METRO MATCH-UP: Columbus Blue Jackets Will Have To FIGHT Devils For Playoff Spot

0:00This is the Lockdown Podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. Thank you for making Lockdown your first listen every day. For your second listen, go find Lockdown Fantasy Hockey. Steal Rodin and Flip Living Stone provide daily fantasy tips to give you the edge over your leaguemates all while making you a smarter hockey fan. And lockdown fantasy hockey on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. It's another Metropolitan matchup today. We're talking about the New Jersey Devils. Can they avoid more injury disaster this year and make it back to the playoffs? We'll find out on today's Lockdown Blue Jackets. Your Lockdown Blue Jackets.

1:01Your daily podcast on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, I'm Do Lockdown Blue Jackets. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. I am as always your host J Foster. And to give you the good the bad and the ugly about your favorite team and mind the Columbus Blue Jackets. Before we jump into today's episode, I'd let you know that this episode is brought to you by Fandall. $350 in bonus bet to guarantee when you bet $5 every day for seven days. Turn all the action at Fandall.com. We've got another Metropolitan matchup here today. We're talking about the New Jersey Devils who didn't have the greatest season last year. Lots of lots of sub optimal things happening, I would say. But seems like they had kind of a quietly pretty productive off season. They finally got a new GM. They moved some stuff around. So I guess let's start off. I've got Zach Berman here by the way.

2:01Audio. Zach Berman of Lockdown Devils is here. I was like, did I introduce him? No, super dent. So I've got the host of Lockdown Devils here. And we're going to talk about like what went wrong last season because from an outside perspective, the only two real things that I could see from someone who doesn't watch a ton of Devils hockey. Jack Hughes once again couldn't stay healthy through no fault of his own. And the gold tending was sub optimal is maybe the kindest way to say it. So what? What happened with Devils last year? I feel like I've gone on. Jay, first of all, thank you for bringing me on by feel like I've gone on the what happened to the Devils last year with so many of our fellow hosts here with the Lockdown podcast network and. To start. I last off season was not happy with the direction the team was going. Yeah, we'll have to hop back into the time machine to 2425.

3:03So the Devils had this incredibly hot start. In 2425, they go into Christmas or number one team in the company and the league by almost every metric. And then little by little, they start falling apart bit by bit. And then maybe about two weeks before the trade deadline. At this point, they're still comfortably in a playoff spot because the Metro was just terrible at your. Jack goes down and effectively nukes whatever plans fits Gerald and the organization had a deadline. So instead it turned into a bunch of panicky scrambling moves, one of which actually did turn out quite well and Cody glass, but the rest were just. There wasn't enough. So the entire profile talent being added to the organization. And that extended into the off season where they got Connor Brown is a good player, but.

4:07Not somebody that should be playing top six minutes, the Devils have needed that one more winner that one more top six winner for maybe a decade now. You have Jim Omeyer, you have just for Brad Dawson, Mercer in the top six does not work Connor Brown in the top six does not work. A lot of people myself included think our Sunday Gritsy up could one day be the fix in the top six, but it wasn't working and at this point in time he was still a rookie he hadn't come in to believe yet. And that winner never came to be Cody glass somebody I think is a very good foresee was slot into the 3 C role. I think it was you holamico was the foresee he was brought out of the finish lead he was a canok from like 21 22 like I hadn't been lead for three years. And I got on this podcast I took it over and I rubbed some people the wrong way immediately because I said this team. Because of the way the general manager is both the rosters one jack he was injury away from being a lottery team and that's exactly what happened.

5:14They get out to a hot start. The metrics this time the underlying are no blame outside of a couple players namely jack they are winning games despite being heavily outshot, pinned in their own zone most of the game. Fitzgerald is completely gotten power drunk he's now allegedly forcing shielding key to run a completely different style of hockey than he wants to. Key wants to run more of a rush based system Fitzgerald wants to just make every game to the one. And everything goes down the drain when you say no fault of his own reality we don't know what that happened Jack Hughes sliced one of his fingers maybe clean off we don't know. At a team dinner in Chicago. And then from that point on it was just Chernobyl. Oh it didn't help that like right before marks are was not playing well might have been fighting through an injury we don't really know.

6:18And as a tale is old as tight with and it's out plays I feel like. And as a quote unquote as an incentive to play better supposedly Fitzgerald gave him a two year six million dollar extension that was supposed that did kick in this off season with Florida Panthers thank goodness. And then he was a low trade and he was at that point in time 34 was not looking good marks from has like maybe the worst season of his career. Now the devils are just getting demolished on a nightly basis then because of the no movement clauses that have been put into place Fitzgerald can't move the money around to get when Hughes then gets dealt to the wild which led to a whole bunch of oh you don't want me on the team from the guys that maybe were asked to wave and didn't. It's spiraling out of control. You get a little reprieve it from the end of January which I'm not going to give Tom Fitzgerald his flowers for this as much I'm going to rip the islanders a new one.

7:19Somehow some way Fitzgerald winds up getting a rookie GM and Matthew darsht to take on Andre pull out his entire cap it for the rest of the year and. This coming season that was the contract that he couldn't move to get quit. Then Jack Hughes scores the golden goal in the Olympics. So you're coming back you have these good vibes but at the same time I think a lot of devils fans were worried that. Are these good vibes and Jack being back going to save the GM's job. Fitzgerald doesn't make any moves the deadline now we know that the ownership shot them down because they basically were waiting for the right time to can't. They did sunny made it comes in and. The consensus right now is given how cap constrained made it was this off season and that so much of his moves were cleaning up the previous regime's mess.

8:22I don't know what the ceiling is with the new front office but we know for a fact that the floor is a basic level of competency which in the NHL is a privilege. There are not that many truly smart GM's and hockey. And I think we have but. It was a lot of at least until a boot a boot that we were talking about before in Luke evangelista was a lot of low risk high reward Anthony Manta. I think a lot of people thought including his own camp thought we're going to get like a big big people thought Manta was going to get like an eight nine million dollar contract. He's forced what 30 something goals and a contract here for the penguins. Devils wind up getting him a two by 4.5 that also has zero trade protection movement protection. So Manta who is known to be streaky if he stinks they can cut bait. And then he's sending trio is maybe taking up three million change the cap. It's been low risk high reward a lot of guys that sunny was instrumental in bringing in as part of his role with the panthers were some of the Gustaf forzeling card of her hagi types guys that were maybe not being utilized in the correct way and other organizations.

9:39And then the formation projects of sorts. Sonny's brought in a couple of those dudes and then out of the blue couple weeks before training camp. The bomb of the offseason at least so far New Jersey drops and the devils wind up getting Luke evangelista for a 2028 first they acquired in the Simone Nemitz trade and their own second also in 2028. And then the first one is what three years he's got one year left at three million as RFA before he hits RFA status the devils are trying to extend them long term but they clearly see a guy that was a ridiculously good play driver last year for Nashville especially 24. He may have revitalized stamp coast and a Riley's career simultaneously. And now the devil see him as perhaps the missing piece in the top six. At the very least the evangelista trade in my mind has me thinking this is a playoff team health all things considered.

10:44I think they're Metro three wild card right now that could change that could get better that could go down but trading for Luke evangelista push the devils in my mind as somebody that has been considered a bit of a doom or a bit of a downer someone that is not necessarily been as nice to the team as some fans might want their podcast host to be but I've been honest I said last year I don't know if this team is a playoff team even. Before Jack went down. I feel comfortable enough saying with the addition of a guy like Luke evangelista that should the people that need to stay healthy stay healthy. There will be playoff hockey the provincial center. Jack Hughes with one of the guys you mentioned that and I want to talk about him in a little bit more detail and we're going to take a quick break and then we get back and I want to talk about just how important Jack Hughes is to this devils team because I think the Alabama pitch is very but let's get into it in a little bit more detail in just a second.

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13:07That's the best thing to do. That's the best thing to do. I said before the break that we can talk about Jack Hughes so let's talk about Jack Hughes phenomenally talented player incredible player his biggest knock is his availability right like he hasn't played a full season really since 2223. 61 games last year 62 the year before that 62 the year before that like when he's healthy he is a 90 hundred point player he just can't seem to stay healthy and again last season's injury wasn't anything he could have done differently you know of not fall over and cut his you know maybe almost cut his hand off but like it's starting to become a well what's this year's Hughes injury going to be right it's usually the shoulders yeah exactly which. Is a worrying piece because shoulders a finicky and it's starting to again it's done a little bit of a trend how worried are you about like do expect a full season from Jack Hughes this year or a part of you that's like no he's going to miss 20 games and we'll deal with it I'll expect a total expect a full season from Jack Hughes when we see a full see.

14:24Like to be completely honest my single biggest knock against the last from office was they have enough evidence that Jack Hughes is not going to play a full 82 and you cannot bet on him to play a full 82 you need to build a team that is able to sustain without Jack Hughes playing a full 82 they were not able to do that this off season I think they took a massive step towards being able to do that. But I'll read some numbers to you that kind of say it all but a month after Jack went down the athletic post in article that before Jack's injury last year the devils were 19th and scoring a five on five 10th and score him a power play without him they dropped a 30th and five on five and 23rd on the power play. Yikes so he's the engine he's the straw that stirs the drink.

15:27And maybe it had a little bit to do with their play style maybe it had a little bit to do with the lack of depth but it didn't explain guys like Nico and Brad and Tivo all simultaneously falling off or maybe it did all I know is that you lose Jack losing follows we've seen that every time he's gone down. So unfortunately I guess you can say fortunately depending on who you ask he is so good and on such a great contract that you can't really afford to get rid of him because if you dump Jack Hughes a you're going to regret it instantly and be not simply to trade the you win yeah yeah it's not a trade you win and if you see what this team looks like. Without Jack Hughes for 20 30 games a year what does that look like when it's all the time now it's not pretty so I think they took a big step towards getting the right pieces around him to sustain they need to get more money.

16:48They need to get more mobile on the back end that's something that they have tried to do and fail to do with Quinn Hughes I think hopefully they get him at some point but can't bank on it. Sheldon Keith is going to be running his style that he ran into a no but also at the same time he was retained from. Previous regime obviously it sounds like the new GM wants to have that bullet in the chamber unless things don't like hypothetically say things don't work out he would not be surprised if at any given moment the devils are one five game losing streak away from a coaching change. So there is a lot writing on this season even though I think that long term they're in a much better place and they were a year ago with the now financial flexibility they have they were able to get Nico he sure to recommit for another five years on top of this season. Like it is positive right now and I think it will stay positive but as I've always said to my fellow devils fans the season begins when Jack gets hurt that's always the way I see it whether they sink or swim depends on how things are going to go once you lose Jack and I hate talking about it like it's an inevitability but

18:15it's tough because you know you don't want to see a play get injured and it sucks to be like oh well he's going to inevitably miss you know X number of games the blue jackets have had players like that over the past couple of years like they're captain who is nowhere near as important a piece as Jack uses to the devils but every year you're like right how many games is boom jane are going to miss this year right because just just just can't just couldn't stay healthy that's a big reason why he left Columbus this off season was. The organization wasn't willing to commit more than one or two years to a player who missed 40% of the games that he was under contract for in his most recent contract which is it's a huge amount of games right again some of it not due to his own fault like some of that was personally for you know family bereavement and stuff but he missed almost 50% of the games that he's has been rusted in the last four seasons so at some point you've got a cut your losses obviously I'm not saying that they should cut their losses with Jack key. I'm not saying that they should cut their losses with the game that he's going to miss you because again even missing 20 20 games the last two seasons he still had 77 points 70 points and 74 points right you're still getting a more than a point game from jack you and you're happening for the past five seasons but what I want to talk about to go from jack you to a different Hughes kind of tangentially I don't know the blue line a lot that you've mentioned potentially bringing in Quinn Hughes as an option there maybe more than the goal

19:44is concerned me a little bit as an outside perspective I look at the devil's blue line and I'm like man you've got a bunch of really great second pair guys Luke Hughes could be great and he also could not be I just I don't see anything in this blue line that I'm like yes this is this is a cup contending blue line necessarily they've got a bunch of a bunch of medium guys like I want to say the blue line is bad I know that they have a true difference make unless something finally clicks well they don't lose Hughes I I happen to like Luke Hughes quite a bit I am I am a Luke Hughes believer I have said over and over again I firmly believe that him missing training camp last year and holding out just put him out the wrong foot out of the gate like it was a Willie Neilander situation so after the Olympics he looked much more in line with what I think we all expected him to be but even then I need to see consistency I'm not sure if

20:51doggie Hamilton's here long term at this point this is going to be a bit of a transitionary year because the devils are angling to potentially get Quinn if not Quinn they're attempting to potentially get better just on the back end in general see who shakes see who shakes available I don't know what the future holds Brett Pesci is their best defense been by a long shot he's awesome somebody that I wish I could have the devils clone on their back end but even then his problem is the same as jacks it's staying healthy Seagant follower Dylan yeah they're great secondary pieces cova savage I mean I'm I don't know what to expect out of him because he tours ACL right after he got extended which is a stupid extension to begin with but then was a tire fire until the end of the year last year and then he seemed to look more like himself with what they were doing

21:52with all the meddling that was taking place from the front office on down I truly have no idea what this team is going to look like on the ice other than Sheldon Keith Million tire coaching staff is different is the blue line going to be better I Would hope so I mean they didn't really change all that much but did they have to change all that much Or was it a coaching thing where it's like I feel like we're just gonna find out and Like it just I feel like also the ebgb's you know sure I feel like also with It's a real kind of chicken and egg situation with defense and goal-tending right like just the defense look bad because the goal-tending looks bad or does the goal-tending look bad because the defense looks bad and vice-versa as well right like I think Freddie Anderson is a really great example of this in Carolina of Was Freddie Anderson a great goalie or was he just playing behind the Carolina hurricane's blue line which is one of the better blue lines in the league right So I do want to take another quick break and then we get back

22:55I would do want to talk about goal-tending because like you know we talked about a little bit they're not paying a ton for it But It feels a real like that feels like a hole that you've got to you've got to figure out your goal-tending if you're the New Jersey Devils and you want to find Find success or take a quick break and then we'll talk about that in just a second About locked arm blue jackets. I've got sac Burman locked on Devils here. We've talked about the forward We talked about the defense let's get into the goal-tending moving Mark's dream For my money was the right move I don't know that the guys you've got are gonna be the guys, you know You mentioned you you goal-tending you you're one two and three I think costing you about three and a half four million For all three of them which is extremely cheap if you're getting good value out of them but Jake Allen is what 36 37 36 Nico doors. I like to turn in the AHL, but it's kind of a question mark David Riddick is

23:58Perfectly cromulent veteran goalie Who do you who do you go with if you're the devils like who's who's the guy for you out of those three It is Allen, but I'm gonna go off the report from Jeff Merrick from a few days ago There's been so much talk about hell about hell about hell about and From what I've heard hell about who wants to be a devil The devils don't lock on hell Interesting devils are worried about paying a guy who's already on the wrong side of 30 Who historically has not been a very good playoff goalie and You're gonna have that cap it for a long time Even with the cap going up I just You got to remember and yes, I know that he was ridiculous in the Olympics When he won the heart trophy two years ago They Almost lost in the first round as the president strofy winner to the st. Osprey's because of him

25:03They'd to get bailed out by a buzzer beater and then they just got blasted in the next round anyway But Jeff Merrick brings up that if Buffalo Sabers acquire Conor hellbuck Could there be a potential acquisition Of either Alex Lyon or UPL Because you go into the season with Alan Dawes who I think there still is something that the devils goalie coaching has just been Helaicis for the last however many years with David Gaulsky was Fitzgerald's guy and now they have Ted Lawongo in the Is it no oh my god, it's Leo Lawgo. I'm thinking of Ted Denado who is the other assistant coach We brought in as the old coach of Harvard Leo Lawongo is in of course the brother of Roberto as the goalie coach and Director of goal tending development. So we'll see what happens with Him and then Riddick obviously he is just Appeared what if but he's cheap

26:06But if you bring in Alex Lyon and Jay and or UPL and you have a ucopeca luke and I just want to say his full name because I was like I could pronounce this and Jay Gallantan and then I feel a lot better Or you have a lion in Alan Tana. I feel a lot better So maybe that's something that could happen but at the same time Sonny's worked in silence So everything that's been floated around about what the devils are trying to do has not happened and then things have happened that we haven't heard anything about so I don't know Yes, I need matter was a really interesting GM to kind of watch from a distance um Because obviously there was the famous story about that was it was just a brat that he had Second on his overall draft board and he finally convinced the devils to take him in the seventh round and obviously turned into Well the player that he is now, so you know that that'll get you a non-derror amount of of leverage I feel like if you were right about this one guy and I just

27:08He feels like a guy that Could make a bond and we talked about this a little bit off my right if I don't know what his vision is But I am willing to let him work on his vision right and you know The devils could be very very different a year from now, which I think is going to be interesting to look at I think the trade deadline this year it fair in a position to buy at the deadline Things are going to go off the rails because then then the cap space opens up the 18 mil at the deadline You also have three first rounders in the next two years Because of the nematry already used one on luke of angelesda They have a lot of room to maneuver and it seems like they're trying to bridge the gap between competing short-term and competing long-term which is Why I'm a little bit tepid on how about like if they get him all Obviously over them on because he's my guy. I'll play the yeah, I always wanted him like yeah, but

28:16But we show yeah, he doesn't he doesn't necessarily feel like the the last piece no for the devils No Whereas he feels a little bit like the last piece for the savers in a way, you know But it could it could get interesting Um, let's let's wrap up. We talked about this a little bit earlier on in the episode of where you think the devils are gonna I'm gonna land in the in the metropolitan division because I've kind of talked about this on on my show with time Um to make the playoffs in the metro. It feels like you're gonna have to be third or above Because the Atlantic is insane How confident are you in the devils being a playoff team? Or do you think it's gonna be a case of they finished fourth in the metro and end up just on the outside I think it finished third in the metro now with It's very rare where there's one move that has me completely changed my mind But going out and getting evangelista has changed my mind. I think the New Jersey devils are a playoff team third in the metro

29:21Interesting I I have the devils for a peak behind the curtain I have the devils of one of the teams that the bluejackets are gonna have to fight with They're playing on spot You know, Caroline are I think is gonna be the the team to beat in the metro Washington is due to Washington's interesting to me Pittsburgh is due to take a step back Mm-hmm Philadelphia who knows I don't I don't think much is coming from the New York the two New York teams For me it's the bluejackets are gonna have to fight with the devils the penguins And the capitals for second and third in the metro. I think those Have to fight it out for those two spots. So it's gonna That's really interesting Yeah, and it could be again the based on how the bluejacket to finish their last two seasons It could be decided on the final day of the season. Yeah, we designed my game 84. So who knows Kind of fun to have meaningful hockey all the way through April, but hopefully You don't get to the end of it and you're like

30:21Again, damn it Um for people who want to let me keep up with the devils Uh, where can people find you on your show online Zach? You can find me at Lockdown Devils. It's the name of my show Also at Zach Brett Ferman on Twitter. I I'm pretty active. So Orb my ad on Twitter from the show, which is at Lockdown Devils. Jay. Thank you so much for bringing me on man I really appreciate it. Yeah, for sure. This was this was great Again, I pay a medium amount of attention to the devils because they're in the division But not nearly as much as you know as you or any other devils fans So I love to get these kind of like inside Point of view that's not just me being like well this guy was terrible when the bluejackets played the devils But this guy was really good and sometimes guys are just bad against the certain team or good against certain teams So I love to get the inside the inside knowledge Um, I'm gonna have another one at least for a lot of bluejackets listeners tomorrow I believe it's gonna be the Washington capitals, but I can't 100% confirm that right now Thank you for listening making us your first listen today every single day

31:24Lockdown bluejackets free available on our podcast platforms. We're over on YouTube. We're at l.o underscore bluejackets on Twitter as well Thank you to Zach for coming to hang out and talk a little bit of devils hockey We'll have to do this when our teams face each other in a regular season and Thank you once again for listening and until tomorrow make sure you stay locked on You Thank you for making locked on your first listen every day For your second listen go find locked on fantasy hockey Steal rodon and flip living stone provide daily fantasy tips to give you the edge over your league mates All while making you a smarter hockey fan Find locked on fantasy hockey on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts Part of the locked on podcast network your team every day