That's 8 goals against in a row. Time to read up on draft, we are top 5 bound. Next coach better be a good one, not a cheap retread.
- redmonsters

Assuming we're picking in the top 8.

Players i want:
Wright
Cooley
Lambert
Nemec
Jiricek
Slafkovsky

Players i'd be fine with getting:
Kemell
Savoie
Yurov

Players i'd be pissed if we took:
Geekie
Miroshnichenko

Shit for 6th... overall.
- Pomegrant

We ate already in fifth position. Ottawa has 5 games in hand and 3 behind us. This just sucks.

Players i'd be pissed if we took:
Geekie
Miroshnichenko
- vlongo4419

so these are the guys I should probably get familiar with then

so these are the guys I should probably get familiar with then
- Pomegrant

Geekie is 100% a Fitz type of pick lol, wouldn't shock me at all if that's his target. But man that'd be horrible. My hope is that we're picking too high though and he won't be an option lol

This is a franchise embarrassment. Let's see if ownership stands pat. They shouldn't, but their silence will speak volumes about their commitment to this team.

Geekie is 100% a Fitz type of pick lol, wouldn't shock me at all if that's his target. But man that'd be horrible. My hope is that we're picking too high though and he won't be an option lol
- vlongo4419

As a Devils fan you gotta aim low, because you're still going to be disappointed when they hit even lower.

Realize he’s still a kid, but man Hughes looks bad. $15M+ for him and Nico isn’t ideal

Realize he’s still a kid, but man Hughes looks bad. $15M+ for him and Nico isn’t ideal
- AxlRose91

Yeah he's had a rough game, but lets ignore the previous 15 or so games since the Christmas break that he has dominated shift after shift. Yep, definitely not ideal... /s. I guess having bad games isn't allowed!

He's essentially a PPG player at 20 years old. Not ideal though!!!!

My god people are (frank)ing stupid lol

Yeah he's had a rough game, but lets ignore the previous 15 or so games since the Christmas break that he has dominated shift after shift. Yep, definitely not ideal... /s. I guess having bad games isn't allowed!

He's essentially a PPG player at 20 years old. Not ideal though!!!!

My god people are (frank)ing stupid lol
- vlongo4419

Luck of the draw, man. Some years, first overall nets you Kane, Matthews, or Ovie. Other years, you get Nico, Hughes, or Nuge.

At least it’s not Daigle or Yakupov

Yay for hockey

Luck of the draw, man. Some years, first overall nets you Kane, Matthews, or Ovie. Other years, you get Nico, Hughes, or Nuge.

At least it’s not Daigle or Yakupov
- AxlRose91

Ah okay you're trolling, makes sense.

So now that we're at the all-star break, does anybody actually watch it? I cant remember the last time i watched a skills competition or the actual games(s) itself

No joke, is it a good thing or a bad thing that Jack and Bratt have a down game for their standards, and a bad game for Jack, and theyre still the top 2 performers on the team?

https://www.hockeystatcar...le-game-impact-card/13736
https://www.hockeystatcar...om/single-game-card/13736

I legitimately dont know if its sad the rest of the team just flat out sucked or those 2 are just that good that their down games are still good? Maybe both?

Also, since December 1st, Devils goaltending is now rocking a .868 save%. Wonder what gets done to fix this issue, because going into next season with no change is a recipe for disaster again..

I can’t help but believe Blackwood’s bad play this year is directly linked to the heel. He was fine before the injury. He has not been the same since. Maybe if he gets that fixed he’ll be better.

I can’t help but believe Blackwood’s bad play this year is directly linked to the heel. He was fine before the injury. He has not been the same since. Maybe if he gets that fixed he’ll be better.
- MartysBetter88

Definitely agree it's had an affect on him for sure. He's not as bad as he's been this year but I still don't think he's a franchise goalie either. If he can rebound and be somewhere in the middle of his first 2 years and the last 2, I can accept that. That'd be around .908-.910 save% and slightly in the negatives of GSAE, which would be league average. That'd be a big boost to helping this team be competitive, because idk what else they could do unless Benier retires or is LTIR'd

Definitely agree it's had an affect on him for sure. He's not as bad as he's been this year but I still don't think he's a franchise goalie either. If he can rebound and be somewhere in the middle of his first 2 years and the last 2, I can accept that. That'd be around .908-.910 save% and slightly in the negatives of GSAE, which would be league average. That'd be a big boost to helping this team be competitive, because idk what else they could do unless Benier retires or is LTIR'd
- vlongo4419

Yea I was expecting him and still expected him to continue developing after just a first few seasons. So franchise goalie wasnt ruled out for me cuz I didn’t think he peaked yet.

Unfortunately for us, Goaltending is the most volatile position in hockey. You just never know when a goalie is going to lose it and can't play anymore. Now, if Blackwood could become even a league average goalie we can work with that, but based on the lack of organizational depth it's a big risk to just hold in this position. At the same time moving real assets on a goalie is a huge risk because season to season you have no idea what you're going to get.

Yea I was expecting him and still expected him to continue developing after just a first few seasons. So franchise goalie wasnt ruled out for me cuz I didn’t think he peaked yet.
- MartysBetter88

It's certainly possible because hes a goalie so you can't count anything out but I wouldn't bet on it. His first two seasons were fine, but he has declined each year and progressively gotten worse.

2018-19: .918 save% with -0.43 GSAE
2019-20: .915 save% with -0.54 GSAE
2020-21: .902 save% with -12.62 GSAE
2021-22: .894 save% with -13.73 GSAE

So he started his career with 2 league-average years, which certainly had us excited, but then followed it up with 2 years of being one of the worst goalies in the league. Hes had excellent stretches of games at times but has never put together a full year of above-average goaltending, so i'm hoping he can fall in the middle somewhere closer to his first two years but we'll see. Anything can happen!

Like I said, if he can be around .908-.910 save% and have even or slightly negative GSAE then that'll be a nice boost towards this team being competitive next season. That won't completely sink the team like goaltending has this season.

Gotta let him rest and recover the remainder of the season though. Let him get fully healthy and go into camp next season feeling 100%.

Friedman on his newly released 32 thoughts article:

"New Jersey and MacKenzie Blackwood are going through second and potentially third opinions over treatment for his injured heel. Timeline uncertain."

3-0 leafs
- shvingter88

You overrate this team.