Todd Cordell: Devils fall to Blues, lose third consecutive game: Five takeaways

Todd have you ever thought about doing a podcast, one day for free another day on patron, and if you have what is it.

Dude, you don't have to sugar-coat it. Hynes made an idiotic decision to scratch Severson. While the old-school 'watch-the-game' guys seem to love Santini, he's just not playing well and clearly isn't ready to or isn't capable of handling top competition. John Moore gets a free pass for... reasons? We have over 2 years worth of sample size that says awful defensively and over-rated offensively. He's good at 3 on 3 and has a good shot which he doesn't use very often. The only guys contributing positively on the back end are Butcher, Greene and Severson, the rest are fringe NHLers.

Also, do you have any clue what the deal is with Sunny Mehta? Mirtle tweeted that he left the organization but there's been nothing outside of that single tweet on that. It's not a good sign when a team is riding the percentages and that team's analytics director leaves the organization.

Anyone who ever wants to draft for need, especially in the first round, should look at the two players picked after the Devils in the first round in 2015 and 2016. That's Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy and Jake Bean.

DOOMED

Anyone who ever wants to draft for need, especially in the first round, should look at the two players picked after the Devils in the first round in 2015 and 2016. That's Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy and Jake Bean.
- CaptCrankypants

what has Jake Bean done?

palms back at practice

what has Jake Bean done?
- Senor_Elias

Been a pt/gm player in the WHL. Defensemen who produce that well in juniors are a good bet to be good NHLers. I'd trade McLeod for him in a heartbeat.

We already have a pt/game player in the WHL...

Mueller looked awful out there. I'd take Prout over him every night

Mueller looked awful out there. I'd take Prout over him every night
- willschulme

Mueller has looked awful all year.

Santini isn't this team's problem. Yes, it would be great not to give him so many hard minutes but what's the alternative?? He's 22 and played one full season. He'll be fine. Maybe not top pairing good but he's an asset to the team.

And if watching the game is old school, I'm staying that way. Santini is so much better then Moore, Lovejoy, Prout, and Mueller.

Santini isn't this team's problem. Yes, it would be great not to give him so many hard minutes but what's the alternative?? He's 22 and played one full season. He'll be fine. Maybe not top pairing good but he's an asset to the team.

And if watching the game is old school, I'm staying that way. Santini is so much better then Moore, Lovejoy, Prout, and Mueller.
- Queenie_5_hole

Yes, Santini isn't a problem, nobody was every expecting him to walk in at 22 years old and be a first pairing shutdown defenseman in the NHL. The problem is that our horrible depth on D is forcing him to play that role.

what has Jake Bean done?
- Senor_Elias

who the hell cares? Provorov, Werenski, McAvoy. They're exactly what we need, and Zacha is giving us nothing that don't already have in mediocre forwards. Then you have Rantanen and Barzal.. who a lot of us wanted to trade down to pickup.
Yes, Zacha's "only 20", but consistency and drive is hard to teach.

who the hell cares? Provorov, Werenski, McAvoy. They're exactly what we need, and Zacha is giving us nothing that don't already have in mediocre forwards. Then you have Rantanen and Barzal.. who a lot of us wanted to trade down to pickup.
Yes, Zacha's "only 20", but consistency and drive is hard to teach.
- MartysBetter88

I agree for the most part. I think he had a couple bad bounces and hit a few posts early in the season and he let it bring him down and keep him there. Maybe he's just not as mentally mature as he is physically. If that is the case hopefully that just comes with a little more time to grow and mature mentally as well. Either way he clearly has another level that he has shown some flashes of, and maybe getting his head in the right place can help.

He should get the number for the mental coach Bratt uses lol

DOOMED
- DevilDog93

bingo

TRADE ZACHA

TRADE ZACHA
- rawwdogg88

Yeah his value is so high

Can Zacha play in the AHL, yet? If so, they should send him there for half a year.

I feel like he's getting outsmarted at the NHL level. The guy is an athletic specimen... once he harnesses that into smarter hockey, he's going to be a really good player.

One thing that's become very apparent: the Devils don't have anyone who can hold their own against high-end competition. The Blues' top line of Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, and Vladimir Tarasenko had their way with the Devils scoring a goal apiece and combining for seven points, 13 shots, and 16 scoring chances.

Yeah we had the same nightmare against TB; Kucherov and Stamkos lit us up. Too bad defense is a rough market right now...

TRADE ZACHA
- rawwdogg88

Why, he's been playing decently.

Can Zacha play in the AHL, yet? If so, they should send him there for half a year.

I feel like he's getting outsmarted at the NHL level. The guy is an athletic specimen... once he harnesses that into smarter hockey, he's going to be a really good player.
- archromat

Can't help but think Q or Blandisi would help us out much more right now.

Yeah his value is so high
- shvingter88

Good point. Tired of seeing him though. His play is lifeless at the moment.

Why, he's been playing decently.
- tomburton99

The thought around here is that if your prospect doesn't play up to the guy you could have drafted it's better to throw them away for nothing.

The thought around here is that if your prospect doesn't play up to the guy you could have drafted it's better to throw them away for nothing.
- Pomegrant

Imagine what ARI fans are thinking about Dylan Strome!

Imagine what ARI fans are thinking about Dylan Strome!
- Senor_Elias

Strome for Zacha?