Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers. By CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil) Every time I tweet something good about the New Jersey Devils this year, I get responses like ‘but, they’re 28th in the league!’ or ‘they haven’t won a playoff series in a decade’; whatever version of the sentiment ‘we’re still not winning’, the flavor of the day happens to be. For a fanbase that’s had to deal with ineptitude for a pretty long time, that’s an understandable frustration. But here’s the thing … that’s dumb.
First time ever commenting, but I felt obligated to after reading this. This article hits the nail on the head. I can't understand the devs fans who are screaming that we haven't improved and that Fitz has to go because we didn't sell at the deadline. For the first time in a while, we didn't need to gut our lineup because the core is here. We don't need to go find picks to draft the core. This is the first time we'll enter the off-season without having to fill holes created at the deadline just to get the team back to the point it was at that deadline -- which was bad. Average goaltending puts us one spot out of the playoffs per the fancy stats. Go devs
Points wise this is going to be lower than any since the 2016-17 season… but those teams are night and day. That 2016-17 team was one of the most miserable things I’ve ever seen. Watching them play, and particularly on defense, was almost physically painful and most definitely emotionally painful. Those Devils made me question my love for the sport, and whether they would ever be good again. We had Hall, Palmieri, Schneider, and absolutely nothing else.
This year is more hopeful for all of the reasons CJ listed. The youth is breaking out and there’s more on the way. Average goaltending will go a long way, and leaving Mark Recchi on the Turnpike will go even further. This season was “Will the youth produce?” and that was an emphatic “yes.” Next year will be “will the team produce?” and I’m more confident than I’ve been since the golden era.
If nothing else. And it’s pretty much been nothing else. The offense has been unbelievable to watch. We’ve reached a point where other teams announcers are talking about how dangerous the devils are. Even NHL network had a bit about it the other night. Of course losing sucks. But it’s actually been fun watching. If we get Nico Daws level goaltending every night, we’re competitive. If we get better than that… The league isn’t ready for that haha.
I totally agree that we can't be solely judged by wins & losses. However I also believe the expected goals for & against are skewed. Vs Toronto they said that's the 1st time we scored 1st in like 8 or 9 games. When we're constantly behind we're the ones playing with desperation. The other team is just sitting on a lead. What happens when we're the ones ahead & Mathews Crosby Ovi McDavid etc come out firing with desperation in the 3rd & we're the ones sitting on the lead not pushing the pace?? Then it flips to less scoring chances for & against.
What I'd like to see for the 18 games left is a game like we had in Toronto. Can we withstand the pressure when winning? Can we get the go ahead goal when tied late? Can we not be constantly playing from behind? That's how you learn to win.
What I'm going to be extremely disappointed for is PK playing out the season. Vesey playing out the season. I desperately want to see Okhotiuk get a shot. He's been Utica's best Dman all year. He & Walsh together are an excellent combo. Okhotiuk is way more physical & way more willing/able to drop the gloves. He's a significantly better skater. Putting Ty with PK isn't doing him any favors. He & Okhotiuk are both comfortable on the right side. Let's see what they can do on the 3rd pair. See what Okhotiuk can bring to the PK. If not Okhotiuk at least give Bahl the shot. PK doesn't help us to see what these guys can do. Okhotiuk hasn't been given 1 shot. Let him get some experience & a couple NHL checks to help for training in the off-season.
I'm totally scared they're going to bring Vesey back. I'd love to see Greer finish the year in the lineup. Let him get comfortable & see if he can bridge the gap from AHL to NHL. It's extremely difficult to do that with 1 or 2 games here & there. I love watching this guy in Utica. He's physical, he fights, & he scores. He's a regular for this day & age for the Gordy Howe hat trick. In NJ he seems timid. He's trying harder to not make a mistake than he is to make an impact. He's got everything you want for a bottom 6 player. IMO he just needs a real opportunity
A few weeks ago I would have said there's no way we can trust Mac & Bernier for next season. With the emergence of Daws I'm almost ready to retract that. I'm still not willing to give up on Mac but I'm still scared to trust him. I really liked when we signed Bernier. Considering he was hurt & the team wasn't near as good as it is now, he played pretty well. But again I'm scared of how he'll be after this surgery. Now that Daws is regularly giving us a shot to win I'd be more willing to gamble on the 3 of them. If we can get at least average from 2 of 3 I believe we'd make the playoffs. With all 3 of them there's no way a UFA signs here. So we'd have to make a trade to get someone else in here.
There are so many positives this year I really don't see how everyone is so dead set on the win loss record. We've got a guy in net that turns 21 in December & only played 10 games in Germany last year. He's 6-6-0 which is very close to Mac's 1st season being 10-10-0. We know Mac & Bernier were both playing hurt. Wedgy would've been a way better option than Gillies. No clue why we'd put him on waivers while the #1 & #2 are playing injured. It couldn't be any more obvious the problem is goaltending.
The PK & PP still aren't perfect but they're significantly better than last year. We're no longer waiting for Jack & Bratt to break out. They're turning into legitimate stars. Nico is starting to turn into an offensive weapon which by now most would've said that's not gonna happen. I don't think anyone would've seen such a huge year from Mercer. A lot of people were skeptical if SharanGOALvich could repeat his season. Rough start but he's definitely better than he was last year. Holtz is tearing up the AHL. He'll step in & have an immediate impact. Dougie is exactly what we thought we were getting. I don't think anyone expected the amount of pts we've gotten from Graves. Severson has improved again. He's 1 of the best Dmen in the league. Holy crap Siegenthaler. Luke will never have the offense that Quinn has. That turned out correct. Looks like he's going to be better offensively than Quinn. Schmid & Daws have exceeded all expectations. We're going to add another top 8 pick to this team. Utica is mostly our draft picks & 1 of the best teams in the league.
If people can't look past this yr's wins & losses & get excited about the future I don't know what it would take
Siegs was such a steal. Can't wait to see the next gen of d-men come up to support our young forward studs. Other than that, fix the goalie issue (tough) and pp (can't be that hard can it?) and we'll be looking leagues better.
We love CJ here folks
First time ever commenting, but I felt obligated to after reading this. This article hits the nail on the head. I can't understand the devs fans who are screaming that we haven't improved and that Fitz has to go because we didn't sell at the deadline. For the first time in a while, we didn't need to gut our lineup because the core is here. We don't need to go find picks to draft the core. This is the first time we'll enter the off-season without having to fill holes created at the deadline just to get the team back to the point it was at that deadline -- which was bad. Average goaltending puts us one spot out of the playoffs per the fancy stats. Go devs
The Devils have never had a 100+ point season from a player. I can't wait till Hughes and Bratt put up the first 2 in the same year.
#JustTheGoalieAndPowerPlaySucksAss
Points wise this is going to be lower than any since the 2016-17 season… but those teams are night and day. That 2016-17 team was one of the most miserable things I’ve ever seen. Watching them play, and particularly on defense, was almost physically painful and most definitely emotionally painful. Those Devils made me question my love for the sport, and whether they would ever be good again. We had Hall, Palmieri, Schneider, and absolutely nothing else.
This year is more hopeful for all of the reasons CJ listed. The youth is breaking out and there’s more on the way. Average goaltending will go a long way, and leaving Mark Recchi on the Turnpike will go even further. This season was “Will the youth produce?” and that was an emphatic “yes.” Next year will be “will the team produce?” and I’m more confident than I’ve been since the golden era.
If nothing else. And it’s pretty much been nothing else. The offense has been unbelievable to watch. We’ve reached a point where other teams announcers are talking about how dangerous the devils are. Even NHL network had a bit about it the other night. Of course losing sucks. But it’s actually been fun watching. If we get Nico Daws level goaltending every night, we’re competitive. If we get better than that… The league isn’t ready for that haha.
I love the word opined!! Lol
I totally agree that we can't be solely judged by wins & losses. However I also believe the expected goals for & against are skewed. Vs Toronto they said that's the 1st time we scored 1st in like 8 or 9 games. When we're constantly behind we're the ones playing with desperation. The other team is just sitting on a lead. What happens when we're the ones ahead & Mathews Crosby Ovi McDavid etc come out firing with desperation in the 3rd & we're the ones sitting on the lead not pushing the pace?? Then it flips to less scoring chances for & against.
What I'd like to see for the 18 games left is a game like we had in Toronto. Can we withstand the pressure when winning? Can we get the go ahead goal when tied late? Can we not be constantly playing from behind? That's how you learn to win.
What I'm going to be extremely disappointed for is PK playing out the season. Vesey playing out the season. I desperately want to see Okhotiuk get a shot. He's been Utica's best Dman all year. He & Walsh together are an excellent combo. Okhotiuk is way more physical & way more willing/able to drop the gloves. He's a significantly better skater. Putting Ty with PK isn't doing him any favors. He & Okhotiuk are both comfortable on the right side. Let's see what they can do on the 3rd pair. See what Okhotiuk can bring to the PK. If not Okhotiuk at least give Bahl the shot. PK doesn't help us to see what these guys can do. Okhotiuk hasn't been given 1 shot. Let him get some experience & a couple NHL checks to help for training in the off-season.
I'm totally scared they're going to bring Vesey back. I'd love to see Greer finish the year in the lineup. Let him get comfortable & see if he can bridge the gap from AHL to NHL. It's extremely difficult to do that with 1 or 2 games here & there. I love watching this guy in Utica. He's physical, he fights, & he scores. He's a regular for this day & age for the Gordy Howe hat trick. In NJ he seems timid. He's trying harder to not make a mistake than he is to make an impact. He's got everything you want for a bottom 6 player. IMO he just needs a real opportunity
A few weeks ago I would have said there's no way we can trust Mac & Bernier for next season. With the emergence of Daws I'm almost ready to retract that. I'm still not willing to give up on Mac but I'm still scared to trust him. I really liked when we signed Bernier. Considering he was hurt & the team wasn't near as good as it is now, he played pretty well. But again I'm scared of how he'll be after this surgery. Now that Daws is regularly giving us a shot to win I'd be more willing to gamble on the 3 of them. If we can get at least average from 2 of 3 I believe we'd make the playoffs. With all 3 of them there's no way a UFA signs here. So we'd have to make a trade to get someone else in here.
There are so many positives this year I really don't see how everyone is so dead set on the win loss record. We've got a guy in net that turns 21 in December & only played 10 games in Germany last year. He's 6-6-0 which is very close to Mac's 1st season being 10-10-0. We know Mac & Bernier were both playing hurt. Wedgy would've been a way better option than Gillies. No clue why we'd put him on waivers while the #1 & #2 are playing injured. It couldn't be any more obvious the problem is goaltending.
The PK & PP still aren't perfect but they're significantly better than last year. We're no longer waiting for Jack & Bratt to break out. They're turning into legitimate stars. Nico is starting to turn into an offensive weapon which by now most would've said that's not gonna happen. I don't think anyone would've seen such a huge year from Mercer. A lot of people were skeptical if SharanGOALvich could repeat his season. Rough start but he's definitely better than he was last year. Holtz is tearing up the AHL. He'll step in & have an immediate impact. Dougie is exactly what we thought we were getting. I don't think anyone expected the amount of pts we've gotten from Graves. Severson has improved again. He's 1 of the best Dmen in the league. Holy crap Siegenthaler. Luke will never have the offense that Quinn has. That turned out correct. Looks like he's going to be better offensively than Quinn. Schmid & Daws have exceeded all expectations. We're going to add another top 8 pick to this team. Utica is mostly our draft picks & 1 of the best teams in the league.
If people can't look past this yr's wins & losses & get excited about the future I don't know what it would take
I'm a big fan of the word too. Most of my articles tuck in an esoteric bit of diction somewhere because I'm insufferable like that.
Siegs was such a steal. Can't wait to see the next gen of d-men come up to support our young forward studs. Other than that, fix the goalie issue (tough) and pp (can't be that hard can it?) and we'll be looking leagues better.
Amen, brutha!
Absolutely. Fun to watch and the future looks bright.