Merkley on waivers, and Nico is back at practice
- vlongo4419

I'm so confused with merkley

I'm so confused with merkley
- dmarsden2988

I think Merkley's time has passed. He cant grab a hold of a spot and with the youth in here I am afraid there just isn't any room for him other than a plug.

I think Merkley's time has passed. He cant grab a hold of a spot and with the youth in here I am afraid there just isn't any room for him other than a plug.
- Devils Advocate

He has been pretty good and has been putting up some points which is a rarity on this team, unless a move is coming other than Nico not sure if he needed to be waived

In other news, is it true that over the past 20 games Hughes only has 4 points?!?!

He has been pretty good and has been putting up some points which is a rarity on this team, unless a move is coming other than Nico not sure if he needed to be waived

In other news, is it true that over the past 20 games Hughes only has 4 points?!?!
- dmarsden2988

Yea I don’t get dropping merk. And yes.. cue the endless excuses for Hughes. I maintain I don’t care how shifty you are if you can’t do poop with it. Call it snakebitten.. I call it not having a good shot .. hopefully yet.

Yea I don’t get dropping merk. And yes.. cue the endless excuses for Hughes. I maintain I don’t care how shifty you are if you can’t do poop with it. Call it snakebitten.. I call it not having a good shot .. hopefully yet.
- MartysBetter88

Its not excuses when the stats back it up. It's not his fault nobody can put the puck in the net when he consistently sets players up for grade A chances. Snakebitten, unlucky, it's true for both him and his linemates. Hopefully one day this team will give him a linemate that knows how to put the puck in the net, or they won't and he will just walk as a UFA. If he's on the Rangers playing with Panarin or Zib, he's already a 50-60 point player minimum most likely.

He doesnt have a good shot, and he will never have a great shot. Hes not a goal scorer, never has been and never will be

Yea I don’t get dropping merk. And yes.. cue the endless excuses for Hughes. I maintain I don’t care how shifty you are if you can’t do poop with it. Call it snakebitten.. I call it not having a good shot .. hopefully yet.
- MartysBetter88

Some thoughts: 1) why put Merkley on waivers, you can send Tyce down and he is waivers exempt, am I correct? 20 Hughes admits his shot is not yet NHL caliber good, outside of putting on muscle this offseason its what he said he worked on most, a developing skill. I just hope we don't lose Merkley, I think he has shown the potential for third line winger.

Yea I don’t get dropping merk. And yes.. cue the endless excuses for Hughes. I maintain I don’t care how shifty you are if you can’t do poop with it. Call it snakebitten.. I call it not having a good shot .. hopefully yet.
- MartysBetter88

How do you explain jack's play before the covid outbreak where he was a point per game player?

How do you explain jack's play before the covid outbreak where he was a point per game player?
- rmdevil313

I think the entire team overachieved pre COVID slump.

Hughes is still young and the first quarter of the season looked to be building and improving. Of late... seems like he is still playing on US National team where he manhandled players. With the big boys he is getting pushed around.
His body isn't used to the beating he is taking and he is simply "off".

Look at the scoring chance he had against Ullmark where he shot it into his chest!

Palmieri (50% retained) + Vatanen to the Leafs

Leafs 1st in 2021, 5rd pck 2022, Kerfoot



edited

or revised
- dmnted

Wow. Don't expect a return anywhere near that. Kerfoot would be a top 6 on this squad, and a 1st......... I'd be thrilled with a 1st rd pick, but I think realistically, we are doing a performance based trade.

3rd rd pick, becomes 2nd if they win a round and Palms plays in 50% of the games, becomes a 1st if they win the cup and palms plays in 50% of the games.

Something like that seems more possible. I have my doubts he lands a 1st rd selection, but here's to hoping.

I think the entire team overachieved pre COVID slump.

Hughes is still young and the first quarter of the season looked to be building and improving. Of late... seems like he is still playing on US National team where he manhandled players. With the big boys he is getting pushed around.
His body isn't used to the beating he is taking and he is simply "off".

Look at the scoring chance he had against Ullmark where he shot it into his chest!
- Devils Advocate

For sure! Our young guys have shown plenty of promise, as we are the highest team rookie points total in the league. I am thrilled with our previous draft picks and another year of this won't hurt us. With all this cap space too boot, we are in the drivers seat this off-season.

For sure! Our young guys have shown plenty of promise, as we are the highest team rookie points total in the league. I am thrilled with our previous draft picks and another year of this won't hurt us. With all this cap space too boot, we are in the drivers seat this off-season.
- bikeguy99

I think that is the play. Lets have cap room to be able to add key vets to round out this squad.
I don't think we will see this many rookies next year.

Nick Kypreos on his podcast says the Devils have "concrete offers for a 2nd and 3rd/4th or 2nd and a prospect" for Palmieri.

And that they are "sitting on them and trying to squeeze more...they want to turn that 2nd into a 1st."

I think that is the play. Lets have cap room to be able to add key vets to round out this squad.
I don't think we will see this many rookies next year.
- Devils Advocate

Lets hope not. But if Fitz sits on the wallet again, enter Foote,Walsh,Mercer and maybe Holtz. Sometimes doing nothing is best.

I remember hoping we could retain Vats for a 3 year extension around 4-5M AAV, Hall 6 years at 9M AAV. With extensions for gusev and palms being around 5-6M AAV.

Hindsight being 20/20, Fitz made the right moves and dodged some serious cap commitments. I would love to see Murray extended for 1-2 years. He has started adding some offense to his game, but sometimes the D that is not very noticeable is the D you want on your team. He is a great shutdown guy, and hopefully a guy like Gustafsson can be acquired to bring that LD depth we need. Plus it gives Smith more flexibility to play the right side as he prefers.

How do you explain jack's play before the covid outbreak where he was a point per game player?
- rmdevil313

Only rational I can think of is some of the league hadn't found their game yet, since no preseason. Same for the rest of our team. This isn't limited to Hughes. I find it hard to believe that 20 minutes/game x however many games and the guy only manages this amount of measly production.. be it from assists or goals... is because he and his linemates were snakebitten or unlucky. After 35 games or whatever it's been, it's kind of less about luck and more about inability to score and make the best plays. He can be creative and elusive and that's great, but the most flashy all over the ice play isn't always the best play. I know his linemates are 2nd and 3rd liners.. but maybe they're not scoring in part because of the positions they're in when they get the puck. That's on both them and Hughes.

I know he's a kid, so I'm optimistic all of this will come with experience. It just remains discouraging, just like Holtz managing 2 points in 19 games.

Only rational I can think of is some of the league hadn't found their game yet, since no preseason. Same for the rest of our team. This isn't limited to Hughes. I find it hard to believe that 20 minutes/game x however many games and the guy only manages this amount of measly production.. be it from assists or goals... is because he and his linemates were snakebitten or unlucky. After 35 games or whatever it's been, it's kind of less about luck and more about inability to score and make the best plays. He can be creative and elusive and that's great, but the most flashy all over the ice play isn't always the best play. I know his linemates are 2nd and 3rd liners.. but maybe they're not scoring in part because of the positions they're in when they get the puck. That's on both them and Hughes.

I know he's a kid, so I'm optimistic all of this will come with experience. It just remains discouraging, just like Holtz managing 2 points in 19 games.
- MartysBetter88

Man we're still doing this with Hughes? Yes, you said it yourself. He's playing with 3rd liners and they're not scoring because of their inability to score. Its literally that simple. Which is unlucky on Hughes part. Because he's putting his linemates in situations to score on a nightly basis. If you think the problem is Hughes you're just flat out wrong, or you refuse to look deeper into it and ignore that stats. Idk what else to tell you. Just read this Todd tweet thread from the other night. Theres zero reason to be worried about Hughes: https://twitter.com/ToddC.../1378829084168495105?s=19

As for Holtz, when you look at his usage in that stretch its not surprising at all he only had 2 points in 19 games. He finally gets normal linemates and ice time today in their elimination playoff game and he puts up 4 points. Gotta start using come context here instead of blindly putting stats out. Context matters in both players' situations.

Only rational I can think of is some of the league hadn't found their game yet, since no preseason. Same for the rest of our team. This isn't limited to Hughes. I find it hard to believe that 20 minutes/game x however many games and the guy only manages this amount of measly production.. be it from assists or goals... is because he and his linemates were snakebitten or unlucky. After 35 games or whatever it's been, it's kind of less about luck and more about inability to score and make the best plays. He can be creative and elusive and that's great, but the most flashy all over the ice play isn't always the best play. I know his linemates are 2nd and 3rd liners.. but maybe they're not scoring in part because of the positions they're in when they get the puck. That's on both them and Hughes.

I know he's a kid, so I'm optimistic all of this will come with experience. It just remains discouraging, just like Holtz managing 2 points in 19 games.
- MartysBetter88

But its not like we were outplaying the teams early in the season, we were getting saved by Blackwood and Hughes most nights. Then we have to take a two week vaction and play a condensed schedule never seen at the NHL level before and a young team whose identity is to outskate oppenents struggles to find consistency. Don't you think the covid break and condensed schedule is a much more obvious reason than teams who had played much more recently than us, didn't have a new coach, new system etc didn't find their game before us?

Man we're still doing this with Hughes? Yes, you said it yourself. He's playing with 3rd liners and they're not scoring because of their inability to score. Its literally that simple. Which is unlucky on Hughes part. Because he's putting his linemates in situations to score on a nightly basis. If you think the problem is Hughes you're just flat out wrong, or you refuse to look deeper into it and ignore that stats. Idk what else to tell you. Just read this Todd tweet thread from the other night. Theres zero reason to be worried about Hughes: https://twitter.com/ToddC.../1378829084168495105?s=19

As for Holtz, when you look at his usage in that stretch its not surprising at all he only had 2 points in 19 games. He finally gets normal linemates and ice time today in their elimination playoff game and he puts up 4 points. Gotta start using come context here instead of blindly putting stats out. Context matters in both players' situations.
- vlongo4419

I miss Todd. I appreciate Roger, but I do miss Corsi charts that I barely understand.

I miss Todd. I appreciate Roger, but I do miss Corsi charts that I barely understand.
- MartysBetter88

Sorry man.
I like Todd's compilations as well and this is his full time gig. My style is much different. I write and encourage discussions.
What do you all think I find someone to contribute analytics which I could add to the blog content?

Sorry man.
I like Todd's compilations as well and this is his full time gig. My style is much different. I write and encourage discussions.
What do you all think I find someone to contribute analytics which I could add to the blog content?
- Devils Advocate

It wasn’t meant to slight you personally. Someone bringing some analytics would be cool, a nice bonus.