GDT: 3/11/24 - Devils @ Rangers 7:00 pm NHLN/MSGSN/MSG

[Devs64]

6 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Let’s face it, the issues currently facing this team aren’t going to be solved by season’s end.

Your offseason Fitz.  

It's a combination of issues including injuries, goaltending, poor leadership, inexperienced youth...but most of all it's absolutely atrocious coaching. A new guy behind the bench can fix at least a few issues.

Edited March 12 by Devs64

[ButlerBulldog]

12 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

Every other team in the league doesn’t lose a guy to serious injury every time they play these clowns and there really aren’t many enforcers left.  I would argue that’s because our entire lineup is as tissue soft as can be and the Rangers know they can take liberties with little to no response.   It is what it is for this season but keeping MacDermott beyond this season feels like the Leafs thinking they addressed their problems with physicality by just adding Reeves to their 4th line.  
 

if our core is going to be Hughes x2, Bratt, Hischier, Nemec and Hamilton we can’t have the guys like Haula, Siegenthaler, Marino and Bahl be passive bystanders when games get ugly.  Need more nastiness up and down the lineup.    
 

A lot of this comes down to coaching, as whoever’s behind the bench next season needs to explain to the Devils’ role players that their job—apart from playing better defense than we’ve seen to date—is to protect the team’s stars.  Anybody who so much as hard-looks Jack, Nico, or Jesper deserves an elbow to the sternum, and if the player in question actually hits one of them, then he shouldn’t be allowed to make it back to his team’s bench post-shift.

Edited March 12 by ButlerBulldog

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, Devs64 said:

It's a combination of issues including injuries, goaltending, poor leadership, inexperienced youth...but most of all is absolutely atrocious coaching. A new guy behind the bench can fix at least a few issues.

Coach, goalie, and general physicality are the areas that need to be addressed prior to 2024-25.  The first two will be.  We’ll see about the third.

[slasher72]

 It's maddening how soft Bahl is as a player. The guy is 6'6 and plays like a marshmallow.

[titans04]

29 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Yeah, Rempe’s the classic schoolyard bully who loves to pick on people smaller than him but won’t fight anyone bold enough to stand up to him.  I’m fine with the Devils keeping MacDermid if he can discourage goons from targeting the Devils skilled players.

There's no such thing as discouraging imo. Retribution after the fact ok, makes some sense. Did MacDermid discourage Rempe from throwing a huge elbow?  You think Rempe or anybody in that mold will hold off on hitting Jack or another one of our flyweights, I don't.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, slasher72 said:

 It's maddening how soft Bahl is as a player. The guy is 6'6 and plays like a marshmallow.

I’m hoping that the next staff basically tells him that he’d better add some seriously physical play to his game, or his future here is going to be very limited.

[Devs64]

1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Coach, goalie, and general physicality are the areas that need to be addressed prior to 2024-25.  The first two will be.  We’ll see about the third.

Overall it still feels like a season that should have been better than it is. I'm not even talking about the playoffs, rather competitiveness.

[ButlerBulldog]

1 minute ago, titans04 said:

There's no such thing as discouraging imo. Retribution after the fact ok, makes some sense. Did MacDermid discourage Rempe from throwing a huge elbow?  You think Rempe or anybody in that mold will hold off on hitting Jack or another one of our flyweights, I don't.

Rempe’s elbow to Siegs’ head was bad, but keep in mind that the two men have history from the teams’ previous meeting.  I think he would’ve done worse had MacDermid not been on the ice.

[slasher72]

2 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

Rempe’s elbow to Siegs’ head was bad, but keep in mind that the two men have history from the teams’ previous meeting.  I think he would’ve done worse had MacDermid not been on the ice.

The other thing to keep in mind is laviolettte encourages cheap-shotting from his players, going back to the days when he was the Canes head coach. So if we get rid of our only enforcer we are screwed in this division.

[MadDog2020]

23 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

Every other team in the league doesn’t lose a guy to serious injury every time they play these clowns and there really aren’t many enforcers left.  I would argue that’s because our entire lineup is as tissue soft as can be and the Rangers know they can take liberties with little to no response.   It is what it is for this season but keeping MacDermott beyond this season feels like the Leafs thinking they addressed their problems with physicality by just adding Reeves to their 4th line.  
 

if our core is going to be Hughes x2, Bratt, Hischier, Nemec and Hamilton we can’t have the guys like Haula, Siegenthaler, Marino and Bahl be passive bystanders when games get ugly.  Need more nastiness up and down the lineup.    
 

Fitz needs to address sand paper this summer too.

[hit the post]

After the changes its the same sh!tty results.

[Jerrydevil]

14 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I’m hoping that the next staff basically tells him that he’d better add some seriously physical play to his game, or his future here is going to be very limited.

He's had good moments, like the Wrecking Bahl shift against the Rangers in the playoffs last season. I think it's in him, hopefully a good coach can help him be more consistently physical.

[Nicomo]

31 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

if our core is going to be Hughes x2, Bratt, Hischier, Nemec and Hamilton we can’t have the guys like Haula, Siegenthaler, Marino and Bahl be passive bystanders when games get ugly.  Need more nastiness up and down the lineup.    

I mean, Timo is certainly part of the core…

and before this season he was known to throw the body around. Hopefully he gets back to more of that next season. 

[Lateralous]

1 minute ago, Jerrydevil said:

He's had good moments, like the Wrecking Bahl shift against the Rangers in the playoffs last season. I think it's in him, hopefully a good coach can help him be more consistently physical.

You would think that would be the niche that allows him to have a 10+ year professional career.  Hopefully the next coach can bring it out of him.    

[slasher72]

46 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

A lot of this comes down to coaching, as whoever’s behind the bench next season needs to explain to the Devils’ role players that their job—apart from playing better defense than we’ve seen to date—is to protect the team’s stars.  Anybody who so much as hard-looks Jack, Nico, or Jesper deserves an elbow to the sternum, and if the player in question actually hits one of them, then he shouldn’t be allowed to make it back to his team’s bench post-shift.

I'd love for this to happen but this isn't the 1995 Devils we're talking about. The only way to get that type of grit and nastiness into the lineup is to either draft or acquire those types of players. When it comes to  physicality, you either have it between the ears or you don't. At least, that's my opinion.

With that said, a new coach can certainly teach better defense.  

[Nicomo]

 

[ButlerBulldog]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

 

I will gain a lot of respect for MacDermid if he ensures Rempe visits an oral surgeon after April 3.

[slasher72]

7 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

 

I might be in the minority, but I definitely want this guy back on the team next year. 

[Oglethorpe13]

3 minutes ago, ButlerBulldog said:

I will gain a lot of respect for MacDermid if he ensures Rempe visits an oral surgeon after April 3.

Rempe isn't even that great of a fighter. He's just huge. If you watch his fights, he has practically no defense. He just banks on being huge and having reach. After he got caved by Olivier, he's gotten gun shy. 

Very disappointed he didn't fight McDermid. Would've been nice to see him get pummeled in his house in front of all the rags fans.

[ButlerBulldog]

1 minute ago, Oglethorpe13 said:

Rempe isn't even that great of a fighter. He's just huge. If you watch his fights, he has practically no defense. He just banks on being huge and having reach. After he got caved by Olivier, he's gotten gun shy. 

Very disappointed he didn't fight McDermid. Would've been nice to see him get pummeled in his house in front of all the rags fans.

Especially after Elongated Head was praising his ability as a skater.

[Nicomo]

47 minutes ago, slasher72 said:

I might be in the minority, but I definitely want this guy back on the team next year. 

Can’t hurt to keep a guy like that around. When’s the last time they had a true fighter, Cam Janssen?

I know times have changed, but I’m beyond sick of seeing teams take runs at Jack and Nico. 

[ButlerBulldog]

1 minute ago, Nicomo said:

Can’t hurt to keep a guy like that around. When’s the last time they had a true fighter, Cam Janssen?

I know times have changed, but I’m beyond sick of seeing teams take runs at Jack and Nico. 

Especially a guy like Rempe, who hasn’t proven anything at the NHL level.  Does he have any actual hockey skills, or is he just around to throw elbows?  Moreover, is 73 his number or his IQ?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

4 hours ago, hit the post said:

After the changes it’s the same sh!tty results.

Much of that is due to the fact that even though Fitz did what he absolutely HAD to in letting Lindy go, he’s decided to wait until the offseason to go all the way in bringing in a truly new guy with new ideas.

That very well might turn out to be the right call (not like the Devils weren’t already pretty much dead when Green was given the interim gig), but it doesn’t make the present any easier.  The one thing that I don’t mind about the season ending on such a lousy note is that Green definitely isn’t throwing himself into the mix with the way that the Devils are playing under him, and that’s a good thing.  I don’t think he’s the guy at all long-term, and the last thing that I ever would’ve wanted to see was some miracle short-term burst that might’ve led Fitz to think the solution is somehow in house.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Much of that is due to the fact that even though Fitz did what he absolutely HAD to in letting Lindy go, he’s decided to wait until the offseason to go all the way in bringing in a truly new guy with new ideas.

That very well might turn out to be the right call (not like the Devils weren’t already pretty much dead when Green was given the interim gig), but it doesn’t make the present any easier.  The one thing that I don’t mind about the season ending on such a lousy note is that Green definitely isn’t throwing himself into the mix with the way that the Devils are playing under him, and that’s a good thing.  I don’t think he’s the guy at all long-term, and the last thing that I ever would’ve wanted to see was some miracle short-term burst that might’ve led Fitz to think the solution is somehow in house.

I am in the same boat. As much as I would like the team to win games, if they can't then at least it means Green shouldn't be around the team next year.

I am really hoping for a full clear out, just go with a completely new perspective.

[hystyk28]

16 hours ago, Lateralous said:

It looked exactly like every single other game against the NYR this season.   Only difference was the name on the back of the jersey of the guy who got knocked out of the game.  That and we still didn’t take a single shot at one of their guys.   

Anyone that plays hockey, knows that in a game like that, Luke Hughes should of absolutely trucked Trocheck at the end of the game on that empty netter. Sure he would of got his as kicked by him, but if you are afraid to do that then you simply aren't cut out for pro hockey, at least not one that will do anything to win. And all I ever see is that we don't have any gamers. We have kids that are all about dangles and have ZERO clue how or what it takes to win a Cup. When your "star" player says people pay to watch me play and chokes on the biggest play of the season at that point tells me everything.  Going back to the Florida game last season where Nico hurt Barkov, that was a huge red flag. They chased poor Nico all over the rink taking shots at him and no one did a f-ing thing.  Can't win with the guys in the room  if they are scared, but even worse, can't win if they don't care.

IMHO, this roster construction is wrong in a few ways.

It's undersized with little heart and is fueled by the Hughes bothers led pond hockey style. On D it continues with Marino an Bahl.  Bahl may be the biggest disappointment of that crew- what a waste of a body.   He could skate with eggs in shorts and not break any...If you go...but its the new NHL- skill, skill, skill....go look at teams that win or compete for the Cup- skill, yes, but they have some snarl, and size. Just go back to the 2nd round last year against the Canes....it was men vs boys...an overhaul is needed...Colin Miller was the closest thing that resembled a defensemen this season. 

Heart--who has heart on this team? Smith does, but unfortunately he has to be on the ice to use it...so nothing gained there for sure. Nico has heart and compete, not sure who else really has it. Haula maybe, sometime in spurts. Too many ghosts....Palat, that dude is invisible in all aspects of professional hockey. Why is he out there? Hamilton? Luke Hughes has Scott Stevens compete level compared to him. 0 heart, 0 defense. You can't have Hamilton, Hughes, Bahl, Marino, Nemec in the lineup on D. I mean, I think they could make a third line forward group of Bahl, L Hughes and Hamilton that would probably score as much as our 3rd line now. At least they wouldn't starting in our end. (I kid)  I won't even get into Siegenthaler, as he is soft too, but his main redeeming quality is that he probably helps Team Nico keep some balance in that room.

When we had to move on from the D corp we had last year, I knew it was gonna be rough, but  Fitz really finds himself with some real big holes in the lineup now. The plan to play 1984 Oilers hockey will not work.  Playing it with these players will not work. He needs to change the attitudes and tweak the style of play. If we roll into next season the same way, fully expect the same results.  

I'd like to see Berube come into and get accountability. Luke Hughes ain't making those dogsh!t plays with him on the bench. The whole team attitude would change. Look what Torts did with the Flyers. 

Players??? Need someone like a Nick Foligno to come in and bring some leadership. He's tough nosed and would not let that room play the way they do. Someone would have been down on the ice from the drop off the puck last night. He's a gamer. Certainly good enough to play on team that has the likes of Bastian, Palat and Tierney. How about a Gudas type on defense? I thought they should have been all in on Tom Wilson. And yes, I know they would probably like a goalie. How you make all these changes necessary to reposition the team, well that is the GM's job not mine, but one thing is certain, if Fitz doesn't figure it out this summer, it won't be his beyond next season either.

Hey Fitzy, how about this guy...you missed him once...

 

 

 

 

Edited March 12 by hystyk28