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Forums :: Blog World :: Roger Mussa: What the Hell!?!?
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Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Feb 28 @ 1:17 PM ET
Roger Mussa: What the Hell!?!?
DevsgotcupS
Season Ticket Holder
New Jersey Devils
Location: Dayton, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2011

Feb 28 @ 2:11 PM ET
Ok, this team needs this trade deadline to finish the transformation. That said, I believe the following:

Zajac- Doesn't fit this team style and speed. He is way to slow.
Subban- When does he get assigned to the taxi squad?!! He is awful in every aspect of hockey. I doubt anyone would trade a bag of pucks for him, so it may be time to use some of our cap space to unload him.
Vatanen- Hope can bring back a pick and a prospect.
Kulikov- See above.

The Devils can use this purge the older, slower, less useful players and bring in/up more youth and speed. The future is bright!
Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Feb 28 @ 2:24 PM ET
Ok, this team needs this trade deadline to finish the transformation. That said, I believe the following:

Zajac- Doesn't fit this team style and speed. He is way to slow.
Subban- When does he get assigned to the taxi squad?!! He is awful in every aspect of hockey. I doubt anyone would trade a bag of pucks for him, so it may be time to use some of our cap space to unload him.
Vatanen- Hope can bring back a pick and a prospect.
Kulikov- See above.

The Devils can use this purge the older, slower, less useful players and bring in/up more youth and speed. The future is bright!

- DevsgotcupS

Agreed, kind of.

I do think Subban has played much better this year. Perhaps he is playing for a trade or his next contract.

Zajac... I think symbolicaly he means more to the organization and history than on the ice. I don't think he's a Devil next year.

And I do think the roster needs veterans in the locker room. Who knows if Palmieri comes back.
vlongo4419
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 07.31.2013

Feb 28 @ 2:37 PM ET
Lineup today:

Johnsson- Hughes- Palms
Bratt-Zacha-Gusev
Wood-Zajac-Sharangovich
Maltsev-McLeod-Bastian

Smith-Sevo
Kuli-Subban
Butcher-Vats

Blackwood
Dell
Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Feb 28 @ 3:17 PM ET
Maltsev

not in original projected
lineup to goal scorer.
vlongo4419
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 07.31.2013

Feb 28 @ 3:19 PM ET
Point streak to 10 for Zacha!
MartysBetter88
New Jersey Devils
Location: 94Nevermore, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2010

Feb 28 @ 3:20 PM ET
Maltsev

not in original projected
lineup to goal scorer.

- Devils Advocate


assisted by the Secret Weapon.
Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Feb 28 @ 3:25 PM ET
assisted by the Secret Weapon.
- MartysBetter88



Wait... thee may be more.
MartysBetter88
New Jersey Devils
Location: 94Nevermore, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2010

Feb 28 @ 3:33 PM ET


Wait... thee may be more.

- Devils Advocate


look at him go! taking the initiative. never separate him and Bratt. They seem to often play well together and feed off each other.
Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Feb 28 @ 3:46 PM ET
look at him go! taking the initiative. never separate him and Bratt. They seem to often play well together and feed off each other.
- MartysBetter88

Almost another, he just put it too high over samsonov’s glove.
bikeguy99
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 09.05.2017

Feb 28 @ 4:59 PM ET
Subban has improved from last year. I agree with that. Still a bad D in this league regardless what he makes. Worst +/-, most pims (all minors), worst shot % for anyone with a goal on this squad. Nobody would be willing to take on his contract, even 50% retained if you look at his numbers, or simply watch him. If he even plays for another team, it will be under 1M, and most likely following a PTO.

Now that's enough negativity from me. I do love what the young core is doing on this squad. Smith is my front-runner for the Calder, Blackwood may be the best goalie right now, and Hughes has completely changed his game. Even McLeod is playing with a serious chip on his shoulder, and along with Bastian and Wood, are creating a feared 4th line that chips in some offense. It's shaping up to be another year of being sellers, and the market value has dropped dramatically unfortunately. Hopefully we can snag another 1st rd selection, and attract some solid UFA's in the offseason who see what I see in the young core group.
MartysBetter88
New Jersey Devils
Location: 94Nevermore, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2010

Feb 28 @ 5:02 PM ET
I wonder if Murray being out is why we keep having defensive breakdowns? I’ve noticed more than usual the past 2 games.
vlongo4419
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 07.31.2013

Feb 28 @ 5:11 PM ET
I wonder if Murray being out is why we keep having defensive breakdowns? I’ve noticed more than usual the past 2 games.
- MartysBetter88


Idk, Murray has been just as bad as anybody defensively not named Smith or Subban. I forget who it was, i think Masisak, tweeted earlier that Murray has had a worse expected goals percentage at 5v5 than Tennyson , and has the worse analyatical game score out of all the D in his past 6-8 games. But in reality its not just him, every single D besides Smith and Sevo have been awful the past 5 or so game outside of a spurt or two from some. No matter who its been or what the pairings have been, our bottom 4 gave gotten caved in every single game in the last 2 weeks. The covid break really took the wind out of the sails of our D, except for the top pairing
Jackie Daytona
Joined: 10.09.2020

Feb 28 @ 5:28 PM ET
Today's line-up easily explains why the Devils cannot compete in the first, or any other period.

Johnsson- Hughes- Palms
Bratt-Zacha-Gusev
Wood-Zajac-Sharangovich
Maltsev-McLeod-Bastian

Smith-Sevo
Kuli-Subban
Butcher-Vats

Blackwood
Dell


Not only does the team not have an elite forward, defender or goalie, it does not have anyone who resembles a starting player on a competitive team. The first line contains a recently discarded player and an undeveloped/ruined lottery pick. Most of the third and fourth lines could not make the taxi squad of competitive clubs.

The defense continues to be horrendous, among the worst in the NHL - In fact, upon close inspection, it undoubtedly is the worst, even the lackluster cast-offs in Winnipeg are better.

Goaltending is a joke. Blackwood would be taxi squad on many teams and Dell is grot poached from waivers.

It is a fools errand to contemplate why the Devils play poorly in first periods. The inexcusably awful team is the reason they play like rabble all game. The ongoing mismanagement in NJ might only be comparable to the current fiasco in Buffalo, the Mike Milbury years in New York or the historic Harold Ballard era in Toronto. As comprised, this team has no hope. The management and scouting staff must be turned-over and a proper rebuild must be started. The reset must include successful scouting, intelligent drafting, a proper player development program, and planned acquisition of elite talent. The rebuild cannot be rushed and none of the current roster should be considered untouchable. This is the way.
MartysBetter88
New Jersey Devils
Location: 94Nevermore, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2010

Feb 28 @ 5:35 PM ET
Lots of hockey left to play. Nico has to get back and then given a few games to get in the groove. Not playing noon games will help. So I can’t write them off yet. But today.. maybe one of those top picks isn’t too far out of reach.
MartysBetter88
New Jersey Devils
Location: 94Nevermore, NJ
Joined: 07.01.2010

Feb 28 @ 5:39 PM ET
Today's line-up easily explains why the Devils cannot compete in the first, or any other period.



Not only does the team not have an elite forward, defender or goalie, it does not have anyone who resembles a starting player on a competitive team. The first line contains a recently discarded player and an undeveloped/ruined lottery pick. Most of the third and fourth lines could not make the taxi squad of competitive clubs.

The defense continues to be horrendous, among the worst in the NHL - In fact, upon close inspection, it undoubtedly is the worst, even the lackluster cast-offs in Winnipeg are better.

Goaltending is a joke. Blackwood would be taxi squad on many teams and Dell is grot poached from waivers.

It is a fools errand to contemplate why the Devils play poorly in first periods. The inexcusably awful team is the reason they play like rabble all game. The ongoing mismanagement in NJ might only be comparable to the current fiasco in Buffalo, the Mike Milbury years in New York or the historic Harold Ballard era in Toronto. As comprised, this team has no hope. The management and scouting staff must be turned-over and a proper rebuild must be started. The reset must include successful scouting, intelligent drafting, a proper player development program, and planned acquisition of elite talent. The rebuild cannot be rushed and none of the current roster should be considered untouchable. This is the way.

- Jackie Daytona

What? I think that’s a bit on the dark side of the force. Blackwood is fine. Hughes took a big step forward in his 2nd year.. he’s 19.. how can you say he’s ruined? No one resembles a starting player on a competitive team? Idk about that. You need to watch more competitive teams and pay attention to all the players through the lineup. We have plenty that would start on competitive teams.
vlongo4419
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 07.31.2013

Feb 28 @ 5:41 PM ET
Today's line-up easily explains why the Devils cannot compete in the first, or any other period.



Not only does the team not have an elite forward, defender or goalie, it does not have anyone who resembles a starting player on a competitive team. The first line contains a recently discarded player and an undeveloped/ruined lottery pick. Most of the third and fourth lines could not make the taxi squad of competitive clubs.

The defense continues to be horrendous, among the worst in the NHL - In fact, upon close inspection, it undoubtedly is the worst, even the lackluster cast-offs in Winnipeg are better.

Goaltending is a joke. Blackwood would be taxi squad on many teams and Dell is grot poached from waivers.

It is a fools errand to contemplate why the Devils play poorly in first periods. The inexcusably awful team is the reason they play like rabble all game. The ongoing mismanagement in NJ might only be comparable to the current fiasco in Buffalo, the Mike Milbury years in New York or the historic Harold Ballard era in Toronto. As comprised, this team has no hope. The management and scouting staff must be turned-over and a proper rebuild must be started. The reset must include successful scouting, intelligent drafting, a proper player development program, and planned acquisition of elite talent. The rebuild cannot be rushed and none of the current roster should be considered untouchable. This is the way.

- Jackie Daytona


Nice troll. Moron
devfan30
New Jersey Devils
Location: totowa, NJ
Joined: 12.18.2007

Feb 28 @ 6:11 PM ET
Starting to see why vatenan was available for so long this off season. I have no idea what he was doing on that 2 on 1 that resulted in the second caps goal?
Pomegrant
New Jersey Devils
Location: NJ
Joined: 01.18.2010

Feb 28 @ 6:18 PM ET
I think we all realize that long term most of our blueline isn't going to be here. We have some talent in the pipeline but it's clear that Smith and Severson are the two guys to keep. I'd imagine that the rest are trade bait to recoup picks/prospects.
bikeguy99
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 09.05.2017

Feb 28 @ 7:15 PM ET
I think we all realize that long term most of our blueline isn't going to be here. We have some talent in the pipeline but it's clear that Smith and Severson are the two guys to keep. I'd imagine that the rest are trade bait to recoup picks/prospects.
- Pomegrant


For sure. Hopefully in a year or two we can see these guys showing their real potential. Smith looks like a stud, and Severson should be a solid D for at least another 6 seasons. The prospect pool is stocked, and we still have some great picks to go:

Smith Severson
Bahl Shak
Walsh Okhotyuk
redmonsters
New Jersey Devils
Location: NY
Joined: 06.23.2015

Feb 28 @ 8:03 PM ET
For sure. Hopefully in a year or two we can see these guys showing their real potential. Smith looks like a stud, and Severson should be a solid D for at least another 6 seasons. The prospect pool is stocked, and we still have some great picks to go:

Smith Severson
Bahl Shak
Walsh Okhotyuk

- bikeguy99

Unfortunately, we are starting to trend towards lottery pick territory. There are some fine D candidates this year, and I would love to get Luke Hughes here. I can still see positive growth here, so building for the future.
Roger Mussa
New Jersey Devils
Location: Hell, NJ
Joined: 07.26.2006

Mar 1 @ 8:07 AM ET
When do we ask for Tennyson back in the lineup??
redmonsters
New Jersey Devils
Location: NY
Joined: 06.23.2015

Mar 1 @ 9:22 AM ET
When do we ask for Tennyson back in the lineup??
- Devils Advocate

Right after we trade everyone on an expiring contract....
Queenie_5_hole
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 05.01.2015

Mar 1 @ 9:50 AM ET
I missed the game because my kid was playing in 3 hockey games yesterday.
It was funny because the team mostly played like garbage in the first game and then were on fire in the second the game. My son couldn't explain it at all. Just sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not. So I'm not shocked the Devils seem to have trouble at times cranking it up.

I am shocked Blackwood was back in. Clearly he didn't look 'right' on Saturday. We've also worked pretty hard to fill the backup spot; so like use them occasionally.

As a side note, my kids third game was for his main team. Turned into an absolute circus with the head coach of the other team getting thrown out. Our coach get a bench minor and complete pandemonium on the ice. Refs lost control and frontier justice took over for a bit. Just mentioning this because I am constantly reminded what a great game hockey is and the NHL does not have a monopoly on it. Tune into the AHL or another league and you will likely really enjoy what you see.



bikeguy99
New Jersey Devils
Joined: 09.05.2017

Mar 1 @ 10:55 AM ET
Right after we trade everyone on an expiring contract....
- redmonsters


I am ok with this. Heck if I had it my way:

Zacha + Gusev 50% retained, all to Colorado for Byram. We would continue to drop towards a lottery pick with an unreal prospect pool on D. Now that Zacha's stock has finally climbed, it wouldn't be a bad time to sell. He should be worth a pretty penny with that low cap hit. And Gusev we could hopefully get back next season.
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