New Jersey Devils Team Discussion

[JagerMeister]

I apologize for bashing MAF like I do, it's just he likes to piss me off!

We all have our players we dont like even if they are good...

 

I think Jagr should start thinking about retirement and take the roa Brodeeau took!

Jagr looks done, i watched a couple NJD games and he is either tottaly uninterested, or age has finally caught up to him

[notfondajane]

I'm curious on how long is the Devils lease on their arena lease?

[gmangs]

Wish they would make a move or two to get a goal scorer. Could do with moving one of our young D for a guy.

[MadDevil]

I'd rather hang on to the kids on D for the next couple years to really see what they are. It usually takes 200+ games with defensemen to really know what you've got, and none of them have hit that yet. Larsson is close and really started to come into his own the second half of the season.

They're likely going to be drafting top 10-15 again next year, so they can add another forward there, and maybe pull off another Palmieri-like trade.

They could have something really special with the defense. I don't want to mess with that just yet.

[Podein25]

I'd rather hang on to the kids on D for the next couple years to really see what they are. It usually takes 200+ games with defensemen to really know what you've got, and none of them have hit that yet. Larsson is close and really started to come into his own the second half of the season.

They're likely going to be drafting top 10-15 again next year, so they can add another forward there, and maybe pull off another Palmieri-like trade.

They could have something really special with the defense. I don't want to mess with that just yet. 

 

 

What's your take on Merrill?

[MadDevil]

What's your take on Merrill?

I think ultimately he'll end up in the mold of an Andy Greene. He isn't going to put up flashy offensive numbers or do anything to wow you, but he's going to give you 20+ minutes a night in all situations. He did struggle this year, but I think that was mostly a sophomore slump + having to cover for Zidlicky.

[gmangs]

I'd rather hang on to the kids on D for the next couple years to really see what they are. It usually takes 200+ games with defensemen to really know what you've got, and none of them have hit that yet. Larsson is close and really started to come into his own the second half of the season.

They're likely going to be drafting top 10-15 again next year, so they can add another forward there, and maybe pull off another Palmieri-like trade.

They could have something really special with the defense. I don't want to mess with that just yet.

I don't think moving one of the young guys on D for a goal scorer would hurt. D should be fine, we need goals. Can't put everything on Schneider every night.

[MadDevil]

I don't think moving one of the young guys on D for a goal scorer would hurt. D should be fine, we need goals. Can't put everything on Schneider every night.

Depends on which one we move and what we get in return. I don't think Merrill or Gelinas have enough value to return the goal scorer we need. Larsson or Severson have more value, but do we really want to trade either of them right now? If we hang on to them for another year or two, hopefully their value goes up, and then we can flip them for a scoring forward if we still need to. I just think we need to be patient and not make a hasty move just because we need help up front.

[jammer2]

I just think we need to be patient and not make a hasty move just because we need help up front.

 

Yes, this is the smart move. The Devils are not winning anything for a while, so you might as well hoard your talent.

[gmangs]

Yes, this is the smart move. The Devils are not winning anything for a while, so you might as well hoard your talent.

We are never suppose to win. I don't think they are as far off as people think. There is always a way to fast track things, by making smart trades and a few FA signings. I hate total rebuilds and gambling on prospects to make it, nothing is a sure thing.

[jammer2]

We are never suppose to win. I don't think they are as far off as people think. There is always a way to fast track things, by making smart trades and a few FA signings. I hate total rebuilds and gambling on prospects to make it, nothing is a sure thing.

 

 

 I'm not sure we are talking about the same team. Bro, your leading scorer Henrique had 43 pts...you had no one reach a measley 50 pts. 2 players reached 40 pts (barely). 6 players had double digit goals, and 2 of those 6 had 11 goals. One player on the roster topped 20 goals. Only 7 players reached the 20 pts plateau, and 2 of those....Gomez and Jagr are on the wrong side of 35. The Devils are bad, monumentally, historically bad. You could start an expansion team toady and blow their totals out of the water. They are stinky.

[yave1964]

@jammer2

Yeah this is an awful team that has had awful drafts and they are counting on a young defense when in truth Merrill is a good (not great) prospect, Severenson and Gelinas have glaring deficiencies in their game and the best d-man is Andy Greene who I love as a number two or four but he has very limited offensive upside. The trade for Schneider is the only reason this team was not fighting the Sabres and Oilers for the worst record in hockey. The forwards are awful, they signed every 30something that they could get their hands on, Havlat, Clowe, Jagr, Gomez and Ryder because the farm system is absolutely devoid of talent. Lou screwed over a generation of Devil fans going forward.

[MadDevil]

I think your assessment of the Devils defense is off. Gelinas I will agree has some pretty glaring defensive issues. Greene is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league. What he's done to help guys like Fayne, Larsson, and Severson can't really be quantified. As for Severson, I think any defensive issues he has can be fixed simply by experience and gaining strength. Personally, I think he could end up being the best of the group. Merrill is kind of the wild card to me. He struggled this last year, but having to cover for the wandering adventures of Marek Zidlicky is asking quite a bit for a second year defenseman. And Larsson could very well be on a Hedman like trajectory. His skating still needs some work, but his defensive reads have gotten much better and he was an absolute beast on the PK. They have all the pieces to have something special on defense IMO.

The forward situation however is quite depressing. The only top six forwards they really have are Cammalleri, Henrique, and Zajac, and even that is somewhat debatable. Zajac had an absolutely horrific season that is more like a third/fourth line center, but he did have 48 points the year before on an offensively inept team, so I still think he can be a top six forward. Adding Palmieri was helpful, but I'm not sure if he's a top six forward or just a really solid third liner. Elias can still be effective, but he could also hit the old man wall anytime. I think Boucher is probably going to get moved to RW and be given every opportunity to be a regular, mostly because their RW depth is nonexistent. Matteau is probably a lock to make the team, but he's likely just a bottom six forward anyway. Beyond that they've got Zubrus and Ruutu, who are expensive fourth liners at this point in their careers. Then there's a whole bunch of guys trying to make it with Blandisi, Kalinin, Thompson, Coleman, Pietila, etc. At best they're bottom six or AHL players. The real interesting thing to me is going to be Zacha. Shero has said he will be given a very real chance to make the team, which could be good or bad. If he's ready, great. If he's not, I worry they'll keep him up anyway because of the sad state of the forwards. Personally I would send him back to Sarnia and let him have a big season in Junior.

[yave1964]

@MadDevil

 

With the pick that the Devils sent to Vancouver for Schneider the Canucks took bo Horvat whom I watched a lot in the second half last year, he looks like the real deal number two center to replace Kesler in Vancouver and when the Sedin's move on or slip a bit he will move on to the top line. The kid looks like an absolute beast.

 That said I would have done the deal all over again, the draft is a crap shoot especially after the top five or six usually and Schneider has quietly turned into one of the games better goalies. On a better team he would get his just rewards but in New Jersey he is the only reason they arent the worst team in Hockey.

 I apologize if i sound line I am ripping the Devil defense, I just dont like the prospects as much as a lot of folks, I think it is a case of the forwards are so God Awful that the defense looks better than they really are.

 Whispers out of the KHL are that Kovie may make a return to the NHL in the next year or two with the Russian economy stagnating. Warts and all he would be a massive boost to the Devils top line, he always is the top minute man in hockey among all forwards, playing all situations. Getting him back and adding a true number one center to feed him the puck would be a huge upgrade. Without a true top line, other teams can press in with their defense into the Devils zone and live in Schneiders face without respecting the forwards ability to transition. I watched maybe a dozen Devil games last year and the ice always seemed tilted towards Schneider's end of the ice.

 a little quibble, I do not know why they didnt bring Gomez back. I know after a hot start he cooled but he was a feel good story in New Jersey last year and played his tail off. I think a third or 4th line center role with no great expectations would have suited him well. I would understand if they didnt bring him back because they added a few other centers to the mix but they didnt. Just curious is all.

[MadDevil]

I do agree on Gomez. Based on comments Shero has made, it sounds like it's mostly because they want to give Zacha a chance to make the team and they want to see if Josefson can be a top 9 player. Personally I don't think having Gomez in camp would have really hurt, but there does seem to be a very clear "no players over 27" theme to their moves so far this offseason.

[MadDevil]

[OccamsRazor]

 

 

Bob McKenzie        ✔ @TSNBobMcKenzie

Mackenzie Blackwood's eight-game OHL suspension means he will miss first two games of WJC. First 6 games in OHL, plus 2 in WJC = 8.

[MadDevil]

What did he get suspended for?

[jammer2]

 A bit of a fluff piece, but decent Henrique article from the Windsor Star. He is still revered in Windsor, to this very day...

 

 

http://windsorstar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/henrique-leads-devils

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Big time 'cool down' by this team for the month of January so far.

Biggest culprit seems to be, surprise, surprise...lack of scoring.

Thanks to the always-sold Corey Schneider, the team is still top ten in goals against allowed and PK%, but it's painfully clear the team simply needs to score with more consistency in order to really make a run at, and KEEP, a playoff spot.

Maybe the team just doesn't have the horses to score consistently right now. Soooo, come trade deadline, are the Devils close enough to a playoff spot where they maybe try to go get a scorer or two?

And at what cost?

[MadDevil]

Unless they can get some forward help for cheap, or can get a young(ish) forward (like they did in the summer with Palmieri), I don't think they'll be buyers. I think Shero realizes that they're still building and aren't really in the position to be making short term fixes.

This season has just been weird. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and for them to go into a nosedive, but they somehow put wins together they probably don't deserve. Take yesterday's game against Arizona. The shot attempts were 96-31 in favor of Arizona, but thanks to 27 blocked shots and Cory stopping all 38 that got through, they win 2-0.

Cammalleri is injured, Henrique has 1 goal in his last 15, and Zajac hasn't scored a goal in like 25 games. If that continues, I have no idea how they stay in the hunt. And honestly, I'm okay with them falling out of it. Before the season I expected them to be a bottom 5 team, so the first 40 games were a pleasant surprise. If they fade down the stretch, their draft pick gets higher, and they need young talent up front.

[yave1964]

On Monday, January 18, 2016 at 1:39 AM, MadDevil said:

Unless they can get some forward help for cheap, or can get a young(ish) forward (like they did in the summer with Palmieri), I don't think they'll be buyers. I think Shero realizes that they're still building and aren't really in the position to be making short term fixes.

This season has just been weird. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and for them to go into a nosedive, but they somehow put wins together they probably don't deserve. Take yesterday's game against Arizona. The shot attempts were 96-31 in favor of Arizona, but thanks to 27 blocked shots and Cory stopping all 38 that got through, they win 2-0.

Cammalleri is injured, Henrique has 1 goal in his last 15, and Zajac hasn't scored a goal in like 25 games. If that continues, I have no idea how they stay in the hunt. And honestly, I'm okay with them falling out of it. Before the season I expected them to be a bottom 5 team, so the first 40 games were a pleasant surprise. If they fade down the stretch, their draft pick gets higher, and they need young talent up front.

They won again last night, every single night it seems that it is someone else who steps up to the front, last night it was Larsson with a huge game. I am (grudgingly) starting to believe in this team as a borderline lower end playoff team.

  Still not a fan of what is in the system, I wrote an article when Lou moved on to Toronto that for the past decade he ruined this organization with poor drafts and the Kovie situation made it worse. But the product on the ice, a mix of veterans young and old from other organizations, the brilliant goaltending of Schneider and a vanilla but solid defense led by Greene and Larsson has them hanging around. A team that most (including me) picked as a bottom five team is playing as well as could be hoped for and will be faced with the tough decision within the next month, are they contenders, do you add a piece here or there and make a move, or do you trade a Stempniak and a Cammaleri for prospects/picks and go full rebuild, or is the answer somewhere in between?

[MadDevil]

It's only a few games, but this Blandisi kid looks like he could be a potential diamond in the rough signing by the Devils. He got his first NHL goal tonight in a 3 point game for him playing with Zajac and Palmieri. It's kind of amazing the results they've gotten from cheap moves this year. Palmieri for a 2nd and 3rd round pick, Stempniak on a PTO, Moore on a cheap three year deal, Blandisi as an unsigned draft pick. Hell, even Bobby Farnham has been a good pickup for them.

Even if they ultimately fade down the stretch, this seaaon has been the most fun I've had watching this team since the run to the Cup Final in 2012.

[OccamsRazor]

Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts is the Ontario Hockey League's goaltender of the year. 

 

 

http://www.tsn.ca/blackwood-named-ohl-s-goalie-of-the-year-1.489358

 

Mackenzie Blackwood of the Barrie Colts is the Ontario Hockey League's goaltender of the year.

The New Jersey Devils prospect posted a record of 28-13-0-0 with three shutouts and a 2.72 goals-against-average in 43 games this season. He also tied for the league-lead with a .921 save percentage while backstopping the Colts to their second straight Central Division title.

[MadDevil]

I have to admit, when they took him in the 2nd round last year, I was wondering why, with Schneider signed long-term and the Devils needing help up front. But after the season he had, it's looking like it was a really good pick.