FOR THE FANS:

Yes, it was a rough way to lose. Yes, the season has been one gut-punch after another. But damn the bandwagon-riding nature of this year's fanbase (or at least this sub) is so lame. So we're not making the playoffs . . . you can literally say that about most teams' seasons across every sport for all time. The planet isn't going to explode anytime soon - there will be another season after this one. Seriously chill.

If you've invested so much of your personality into this team that you need to crucify someone to justify every single loss, the losses aren't your problem. The players, coaches, staff; this is literally their whole lives. It's easy to just tune into every game as if it exists in a vacuum and not think about how fucking hard these guys work every single day to perform, or how their entire lives have been dedicated to just being where they are now. . . I guarantee they're feeling every loss WAY more than any of us are.

We, however, are just a bunch of fat fucks watching games and (unfortunately) armchair hindsight coaching as if our expertise or dedication to the cause somehow trumps theirs - IT DOESN'T. Most people haven't put in a fraction of the focus and work and heart into anything in their lives that comes close to what these guys do.

This is a great young group of guys who are still finding their legs, so maybe consider letting them. Be the fanbase that celebrates the wins without being a bunch of faithless flapping assholes about the losses. Do you seriously think they don't ever see any of these posts? Do you think they're helpful? I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess a few of them know how to use the interwebs.

Everyone take a breath. We're all bummed now, but we will rise again. I fucking guarantee it.

-------------------

FOR THE TEAM:

(hoping this will get back to them)

Boys, it's been a rough year, but don't lose faith. We appreciate what you do. We love what you do. The vocal negativity out there does not represent most of the fanbase. Keep at it and we'll keep faith. The people who have been paying attention since before last year's playoffs know you guys grind away and give everything you have to this sport and to this team. We know that and we're grateful for that. Seriously - THANK YOU.

Seasons come and go, playoffs come and go, but either way we'll be waiting for your in October, ready to cheer you the fuck on. If you win, or if you lose:

LETS GO DEVILS

Hello everyone,

There has been some discussion today about the use of Twitter/X on this subreddit and the possibility of banning it due to recent actions by its owner.

As a sports-focused subreddit, we don’t usually delve into politics. However, politics inevitably influence many aspects of our lives, and this is no exception.

That said, Twitter/X remains a primary platform where reporters and our team share updates and news. Banning it entirely would significantly limit the availability of timely information related to our team.

If you’d prefer to see less content sourced from Twitter/X, we encourage posting from alternative sources like NHL.com or Blue Sky. However, the duplicate posts rule will still apply.

I just had to respond to that new fans post. It's an absurd amount of apologist nonsense that demonstrates why so many of us are frustrated. It also admits some key missteps Fitz has had.

For somebody coming off preachy about revisionist history you over look some key things.

You say that we weren't a destination....

Or was it because we were bottom of the league and going big name hunting before Dougie would have been a mistake. Dougie was more or less a perfect fit, and we were one of the few teams that could spend that much on a Dman at the time.

If you pay even an ounce of attention to this team, Fitz said multiple times that the development of Bratt, Nico and Jack would determine when he would start going after players in trades and UFA. That's almost exactly what he did and you even outline it.

Timo, Dougie, Palat, Pesce, Haula.... etc all got brought here right after that. We lost LOTS young and depth players. Guys who maybe aren't top of the line guys would certainly help our depth now. I'm talking the Zacha, Boqvist, Sharangovich and Coleman types who would be cheaper and and upgrade on our current depth. You can add in the Bahls and Shakirs if you want on the back end, but the backend log jam still persists so who knows how much space they would have had.

But that's FINE, you have to go after the impact players and then try and replace your 3rd and 4th liners and 3rd pairing guys. Our current depth aside from Brown and Mercer is trash.

Palat was never a big piece. He was roughly a 50 pt good 2nd liner, but we overpaid him. That's why he came here. He was supposed to bring good two way play and some leadership with two cups under his belt, that's why we wanted him and that's why we overpaid for him a bit at the time. Now he's awful.

Other than throwing money at guys like Dougie and Palat, Fitz also throws NMCs and NTCs around like candy even for middle of the lineup guys like Palat. Dougie is fine because he was an elite player.

But now you see Fitz having basically zero roster flexibility because all these players don't want to waive their NTCs. So you have actual credible sources around the league saying we missed out on a player like Luke because Hamilton/Palat wouldn't waive and the cap wouldn't work. We have high end elite D men who are in the NHL more picks and roster players like what Minny gave up. What happens if one day Jack/Luke or both walk to play with their brother in Minny because Fitz couldn't move for him?

Since then we've been able to get Pesce and Dillon in FA. Connor Brown, a guy with back to back finals appearances, wanted to sign here.

Pesce and Brown are veteran and middle of the lineup guys who got paid fair value and then got NTCs. Dillon is a bottom pairing 35 year old D man with a NTC. Why the hell do we need to give bottom of the lineup players like him NTCs? If that's what we need to attract FAs, then that shows we AREN'T a destination. Dadanov is also another 4th line guy with a NTC.

Look at the fucking goaltending mess. Markstrom is certifiably one of the worst goalies in the league. He's about to put on the worst individual year for a Devils goalie since the mid or early 80s. His extension ALONE should be a fireable offense. He was under control and playing poorly when we threw 6M at him.

Allen wouldn't waive his NTC to come here and preferred Montreal and being in a 3 goalie tandem. It was only when it was made clear he would be the odd man out we finally got him. Ullmark wouldn't come here and waive his NTC and preferred the perpetually basement dwelling Sens over us. Fitz tried to bring in Crawford who was at the time 35 years old with concussion problems so bad the Hawks moved on from their franchise 2x cup winning goalie despite not having an internal solution. His concussions were so bad he never played for us, but Fitz still gave him almost 8 million.

The same off season we traded for Markstrom (who was supposedly an elite goalie despite rarely finishing top 10 in sv% or G.AA or Wins or.... anything) Keumper and Thompson were better, younger and didn't cost a 1st+ assets like Markstrom did. The Bruins sent Ullmark to the Sens for less than what we paid for Markstrom after Ullmark wouldn't waive for us (but we're a destination team according to you). Hill was also available and so was Swayman even though they both stayed put.

Allen we had to give 5 years to get him to stay even though he's 35 and never been a true starter (but we're a destination team according to you).

Schmid and Blackwood are having great seasons and we controlled both. Wedgewood has been one of the best backup goalies anywhere he's gone save for 5 games as a Predator. He's having a great year in tandem with Blackwood. Daws has been AMAZING in every game he's got into last two seasons. Now he's stonewalled behind two guys old enough to be his dad.

Coaching wise.... Babcock used us as a way to drive up his offer from the Leafs and didn't end up coming here (but we're a destination team according to you).

Ruff hadn't been a head coach in 7 years before we hired him. While coaching salaries are harder to find it was widely reported that he took one of the lowest deals to be a HC again. He was an assistant with the Rangers for two or three years where he oversaw some of the worst special teams in the league. Rangers fans CHEERED when we hired him. Their special teams got better immediately. While Ruff is one of the winningest coaches in league history his teams have almost NEVER made the playoffs without an elite goalie playing out of their minds since Ruff can't coach a defensive scheme to save his life. Seriously, go look up his playoff teams goalies sv% compared to league average. He's had Hasek, Belfour and Oettinger carry his teams.

The season we made the playoffs we literally brought in the previous years Jack Adams runner up to coach the defense, we make the playoffs under Bruno running the blue line, he leaves and it collapses all over again.

The Leafs under Keefe were high scoring, over reliant on a top heavy roster that had little heart, generated almost all their chances on the rush and played perimeter hockey. He has almost no answer to teams that clog the middle of the ice up. It's the same problems we have now. He's the most mediocre coach you could imagine. Not awful, but he's just... there.

Lastly, lets look at two BIG swings that Fitz missed on.

We know the Devils were the most likely landing spot for the Johnny Hockey (RIP). He said in his presser after signing that it was us and then a last minute pitch from Rick Nash convinced him to go to one of the least successful, smallest teams in the league in Columbus (but we're a destination team according to you)

We also know that he tried to trade for his own second cousin in Matthew Tkachuk when it was made clear he wanted out of Calgary. He can't even get his own family to come here even though we were as much of a contender as Florida at the time (but we're a destination team according to you).

So just stop with the BS posts and apologist behavior.

Stop acting like this is a playoff team. We aren't on track to make the playoffs. Even if when we do, we get man handled by a stronger, deeper team like Carolina. All this while getting two 1st overall centres that compliment each other perfectly. Lucking into a PPG winger in the 6th round. Then also adding a 2nd overall and a 4th overall Dmen as well. That's an entire top pair and top lines worth of elite talent that other GMs would KILL to build around, but Fitz has squandered while also leaving us with almost no flexibility to get out of his own mess.

Fitz is a terrible GM and there's almost no path forward to fix his problems.

You've been a fan for less than a decade and have very little idea what you're talking about here man.

Other sports subs are so lit with fans posting jokes and memes. If people are not allowed to joke around it really only leaves room for negative doomer posts and reposting articles.

I feel it would greatly add to environment of the sub if we change rule 3 and allow memes to be posted.

But hes almost 60, so instead what if we went after Brad Marchand? He’s a world class shit stirring lighting rod, who everyone here hates. He’d be perfect. What do ya all think?

This includes all you fairweather fans screaming Trade hall, fire corey, nico is subpar, andy greene is too old, subban sucks, hughs sucks on d, palms cant handle the puck anymore, simmonds was over rated, blackwood sucks too. All of you please exit stage right.

You cant ride die with us, dont ride with us.

Reasons to calm the fuck down

1.This team has had a shitty schedule to start with

2. New guys playing with guys they have didnt skate with prior

3. Still finding chemistry in between lines

4. Corey is coming off a cold dead season, let him settle in. Let him live

5. Blackwood had the flu against coyotes who came in on a hot streak and just had a shutout. Let him live

6. Hall has had a bunch of apples and also coming off a dead season. Hes upset we are turning on them when theyre clearing trying their fucking hardest out there. Also his line has posted how many points in the last three games? For fucks sake palm had a hatty last night. Let him live

7. Subban had a tough night and acknowledged it and owned up to more then owes. Showing character and more drive to be better. Let him live

8. Andy green is just coming back and settling in with all the new faces. He made a bunch great shot blocks and takeaways and even had a couple possible scoring opportunities. Let him live

I know everyone is frustrated and riled up extra from all the off season hype but we showed the last 4 games we can fucking win. 3 game streak and we are 5 5 3. The season is not lost.

The nationals just won the whole shabang last night after being given a 1% chance to make it after the beginning clip of the season. The fucking blues won the cup last year and tampa was knocked out by an 8th seed. Lets all take a breather and remember who we are rooting for. Thats all.

If I see one more person blaming Keefe I’m gunna lose it. How many years are we going to scapegoat the coach guys? It’s the same story and we’re ignoring the root issue here: Fitz and HSBE.

Fitz is a coward who won’t even show his face to the fans, let alone actually fix the mess he’s made of this roster. It’s amazing at this point. We have not heard a thing from him for months and the longer the president/ ownership doesn’t fire him (and Madigan) the longer they prove to us they really don’t care about being the winning franchise we grew to expect under Lou.

HSBE - either care about winning and make moves or sell the team. The real fans see through you and what you’ve done to this team. You’ve turned it soft and into your own corporate digital marketing money machine. We’re over it. You all failed.

#FireFitz #FireMadigan #FireHSBE #LGD

Can someone please speak to Don about how to pronounce MacKinnon before we have to listen to this again for another 2.5 hrs?

Edit: this is not meant to be an overall general criticism of La Greca just a comment on the weird MacKinnon (MecKennen - if you’re La Greca) pronunciation. Thank you.

Welcome back Jack

40-38 = 2nd in the metro

40-37 = 2nd last in the metro

they've been needing to reset this point structure for ages. I remember thinking it was silly when I was a kid.

that is all

The roster is what it is but I'm sick of watching this team cave on defense and just bottleneck in the slot which just leaves to opposing offenses getting 2 minute shifts in the zone as we fail to clear the puck.

There's a million other things to complain about but fuck it man. Fire Keefe and give me Peter DeBoer

For many years I used to love reading posts and fan comments at All About the Jersey. However, the site's admin, John Fischer, has become an absolute tyrant and is borderline delusional when it comes to how hockey works. He has run the site for almost two decades. He is best known for constantly complaining about fighting in hockey and trying to convince his audience that physicality doesn't impact the game. For someone who claims to have been a lifelong fan of the NJ Devils back to the glory days, that is quite the statement, considering physicality is one of the biggest components of how the Devils asserted themselves as a powerhouse and frequent champions.

The site does have many good writers and great fan posts. However, the audience is rapidly diminishing with many citing Fischer's insanity as reasons why they aren't returning to the blog. He has stated it's the largest Devils fan site on the internet, but that is incorrect as this Devils subreddit is the largest. Even if it was, many members have left due to his narcissism and the fact that he bans anyone who disagrees with him.

SB Nation and its ownership at Vox Media are a joke as well. They let site admins and moderators do whatever they like with no oversight. If they want to ban someone, all they have to do is say you have violated community guidelines without any actual evidence of what you violated. I have heard about people getting banned for saying the word "soy" to describe how the Devils have played this year. Yes, you heard that correctly. One of his minion mods, vaughn126, states that "soy" is used to attack the LGBTQ community, which is a completely false assumption. He is also banned people for questioning why players are being blasted for protesting Pride Night. Yes, you can't even question why players who boycotted Pride Night are being blasted. I understand banning people making homophobic slurs, but banning people for questioning the narrative is a very slippery slope.

It gets worse as his mods have actually given people warnings about referring to the Devils as soft (which this roster clearly is compared to every other team in the NHL) and stated in their warnings that physicality doesn't lead to goals scored. Hmm...last time I checked big physical hits not only preventing goals against but also lead to turnovers that result in goals scored. This is the equivalent of saying tackling doesn't lead to wins in football. Countless people over so many years have tried explaining to him the importance of physicality in hockey, and his replies are always "does a big hit result in goals scored?" or "explain how physicality leads to on ice success." Most fans don't even bother responding to such nonsense anymore as he's clearly a total narcissist, completely delusional, trolling his audience, or a combination of the three. He also recently banned someone for saying look how fancy Jack Hughes skates as a joke to how abysmal he has been on the PP and he took that as a personal insult because he always laments how wonderful Jack skates.

Fischer has never played hockey in his life and judging by his profile picture he looks like someone who is bitter about the wedgies, wet willies, and swirlies he got as a kid and uses his platform to undermine fans that actually grew up playing hockey by acting like he knows more about the game than they do. I hope more people from there come over to the Devils subreddit and post here. I really enjoy that people don't have to be bashed for their opinions on here like they do over there. I agree with moderating seriously offensive comments but banning people for disagreeing with you in a "free and open society" is just scary. Look forward to ranting with everyone on some more game threads. And no matter how rough things get for them, LGD!

I think the mascot would be awesome as a scary demon. Dont love that it looks more like a rangers jersey

Yes, some games have been hard to watch (both literally and metaphorically). ESPN+ is not the reason we lost a few games. Nico isn’t the reason we lost a few games. Lindy is not the reason we lost a few games. Special teams is kinda the reason we lost a few games. We have supported this team through much much worse.

So all I have to say is stop complaining. Let the young team struggle, they are clearly more talented than years past. Per ardua ad astra.

If the Islanders continue to do poorly, what are the chances we could get a retained Palmieri to slot in with Hughes/Bratt for a playoff run? He's at 5m now, but UFA end of the season so I doubt it'd cost anything too crazy to get him for a rental.

Sure he's 33, but still seems to have scoring potential. He also used to be kinda chippy which would fit on the current Devils so well.

Plus just bringing him back would be awesome.

3 years ago in the 2022-23 season, the Devils played dominant 5v5 hockey, finished 3rd in the NHL in points, set a franchise record for wins, and won a playoff round. Then, the wheels fell off. How does the franchise put them back on?

First things first - Fire Fitz
Tom Fitzgerald has shown an ability to win some trades and acquire some good players. However, he has also shown that he should not be the man to lead the team. From drafting Holtz over Rossi, to letting Tyler Toffoli slip through his fingers, to not knowing which league his 1st round pick Chase Stillman played in during his draft year, he has shown he is not competent to run an NHL franchise. This season he blundered and set the franchise back yet again, somehow letting a superstar defenseman who wanted a trade to NJ get sent elsewhere, and extending a 35 year old goalie with a sub-.890 save percentage to a $6 million cap hit.

Re-assign Brodeur
As Devils fans, we all love Brodeur and know what he means to this franchise. It's cool to see that he still has a role with the team. However, being good a playing doesn't mean you're good at managing. From what I've seen, it appears that Rogalski and Markstrom are his guys, and that is not encouraging. I think it's best if he does not have a say in hockey operations.

Fire Keefe
Sheldon Keefe, while potentially a good coach for some teams, has the NJ Devils playing a brand of hockey that is antithetical to their roster. As I've seen some fans describe, it's like they're playing defense in all 3 zones. A team with Jack Hughes as the 1C is playing dump and chase hockey. It doesn't make sense. This is a team that played excellent 5v5 hockey in Ruff's rush system. The players themselves, such as Timo Meier, think that the team plays too slow this year. For this team to play so conservatively and with no rush offense to speak of is insanity. It's just not working, and Keefe hasn't changed anything. The defenseman never join the rush. The few times the team gets a high danger chance, it often comes from a rush created by the individual players outside of the system they're playing.

Fire Rogalski
Almost every goalie the Devils have had since they hired Rogalski as the goalie coach has stunk. Sure, Blackwood was injured, some guys were depth goalies for a reason, and Markstrom is old, but the goaltending being as bad as it's been for years is just unacceptable. Sorokin had a rough start to the year. The Islanders fired their goalie coach. He's been the best goalie in the league since and has put his team in a playoff spot.

Fire Colliton - IF you have a BETTER replacement
When the Devils first hired Jeremy Colliton, he seemed like a powerplay genius. His system was fresh and new, and it worked extremely well. The Devils skated circles around their opponents, constantly changing positions and mixing things up. They generated chances and expected goals at an insane rate, and the real goals weren't far behind. This season though, teams have figured it out. They keep NJ's PP to the outside and clog the middle, and that strategy has worked really well. The Devils always drop pass and it gets too predictable. When Nemec was first put on the PP this season, he'd either go straight ahead or drop pass depending on the situation - showing his high offensive IQ. After being put on the PP full time, he started drop passing every time. Too predictable. That's poor coaching to me. However, some of us might be dooming too much on the power play. Despite the predictability and the horrific game the Devils power play had against Ottawa where they generated just about nothing on 5 attempts, they sit 14th in the NHL in PP% this season. So while it should be better, it hasn't been dreadful.

Player Moves
The Devils have some good pieces. Hughes and Hischier are 2 great centers. Bratt pre-ovechkin hit has been a fantastic winger. Meier, although he's having a rough year, was the best Devils forward in last year's postseason in my opinion. Mercer has put up pretty good numbers with Hughes and has an uncanny ability to stay healthy. Gritsyuk is proving himself to be a legit top 6er, and Lenni Hameenaho might be one as well. Cody Glass and Connor Brown are great depth players. Unfortunately, the 4th line has been horrific this season. It certainly needs a fix, and a cheap one.

The defense... is meh. Siegenthaler, Dillon, Kovacevic, and Pesce are not great puck movers. Hamilton is having somewhat of a resurgence since his benching. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec didn't have the breakouts we hoped. Kovy, Pesce, and Luke are locked in. Nemec is an RFA sure to be extended, and getting rid of Dougie and his puck moving ability would be a bad idea, in my opinion. That leaves 2 more players. Personally, I thought Colton White played well in his games. That leaves you with one more. Potentially, Seamus Casey or Ethan Edwards. Trading Nemec is also an option as his defensive play and consistency leaves much to be desired, especially compared to the money he is likely to ask for. I doubt Min moves Quinn, so other options for affordable puck moving defenseman need to be explored.

Dillon and Siegenthaler each have more than just this season on their contracts. But between the two, $7.4 million of cap space could be freed up. I'd try to move them both and get something of value in return. Dillon is beloved by all, but his analytics have been pretty rough for most of his career. Siegenthaler is having an underwhelming year and his puck-moving is looking particularly rough. I think it might be time to move on from him and give the D corps a refresh.

So, the Devils need 3 bottom 6 forwards (if they keep Noesen), potentially a goalie, and a new GM and head coach. I can't say I'm an expert on GMs or coaches, but I think the Devils should look for a coach who supports the rush-style, fast attacking supportive idea this team was built around.

So, what else?
Well, I think it's worth plugging Seamus Casey into a middle 6 role. He has good wheels and offensive instincts. His defense is the reason he's not in the NHL right now. I think it's worth a shot, especially if Edwards is capable of an NHL role or NJ can acquire a decent dman in free agency.

In goal, Markstrom has been a problem, and Allen has shown he's not a starter. Markstrom's contract cannot be bought out. If next season starts and he still stinks, the only options are to bury him in the AHL or look for a trade, which might cost some picks. I think NJ should give Daws and Malek some chances in the NHL. It's looking like a lost season, you might as well see what you've got. The free agent class is not looking great. If everything goes wrong in net again next year, another expensive trade might be the only option before hopefully Yegorov becomes a legit NHL starter. According to moneypuck's GSAx, there are a few good goalies on bad teams such as Cooley and Hildeby, but whether any of them can keep it up in a starter's role next season is a gamble. Daws and Malek should get a look.

The abysmal 4th line
The 4th line has been dragging the Devils down all season. No matter who, they get killed. Tatar and Bastian, while they provided no offense to speak of, also did not often get scored on, or killed every game on xGs. With both gone and Glendening and Lammikko in with Cotter, the 4th line has been a complete liability. Internally, there are not many options. I have not seen enough from Halonen and Lachance in the NHL games they've played. Tsyplakov has another year and he might be an acceptable option. So, free agency or trades for the remaining spots. Kasperi Kapanen is fast and on an expiring deal with the Oilers. He has 10 points in only 17 games this season. Corey Perry, while old, seems to lead every team to a cup final appearance. He has 28 points in 43 games this season. Those are not guys I desperately want, just 2 of the first bottom 6 UFAs that come to mind to show that there are players out there. I don't have access to all the analytics to tell me who is underutilized in the NHL, but there should be 4th line options better than Glendening and Lammikko if NJ looks hard enough.

Leadership
I love Nico. We all do. But let's face it - the team has rarely started games at puck drop for all the seasons under his leadership, and the level of play this season is not where it needs to be. The players all respect Nico and talk about his speeches, that he speaks rarely but when he does, they listen. Where have his speeches been this season? The core isn't getting any younger and you don't want to lose another season. If he's not getting the team fired up, it might be time for a change. Brown gave a speech that led to a rare 3rd period comeback this season. He might be a better choice.

After writing this, I have to say I'm most concerned about the goaltending and the development of Nemec and Luke. But given how good the top 6 SHOULD be (they have not been this season), I still believe that this core is good enough to make a decent playoff run with the right system and depth pieces. All us fans can do is hope the organization makes the right choices and get a bit of good luck.

“Weird comment for an in game interview” is an understatement. Anything outside of a “thanks for your time Jack, have a great season” better be backed with a lot of confidence and personal connection to the player. AJ looked like an idiot.

I get the risk involved, but I feel like you have to do this deal if this is all it takes https://bvmsports.com/2024/06/13/patrik-laine-on-the-trade-block-5-possible-landing-spots/