Todd - thank you for your incredible content throughout the season. You are THE go-to resource for the Devils.
Now, I need a favor from you. Fitzy, as he's affectionately known, has been with the Devils for 10 years. They've won a grand total of 7--7!--playoff games during his tenure as AGM and GM. Why should I have any faith that with him at the helm, the Devils will have any meaningful post-season success?
I think it was reasonable for Fitz to try and add more size/useful players who are more prone to getting engaged physically but it definitely appears there was an over correction.
The Devils have a lot of smart people in their front office and it was pretty clear to see that they need more depth/juice offensively.
Fitz generally has made good trades and surely knows the problems that need to be addressed. I think he’s capable of fixing things
I think Fitz has been too loyal, patient and presumed too much with some pieces of his puzzle that he assumed would be more productive and better fits to what they are trying to accomplish. For example, he thought "offense" wouldn't be a problem in press conferences last summer. He has been too patient or doled out too many NMCs that prohibit flexibility. I am hoping with slightly larger shake up around the core this summer.
Palat, Bastian, Lazar, Tatar have'nt been that productive relative to other options, even Mercer has probably been held in too high regard internally -- i.e. his ceiling may be lower than they believe. Palat and Haula did have a nice series, but would have been better in 3rd line or 4th role. They never replaced a Toffoli-type once gone. Dougie is not as good as people think and just look at his minutes compared to other Dmen in Gm 4 and 5 -- Keefe would agree.
I count two impact players since 2018...they share the same last name. And only 4 legit NHL players. The aforementioned Hugheses, Sharangovich, and Mercer. (Jury out on Nemec and Casey.) Okay, this horse is beaten to a pulp.
I think Fitz has to do a better job of drafting in early rounds - I know they have no 1st round pick this year, but I think they have 1 or 2 2nd rounders (someone please check). He seems to have had better success in later rounds. He also has to find the balance between what he did in this offseason (size/grit) and 2 offseasons ago (scoring/playmaking).
Thank you so much for your, as always, amazing analysis and insight. Looking forward to the offseason posts. And to all my other Devils obsessive friends here, if we think about this rationally, if we are really honest with ourselves, the Devils did quite well in this series considering the pieces we had on the ice. Could they have done better, sure, should they have done better, honestly no. If anything, if I'm a Canes fan I'd be mightily disappointed with their performance and worried going forward.
Love you Todd, look forward to your content everyday. Even got a few to sign up as well. Been following you since the hockey buzz days. I knew this team was cooked a long time ago. Weeks before the season ended, I told friends they would win one game at most. Sucks being right lol!! I didn’t really watch any games after February. Both out of choice and work obligations. Gotta say though. I’ve never had a season where I didn’t care going into the playoffs. You just knew they were on borrowed time. Hopefully next season, we finally get the team that is hiding in there. It’s definitely a beast if it gets going.
Thanks Todd. The last thing I wanted was a devils comeback in the series. I didn't want obvious roster problems to become hidden. I would have liked to have seen Lazar get 1 playoff game. I like Noesen's game, and on a competitive team he does make a difference. Cotter looked frustrated most of the series. Felt there was no drive in him. Nemec has to be on this team next season. Is there any truth that Quinn wants to play with his brothers ? Just let him not sign next season and grab him up in free agency. Carolina is a work ethic team. Their lack of talent will be exposed in the semis. I'm not sold on Washington.
Carolina always gets exposed in the later rounds. Thus far. I haven’t seen anything that would change that prediction. I doubt they make it out of conference finals. The west is probably where the Stanley Cup champ is coming from anyway. East was weak this year.
Todd - thank you for your incredible content throughout the season. You are THE go-to resource for the Devils.
Now, I need a favor from you. Fitzy, as he's affectionately known, has been with the Devils for 10 years. They've won a grand total of 7--7!--playoff games during his tenure as AGM and GM. Why should I have any faith that with him at the helm, the Devils will have any meaningful post-season success?
I think it was reasonable for Fitz to try and add more size/useful players who are more prone to getting engaged physically but it definitely appears there was an over correction.
The Devils have a lot of smart people in their front office and it was pretty clear to see that they need more depth/juice offensively.
Fitz generally has made good trades and surely knows the problems that need to be addressed. I think he’s capable of fixing things
I think Fitz has been too loyal, patient and presumed too much with some pieces of his puzzle that he assumed would be more productive and better fits to what they are trying to accomplish. For example, he thought "offense" wouldn't be a problem in press conferences last summer. He has been too patient or doled out too many NMCs that prohibit flexibility. I am hoping with slightly larger shake up around the core this summer.
Palat, Bastian, Lazar, Tatar have'nt been that productive relative to other options, even Mercer has probably been held in too high regard internally -- i.e. his ceiling may be lower than they believe. Palat and Haula did have a nice series, but would have been better in 3rd line or 4th role. They never replaced a Toffoli-type once gone. Dougie is not as good as people think and just look at his minutes compared to other Dmen in Gm 4 and 5 -- Keefe would agree.
Can't the team's lack of depth be traced to poor drafting and development? Look at their picks as a whole since 2018...leaves a lot to be desired!
Definitely a factor. They have not drafted well or, at the very least, nearly as well as they could have.
I count two impact players since 2018...they share the same last name. And only 4 legit NHL players. The aforementioned Hugheses, Sharangovich, and Mercer. (Jury out on Nemec and Casey.) Okay, this horse is beaten to a pulp.
Is it drafting or developing though ?
Folks who track prospects closely such as Todd and Bader haven't loved many of NJ's picks for value...so I suspect more of the former.
I think Fitz has to do a better job of drafting in early rounds - I know they have no 1st round pick this year, but I think they have 1 or 2 2nd rounders (someone please check). He seems to have had better success in later rounds. He also has to find the balance between what he did in this offseason (size/grit) and 2 offseasons ago (scoring/playmaking).
Thank you so much for your, as always, amazing analysis and insight. Looking forward to the offseason posts. And to all my other Devils obsessive friends here, if we think about this rationally, if we are really honest with ourselves, the Devils did quite well in this series considering the pieces we had on the ice. Could they have done better, sure, should they have done better, honestly no. If anything, if I'm a Canes fan I'd be mightily disappointed with their performance and worried going forward.
Todd - Thank you. We enjoy hearing your analysis and perspective.
Thanks, Todd, for the great work.
When do you want offseason plans submitted for your review?
Love you Todd, look forward to your content everyday. Even got a few to sign up as well. Been following you since the hockey buzz days. I knew this team was cooked a long time ago. Weeks before the season ended, I told friends they would win one game at most. Sucks being right lol!! I didn’t really watch any games after February. Both out of choice and work obligations. Gotta say though. I’ve never had a season where I didn’t care going into the playoffs. You just knew they were on borrowed time. Hopefully next season, we finally get the team that is hiding in there. It’s definitely a beast if it gets going.
Thanks Todd. The last thing I wanted was a devils comeback in the series. I didn't want obvious roster problems to become hidden. I would have liked to have seen Lazar get 1 playoff game. I like Noesen's game, and on a competitive team he does make a difference. Cotter looked frustrated most of the series. Felt there was no drive in him. Nemec has to be on this team next season. Is there any truth that Quinn wants to play with his brothers ? Just let him not sign next season and grab him up in free agency. Carolina is a work ethic team. Their lack of talent will be exposed in the semis. I'm not sold on Washington.
Carolina always gets exposed in the later rounds. Thus far. I haven’t seen anything that would change that prediction. I doubt they make it out of conference finals. The west is probably where the Stanley Cup champ is coming from anyway. East was weak this year.
Thank you for everything Todd!