I see a lot of fans complaining that NJ didn't acquire some hotshot superstar in the offseason and believe that the Devils are going to fail because of that. Honestly, that's already flawed thinking considering that having superstar players definitely does not automatically mean you're going to have success on the ice. The biggest thing for this team is how well they adjust to and play in Keefe's system. One of the things that also contributed to the Devils struggling towards the end of the 22/23 season and onwards into the 23/24 season was other teams figuring out Ruff's system and the young players not having the experience to adjust and the coaching itself not making the proper adjustments to counter how teams were playing against them. It's not all a matter of the players on the ice, coaching is going to be a key part of their success. I know that sounds very obvious, but it's often something that gets overlooked when fans are so focused on the makeup of the roster.

The under-the-radar shrewd move was getting Kovacevic to anchor the third pairing. Devils fans will come to appreciate his steady and reliable game. 👍

Let's Go Devils 😁

Keep up the good work youngbulls. 👹🤝

Great listen!

LFGD 💥 another great listen! Thanks again guys!

Good podcast guys. This was my first listen but I enjoyed the commentary, especially since there is positivity here.

I posted that exact lineup, too, Justin. The defense pairings as well, good work!

Love it, I’m going with some bold takes this year. Kovacevic had really good numbers on a terrible Montreal team and I like him a lot. Very tough. Pesce and Hamilton have played together and Pesce is comfortable on either side, Canes were just so stacked, he never needed to do it. Also, Hughes plays well with speedy players, but he needs size with him- in recent years, we haven’t found many that mesh well with him. I’d like to see Siegenthaler, Nemec and Kovacevic rotating in. Bratt and Hughes create some magic, but due to their size, have shown getting beaten down. I’d like to see a fast, net-front presence with him and have more of a 2A and 2B line combo. Bratt-Hischier-Meier is a true number 1 in my opinion that have all of the elements we need to win. I also think we have 7 D we can rotate nightly. I like MacDermid in as well just to help keep lines honest and kind of have an 11 forward even group with a situational MacDermid in there playing sub 10 mins. There’s always injuries and we can also count on our extras playing 50-60 games which I do in Foote abd Bastian. 1 Bratt-Hischier-Meier (maybe a top 5 line in NHL) 2 Cotter-Hughes-Mercer (Cotter bringing speed, physicality and net front allowing others to play their game) i can see cotter get 20 goals with Hughes Palat-Haula-Tatar (veteran depth scoring line that’s edgy and skilled ) Hughes/Bratt/Hischier (Hischier would move Lazar to wing) -Lazar-Noesen Can both score and bring physicality. Creates space for our most gifted offensive players. Pesce-Hamilton Hughes-Kovacevic Dillon-Nemec Siegenthaler (rotates in bottom 2 pairings) This would make us so balanced and hard to play against.. again to read easily Bratt-Hischier-Meier Cotter-Hughes-Mercer Palat-Haula-Tatar Hughes/Bratt/Hischier-Lazar-Noesen Pesce-Hamilton Hughes-Kovacevic Dillon-Nemec siegenthaler (D pairings can be put in a blender and disperse minutes) Markstrom Allen …i think as unconventional as this looks, would be a nightmare to match up with, as we have size, skill, speed and leadership throughout with no holes

I wanna see anton get some time in pre season

Whats going on with Arserni Gritsyuk?

Every season Dougie mails in defense half the year. He shows up defensively in big games and always brings it offensively. I noticed this in prior seasons. He's not bad defensively when he plays harder when it counts more

Great video! But no disrespect but Palat on the first line is insane. He’s a 3rd / 4th line guy!

tatar-hesiher-mercer will be 2nd line they were the 2nd best line in the 2022 season they have chemistry

We should've never let Tatar walk last off-season

Turned this off when you said palat Hughes Mercer

Aka new devils fans lol. We need og devils fans making content.

No matter how fitzy shapes this team they are to injury prone to go anywhere sry maybe a wc team at best

I disagree that the team is stacked. When you have to put bums like Palat & Tatar in the top 6. This offseason needed more emphasis on actual talent & less emphasis on size. Just brought in a bunch of slightly above average players because they are tall. I'm expected to believe that this is going to transform everything from the disaster we saw last season into a top contender? I don't think so. I would give Fitz a C grade for his work during the offseason. Lots of old & mediocre talent brought here. I'm not excited about seeing any of the new additions to be honest. Should have gotten a legit top 6 forward. He failed.

All talk. Weak 2nd line. Fragile Jack Hughes. Prove it on the ice. Then talk.

The top 6 got WORSE. Tatar is a garbage signing and Fitz just replace Toffoli with Tatar for the top 6 🤡 Huge downgrade. Palat is garbage. Tatar is garbage.