Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers. By CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil) I think that between the demoralizing collapse against the Florida Panthers, the home loss to our rivals, and the injuries to key players – most notably Jack Hughes – many are finding it hard to isolate bright spots in the season.
In addition to all that, can the PP be any worse? Assuming the PP improves, the PK stays stagnant and what you say here turns out to be mostly accurate, NJ is in much better shape going forward.
I think the entire coaching staff should be fired too. Team defense and transition needs to stop having so many giveaways, they need to settle down. Ruff has never been a good defensive coach, they’ve always played like this to a degree under Nas, and I don’t need to explain the reason for Recchi.
I 100% agree with you. It also passes the eye test. I was shocked when I looked at the points percentage of this team compared to other historically bad Devils teams. It's just a much better team at 5-on-5. There are a lot of folks who are just down and depressed, but the process is working. Add to it another Top 5 draft pick (or trade that pick for an impact goalie, winger, or defensemen....)
15-2 when giving up 2 goals or less
21-10-3 when giving up 3 goals or less
38 pathetic games of giving up 4 or more
1,000,000% goaltending issues
We should still kick Mark Recchi off the bench, and into a different role. The PP is the next issue up.
In addition to all that, can the PP be any worse? Assuming the PP improves, the PK stays stagnant and what you say here turns out to be mostly accurate, NJ is in much better shape going forward.
I think its a totally reasonable expectation. They have a lot of the pieces in place, just need better goaltending and some tweaks to the roster.
I think the entire coaching staff should be fired too. Team defense and transition needs to stop having so many giveaways, they need to settle down. Ruff has never been a good defensive coach, they’ve always played like this to a degree under Nas, and I don’t need to explain the reason for Recchi.
I 100% agree with you. It also passes the eye test. I was shocked when I looked at the points percentage of this team compared to other historically bad Devils teams. It's just a much better team at 5-on-5. There are a lot of folks who are just down and depressed, but the process is working. Add to it another Top 5 draft pick (or trade that pick for an impact goalie, winger, or defensemen....)