Devils in the Details- 1/26/12: All-Rest Weekend

Looking at the rosters from those years I’m amazed at how we were so good then.

I swear we have a lot more talent now.

But if we get hot at the right time

It’s all about that.

Throw in the rights to Ron Tugnutt and you have a deal!

How can Kovalchuk, a point per game player in his career, be having a subpar season if hes 3 points under the point per game spoit?

I wasn’t implying that you change your tone based on a few games here or there, quite the contrary, actually. I was saying that is a completely different set of people. You are nothing, if not consistent. My point (I’m assuming your response was mostly to my last sentence) was referring to the mostly negative tone in all of your posts (granted, you have just listed some things you like about the team [reassembling bits of my exploded brain]).

Look, we’re all Devils fans here and I understand that you love this team as much as anyone else, but I think people just grow weary of the constant pessimism, leading to you getting into a big pissing match seemingly every time you post something. That’s not to say others, some of whom thrive on debates that include excessive block quoting, aren’t just as culpable in many of them. Many of your arguments have merit, but people don’t need them rehashed in every game recap.

Example: you prefer to have Moose start over Marty more these days; an opinion that a healthy number of people seem to share. No issue. You’ve cited your arguments (GAA and sv% over the past year), others have rebutted (Moose’s stats have steadily declined over the course of the season), and that would hopefully be the end of it for at least a little while. But no, we’re having the same stupid argument every week game day, and you are, more often than not, the one starting it.

Regarding all of your other points:

Negatives
1) Yup, the power play sucks, no argument here. On a positive note, it has been improving at least a little bit.
2) Maybe Kovy and Zach not setting the world on fire this season, but I don’t think they’ve been underperforming as much as some indicate; especially Kovalchuk, who has played the entire year out of position and is around career averages.
3) Marty and Moose haven’t been good. You are right.

Positives
1) Powerkill. Enough said.
2) The D has been OK. Soft goaltending hasn’t helped, but many goals have been a result of the goalie getting hung out to dry, too. I think Larsson and Sal have been up and down, personally, though both have looked good of late.
3) The Devils have lucked out on Henrique; he’s been awesome, even despite a bit of a slump recently. Clarky’s output is about 100x what anyone was expecting of him, so agreed again.

[Exhale]

Wow, text wall city. Hooray for productivity!

neither the puckbuddy article nor I suggested a team ever plays 60 minutues 5-4, so I’m guessing you’re just looking for grasping for things to disagree on.

The excerpt you provide from an article you fail to link to extrapolates a limited event like 5-on-4 play to a full 60 minutes to sensationalize its ineffectiveness and you point to it and call it “pretty devastating”.

No one is disputing that the power play is a weakness, but there’s no reason to resort to hyperbole to point it out nor is a made-up, unrealistic statistic “pretty devastating.”

If Zach was on pace for the type of season we came to expect from him…

Before this season he’s averaged .81 points per game. This season he’s averaging .83 points per game. I’d call that meeting reasonable expectations.

…(in which case the devils would probably be at least a few games better)…

One could say this about any player on any team.

…you wouldnt be seeing as many posts on the board (i mean blog, john!) that have popped up regularly now theorizing what we can or should get back for him.

Hogwash.

You said it in the first sentence: “Surely the trade talk around Zach has to do with the deadline approaching.”

Period. End of story.

He’s not signed beyond this year and so it’s only natural that there be speculation about what a possible return for him as a rental could be. It wouldn’t matter if the team were in 15th or 1st, it would be a topic of discussion though, granted, there’d be a lot more of it if the team were in 15th than there would be if they were in first.

It has little to nothing to do with his “subpar play” and everything to do with what is best for the team in the future.

in fact, i think he wont be traded.

I’m bookmarking this page. Just because it might come in handy one day.

and yes, at the start of the season it would be utter blasphemy to talk serious about trading zach, considering devils fans have tended to view him as the gem of their organization and centerpeice of the team, their baby so to speak.

Blasphemy like this? Or this?

No one really wanted things to unfold the way they have but even before he re-signed for one year there were frank, realistic (to a degree) discussions about what he could fetch in trade at different points in time, what the team needed and who potential trade partners might be.

I can only suggest broadening of your understanding of the english language

Irony, thy name is max16s.