The New Jersey Devils and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald had quite the busy Offseason.
Goaltending was finally addressed with the addition of Jacob Markstrom.
Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and Johnathan Kovacevic were brought in to help solidify the defense.
Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen will give this team some much needed grit!
The fanbase seems divided into two main groups at the moment.
Did Fitz do enough for this NJ Devils team over the summer?
What are my expectations for the 2024-25 season?
I discuss it all in this video.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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24 Comments
I’m like sitting in the middle….Fitz did address the needs. If Fitz can swing a deal for Brady T…..man, we are set…but what or who do we give up, cost?
Got a great channel, keep it going. You're just going to have trolls and "passionate" fans everywhere. It's easy to play fantasy hockey GM and solve all the problems. I think Fitz has us in a really good spot, and we need to give the stew some time to cook on the stove. Nobody has a Stanley Cup team 100% complete after 4 days of free agency. We do have a well balanced team, which is going to make us hard to figure out. Also going to make the rival games soo much more exciting when you have a set of hulk hands on, so enjoy the climb. LGD!
good video ace. i actually think theres some nuance to it too, i dont think subscribing to one side has to mean being against the other. i was a huge fan of keeping 10OA but ive also been fully on board with addressing the net, redoing some of the D core and bottom 6, etc. i guess you could call it a win now mentality with the caveat of not being win now at all costs. just dont think theres anything we realistically couldve dealt for that wouldve been able to help us these next 2 years more than silayev will be able to help the following 15. there might be a time to be that desperate but not yet imo
Just like you, Ace, I've been a longtime fan of this franchise. We've all gone through a dreadful decade and we not only expect better, we freaking deserve better.
There's no reason why there should be infighting among Devils fans, we all have differing opinions and points of view but we all root for the same team and we all want to see these guys succeed, save the animus for fans of other franchises.
As much as I would've liked to have seen Fitz add a bonafide sniper or a legitimate scorer to the top of the lineup, we just couldn't at this time, not if we wanted to shore up our defense and goaltending, which I believe were more critical.
Even if they had wanted to come here in the first place, we would've had to pay even more than what Stamkos or Marchessault wound up getting from Nashville. Anybody here want to give DeBrusk or Bertuzzi huge money for several years?
I agree with you, if we can stay healthy, if our new guys can mesh and if everybody can produce as they're expected to, there's no reason why we can't compete for a division title.
While I don't believe this group is capable of winning a Cup next season, why can't we win a couple of rounds next spring? Seattle, with a lot less talent than we have, managed to get within a game of the WCF in 2022-23.
I don't want Fitz to make short-sighted decisions that will jeopardize our chances to win in the long run but you can only rebuild for so long, we need to be focused on that next step, otherwise what was the point of it all?
Nico and Jack have been here a combined 12 seasons already and have only made the playoffs three total times and just once while on the same team, that's simply not good enough. Quite frankly, that's pathetic.
Fitz ought to be doing everything in his power to get this team over the hump and make the playoffs every season for the next decade so that we can finally end that 20+ year Cup drought.
He should be prepared and willing to be cutthroat and bold, like Brisebois in Tampa, McCrimmon in Vegas and Zito in Florida, in order to reach that goal.
Though the Top 6 help would be nice, the reality is we weren't losing 2-1s, we were losing 4-6s. We know we can put the puck in their net; we desperately needed to stop the puck from going in our's, and the moves really addressed that. Even if our scoring capabilities take a small hit, I'd say at least 10-20 more games this season can be saved by the new guys that can have the back of our scorers, hold their own, and make more of our opponents hesitate to come near our net. As you said, of course there's more that Fitz could've done, as it always will be, but overall I'm very excited for this season.
.500 barely. No playoffs. Tons of IR games lost.
Fitz is a Putz….
I literally watch for the different opinions😂 We are a lot alike tho, i love the hits and neanderthal hockey
Hughes- Nemec
Casey-Silayev
That could be the best future top 4 in the NHL. Add in 2 out of the following and our D will be lights out for years to come
Diotte, Edwards, Vilen, Hatakka, Orlov, Zaitsev, Misyul, Leddy, Hurtig
Hi Ace, I don't always agree with you, but I do enjoy your show, and I appreciate the time and effort that you put into bringing us your show. As far as Ftizy goes, I don't love him and I don't hate him. I do think he has done a fantastic job this off season. Getting a top six player is not easy. There needs to be two parties to make a fair deal happen. Finally, I think Mercer needs to step up and Palat needs to step up. If we are paying a player 6 million a year, he has to be a top six player. Finally, finally, thank you for the prospect's video. You did more to show them to us than the Devils did!
Let's be honest here. In a previous video you yourself were kinda destroying Fitz.
Something lost here is due to Lindys system we played a high risk offensive game. Part of that was personnel the other was system. Lindy needs a top netminder to be successful in the playoffs. We are not that anymore. SK system will be a bit more structured we have a goalie who can give us league avg if not better. We have cap for a mid season splash. Let it roll. Dawgson will return to 50 point form, heck just 5-8 years ago Palmieri was our best forward 😂. This will not be the same team for better or worse.
Ok , Fitz is neither a public speaker nor confidence coach but these are not the main attributes of a good general manager . In my opinion he’s done a good job this summer . I am looking at a glass half full : proven head coach , proven goalie , three gritty defensemen , two gritty forwards and we haven’t lost a major piece except Holtz who hasn’t even proved himself to be a major piece . Give Fitz a break and LGD !
Grit and maturity. That’s what will contribute to a far better season next year. Goaltending will also be improved, obviously, but the team is going to be much more difficult to play against. I’m optimistic for that alone.
We all want to win a cup And we all have the same expectations.
With that said we aren’t a “cup or bust team” right now.
I think the fans that saw our dynasty need to understand we don’t have a Marty or a Stevens or a niedermayer. We will win a cup over the next 5+ years but it’s not as simple as putting all our chips in the middle every year and neglecting the future and cap straining us every year.
Every team is trying to win the cup too and we have to build with what we got.
That means a balanced team of stars, vets, young players on their ELCs etc. Let’s all get along and be respectful like ace is saying but it’s going to take patience and building it right so we can build a true winning team not just on paper. Love y’all, LGD!
ACE!
I’ve watched every video and most of time (like you – I’m emotional, off with their heads if need be) – I’ve disagreed with you but politely moved on without a comment. Lol I hope more people leave you alone brotha.
LETS FUCKING GO DEVILS!!
1) I hear Ace and there is a big range of emotions and points of view.
2) Fitz isn't the greatest, but I am going to be hated for it, he aint the worst.
3) I don't think we had a problem in the offensive end. We went up to the middle of the season with a high scoring like more than 2 goals in most games. We stopped because Lindy tried to address the def problem by pulling the team back to full def (which didn't work) So, it is my belief that a big trade up front was not necessary. This is my view of it.
4) The drafts and free agency process went way our way. We could do better? Sure! We could do much worse tho. Markstom, Pesce, Dillon, Silayev, and Kovacevic are all great choices. (add to that the rest that came in mostly.) The only great disagreement I had was tha Akira – Holtz deal for Cotten.
5) What is my expectation? pass the first round of the playoffs realistically. I hope to get the cup but realistically I see the cup coming our way in the next 2 years but not this one. I may be wrong sure but that is what I think.
The passion in undeniable
A player who I think could be a BIG X FACTOR? … Nolan Foote.
Last year was supposed to be his breakout year, then a freaking season-ending injury during exhibition games.
He's looked good in small samples. I think he will surprise us.
Not sure what happened to you the last few days but suddenly we became Fitzgerald supporters? I get it that to some it might seem piling on, but if we are being honest, our GM has been brutal. Too many things to list, but i guess he has beaten you down to a point where you are putting up the white flag. The moves that were made were done from sheer necessity. Period. So did we improve? On paper we did, but what are we building? Is there a plan? Or was this a save my ass moment. Fitzgerald himself said in his press conference that he felt confident going into last season. CONFIDENT with Vitek as his starting goalie! Enough said! NO ONE wants the Devils to win more than i do, having experienced the late 80's Devils thru the 3 cup winners to present day. Can't keep defending Fitzgerald just because you want everyone to play nice. For a guy who preaches, " i like violence " you got awfully soft all of sudden.
all it'll take is a deep run this season to change people's attitudes towards one another. winning fixes everything. i personally consider myself extremely lucky to be a devils fan, we get to watch a guy like jack do what he does and not every team has a player like that let alone having everyone else thats is on this team, and im very grateful that we have what we have, because 10 years ago we didnt, and that was a tough time to survive being a devil's fan… everyone who went through it knows. i also think us being as bad as we were for so long has a lot to do with how we act as a fanbase. at the end of the day we could be like buffalo fans, 1969-present and 0 cups to show for all those seasons played. things could 100% be worse than anything we've ever witnessed as a fanbase.
The internet is no place for calm, respectful behavior.
Lets go devils!!!!
Let's gooooo Ace! Old school guy hear! Love this channel and all the topics covered. Keep speaking the truth and thanks for doing what you do! Devils 24-25 Bring the pain!
No wrong way to be a fan. I disagree with a lot of fans. There's no way people can watch every game around the NHL to understand what we are getting and giving in trades. And even if they did, I'm sure we would find different things to appreciate and value. It's just a little silly that we can't hold thoughts to ourselves anymore. I probably disagree some of the options on here. But don't care enough argue about it. Cause none of our opinions matter or affect team mgmt. 🤣 I just started following the devils because I'm just a fan of the sport and appreciate the talent of the core and would like to see them win a cup a some point. Hopefully it doesn't take 7 years to do it but you never really know with the parity. Most teams are battling and want to win just as much as our team.