– Young defensemen proved to be a big issue. Rationale which he still believes is these guys will really benefit and take a jump. Will be great players. But it was a lot to ask of them.
– injuries played a big role. Doesn’t like blaming injuries but it’s undeniable.
– Really liked what they saw in Schmid but maybe put too much on a young goalie.
– Loves Lindy, he played a big role molding the young guys, was time for a change.
– Will be active in the goaltender market this summer.
– wants to get stronger on the wings (I read this as what they don’t like about Holtz without him mentioning Holtz); asked about offseason priorities:
“Get harder on the wing,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got enough talent for offense, but the game is still physical. You got to take hits to make plays. I want a team that is committed to playing through guys, not just circling off guys.
“And (players) who will allow our guys some time and space, because when guys in our league have time and space, they can make great plays. … Those are characteristics in certain players that I will be looking for.”
FloppyCanFly
Solidifying the goalie position, getting some grit into the lineup, and maybe a gritty stay at home type for the back end would really round out this team.
caldo4
I know he can’t really say he fucked up the coaching thing, but I really hope he knows he did
Edit: people think he made the right decision keeping ruff? It was very questionable at the time and indefensible now
MountainBaker8217
In my head we need 1) a new coach 2) a goalie 3) a depth center 4) veteran D 5) a winger to round out our top nine.
First two are obvious.
Depth center because even if you have Nico/Jack/Haula/Lazar down the line you need centers for when injuries happen which was really relevant when we lost two centers in quick succession. We also need a depth center to make a stable and consistent fourth line again. Not saying we can remake BMW, but we need a fourth like that isn’t just the leftovers and has an identity and a job to do.
I imagine with a healthy roster our six D will be some combination of Dougie, Siegs, Luke, Johnny, Nemo, Bahl. Potentially Hatakka as a seventh D, but we need a veteran D to act as our 7D and to rotate in when we need to say sit one of the youths/an injury happens.
In my head our top nine is some combination of Nico, Timo, Jesp, Jack, Merce, Holtzy, Pally, and Haulzy. We need another winger to either slot in next to Jack if Holtzy isn’t up for the job or to be our third line winger if Holtzy and Jack do work out. Now our third line winger could conceivably come from Utica with someone showing up and showing out, but if we’re looking for basically a Toff replacement for Jack I think we will need to be looking at someone in free agency this summer.
One of the reasons our offense has been such a rollercoaster this year is that our bottom six just didn’t exist. Recently we’ve seen the impact of having a true third line for matchups, so having a solid bottom six that has a role is going to make a world of a difference.
waryeller
In Fitzy I trust. His diagnosis is correct. Let him cook in the off-season.
Zealousideal_Wave341
Basically imply Holtz isn’t that guy…but yet Toffoli was sucha impact? Besides his goals he was poor defensively and slow as a snail. He had top line minutes as well as PP time. Maybe its just me however I find it strange that the young D can have growing pains but Holtz takes the fall and seems to thrown under the bus every time.
danamerr
Would it be possible to sign Guentzel as a wing for Devils, or he’d be way to expensive?
Djent17
I think it’s safe to say Holtz is gonna be part of the package that brings in a #1 goalie for this team. Bummer cause I really like Holtz, but you gotta do what you gotta do I suppose.
8 Comments
For those who can’t read, the basics:
– Young defensemen proved to be a big issue. Rationale which he still believes is these guys will really benefit and take a jump. Will be great players. But it was a lot to ask of them.
– injuries played a big role. Doesn’t like blaming injuries but it’s undeniable.
– Really liked what they saw in Schmid but maybe put too much on a young goalie.
– Loves Lindy, he played a big role molding the young guys, was time for a change.
– Will be active in the goaltender market this summer.
– wants to get stronger on the wings (I read this as what they don’t like about Holtz without him mentioning Holtz); asked about offseason priorities:
“Get harder on the wing,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got enough talent for offense, but the game is still physical. You got to take hits to make plays. I want a team that is committed to playing through guys, not just circling off guys.
“And (players) who will allow our guys some time and space, because when guys in our league have time and space, they can make great plays. … Those are characteristics in certain players that I will be looking for.”
Solidifying the goalie position, getting some grit into the lineup, and maybe a gritty stay at home type for the back end would really round out this team.
I know he can’t really say he fucked up the coaching thing, but I really hope he knows he did
Edit: people think he made the right decision keeping ruff? It was very questionable at the time and indefensible now
In my head we need 1) a new coach 2) a goalie 3) a depth center 4) veteran D 5) a winger to round out our top nine.
First two are obvious.
Depth center because even if you have Nico/Jack/Haula/Lazar down the line you need centers for when injuries happen which was really relevant when we lost two centers in quick succession. We also need a depth center to make a stable and consistent fourth line again. Not saying we can remake BMW, but we need a fourth like that isn’t just the leftovers and has an identity and a job to do.
I imagine with a healthy roster our six D will be some combination of Dougie, Siegs, Luke, Johnny, Nemo, Bahl. Potentially Hatakka as a seventh D, but we need a veteran D to act as our 7D and to rotate in when we need to say sit one of the youths/an injury happens.
In my head our top nine is some combination of Nico, Timo, Jesp, Jack, Merce, Holtzy, Pally, and Haulzy. We need another winger to either slot in next to Jack if Holtzy isn’t up for the job or to be our third line winger if Holtzy and Jack do work out. Now our third line winger could conceivably come from Utica with someone showing up and showing out, but if we’re looking for basically a Toff replacement for Jack I think we will need to be looking at someone in free agency this summer.
One of the reasons our offense has been such a rollercoaster this year is that our bottom six just didn’t exist. Recently we’ve seen the impact of having a true third line for matchups, so having a solid bottom six that has a role is going to make a world of a difference.
In Fitzy I trust. His diagnosis is correct. Let him cook in the off-season.
Basically imply Holtz isn’t that guy…but yet Toffoli was sucha impact? Besides his goals he was poor defensively and slow as a snail. He had top line minutes as well as PP time. Maybe its just me however I find it strange that the young D can have growing pains but Holtz takes the fall and seems to thrown under the bus every time.
Would it be possible to sign Guentzel as a wing for Devils, or he’d be way to expensive?
I think it’s safe to say Holtz is gonna be part of the package that brings in a #1 goalie for this team. Bummer cause I really like Holtz, but you gotta do what you gotta do I suppose.