probably being generous too. Goaltending has only been one of a number of problems. And though no one is blameless, I think many of the issues start with the coaching staff. Edited February 22 by Colorado Rockies 1976 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 4 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: Agreed. I can understand Fitz not pulling the trigger on a deal if the asking price was too high, but what’s stopping him from axing Lindy? I get that the two of them are friends, but personal feelings should never get in the way of business decisions. Everyone can see that Lindy’s not the right person to coach this team. Yep. A trade takes two to tango, and sacrificing the future isn’t something any of us wants for a quick fix in goal. But firing the coach is something he could do, and he refuses to for who God know what reasons. So Fitz has taken a big step back in my eyes. I also hated the move of announcing the Fitz extension the day before the Team Canada sh!t dropped; this guy cannot deal with tough questions. And that’s evidenced by the fact that he’s been INVISIBLE this entire season, where last year, he was a fvcking man about town. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicomo Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 And the worst part is that Berube was out there. Unless we find out he wasn’t interested (highly doubtful), there’s just no excuse for not making that change. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 minutes ago, Nicomo said: And the worst part is that Berube was out there. Unless we find out he wasn’t interested (highly doubtful), there’s just no excuse for not making that change. Yeah that's my biggest beef right there. Of course there's no guarantees that making the change would've worked, but FFS, guess what else isn't working? KEEPING LINDY! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 6 minutes ago, Nicomo said: And the worst part is that Berube was out there. Unless we find out he wasn’t interested (highly doubtful), there’s just no excuse for not making that change. He’s still out there. But Fitz would rather lose and get embarrassed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 2 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said: He’s still out there. But Fitz would rather lose and get embarrassed. If the Devils miss the playoffs, and Fitz winds up canning Ruff, he'd better be prepared for a lot of "Did you consider making this move during the season?" "If Ruff isn't the right person to coach the team now that the season's over, and heading into next season, why was he the right guy in your eyes during season, even though the team was clearly having issues while he was still here?" Fair questions that I think he should have to answer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicomo Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Pretty minimal, but still annoying. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostondevil11 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I guess it was going to happen soon or later. But boo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevils1214 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Was nice while it lasted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 3 minutes ago, Nicomo said: Pretty minimal, but still annoying. I don’t mind the patch much, as it sort of blends in with the rest of the jersey. I’m more worried about whether Fanatics will massacre the Devils design next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 4 minutes ago, Nicomo said: Pretty minimal, but still annoying. Gonna sound dramatic but I fvcking despise this. Only a matter of time until there are other patches elsewhere. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButlerBulldog Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Here’s a video about the patch. Nico looks like he’s trying very hard not to laugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 7 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said: Here’s a video about the patch. Nico looks like he’s trying very hard not to laugh. And the hits just keep on comin’ with this stupid fvcking franchise. It’s like the entire organization got together before the season and strategically concocted an elaborate plan entitled: ‘How can we piss off, alienate, and enrage our entire fanbase: The 2023-24 season’. Between the inconsistent and frustrating play on the ice, the inexplicable decision to not fire this moron coach, Fitz’s inability to find any human being that can stop a fvcking puck from going in the net, the SS jersey fiasco, the McLeod sh!t, and now this. They can all get fvcked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, Nicomo said: Pretty minimal, but still annoying. Hey wait the Devils are making even more money yet increased prices by 9% for season ticket holders. What a shocker! Guess our owners need more money for their helicopter flights! We all knew this was coming, I thought it was coming last year because the 40th anniversary patch being on the shoulder left the sponsorship spot wide open. The worst part of this is fvcking blue being on our jerseys now. The absolute worst. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 1 minute ago, Satans Hockey said: Hey wait the Devils are making even more money yet increased prices by 9% for season ticket holders. What a shocker! Guess our owners need more money for their helicopter flights! They need to buy another sports team to add to the portfolio, they don’t own enough 🙄 I swear, this whole country is nothing more than a late stage capitalist hellhole at this point. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Also you guys remember when the ad helmets were just "temporary" because the poor league and players really needed help because of the bubble and covid. We all knew that was the fvcking start of the ball rolling. Then it was digital ads on the boards and now this. It's a fvcking joke and I'm beyond sick and tired of ads and corporate bullsh!t. The lower backs of the jerseys will be next, just a matter of when not if. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilMinder Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I despise the corporate logos (even the supposed social support ones on helmets). Keep them clean, we all know that money isn't offsetting player costs or keeping the hot dogs under $15 . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.