2018 Offseason Thread

[DevsMan84]

4 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

Pissed me off too same with Elias night. Even more so with Elias night because unless we start winning some cups soon that was the last jersey retirement ceremony we will be seeing for at least 10-15 years. Most likely longer. 

And explaining to those people why these games are worth more money was like explaining rocket science to a cat.  They're either intentionally stupid (possibly) or just cheap (probably).

[mfitz804]

25 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

Pissed me off too same with Elias night. Even more so with Elias night because unless we start winning some cups soon that was the last jersey retirement ceremony we will be seeing for at least 10-15 years. Most likely longer. 

Maybe we can retire #9 the second he signs an extension.

[MadDog2020]

3 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

And explaining to those people why these games are worth more money was like explaining rocket science to a cat.  They're either intentionally stupid (possibly) or just cheap (probably).

 

[MadDog2020]

3 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

Oh I took advantage of that many times.  I remember in the 2010-11 season in November (when our season was going down the toilet) I got free tickets for 3 games from the Devils directly.  Two of the three games were seats in the lower bowl too.

I got freebies in the lower bowl for a game in November of that season too,  it was the Edmonton game that Kovalchuk won in OT to break what at the time was a massive losing streak. In fact, it might have even been the first home win. I remember there was a huge feeling of relief after that game, and I’m pretty sure it was because it was the first home win. I’m glad I can’t remember definitively though, as it means I’ve been successful in forgetting a lot of details about the Johnny Mac ‘era’. Man was he a terrible coach. 😖

Edited October 4, 2018 by MadDog2020

[Jerzey]

Ok so revisiting using Taylor, Egg, and Cheese as a line name obviously Hall is the Taylor but now Hischier can be the cheese. I know it’s typically made with American cheese but Swiss Cheese is good too. Now we just have to figure out a reason to call Palmieri or Bratt an Egg for some reason.

[MadDog2020]

15 minutes ago, Jerzey said:

Ok so revisiting using Taylor, Egg, and Cheese as a line name obviously Hall is the Taylor but now Hischier can be the cheese. I know it’s typically made with American cheese but Swiss Cheese is good too. Now we just have to figure out a reason to call Palmieri or Bratt an Egg for some reason.

Palmieri gets hurt a lot. Eggs are fragile. You’re welcome. 😛

[mfitz804]

34 minutes ago, Jerzey said:

Ok so revisiting using Taylor, Egg, and Cheese as a line name obviously Hall is the Taylor but now Hischier can be the cheese. I know it’s typically made with American cheese but Swiss Cheese is good too. Now we just have to figure out a reason to call Palmieri or Bratt an Egg for some reason.

I was going to contest this as Hischier is the center, he should be egg. But then you said Swiss cheese and it had to be that way. 

18 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Palmieri gets hurt a lot. Eggs are fragile. You’re welcome. 😛

Well done.

[moustic]

16 hours ago, Jerzey said:

Ok so revisiting using Taylor, Egg, and Cheese as a line name obviously Hall is the Taylor but now Hischier can be the cheese. I know it’s typically made with American cheese but Swiss Cheese is good too. Now we just have to figure out a reason to call Palmieri or Bratt an Egg for some reason.

Excuse me Sir... What are you calling " American Cheese" ? ; ) 

[Devil Dan 56]

1 minute ago, moustic said:

Excuse me Sir... What are you calling " American Cheese" ? ; ) 

“Cheese-like substance”

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

17 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

Palmieri gets hurt a lot. Eggs are fragile. You’re welcome. 😛

Palms only missed two games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined.  He obviously missed quite a few last year, and he definitely seems to be one of those guys whose numbers take a hit when he's in and out of the lineup and can't play enough to find a groove...sure, he's streaky, but once healthy, he was plenty good...over his final 49 GP, he scored at a 33 G per 82 GP pace.  For his Devils career he's at 29 G per 82 GP.  Not bad at all.

Hopefully the Egg moniker isn't accurate by the end of this season.  Especially since every time he's on the ice with Nico and Hall, they seem to produce. 

['7']

20 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Palms only missed two games in 2015-16 and 2016-17 combined.  He obviously missed quite a few last year, and he definitely seems to be one of those guys whose numbers take a hit when he's in and out of the lineup and can't play enough to find a groove...sure, he's streaky, but once healthy, he was plenty good...over his final 49 GP, he scored at a 33 G per 82 GP pace.  For his Devils career he's at 29 G per 82 GP.  Not bad at all.

Hopefully the Egg moniker isn't accurate by the end of this season.  Especially since every time he's on the ice with Nico and Hall, they seem to produce. 

Palms is so critical because he's really the only forward (perhaps the only player) who can beat a goalie clean from around the tops of the circles. He's got the best pure shot on the team. You start getting some bodies and chaos in front of the net and that shot becomes even more lethal and worrisome for the opposition.

Edited October 5, 2018 by '7'

[mfitz804]

11 minutes ago, '7' said:

Palms is so critical because he's really the only forward (perhaps the only player) who can beat a goalie clean from around the tops of the circles. He's got the best pure shot on the team. You start getting some bodies and chaos in front of the net and that shot becomes even more lethal and worrisome for the opposition.

And what's more critical than the egg in a Taylor Ham, Egg & Cheese??

Though, let's not overlook, if we are looking for an egg, Bratt just cracked his shell...

Edited October 5, 2018 by mfitz804

[DevsMan84]

On 10/3/2018 at 4:19 PM, Satans Hockey said:

Back then the excuse was the fans growing up now will have kids and they will be fans of the team too. We should be way past that point. JVB was a huge issue too because he programed a large portion of this fan base to wait for free tickets. Look at all the Facebook posts about tickets. People either want them for free or for next to nothing. I'll eat my tickets before I'd give them to anyone on there. 

Right on cue the folks on HF boards have blamed Hugh / current ownership of why our fans cannot sell out the home opener.

In other similar news water is wet.

[MadDog2020]

19 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Right on cue the folks on HF boards have blamed Hugh / current ownership of why our fans cannot sell out the home opener.

In other similar news water is wet.

I didn’t realize the Giants are playing at home against the Eagles Thursday night. That isn’t gonna help re: attendance. 

[DevsMan84]

1 minute ago, MadDog2020 said:

I didn’t realize the Giants are playing at home against the Eagles Thursday night. That isn’t gonna help re: attendance. 

It's another excuse.  Teams in other markets face the same things yet they still sell out opening night.

If the team has to literally give away tickets to games like JVB did just to get fans into the building, that is more an indictment against our fans rather than management.  Though Hugh and the new owners will still get the blame from our fans for whatever reason.

[MadDog2020]

6 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

It's another excuse.  Teams in other markets face the same things yet they still sell out opening night.

If the team has to literally give away tickets to games like JVB did just to get fans into the building, that is more an indictment against our fans rather than management.  Though Hugh and the new owners will still get the blame from our fans for whatever reason.

Preaching to the choir brother. No excuse for not selling out a home opener. But I do think the Giants game does have a small effect, although I doubt it would as much if it wasn’t a home game. 

[DevsMan84]

Just now, MadDog2020 said:

Preaching to the choir brother. No excuse for not selling out a home opener. But I do think the Giants game does have a small effect, although I doubt it would as much if it wasn’t a home game. 

I won't discount it may be a factor, but it shouldn't prevent us from selling out.  I get they are a rival of the Giants, but the Giants are also awful this year.

It's still 100% on the fans.

[Chuck the Duck]

I have to agree with DM and MD2020 on this.  It's a poor reflection on this fanbase that we can't sell out the home opener, especially after the exciting season we had last year, the entertaining nature of the hockey this team has been playing, and the optimism for this year.  Although, technically, we did sellout our 1st game because our "home" opener was in Sweden on Saturday. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 hour ago, DevsMan84 said:

Right on cue the folks on HF boards have blamed Hugh / current ownership of why our fans cannot sell out the home opener.

In other similar news water is wet.

You know the drill...there's a segment of our fanbase that is basically made up of a bunch of entitled idiotic mutants.  I have absolutely nothing in common with them...I've been fortunate in that my dealings with them have been few and far between in general, but I've overheard banter from enough of them during games to know when they're around.  They're the worst, truly. 

SD is right, JVB did set a bad precedent with the giveaways...doesn't mean the home opener shouldn't have sold out of course.  Unfortunately, these boneheads think such giveaway practices were going to continue...and of course, it's these boneheads who won't pay to go to a game unless it's free or well below face value, but will be the first to complain if the Devils suddenly didn't have enough money to sign a key UFA or improve the arena experience.  Yeah, there was some early mishaps and that led to a disconnect at times, but these guys are clearly trying really friggin' hard, and are clearly willing to put money into the franchise...hell, the arena itself has gone from being a really nice sketch with some areas colored in to a full work of art that's only getting better...the bathrooms are in need of some serious TLC, but I'm sure that will be addressed.  All in all, it's hard to bitch about these guys.  Hell, they even fixed the fvcking Niedermayer banner!  Need I say more?!

[NJDevils1214]

Most people who are fans that I experience would be classified as casual fans of the team/sport. It usually takes until the end of October/early November for these people to realize hockey is back on and start paying attention again. The home opener thing doesn't surprise me at all. If the team comes out to a hot start again you can bet butts will start filling the seats because the positive news will make it to those casual people and they'll want to go.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, NJDevils1214 said:

Most people who are fans that I experience would be classified as casual fans of the team/sport. It usually takes until the end of October/early November for these people to realize hockey is back on and start paying attention again. The home opener thing doesn't surprise me at all. If the team comes out to a hot start again you can bet butts will start filling the seats because the positive news will make it to those casual people and they'll want to go.

If the opener had been on a Saturday instead of a Thursday night, without a football local playing a home game, that likely would've helped somewhat...not like everything is always going to line up though.  Still would've been nice if the fact that the Devils had made the playoffs and have the 2017-18 MVP and have been a fun team to watch would've been enough on their own to ensure a full house. 

[DevsMan84]

12 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

If the opener had been on a Saturday instead of a Thursday night, without a football local playing a home game, that likely would've helped somewhat...not like everything is always going to line up though.  Still would've been nice if the fact that the Devils had made the playoffs and have the 2017-18 MVP and have been a fun team to watch would've been enough on their own to ensure a full house. 

Plus red carpet....giveaway night (those thunder sticks)....against the reigning Stanley Cup champs....with the Masterton trophy winner.

But if our "fans" would rather go and watch the Giants get embarrassed or have some other excuse not to go then be my guest.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

2 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Plus red carpet....giveaway night (those thunder sticks)....against the reigning Stanley Cup champs....with the Masterton trophy winner.

But if our "fans" would rather go and watch the Giants get embarrassed or have some other excuse not to go then be my guest.

The bolded is how it is for a lot of local sports fans though.  I'm literally the ONLY one out of all of my sports-watching friends who considers hockey #1 (the Mets and Pats are a very close #2).  I've been asked more than once "How is it that hockey is your favorite?"...almost in a "What's wrong with you?" kind of voice.  One of my closest friends roots for the Giants, Yankees, and Devils.  The Giants could go 2-14 any given year, but he's defaulting to them over the Devils, no matter what...there's no way he would ever go to a hockey game over missing his Giants.  I have friends who consider themselves Devils fans, but let me tell you, it's rough...they're nowhere NEAR into it as much as I am, and just trying to get them to go to a game now and then is a chore.  I save 90% of my Devils talk for on here...I don't mind explaining the Devils to more casual fans (especially when I'm able to drag one to the Rock with me), but at least here, even when there's disagreements, we all at least know all of the basics:  who's currently playing for the Devils, their histories, skillsets, etc. 

[DevsMan84]

17 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

The bolded is how it is for a lot of local sports fans though.  I'm literally the ONLY one out of all of my sports-watching friends who considers hockey #1 (the Mets and Pats are a very close #2).  I've been asked more than once "How is it that hockey is your favorite?"...almost in a "What's wrong with you?" kind of voice.  One of my closest friends roots for the Giants, Yankees, and Devils.  The Giants could go 2-14 any given year, but he's defaulting to them over the Devils, no matter what...there's no way he would ever go to a hockey game over missing his Giants.  I have friends who consider themselves Devils fans, but let me tell you, it's rough...they're nowhere NEAR into it as much as I am, and just trying to get them to go to a game now and then is a chore.  I save 90% of my Devils talk for on here...I don't mind explaining the Devils to more casual fans (especially when I'm able to drag one to the Rock with me), but at least here, even when there's disagreements, we all at least know all of the basics:  who's currently playing for the Devils, their histories, skillsets, etc. 

I get that football (and to an extent baseball) are completely ingrained into our society, but that line of thought still baffles me.  I guess you cannot say those folks are fair-weather fans, but IDK if I was a pretty fervent follower of both sports I would still rather see an opening night game with the hoopla versus a mid-season game against a hated rival that will likely curb stomp you into oblivion.

[NJDevils1214]

37 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

The bolded is how it is for a lot of local sports fans though.  I'm literally the ONLY one out of all of my sports-watching friends who considers hockey #1 (the Mets and Pats are a very close #2).  I've been asked more than once "How is it that hockey is your favorite?"...almost in a "What's wrong with you?" kind of voice.  One of my closest friends roots for the Giants, Yankees, and Devils.  The Giants could go 2-14 any given year, but he's defaulting to them over the Devils, no matter what...there's no way he would ever go to a hockey game over missing his Giants.  I have friends who consider themselves Devils fans, but let me tell you, it's rough...they're nowhere NEAR into it as much as I am, and just trying to get them to go to a game now and then is a chore.  I save 90% of my Devils talk for on here...I don't mind explaining the Devils to more casual fans (especially when I'm able to drag one to the Rock with me), but at least here, even when there's disagreements, we all at least know all of the basics:  who's currently playing for the Devils, their histories, skillsets, etc. 

Pretty much my exact experience. Even my friend who has always been a major hockey fan has been super casual the last few years. Granted, Buffalo has been god awful and I can't blame him for not wanting to subject himself to that, but he hasn't even played men's league with me in 2 years. Completely obsessed with football. Everyone that sits around me at work is all football and baseball. There are 3 Devils fans here and I would say 2/3 prob have hockey as #1. The 3rd one couldn't tell you a player that wasn't Taylor Hall but he could tell you the 3rd string left guard on the Jets. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by NJDevils1214