It's okay, I know thinking is hard for you. Just breathe and it will be okay, boomer. Just take a nap or go outside and yell at the clouds.
- Pomegrant

Are you confused ? You came in here accused me of saying all small players are poop while you basically did the same thing to large players like its laughable.

Thank you Todd for being honest. Other sites are avoiding the coaching mess. The players seem to not know what system they are playing and look completely deflated.

"At some point, something has to change. We’re quickly approaching it."

Todd, we are way past that point. It should have been done October 25th when they lost to the Coyotes to fall to 2-5-2. They had five days off in a row for a new coach to work with the team. There was still time to work out of the hole they dug That should have been the time. Now the season is over and we still have 56(!) games to suffer through.

Devilish4, Leniwm1, Pomegrant, MartysBetter88,

Let me settle this argument for you. When I was a kid I used to play Nintendo "Ice Hockey" all the time. I always set my team to 4 skinnies and one fat guy, and dominated! It's science.

Times are looking rough right now, but trading Hall for a pack of picks or prospects and another top 5 pick will look good down the road in a year or two.

Devils could be the envy of the league.

Its pretty similar to personalities you wouldnt want a room full of guys who where shy timid and kept to themselves it just wouldnt work.

5-0 Vegas

Hynes&Co released tomorrow morning after breakfast.

5-0 Vegas

Hynes&Co released tomorrow morning after breakfast.
- RubberBiscuitz

With our luck Hynes will be Fired and Nas promoted lol

With our luck Hynes will be Fired and Nas promoted lol
- Devilish4

OMG Thats just demonic!! Shame on you!

The Devils have talent on their current roster, at least in the forward department. I expected a weak defense and questinable goaltending, but you would think it would hold up. At least the Devils could score a bunch of goals and lose 6-4 or something to that nature. Unfortunately the coaching staff (specifically Hynes) doesn't know what to do with the group.

You then take a look over at Binghamton and the team looks terrible there. Binghamton is supposed to have these young forwards with high upside that just need development. McLeod, Bastian, Speers, Anderson, White, and Jacobs should be NHL ready by now. Let's not forget about the wonderful job with Quenville even though he's not here.

For an organization that's rebuilding, it's not a good sign that both the main team and the farm team look terrible. What should we be really questioning?

The coaching - We can all agree that Hynes and company need to go. He's juggling lines from game to game. Juggling lines during a game is fine, but before each game is ridiculous. Healthy scratching young players is not good for development. I get benching during a game, but scratching them because they're "not competing?" Come on. Some of the vets are not competing! Healthy scratch one one of them. Even LA Kings' coach Todd McLellan benched a vet such as Toffoli to send a message.

The system - This is the big one that I'm questioning. This fast attacking supportive system is not working for both teams. They're in the bottom in scoring in the NHL and AHL. Goal differential is just horrible for both teams. I don't know if the system is Shero or Hynes' plan. Either way, it's not working.

The scouting - This is on Shero because he picks the scouts. Subtract Hischier and Hughes and what do we really have? Bratt? A nice diamond in the rough, but he's regressed (and so has Hischier). Zacha? Yeah, not really a Shero pick but his career has been up and down. Once Hynes sees Zacha make a mistake he basically exiles him. I get why Zacha has not lived up to his potential, but Hynes is not helping at all. As for the other picks (minus Smith and Boqvist because we don't know what we really have), they're still sitting in the AHL. Note, the Devils missed out on a bunch of defensemen after Zacha, and they really should've gotten McAvoy (even Bean, Fabbro, or Chychrun) instead of McLeod.

The GM - The scouting is on him and his inability to fire Hynes after going 6 games without winning is on him. The Blackhawks and Penguins fired their coaches after disastrous starts with talented rosters.

Look how they turned out. He has done good things though. The marketing team is fantastic. We would never have such a great marketing team under Lou. Shero does make great trades, I can't blame in on that.

Also, he's smart about signing UFAs. People were complaining why he didn't sign Shattenkirk, Maroon, Gardiner, Taveres, etc. 1st, he made an attempt to sign Shattenkirk and Maroon but both wanted to play for their childhood teams (and so did Taveres). Not Shero's fault. Shattenkirk bombed and Maroon was about to be traded from STL but nobody wanted him.

Also, UFAs are traditionally given terrible contracts and end up moving. Look at Gardiner, he's not doing much in Carolina. https://www.cbssports.com...ling-to-generate-offense/

So what do the Devils really need to stop this rebuild and actually contend?

1. A stud defensmen. All the teams that compete for the Cup have one (Keith, Carlson, Doughty, Hedman, Burns, Karlsson, etc.) The Devils scouting department needs to find a 30 minute eating stud defenseman. They're impossible to trade for, especially the young ones that even show a flash of potential. Maybe it's Smith. Hopefully it'll take 2 years instead of 5 years to determine if he's a true #1. Man, I love Hischier but in hindsight Heiskanen or Makar would've been the better pick.

2. I would prefer to re-sign Vatanen and try to trade Severson. At 25, Severson is just making poor decisions out on the ice (at least poorer than Vatanen). I think Vatanen brings more offense (or at least a better 1st outlet pass than Severson).

3. The coaching change and trades need to happen before the end of the year. Call up McLeod, Bastian, White, and Anderson and let's see what we have. We need proper evaluation. With Bratt and Zacha, I can't tell if it's a coaching problem or a player problem.

4. Speaking of coaches, they don't need a permanent head coach to finish the season. Just have Fitzgerald coach. Jon Cooper (if he doesn't win a Cup) and Bruce Boudreau will be available for next season. Even Peter Laviolette might be available depending on how the Preds do in the playoffs. Go with them. Go with an experienced proven coach.

Anyway, it's sick to watch this team and the direction they're going after all the off-season hype. Go Devils and hopefully things start to move in a positive direction.

Can youre entire team be 510 and skinny ? Love to see that...
- Devilish4

Yes. They’re called the Metropolitan Riveters.

Devilish4, Leniwm1, Pomegrant, MartysBetter88,

Let me settle this argument for you. When I was a kid I used to play Nintendo "Ice Hockey" all the time. I always set my team to 4 skinnies and one fat guy, and dominated! It's science.
- robvl22

well that point clearly solves the argument. my point continues to be misunderstood and it continues to baffle me why this is so confusing. If you have 2 players of equal skill and speed, the stronger player has a better chance at being successful with the puck than the smaller player. I was about to explain why but explaining why makes me feel like I'm standing in front of a kindergarten class telling them why it's important to brush your teeth every day. It's obvious why.

Fire the coach, trade Hall...

in the end, every team could benefit from more skill players that also have size, compared to small skilled players. You NEED SIZE on your team, at some capacity, whether the player is McDavid level or Coleman. Players HIT each other. Yes, there is hit-evasion, there is speed and angles that play a role, but the stronger player can usually manhandle a smaller one in open ice and on the boards. The smaller player gets crushed unless he can squirt through someone, but usually he's going to get pushed off the puck or plowed into the boards. Sure, smaller skilled players can make big slow ones look like traffic cones.. but I'm not asking to sign Lovejoy.. that's not what I'm taking about. Part of what makes OV as great as he is is that he's both super skilled AND very strong. His hockey sense and everything else.. those are all separate attributes that matter. Size and strength is an attribute that also matters. All these things matter in our sport, but for whatever reason, they don't all matter to some of you here. Not once have I said size is everything, but it certainly matters to the team on the ice.

and that's why you brush your teeth twice a day.

well that point clearly solves the argument. my point continues to be misunderstood and it continues to baffle me why this is so confusing. If you have 2 players of equal skill and speed, the stronger player has a better chance at being successful with the puck than the smaller player. I was about to explain why but explaining why makes me feel like I'm standing in front of a kindergarten class telling them why it's important to brush your teeth every day. It's obvious why.
- MartysBetter88

Another example is Shaq. Such a horrible basketball player. Dominated because his size, nothing more.

Yes. They’re called the Metropolitan Riveters.
- Queenie_5_hole

I see what you did there... But I know you know what I mean !

Another example is Shaq. Such a horrible basketball player. Dominated because his size, nothing more.
- Leniwm1

He dominated because of his mobility given his size. There have been plenty of bigger men, but size alone doesn't mean being a good player. The same is true for hockey

Another example is Shaq. Such a horrible basketball player. Dominated because his size, nothing more.
- Leniwm1

clearly he had no skill to go with that size. That's why I'm clamoring for Hayden to get top line minutes and raving about how effective he is because of his size. Except I'm not, because size obviously isn't everything in hockey.

As a Rangers and Subban fan, I was quite pissed that the Devils were able to obtain PK for a song. I havent seen any Devils games this year, so my question is;

Has PK 's skill level deteriorated due to old age? Is he over the hill already?

As a Rangers and Subban fan, I was quite pissed that the Devils were able to obtain PK for a song. I havent seen any Devils games this year, so my question is;

Has PK 's skill level deteriorated due to old age? Is he over the hill already?
- Andre

Pk picks and chooses when he wants to play smart. His shots are rarely on net, though they are hard.

He's not the cause of the issue, but he certainly doesnt help.

As a Rangers and Subban fan, I was quite pissed that the Devils were able to obtain PK for a song. I havent seen any Devils games this year, so my question is;

Has PK 's skill level deteriorated due to old age? Is he over the hill already?
- Andre

He isn't as good as a couple of seasons ago but I don't think he has completely fallen off a cliff

I think it's partly due to the system (or lack thereof) and trying to do it all

Fire the coach, trade Hall...
- kaptaan

Your main problem last night was Goaltending. I've never seen a worse performance in my life. Buffalo honestly had more scoring chances vs Toronto on saturday and lost 2-1. Buffalo should have scored 1, at most 2 goals in the 1st.

well that point clearly solves the argument. my point continues to be misunderstood and it continues to baffle me why this is so confusing. If you have 2 players of equal skill and speed, the stronger player has a better chance at being successful with the puck than the smaller player. I was about to explain why but explaining why makes me feel like I'm standing in front of a kindergarten class telling them why it's important to brush your teeth every day. It's obvious why.
- MartysBetter88

You know I was joking, right?

John Hynes (February 10, 1975) is an American ice hockey coach. He is the Former head clown of the New Jersey Devils. HE IS HIGHLY REGARDED AS THE WORST COACH IN NHL HISTORY. Players who play for him don't even try to win.

From wikipedia LOL

Your main problem last night was Goaltending. I've never seen a worse performance in my life. Buffalo honestly had more scoring chances vs Toronto on saturday and lost 2-1. Buffalo should have scored 1, at most 2 goals in the 1st.
- turbo044

Come on you know that 4th goal was a beautiful lay up! Oh wait wrong sport!