I understand what you're saying, but in the US our raw number of people who've died from covid is staggering. And yeah, I get that people with complications who get covid and dying from both but the unmitigated spread even when we are taking "more" precautions to prevent it says a lot. So yeah, more people who were sick and elderly to start who got even more sick died but healthy people who wouldn't normally die from the flu are also dying too.
- Pomegrant

https://apnews.com/articl...b6ec45563b84ee2e87ae8d5e7

This article is representative of what I’ve heard in the USA.

I understand what you're saying, but in the US our raw number of people who've died from covid is staggering. And yeah, I get that people with complications who get covid and dying from both but the unmitigated spread even when we are taking "more" precautions to prevent it says a lot. So yeah, more people who were sick and elderly to start who got even more sick died but healthy people who wouldn't normally die from the flu are also dying too.
- Pomegrant

You aren't wrong. There certainly are anomalies that make this virus' a much larger concern then the flu. I am not trying to compare the two, but simply bring to light how the stats can be misleading. The fatality rate in these seemingly young/healthy people does remain at less than 0.2%, whereas its numbers among the elderly is much higher. I would be curious to see if there was any possibility that these peoples have some serious undiagnosed conditions, but obviously our healthcare system is more than overwhelmed at this point. I fear I am coming off as some radical anti-mask rally kinda guy, and that is absolutely not the case. I wear my mask, sanitize my hands, and play by the rules. Does it drive me nuts that every brick-and-mortar store is shut down, funneling every germ sharing human into the same walmart...... Absolutely! I will happily get my vaccine when my turn comes around. So long as the long-term health effects remain minimal, I do feel the pandemonium is over-hyped in terms of death rates when compared to a typical flu season preying on the vulnerable.

I look at it similar to how people compare the boredom/loneliness to being one of the greatest struggles a young generation has had to face. Are you kidding me? War.....Spanish Flu....... various other plagues that killed at absolute ruthless rates. Depression is no joke, but I can't stand comparisons that clearly are on completely different levels.

You aren't wrong. There certainly are anomalies that make this virus' a much larger concern then the flu. I am not trying to compare the two, but simply bring to light how the stats can be misleading. The fatality rate in these seemingly young/healthy people does remain at less than 0.2%, whereas its numbers among the elderly is much higher. I would be curious to see if there was any possibility that these peoples have some serious undiagnosed conditions, but obviously our healthcare system is more than overwhelmed at this point. I fear I am coming off as some radical anti-mask rally kinda guy, and that is absolutely not the case. I wear my mask, sanitize my hands, and play by the rules. Does it drive me nuts that every brick-and-mortar store is shut down, funneling every germ sharing human into the same walmart...... Absolutely! I will happily get my vaccine when my turn comes around. So long as the long-term health effects remain minimal, I do feel the pandemonium is over-hyped in terms of death rates when compared to a typical flu season preying on the vulnerable.

I look at it similar to how people compare the boredom/loneliness to being one of the greatest struggles a young generation has had to face. Are you kidding me? War.....Spanish Flu....... various other plagues that killed at absolute ruthless rates. Depression is no joke, but I can't stand comparisons that clearly are on completely different levels.
- bikeguy99

I appreciate what you wrote and don’t think you sound radical at all. That’s why I specifically mentioned I wasn’t arguing; just looking for more info. I looked at some Covid information and death numbers in Canada and understand what you are saying. There are some odd anomalies and I read articles that said so much. Not in a fake pandemic way. Just that the data compiled doesn’t exactly show what we’d expect and how to draw out reasonable conclusions. It’s complicated and experts are trying to understand what it all means.

I sort of think there is a question of context between it’s the end of the world and it’s nothing more then the flu. Down here people have very polarized opinions. Usually the truth is in the middle IMO. From a policy standpoint it is a challenging situation on how to prioritize safety vs destroying peoples livelihood.

I think trivializing the pandemic isn't a good look. At best the economy is in ruins and tons of people have lost their jobs or have gone into massive debt, at worst you're looking at over 500,000 people dead in the US because of our government's refusal to to do something. More people have died from covid than any recent war and a lot of people are dealing with losses in their families.

I think saying young people don't have it so bad when we've been cooped up for a year straight and not being able to engage with other people because of a fear of getting a deadly virus isn't really fair. Also, my generation watched 9/11 happen on TV, watched the economy collapse multiple times so there are no jobs, multiple pointless wars, and a ton of social unrest because of the government. Don't give me the "it's not hard for the youngsters" nonsense, because we've been fed enough of it. Maybe I'd feel better if I had healthcare so if I got sick I wouldn't be afraid of going into financial ruin for the rest of my life. So I'm not buying that I don't have it bad because supposedly it's been worse for other people. I haven't seen my family in over a year and have been stuck in my house for a year straight by myself. I've had a year of my life stolen from me.

I think trivializing the pandemic isn't a good look. At best the economy is in ruins and tons of people have lost their jobs or have gone into massive debt, at worst you're looking at over 500,000 people dead in the US because of our government's refusal to to do something. More people have died from covid than any recent war and a lot of people are dealing with losses in their families.

I think saying young people don't have it so bad when we've been cooped up for a year straight and not being able to engage with other people because of a fear of getting a deadly virus isn't really fair. Also, my generation watched 9/11 happen on TV, watched the economy collapse multiple times so there are no jobs, multiple pointless wars, and a ton of social unrest because of the government. Don't give me the "it's not hard for the youngsters" nonsense, because we've been fed enough of it. Maybe I'd feel better if I had healthcare so if I got sick I wouldn't be afraid of going into financial ruin for the rest of my life. So I'm not buying that I don't have it bad because supposedly it's been worse for other people. I haven't seen my family in over a year and have been stuck in my house for a year straight by myself. I've had a year of my life stolen from me.
- Pomegrant

I certainly don't feel that I am "trivializing" this. I just know that some statistics paint a portrait that contrasts the numbers more than they really should. Not saying this is a joke, nor am I saying that depression amongst the youth is something to joke about.

That being said, this does not compare to the Spanish Flu, nor the Black Plague. And 911 was a tragedy. Even us Canadians remember exactly where we were when that happened. I was in my grade 7 homeroom, every classroom dropped what they were doing, and stared at the news feed the entire day. Prayers were made, kids were scared. Try not to accost me for saying this, but the war on terrorism that followed was somewhat different on how it effected the families involved. People were not Drafted into that War, and the Brave soldiers that enlisted (god bless them), did have better means of communicating with their loved ones back home. Could you imagine the dark times as a kid back in WW2 or Vietnam where your dads fate was coming down to a draft, followed by months of absolutely ZERO communication. 911 was a tragedy, and the response from your country, along with you allies up North was an absolute necessity. Tragic it had to happen.

And yes, one random medical bill away from financial ruin is something that would scare me to my core. I can certainly empathize with you there. I am not trying to minimize this. Our world has survived greater scares, and if we do our part, this will hopefully be in our rear-view mirrors in 6 months time. The World Health Organization said 3/4 of the population needs to be immunized in order for "Herd Immunity". Not sure what the US daily vaccination rates are, but in Canada we are starting to approach 100k daily. We are 1/10 your size, but if you can have the same scaling, you should be seeing an end to this pandemic in 4-6 months. I am sure that seems like forever after not seeing your family for a year already. That is way too long to go without seeing your loved ones.

In the US we've had more people die from covid than in WW2. Deaths in that war were fought for the good of mankind; every covid death has been pointless and preventable. And I'm not equating my hardships to that of soldiers who shoulder a huge burden that goes unseen or rewarded. However, those who choose to join the military have an understanding of what they're getting into. Nobody asked for our government to allow hundreds of thousands of people to get a deadly virus and die. I just think everybody in all times have had it hard and just cause something bad happened back then doesn't mean it isn't bad now.

The situation has a lot of us on edge because it's a compounding of a lot of problems with the US that got us into this spot. Hard to be positive about the situation when people like me are in the least at risk group so we're at the back of the line. I understand it's for the greater good of society but a lot of those people were really irresponsible so I've been punished for their actions.

Going on almost two weeks...no disrespect to anyone but sick of reading about Covid here. There is Binghamton, upcoming schedule (players available in time?), FA at end of season, draft prospects and other to talk about.

Going on almost two weeks...no disrespect to anyone but sick of reading about Covid here. There is Binghamton, upcoming schedule (players available in time?), FA at end of season, draft prospects and other to talk about.
- redmonsters

Brett Seney has been lighting it up!

I'm probably going to subscribe to AHL TV. It's $35 for the season. Considering none of us are going to any games this year it seems worthwhile.

I go to some Springfield Falcons, then Indians, now Thunderbirds games every year and try to time it for when the B-Devs are in town. Tickets are shockingly cheap and the play action is usually great. Sure, I've seen some stinkers but mostly it's outstanding hockey. It's a little old school in that emotions seem a bigger part of the game and they get chippy. Not a lot of fighting but hard play and checking with some malice. The skill level isn't equal to the NHL (unsurprisingly) but I always feel the game is more authentic somehow. No millionaires and no prima donnas.

NHL likes to pimp hockey as a business. It's not. The NHL is a business but hockey is a game. Watching kids play on the local pond (legit, I'm two blocks from a lake), or AHLers where they are still trying to become top level pros are all worth watching.

Going on almost two weeks...no disrespect to anyone but sick of reading about Covid here. There is Binghamton, upcoming schedule (players available in time?), FA at end of season, draft prospects and other to talk about.
- redmonsters

I mean pretty much the only thing to talk about is our prospects or Binghamton, which is still not too much to talk about because nothing has really changed in the last 2 weeks outside of a few good pro debuts in the AHL. Can't really talk about anything devils because we have no idea when the team will return to play and who will still be out when that time comes, don't want to speculate. No reason to talk about upcoming free agency because we have no idea who will be available and who will re-sign. And i have no interest in talking draft prospects until the devils are officially out of it and we know the range of where we will be picking, its all pointless without knowing that otherwise. If we end up picking outside the top 10, it's a complete waste talking about the top D. So there's really nothing to actually talk about devils- wise until the team actually gets back to playing unfortunately

I mean pretty much the only thing to talk about is our prospects or Binghamton, which is still not too much to talk about because nothing has really changed in the last 2 weeks outside of a few good pro debuts in the AHL. Can't really talk about anything devils because we have no idea when the team will return to play and who will still be out when that time comes, don't want to speculate. No reason to talk about upcoming free agency because we have no idea who will be available and who will re-sign. And i have no interest in talking draft prospects until the devils are officially out of it and we know the range of where we will be picking, its all pointless without knowing that otherwise. If we end up picking outside the top 10, it's a complete waste talking about the top D. So there's really nothing to actually talk about devils- wise until the team actually gets back to playing unfortunately
- vlongo4419

As I pointed out there re a few topics to talk about so I disagree. Can the Devils still play a 56 game schedule - if so how, if not what are the possibilities? Binghamton would be extremely interesting. Trade possibilities. Analyzing the prospect pool and finding holes to plug in this year's draft. Fine if you don't want to talk about, but i like this site and find myself going to other sites right now to get my Devil's fix. i would rather they were discussed here though.

Going on almost two weeks...no disrespect to anyone but sick of reading about Covid here. There is Binghamton, upcoming schedule (players available in time?), FA at end of season, draft prospects and other to talk about.
- redmonsters

we could take a turn and talk about the impeachment trial! I for one appreciate the defense pointing out how the prosecution edited a few clips to be "out of context" while they then go ahead and show a 10 minute video of every registered democrat saying the word "fight" clearly edited out of their context.


but yes.. draft prospects.

As I pointed out there re a few topics to talk about so I disagree. Can the Devils still play a 56 game schedule - if so how, if not what are the possibilities? Binghamton would be extremely interesting. Trade possibilities. Analyzing the prospect pool and finding holes to plug in this year's draft. Fine if you don't want to talk about, but i like this site and find myself going to other sites right now to get my Devil's fix. i would rather they were discussed here though.
- redmonsters

I mean of course they can still play 56 games, there's plenty of room to still make up more games, but it depends when they come back and if anymore games get canceled in the future. Too many what ifs to even talk about right now when we dont even know the immediate future of this team. The real question is if the league is going to reduce everybody's schedule to 48 game across the board.

Im not even getting into draft talk, way too early and completely pointless. We dont even know if the draft is going to happen this year.

Sure you can discuss trades, but the situation changes a month and a half from now near the deadline when we know where this team is really at, and our obvious sell pieces are at a very low value atm so its hard to discuss what to do with them. Its really the same as the draft for me, too early to tell or even discuss because we dont know the direction the team will be taking at the deadline in terms of either buying for a playoff push or selling.

Binghamton is the only thing i find interesting to talk about right now, and its only about a few of the young players. But when they're seemingly only playing two or maybe three times a week, So there's not many new things to actually talk about on a daily basis

I mean of course they can still play 56 games, there's plenty of room to still make up more games, but it depends when they come back and if anymore games get canceled in the future. Too many what ifs to even talk about right now when we dont even know the immediate future of this team. The real question is if the league is going to reduce everybody's schedule to 48 game across the board.

Im not even getting into draft talk, way too early and completely pointless. We dont even know if the draft is going to happen this year.

Sure you can discuss trades, but the situation changes a month and a half from now near the deadline when we know where this team is really at, and our obvious sell pieces are at a very low value atm so its hard to discuss what to do with them. Its really the same as the draft for me, too early to tell or even discuss because we dont know the direction the team will be taking at the deadline in terms of either buying for a playoff push or selling.

Binghamton is the only thing i find interesting to talk about right now, and its only about a few of the young players. But when they're seemingly only playing two or maybe three times a week, So there's not many new things to actually talk about on a daily basis
- vlongo4419

Safe to say Butchers trading value has plummeted unfortunately. I could see Ryan Murray generating some interest. He has looked good despite only putting up 2 points, and Devs could easily retain some money. Palms, Vats, and Gusev would obviously be worth a decent return, and most teams would love to have them. Just a matter of what their extensions are looking like. I'd like to keep them.

Safe to say Butchers trading value has plummeted unfortunately. I could see Ryan Murray generating some interest. He has looked good despite only putting up 2 points, and Devs could easily retain some money. Palms, Vats, and Gusev would obviously be worth a decent return, and most teams would love to have them. Just a matter of what their extensions are looking like. I'd like to keep them.
- bikeguy99

Yeah any value Butcher may have had is likely gone now, and im not sure he gets into the lineup at any point if our D stays healthy to boost that value. Murray will certainly generate interest but i'm giving him an extension if im Fitz. Palms is certainly the more valuable piece between him and Goose, but hes also the one i would rather keep. We arent getting a 1st for any of our players except for maybe Palms if he turns it around and starts putting the puck in the net, so at this point i don't want draft picks for our pieces, i want known prospects/young players that are close to making the jump.

But again, this is all irrelevant if this team is in a playoff race come the deadline, as we probably arent moving any of them and we're likely adding a piece to reward the players for battling to be in that spot.

I mean of course they can still play 56 games, there's plenty of room to still make up more games, but it depends when they come back and if anymore games get canceled in the future. Too many what ifs to even talk about right now when we dont even know the immediate future of this team. The real question is if the league is going to reduce everybody's schedule to 48 game across the board.

Im not even getting into draft talk, way too early and completely pointless. We dont even know if the draft is going to happen this year.

Sure you can discuss trades, but the situation changes a month and a half from now near the deadline when we know where this team is really at, and our obvious sell pieces are at a very low value atm so its hard to discuss what to do with them. Its really the same as the draft for me, too early to tell or even discuss because we dont know the direction the team will be taking at the deadline in terms of either buying for a playoff push or selling.

Binghamton is the only thing i find interesting to talk about right now, and its only about a few of the young players. But when they're seemingly only playing two or maybe three times a week, So there's not many new things to actually talk about on a daily basis
- vlongo4419

Like I said you can say or react to whatever you want....

Butcher should have been in by now. Tennyson is terrible and weighs the team down all the time. I'm sure Butcher can't be worse than Tennyson.

Looks like maybe the Devils will be back to practice tomorrow? Carrick posted on IG "Back at it tomorrow 😈"

Johnsson, Kuokkanen, McLeod, Palms, and Zacha have come off the covid list. We have 13 players remaining in it

Vukojevic and Okhotiuk both with their first pro goals tonight!

Looks like maybe the Devils will be back to practice tomorrow? Carrick posted on IG "Back at it tomorrow 😈"
- vlongo4419

I believe we are scheduled to play on Tuesday but with the majority of the team still on the list don't see how that's realistic.

I believe we are scheduled to play on Tuesday but with the majority of the team still on the list don't see how that's realistic.
- Pomegrant

Yeah im not sure, depends how many more come off tomorrow and Monday. But Masisak said it's still possible, and maybe even probable, that we still play Tuesday. More players are likely slated to come off tomorrow, and according to Masisak the players know their timeline assuming no further issues. So getting back to practice tomorrow would make sense and would align with Carricks post

I believe we are scheduled to play on Tuesday but with the majority of the team still on the list don't see how that's realistic.
- Pomegrant

I actually just checked, we need 3 more skaters to come off the list by Tuesday to have a full roster to play. So it's a good chance the game will go on as scheduled unless something unexpected happens

The team is officially returning to practice on Monday. Still on schedule and plan to play Tuesday as well

The team is officially returning to practice on Monday. Still on schedule and plan to play Tuesday as well
- vlongo4419

interested to see what the lineup will actually look like.

interested to see what the lineup will actually look like.
- MartysBetter88

It’s going look rusty, that’s for sure. Can’t imagine the guys will have their legs going given 2 weeks off, having COVID and only 1 practice. Hope I’m wrong, but this looks like another gift scenario for the Rags