2024 Playoffs GDT

[NJDevils1214]

The way the national broadcast slobbers over Val Nichushkin it's almost like they forgot that he got caught with a trafficked prostitute.

[jagknife]

bruins have been skating in quicksand all night, it’s amazing it’s still 1-1.

[jagknife]

Bruins Leafs going to OT. Bruins looked sloppy all night so far.

[NJDevils1214]

Just now, jagknife said:

Bruins Leafs going to OT. Bruins looked sloppy all night so far.

Bruins had like 3 good chances in the 3rd to score a goal and sh!t the bed. They had Toronto trapped in their own zone for a while and I thought they were going to take the series.

[RunninWithTheDevil]

16 minutes ago, jagknife said:

Bruins Leafs going to OT. Bruins looked sloppy all night so far.

 

15 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Bruins had like 3 good chances in the 3rd to score a goal and sh!t the bed. They had Toronto trapped in their own zone for a while and I thought they were going to take the series.

It's just going to make the dejected looks on the Leafs bench even sweeter lol

Just now, RunninWithTheDevil said:

 

It's just going to make the dejected looks on the Leafs bench even sweeter lol

Lmao nevermind 

[NJDevils1214]

fvck off Leafs...

Marchand has a legit beef with that stick up his ass and no call then Leafs go down and score.

[jagknife]

Bruins came out in a coma to start that game, no Matthews and couldn’t drop the hammer.

Speaking of no Matthews, that was an impressive effort by the Leafs without him. Keefe had said the quest for 70 was a distraction and I’d say that was the best they’ve looked all series…

[Devil Dan 56]

In a shocking turn of events, Miles Wood took a dumb penalty in the offensive zone and Winnipeg scored on the ensuing power play

Edited May 1 by Devil Dan 56

[Devilsfan118]

14 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

In a shocking turn of events, Miles Wood took a dumb penalty in the offensive zone and Winnipeg scored on the ensuing power play

[Puckbuster]

On 4/29/2024 at 2:13 PM, MadDog2020 said:

It speaks to no effort. Unless he’s injured, there’s just no excuse for that lousy a performance.

Age?

[Puckbuster]

On 4/29/2024 at 2:18 PM, MadDog2020 said:

Author is right; this first round has sucked. https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-playoffs-opinion-why-has-this-years-first-round-been-such-a-dud?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2NcnX1uW393R4jAxPckcujm_zNwanOIqF8F4GShovLSDKr1mx3D1JnFIg_aem_AYas8_0D0m6e6tPgBYJ7u8j4leQZ6DHZirb5dIFWazDC3AXChigmMe_gc22Gi2ZMZxJlKbz8ADH9XaEv99B6sYUA

I think the best series will be Leafs/Bruins with Bruins losing 3 straight and another first round exit after having a 3-1 series lead.  I hate Bruins fans and would love it!

[Puckbuster]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:57 PM, RunninWithTheDevil said:

Probably the end of an era for Tampa. 

Maybe they trade Vasilevskiy for picks/prospects and begin a rebuild?

I can’t believe he’s younger than Ullmark.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

.864 save% and 5.23 GAA for Hellebuyck in the Jets' five-game ouster from the playoffs.

Man goaltending feels like SUCH a damned crapshoot now, it really does.  As much as I'm on board with Fitz going after Saros and potentially locking him up long-term...would it surprise me all that much if he didn't get it done come playoff time for the Devils next season?  Seriously, at this point, how could it?  BTW Saros has an .879 save% so far these playoffs.  

[Rob_Ottawa]

This is why I was against picking up Hellebyck. I have seen him play this way every playoffs he's been in

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

31 minutes ago, Rob_Ottawa said:

This is why I was against picking up Hellebyck. I have seen him play this way every playoffs he's been in

To be fair to him, he's been better in some of his previous performances...he's put up a .910 save% in the playoffs for his career.

But he's 2-8 over the past two seasons with an .875% come playoff time, and last season had a QS% of .200...this year it was actually .000 (about .533 is considered average for QS%).  Also a -9.4 GSAA.

Basically, next season he'd better change the rapidly cementing narrative that he's a loser who can't get it done when it matters most.

 

Said it before but I was against it mostly due to his age and the term and money that he figured to sign for...and that the Devils had gotten one cost-effective season out of VV, so I was hoping for another.  That obviously didn't happen, but the idea that Hellebuyck would've taken the Devils to greener pastures is hardly a solid one at this point as well.

I have to be fair though...all the things I was concerned about re:  Hellebuyck more or less will apply to Saros, with Saros being a year younger.  Helle just played out the final season of his current deal and turns 31 this year; his 7-year extension kicks in come 2024-25.  Saros' new deal will pay him for his Age 30 and beyond seasons...hard to imagine that his agent won't be looking for 7 years, meaning the Devils will be paying plenty for Age 30-36 seasons.  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

10 hours ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

In a shocking turn of events, Miles Wood took a dumb penalty in the offensive zone and Winnipeg scored on the ensuing power play

Yeah anytime anyone hints that Wood should have been kept…just rewatch the entire 2022-23 Devils season.  He had become an absolutely infuriating player and it definitely felt like it was time to move on.

[jagknife]

8 hours ago, Puckbuster said:

I think the best series will be Leafs/Bruins with Bruins losing 3 straight and another first round exit after having a 3-1 series lead.  I hate Bruins fans and would love it!

I’m all for miserable Bruins fans but god I hate Leafs fans more. And I REALLY want to see the blowups when it comes to their Core Four doing absolutely nothing

*nothing In the post season, that is

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

15 minutes ago, jagknife said:

I’m all for miserable Bruins fans but god I hate Leafs fans more. And I REALLY want to see the blowups when it comes to their Core Four doing absolutely nothing

*nothing In the post season, that is

And leading the Leafs in postseason points so far is...

Max Domi

 

Nylander and Matthews are obviously locked up, but Tavares and Marner are only signed through next season.  If the Leafs get knocked out early again, wonder is one of them is actually made available, and things are finally shaken up.

The Leafs don't have many expensive players signed long-term at the moment...just Matthews, Nylander and Rielly.  And over the next three years in the first four rounds of the draft, they have just FOUR picks total:  their 2024 first and fourth rounders, and their 2026 first and third rounders.  That's it.  They don't have a selection in the 2025 draft until the FIFTH round.  

Edited May 1 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[nessus]

I’m rooting for the Leafs for two reasons:

1. Bruins losing in the first round, especially after leading 3-1 in the series, could drive down the cost of their goalies. Fitz likely is looking at them. 
2. The Rangers second round matchup is not going to be easy. I can easily see it going to 7 tough games. I see Florida being much fresher after a series against the Leafs than a series against the more physical Bruins. That Florida team can definitely bring down a tired Rangers team. 

[MadDog2020]

🤣

[RizzMB30]

7 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

.864 save% and 5.23 GAA for Hellebuyck in the Jets' five-game ouster from the playoffs.

Man goaltending feels like SUCH a damned crapshoot now, it really does.  As much as I'm on board with Fitz going after Saros and potentially locking him up long-term...would it surprise me all that much if he didn't get it done come playoff time for the Devils next season?  Seriously, at this point, how could it?  BTW Saros has an .879 save% so far these playoffs.  

 

6 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

To be fair to him, he's been better in some of his previous performances...he's put up a .910 save% in the playoffs for his career.

But he's 2-8 over the past two seasons with an .875% come playoff time, and last season had a QS% of .200...this year it was actually .000 (about .533 is considered average for QS%).  Also a -9.4 GSAA.

Basically, next season he'd better change the rapidly cementing narrative that he's a loser who can't get it done when it matters most.

 

Said it before but I was against it mostly due to his age and the term and money that he figured to sign for...and that the Devils had gotten one cost-effective season out of VV, so I was hoping for another.  That obviously didn't happen, but the idea that Hellebuyck would've taken the Devils to greener pastures is hardly a solid one at this point as well.

I have to be fair though...all the things I was concerned about re:  Hellebuyck more or less will apply to Saros, with Saros being a year younger.  Helle just played out the final season of his current deal and turns 31 this year; his 7-year extension kicks in come 2024-25.  Saros' new deal will pay him for his Age 30 and beyond seasons...hard to imagine that his agent won't be looking for 7 years, meaning the Devils will be paying plenty for Age 30-36 seasons.  

I think Winnipeg's defense had no answer to Colorado's speed and they really opened up the game when they got a chance. We're just seeing some of the top goalies in the league crumble when their defenses just can't hold up. You can have prime-Marty Brodeur or Patrick Roy in net and it might just not matter if the opponent has huge guys on defense who just put pucks in the net or facilitate that. 

Nashville's defense can at least steal a game or two where they only allow one goal a game. One thing I didn't realize about Saros was his size. Not saying it's a detriment as he's been a Vezina candidate for the last few years I think. I think him being undersized adds to the risk, but I like the risk if he can be had. He's had a rough go, but the gap between good and very good is kind obvious through this first round and goaltending just hasn't been able to have the impact without more games to bring those stats up. 

Goalies are just variable and they can't do much when you're facing COL who is trying to pot 5 on you every fvcking game because their D got better as the series went on. The Isles got great goaltending this year along with Boston and a lot of teams spend so much. I think to budget out your goalie salary space very efficiently and carefully, you can't give them the term they want and almost never the salary they want. Eventually it's gonna hit the contract side of the game and nobody is gonna want to pay Vasy-money to anyone, even yearly Vezina candidates.  They can get hurt because of how fast the playoffs are and now the last few Cup winners haven't spent a whole lot of money on the position. COL is getting it done with Georgiev and he's kind of like Vanecek in the sense that he wins games, but his numbers are mid-average. 

Edited May 1 by RizzMB30

[MadDog2020]

7 minutes ago, RizzMB30 said:

 

I think Winnipeg's defense had no answer to Colorado's speed and they really opened up the game when they got a chance. We're just seeing some of the top goalies in the league crumble when their defenses just can't hold up. You can have prime-Marty Brodeur or Patrick Roy in net and it might just not matter if the opponent has huge guys on defense who just put pucks in the net or facilitate that. 

Nashville's defense can at least steal a game or two where they only allow one goal a game. One thing I didn't realize about Saros was his size. Not saying it's a detriment as he's been a Vezina candidate for the last few years I think. I think him being undersized adds to the risk, but I like the risk if he can be had. He's had a rough go, but the gap between good and very good is kind obvious through this first round and goaltending just hasn't been able to have the impact without more games to bring those stats up. 

Goalies are just variable and they can't do much when you're facing COL who is trying to pot 5 on you every fvcking game because their D got better as the series went on. The Isles got great goaltending this year along with Boston and a lot of teams spend so much. I think to budget out your goalie salary space very efficiently and carefully, you can't give them the term they want and almost never the salary they want. Eventually it's gonna hit the contract side of the game and nobody is gonna want to pay Vasy-money to anyone, even yearly Vezina candidates.  They can get hurt because of how fast the playoffs are and now the last few Cup winners haven't spent a whole lot of money on the position. COL is getting it done with Georgiev and he's kind of like Vanecek in the sense that he wins games, but his numbers are mid-average. 

Paying a goalie is really risky these days. REALLY risky. It’s such a volatile position.

[RizzMB30]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

Paying a goalie is really risky these days. REALLY risky. It’s such a volatile position.

I don't think you can give Saros more than 8m. Limited playoffs success, but he's been there. He's probably going to get that somewhere that if he hits UFA and somewhere in the realm of 5 to 7 years, but then again it's obvious we need an upgrade at the position. Hopefully if we get him it can be for a deal under that so you can afford to pay the other goalies. 

Edited May 1 by RizzMB30

[Lateralous]

6 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

And leading the Leafs in postseason points so far is...

Max Domi

 

Nylander and Matthews are obviously locked up, but Tavares and Marner are only signed through next season.  If the Leafs get knocked out early again, wonder is one of them is actually made available, and things are finally shaken up.

The Leafs don't have many expensive players signed long-term at the moment...just Matthews, Nylander and Rielly.  And over the next three years in the first four rounds of the draft, they have just FOUR picks total:  their 2024 first and fourth rounders, and their 2026 first and third rounders.  That's it.  They don't have a selection in the 2025 draft until the FIFTH round.  

It's crazy how bad Shanahan and Dubas screwed that franchise up.  They were a 105 point team when Lamoriello left them with a young core of Matthew, Nylander, Reilly, Marner, Hyman, Kadri, etc.       

Tavares has a NMC so I doubt they can do anything with him.   Marner does too but I assume if a trade came with a new contract to a destination he wanted to go, that's probably doable.   I bet they ride it out and tell themselves it will be better next summer when they have JT off the books.   Essentially they are pissing away the absolute prime years of Matthews, Marner, Rielly and Nylander waiting for the end of the Tavares deal, that's absolutely insane to me.    

On a side note, the core 4 takes way too much heat IMO.   Since the Leafs management decided to go top heavy on forward contracts , they've always been built like the Blackhawks or Lightning teams after they won their cups and lost all their depth.   It's almost like Kuch, Stamkos, Point, Hedman and Vasy need a supporting cast to make a playoff run.    I guess you can blame the players for being greedy but it's really always been a management problem in Toronto.   How else can you explain a team basically holding the line last summer with Nylander at around the Meier deal and then deciding to go up to 11.5 AAV 3 month later because he comes out hot in Oct, Nov and Dec.    

Let's go Bruins!  I'm here for the circus North of the border when the Leafs are hopefully eliminated in the 1st round again.  

 

 

[NJDevils1214]

Stars woke up.