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2023-2024 NJ Devils season thread


MadDog2020

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1 minute ago, nmigliore said:

Not sure how many of you guys follow Dimitri Filipovic or his podcast but he basically spent 50 minutes gushing over Nemec here:

It's so early for both, but I think Luke's going to be more dynamic and a real "highlight" guy, while Nemec's going to be a terrific "ol reliable" all-arounder.  Love that both of them are here, growing pains and all.

 

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15 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

It's so early for both, but I think Luke's going to be more dynamic and a real "highlight" guy, while Nemec's going to be a terrific "ol reliable" all-arounder.  Love that both of them are here, growing pains and all.

 

I agree, Luke has "flashier" tools and we don't always catch the small plays where Nemec is just so, so good.

Dimitri also shared this mini-highlight reel of Nemec (he posted a 20-minute version too, if anyone's interested lol) but it shows how skilled Nemec is between offense, defense and in transition. There are a lot of "oh I'm glad I'm seeing this again b/c I didn't notice just how great of a play this was watching it live" moments.

 

Edited by nmigliore
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18 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

 

IMG_7480.gif

 

29 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

Pressure is on, Craig Conroy...

I saw post on Reddit yesterday of a reporter claiming Flames were keeping Markstrom. Idk how credible this dude is.

 

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7 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

 

I saw post on Reddit yesterday of a reporter claiming Flames were keeping Markstrom. Idk how credible this dude is.

 

Fine by me; I don’t want Markstrom. 

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3 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Discover No Way GIF by ADWEEK

I agree.

But if it turns out that Fitz really is THAT high on Markstrom and is THAT convinced that adding him can make a difference, maybe not wait until the Devils already have one foot in the grave before making that move?  

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I'm almost certainly in the minority here... but I want Markstrom. The Devils need a goaltender and that's been obvious for many years. And with all due respect to Nico Daws, and how solid he's played of late, he's still outside the top 30 goalies by goals saved above expected in the past month (while Markstrom ranks 5th).

Saros? No thanks. He hasn't been as good as Markstrom this season, he has less term and will require a massive extension after next season. Same with Ullmark, if you're into that idea.

Craig Conroy is getting boxed in by the day, especially after these comments by Markstrom, and just sold Tanev for a very mediocre haul. I think Markstrom would be a great fit the next two seasons, saying nothing of whatever may be salvageable this season.

 

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16 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

I'm almost certainly in the minority here... but I want Markstrom. The Devils need a goaltender and that's been obvious for many years. And with all due respect to Nico Daws, and how solid he's played of late, he's still outside the top 30 goalies by goals saved above expected in the past month (while Markstrom ranks 5th).

Saros? No thanks. He hasn't been as good as Markstrom this season, he has less term and will require a massive extension after next season. Same with Ullmark, if you're into that idea.

Craig Conroy is getting boxed in by the day, especially after these comments by Markstrom, and just sold Tanev for a very mediocre haul. I think Markstrom would be a great fit the next two seasons, saying nothing of whatever may be salvageable this season.

 

Markstrom's been up and down the past three seasons, leading into this one...overall he had a 4.2 GSAA for those three seasons combined, with a .907 save%...when you consider how good the middle season was (2nd in the Vezina voting), that gives you an idea of how meh he was the other two seasons.  If the Devils get one of those seasons from him, not only are they now potentially stuck with his full hit, but he won't really help them THAT much.

He has been hot lately for sure...his last 16 appearance have seen him put up a .926 save%.

I guess part of his appeal is that he IS cost-controlled and the Devils would only be on the hook for two seasons after this one...not thrilled that they'll be his Age 34/35 and Age 35/36 seasons though.  He'll never make mega-bucks while he's here, and his contract will be expiring just as it's time to re-sign Nemec and start to figure out what an extension might look like for Nico.

I can't say that I'm sold on Markstrom, but if the price is cheap enough in terms of assets going the other way, and one of Brennan or Malek is hopefully knocking on the door by the start of the 2026-27 season, you can say goodbye to Markstrom.  It still feels risky as fvck to me...heaven forbid 2022-23 Markstrom shows up here.   

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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46 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I agree.

But if it turns out that Fitz really is THAT high on Markstrom and is THAT convinced that adding him can make a difference, maybe not wait until the Devils already have one foot in the grave before making that move?  

Fine, we take on full salary, no Holtz. Period.

fvck Lindy’s feelings, Holtz has a future, Ruff has a retirement home.

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To me it's more about wise asset/financial management more than the actual player. I firmly believe goalies are voodoo so the cheaper you can find a potential top-tier goalie, the better. Saros and Ullmark are both great... but they're also only under control thru next season and will require big extensions. Markstrom is older but gives you TWO more seasons (at $1M more in AAV) and theoretically should cost less in a trade. Yes, his play dipped last season, but if you take a 3-year combined view, he's 5th in goals saved above expected by Evolving Hockey's model:

image.thumb.png.55b1963c27934a1e8e825ff9c024b0b0.png

And even in down year last season, he still graded positive in that metric (while being top-6 in 2021-22):

image.thumb.png.93676e2265647b4e33dafd7571835fc1.png

Edited by nmigliore
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@nmigliore being that you’re factoring having to give up less to bring Markstrom here, what are you willing to give up for him?

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Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, smelly said:

No one should interpret this as meaning the price has dropped. 

If there’s no retention, the price better drop. If it doesn’t, we have a problem. We need a goalie; but Fitz can’t get bent over. No retention, no Holtz. 

Edited by MadDog2020
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21 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

@nmigliore being that you’re factoring having to give up less to bring Markstrom here, what are you willing to give up for him?

Casey with pick(s)? That's the easy "yes" for me since he seems a bit out of place here given our young defense depth who can play on the PP. I don't think that gets it done, though, so if not him I'd probably be willing to part with Holtz if you pushed me hard enough. I know that's unpopular but the Devils need to capitalize on this window of having players entering and/or in their prime at highly reasonable cap hits, this year's result be damned.

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8 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

If there’s no retention, the price better drop. If it doesn’t, we have a problem. We need a goalie; but Fitz can’t get bent over. No retention, no Holtz. 

As I’ve reported before, Holtz is almost certainly dead man walking if this goes down, regardless of retention. Remember, the deal was done and Holtz was in it. Issue with retention piece was whether and how much CAL ownership would allow, and the associated additional asset costs. Those go away if the Devils take on the whole deal. Would take some Jedi level sh!t to save Holtz. Maybe Fitz has it in him, but I doubt it. 
 

There is a reason they still see a place for Toffoli. 

6 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

Casey with pick(s)? That's the easy "yes" for me since he seems a bit out of place here given our young defense depth who can play on the PP. I don't know if that gets it done, though, so if not him I'd probably be willing to part with Holtz if you pushed me hard enough. I know that's unpopular but the Devils need to capitalize on this window of having players entering and/or in their prime at highly reasonable cap hits. 

If only. 

Edited by smelly
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6 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

Casey with pick(s)? That's the easy "yes" for me since he seems a bit out of place here given our young defense depth who can play on the PP. I don't know if that gets it done, though. I'd probably be willing to part with Holtz if you pushed me hard enough. I know that's unpopular but the Devils need to capitalize on this window of having players entering and/or in their prime at highly reasonable cap hits. 

Yeah hard to think that it’s not going to be one of Holtz or Casey going back the other way, should this actually happen.  Doesn’t thrill me, but I can’t pretend to think something like a second-rounder and spare parts gets this done.

As far as Casey’s future, I still think Fitz will try to deal Dougie with a couple of years left on his deal.  That would open up a spot for Casey, just as he’s finishing up at Michigan (of course he may want to come out earlier than that if there’s an opportunity for him). 

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1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Yeah hard to think that it’s not going to be one of Holtz or Casey going back the other way, should this actually happen.  Doesn’t thrill me, but I can’t pretend to think something like a second-rounder and spare parts gets this done.

As far as Casey’s future, I still think Fitz will try to deal Dougie with a couple of years left on his deal.  That would open up a spot for Casey, just as he’s finishing up at Michigan (of course he may want to come out earlier than that if there’s an opportunity for him). 

Even if Dougie gets moved in the future, I think you're looking at Luke PP1, Nemec PP2. It's a tough group to crack. I wouldn't think twice about moving Casey + for Markstrom right now.

Holtz as I as said is tougher but I'd still do it. Unfair treatment from Lindy or not, he hasn't show any ability to drive five-on-five play. Maybe he ends up a 30+ goal scorer playing with play-driving linemates while being on a PP1... or maybe he's Sharangovich 2.0 who pots about 15-20 goals per year as an okay middle-6 forward. I think the latter is roughly his floor, but I'd still be willing to move that for Markstrom given our window. 

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21 minutes ago, smelly said:

As I’ve reported before, Holtz is almost certainly dead man walking if this goes down, regardless of retention. Remember, the deal was done and Holtz was in it. Issue with retention piece was whether and how much CAL ownership would allow, and the associated additional asset costs. Those go away if the Devils take on the whole deal. Would take some Jedi level sh!t to save Holtz. Maybe Fitz has it in him, but I doubt it. 
 

There is a reason they still see a place for Toffoli. 

Well that sucks. It makes sense, but I’m not gonna be happy about losing Holtz.

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6 minutes ago, nmigliore said:

Even if Dougie gets moved in the future, I think you're looking at Luke PP1, Nemec PP2. It's a tough group to crack. I wouldn't think twice about moving Casey + for Markstrom right now.

Holtz as I as said is tougher but I'd still do it. Unfair treatment from Lindy or not, he hasn't show any ability to drive five-on-five play. Maybe he ends up a 30+ goal scorer playing with play-driving linemates while being on a PP1... or maybe he's Sharangovich 2.0 who pots about 15-20 goals per year as an okay middle-6 forward. I think the latter is roughly his floor, but I'd still be willing to move that for Markstrom given our window. 

Yeah I suspect that just about everyone within the Devils organization has their doubts about Holtz’s top end….hence the reason Fitz seems willing to make him the main piece in this deal.

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