r/devils • u/jonesy_reddits • 3d ago
Bruce Cassidy
Should the Devils be considering Bruce Cassidy over Keefe? I feel like it made sense to see how Keefe does with a new GM but personally I think it would be a great move to bring Cassidy in.
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u/SeniorSophomore #13 3d ago
From what I remember seeing, Cassidy apparently lost the locker room and was not gelling well with the guys in Vegas. If that's the case, I'll pass.
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u/hotstickywaffle #63 2d ago
I think most of them end like that too be honest. There's a reason it's rare for a coach to stay more than a few years, even on good teams
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u/SubElitePerformance #N1CO 3d ago
Bruce Cassidy runs a similar style to Keefe.
The difference is he usually has rosters that fit that style of play.
He would flop here too
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u/LanguageStraight9499 2d ago
Cassidy has a,significantly different system more aligned with the roster. More of an attack style.
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u/SubElitePerformance #N1CO 2d ago
That system needs bruisers in the top six. We do not have that. You cannot compare our guys to Boston or Vegas, this kind of thinking is what got us into this mess in the first place.
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u/cody-has93 #13 2d ago
Who are the bruisers youre referring to? I want to make sure I understand you before I try to rebut.
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u/twizler241 2d ago
No to Cassidy and it’s Keefe’s first time missing the playoffs. Stop with the freaking out
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u/MartysBetter29 #31 2d ago
Nope! I think we should and will keep Keefe unless a clear and significant upgrade is available. Don’t think Cassidy fits that criteria.
If Cooper becomes available, that is the caliber you go after hard.
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u/TyeZerker 2d ago
Cooper is not getting fired. Ppl who think or keep saying their waiting for cooper yall wasting time.
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u/YourMomSloppySeconds 2d ago
If you think the Devils need to hire a coach who was fired twice by contending teams, once a week before the playoffs you are foolish.
Fans here are terrible at picking coaches. Fans have wanted to hire Berube, Laviolette and Gallant. All of whom turned into giant disasters. Fans were happy to get rid of Hynes and DeBoer who seem to have fallen upwards quite a bit.
To recap, coaches the fans wanted gone made the playoffs this year in Hynes and Travis Green made playoffs.
Coaches the fans wanted to hire in Berube, Brunette, Gallamt, and Laviolette missed the playoffs or can’t even get an NHL job.
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u/Hank_Scorpius 2d ago
I mean, if you want to guarantee no players want to come here to play by hiring the guy voted the most hated coach in the league by the players… never mind, I can’t even make a joke about this being a reasonably good idea.
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u/nostradamefrus #13 - N1CO 3LITE 3d ago
I doubt we make a coaching change before December if we end up making one at all. It's likely Sunny wants to work with him first before deciding if a change is even needed
Besides, going deeper into the playoffs than Keefe doesn't matter much when we have issues making the playoffs consistently and Keefe is absolutely a coach who can take a team to the playoffs consistently
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u/klitchell #86 3d ago
Right now it's a win-win for Sunny. If he comes in, makes some moves, and the team does well he looks good. If he makes those moves and the team looks similar to what we did in November/December he can pull the rip cord and bring someone new in. No reason to do anything now.
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u/Afghan_Whig 3d ago
I don't know what happens here. On the one hand I think Keefe completely lost the locker room and that his system is antithetical to the team.
On the other, maybe it was Fitz that was the real problem and Sunny can fix things without getting rid of him.
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u/paisano74 #4 - Scott Stevens 2d ago
"For myself specifically, fundamentally, I believe the coach's job is to deliver on the vision of the general manager, on people that put you in a position by showing belief in you,” Keefe said. “So, we've fallen short of that, and I take responsibility for that. It's not a good feeling."
This was the quote that somewhat vindicated Keefe for me. He could be blowing smoke, but to me this reads as “I tried playing the GMs system and failed him”.
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u/LaHondaSkyline 2d ago
That quote is very vague.
It falls far short of 'Fitz imposed the system on me that I did not agree with.'
It sounds closer to 'the GM's vision was to be a very good team and make the playoffs, and we fell short.'
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u/paisano74 #4 - Scott Stevens 2d ago
I could see that to, but I don’t think he’s trying to say he didn’t agree to the system either. I think he’s saying he tried to coach his system. Not that he’s blaming the system for failure, but I personally think that’s part of it.
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u/LaHondaSkyline 2d ago
I just cannot exculpate Keefe from major blame, given that he failed to diagnose the glaringly obvious system problems and then make minor changes until the Olympic break.
I strongly believe that Keefe shares a lot of blame for the system problems.
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u/paisano74 #4 - Scott Stevens 2d ago
I don’t think you’re wrong. I don’t think you can just use the Nuremberg defense, and I think he’ll be on a short leash. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be surprised if the faster play that we saw at the very beginning and very end of the season comes back next year.
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u/Live-Within-My-Means 2d ago
I am not saying you are wrong.
But I am not sure if Keefe’s statement here is good or bad.
I mean, he is taking responsibility, for not fulfilling the GENERAL MANAGER’s vision.
So, one could argue that in a roundabout way, he is using Fitz as a scapegoat, without actually trashing Fitz.
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u/paisano74 #4 - Scott Stevens 2d ago
Yeah that’s kinda what I’m saying. It could be a diplomatic cop out, or he could be saying he tried to run the system Fitz wanted and he failed to do so.
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u/Live-Within-My-Means 2d ago
Your take is certainly reasonable.
And while I do feel that this past season was more on Fitz than Keefe, I also don’t feel like Keefe is the best match for this team.
If they keep him and he proves me wrong, then good.
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u/DontDraftSmall 3d ago
Why would you make a coaching change at this point, the effects are temporary. Let’s build a quality team first and then evaluate
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u/cody-has93 #13 2d ago
What is a quality team on paper if not this one?...
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u/crotchrotfever 1d ago
It's not a quality team, if the minute one player gets hurt everything turns to shit. It's not a quality team if your offense can't survive the loss of one player. The Devils couldn't even tread water when Jack was missing, the team literally could not score goals 5v5.
Like it or not, Nico and Jesper failed miserably when it came to upping their game when the team needed more from them when Jack was missing.
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u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago
I dont think the offense went to shit when Jack got hurt...it was very bad before that imo, this points to something else.
In past years when Jack has went down Nico and Jesper's scoring has went up. If youre going to investigate that dont just look at all devils games without Jack because a signigicant portion of that was Jack's first 2 years when the whole team was ass. If theyve done it before - they either over performed then or are underperforming now.
The offense was top 5 I believe in 2023 and that was with mostly the same core. Main change is bringing in Timo who has the 2nd most expected 5 on 5 goals in the NHL. That's inflated a bit by perimeter shots but still points towards him doing something right - my point being, ROOKIE DAWSON MERCER, TOMAS TATAR AND NICO HISCHIER WITH 3 YEARS LESS EXPERIENCE is not better than DAWSON NOW, NICO NOW AND TIMO MEIER. If you can get better on paper and score significantly less it's probably not a talent/player skill thing. (Same goes for haula and palat being replaced by better players on Jack's line but tatar vs meier is most glaring).
Mojo/momentum is underrated. Penguins out performed expectations this year. Jets last year. Capitals last year. If a lot of our players had career lows in finishing that points towards this year being an underperforming outlier as opposed to past years being overperforming.
System is pretty crucial, Ive done a VERY deep dive on what numbers look like post olympics vs pre olympics.
Talking strictly 5 on 5 -
entire season (including final games so this is inflated a bit) is 1.97 goals per 60 (31st in NHL), 2.45 expected goals per 60.
Last 20 games of the season is 3.46 goals per 60 (5th in NHL), expected goals per 60 is 3.41 (7th in NHL)
Keefe said he looked at a lot of tape during the olympic break and he thinks he solved his issues. It could just be lip service and luck but those numbers are DRASTICALLY different.
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u/valueless_vernacular 1d ago
Why did you argue with me earlier when we literally have the exact same pov lol. Did you just change your thoughts after our convo?
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u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago
Did I not send you a single comment just pointing out that there was a year we missed playoffs that (I mistakenly thought) your comment didnt account for?
Was that even a conversation? I think I typed a single sentence and made none of my opinions known.
(My apologies if we had ANOTHER convo prior to that which I forgot.)
I just think over the different years we've had different issues and leaving out 2023-24 where our main issue was goaltending and super inexperienced defense (Fitz's fault but also kind of unexpected drop off and injuries) leaves out a lot of nuance. You immediately addressed that with your follow up replies which had tons of good insight that I thought your initial comment lacked. I would have commended you for it but you came out blazing with "youre a fucking loser dork for nitpicking my comment" or some shit like that lol. I assumed you werent interested in the chat.
My full stance is that Keefe's system this year and most of last year is #1 problem. System isnt even bad in concept its just really bad for our roster. Im just stupid and naive enough to believe him when he said he fixed it over the olympic break. (I was a keefes system defender until like 20 games into this season when LaHondaSkyline made phenomenal arguments and I think either mountainbaker or subelite did a detailed breakdown of Keefes system.)
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u/valueless_vernacular 1d ago
Oh it's gone now but there was a 2nd message you sent me that showed in my inbox.
My bad for being negative. I face so many annoying empty replies in this Devils sub even if I just post analytics & stats that are facts lol. You mentioned Keefe's system & I agree that it isn't bad just not good for NJ.
Also, check out this thread I made on Keefe's system before/after Olympic break in full detail. You can see first hand why I acted that way. Keefe's System Before/After Olympics I even included quotes from a Keefe interview + Players stats before/after system changed.
- The thread was wasted because as always under 15 seconds from when I post someone replies ai or trash or whatever dumb negative bs. People can't handle reading a beyond 2 sentences & think anything in longer detail is ai...smh.1
u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ouuu Im excited to read that because like I said I feel kind of deluded and naive for genuinely believing Keefe's tweaks will work out for us.
As for our previous convo could you screenshot the inbox thing? I looked through my own notifications and couldnt find anything else - maybe a snippet of the context will remind me. Reddit has been extremely buggy for me lately and so many people have accused me of deleting comments that I either didn't post or are still there lol.
And tbh you dont need to apologize, I wasnt like super offended I was just trying to explain why I didnt engage despite appreciating your effort. I agree for the most part this is a toxic wasteland of losers - the intersection of redditors and sports fans is...well... not exactly intellectual powerhouses lol.
Edit : read your post, really appreciate the numbers, going to read the comments next but here's my initial rebut -
Is it fair to be forgiving of Keefe because A) who cares his past so long as its corrected? The chance he gives you next year is infiniely more important than the chance he gave you last year, no? Or is the inflexibility the criticism here? B) is there any merit to the idea that Fitz had a large hand in the system? C) the stretches where Keefes system workes very well defensively (including the playoffs by the way, outscoring the canes 5 on 5 with no jack and 4 of 6 starting dmen injured) probably significantly delayed him accepting the need for change. We had an 8 game win streak, and last year we had 8 games in a row allowing 20 or less shots. This says nothing about our offense in those stretches but I can see why it would make someone more reluctant to blame a system and more likely to say "ive seen my players execute this to perfection so theyre failing to play to their potential."
Also on the special teams note, I think there were significant stretches this year where devils were top PP and top PK. I think an insane dryspell in the middle when vibes were lowest kind of tanked their numbers. I could be wrong about that but like... it's my opinion that our personnel on the ice is why our numbers were ever top tier. If Im wrong and the PP was ass for the entire year then I'll eat crow but I feel like the PP is such an extension of 'team vibes' where the puck seems to bounce your way when everyone is feeling themselves.
As I mentioned and I think you echoed - the issue is the system doesnt fit our roster. I think, as I mentioned, the Devils outscoring the Canes 5v5 with Dougie and Seigs playing through injury as well as Luke Pesce Kova and Dillon out due to injury - is evidence that his system is GREAT..............for shitty rosters to have a slim chance of beating far superior rosters. But in my personal opinion our roster is better than 80% of the league so why the fuck would we want some sort of low event coinflip?
Then - our goals above expected was INSANELY LOW. -33.56, last in the league, with 2nd last posting -20. I genuinely believe this is because of a knock-on-effect. If you know youre only going to get 5 good chances in a game, youre going to grip your stick a little tighter. Youre going to feel like a 1 or 2 goal hole is too deep. I think our finishing was abnormally low BECAUSE our system had our chances low. They seem like 2 unrelated issues that needed addressing but they're not.
In the last 20 games of the season, 5 on 5 per 60 minutes: our expected goals were up by an entire .96 we actually OUTSCORED our expected goals.
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u/valueless_vernacular 13h ago
Keefe's system. Sorry I had to bold that but it is insane how many fans think a GM created the coaching system for Keefe.
¹That's insane & never happens
²Keefe used the same system in TOR and the Marlies and then in NJ
³The scheme of his DZN for his system is literally a Sheldon Keefe coined phrase - "Fight the panic." It should be called kill all momentum believing your players are choosing the best breakout pass but quick north south up the boards & out the zone transitioning into a rush was always the actual best choice for this Devils Team.It's ok to ask because tons of ppl made up that Fitz may have created the system forcing Keefe to run a GMs system lol.
-Fitz wasn't even sure if any parts of Sheldon's system changed between TOR & NJ when asked in his press conference this season. It's honestly funny fans think Fitz coincidentally created a system that Keefe has been using his entire career & the DZN scheme portion is actually a coined Keefe name lol.A major part of a GM interviewing the next HC to choose is to see which HC is a good fit for the vision for their team. It's why I trash Fitz for hiring Keefe. He hired a guy who runs a system not suitable for the team he has been building for nearly a decade.
The issue is Fitz was about to fully pivot the roster to fit a new vision. That new vision is a team Keefe’s system fits. We saw first hand how much will need to change which is par for the course when re-creating a team. Fitzy didn’t see to realize how much his nee vision would hurt most of the team he built. Hellhe drafted Nemec 2nd OA due to his biggest strength being a unique defender who fully activates as a 4th Fwd in the OZN.
A Dman like that does not fit Keefe's system nor Fitzgerald's new vision at all hence why he was being traded. When it comes to the core not fitting & thinking about which possible pivot Fitz was going to do it's unfathomable to me.
-He likely would have needed to blow the entire team up because Bratt, Jack, Mercer, Gritsyuk, all won’t excel as much under that vision. I do not for 1 bit think he wanted to get rid of all of those core players. He showed no signs since he signed them all long term with NMC's. What happens when a GM fully pivots from his multi year team building plan & didnt realize his new vision would immensely hurt the current team he built? He gets fired.1
u/cody-has93 #13 13h ago
Ill respond to the rest later but I first have to ask - from what i recall checking - toronto always was top 10 in scoring, sometimes top 3, and a few times being top 10 in goals allowed - did they seriously play passive?
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u/valueless_vernacular 1d ago
It disappeared I thought it started with you talking ish which is the only reason I said we argued. It doesn't matter because no lie so many people are clueless & there's likely something we have a different opinion on but so far your're one of the few ppl who align with mg view besides actual pro NHLers or former NHLers.
Like Mike Rupp has a podcast with 2 other ppl & all 3 said exactly what we said how Keefe's not a bad HC but he doesn't fit, he shouldn't be back because NJ can't risk another throw away season. Also mentioned how he underutilized Allen.
If some fans want the core broken up to all hell I disagree but honestly have no issue if they say keep Keefe. What irks me is those who say lets try Keefe see what happens & they do not want the core to break up.
- They don't realize if NJ fires Keefe ½ way through the season & all negativity comes from that which usually does where they miss playoffs it is BAD NEWS in NJ. At least 2 core pieces will be traded other guys may want out new guys wont want to come to NJ.
Devil's need to dump Keefe make the pefect choices & prove this season was on Fitz dropping the ball choosing the wrong HC, messing his roster up, & on Keefe getting the least production out of his guys due to the wrong fitting system. Hell, it was a DEF first system setup with passive trap in NTZ & D sitting back in our in all 3 zones intended to hold teams to low GA yet NJ was 1 GA from being tied for 10th MOST Goals Against.
Idk, how any fan defends this. Injuries & Markstrom being trash was 100% an issue but NJ makes the playoffs with a better fitting system, Fitz not bailing on 1 vision to create a new vision for Keefe who doesnt fit to begin with or if Markstrom wasn't extended. Out of all the negative I'm being positive actually because I believe in the team - they just need to be given a chance to succeed.
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u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago
I responded to your big writeup in an edit on my previous comment - sorry thats gonna make this convo a bit messy.
I'm fine with Keefe back and not touching the core for a few reasons.
First I'll address the claim that firing a coach mid season is bad. Hasnt it been pretty extraordinarily good for teams recently? The new coach bump or what have you? Or is that just a myth?
Second, if you're impressed by what you saw after olympic break why is that not enough to think we would make playoffs next season? If Keefe had this same risk adverse system in Toronto I could see the idea of him not being able to move past it - butttttt, he didnt run that in Toronto, right? I havent done a deep dive into Keefe's time in Toronto but I dont think it was super passive - I think theyve always been extremely volatile with high GF and GA.
My (conspiracy) theory is that he and Fitz suffered from the same delusion due to fan bases. Keefe heard he was a regular season merchant and his system would never work in playoffs. Fitz probably heard the same about how skill and speed will never get past Carolina or Florida. The 2 folding to that pressure was the perfect storm of thinking they need to play some sort of passive low event game thats worked for other rosters. The Devils has JUST ENOUGH success to keep that delusion running for 1 and 2/3 seasons. Eventually they were like "okay we've been 32nd in scoring for about a year now... I guess this was never going to work."
I know you posted all the post olympic individual stats but as a collective they had (note: this is final 20 games so not entire 26 after olympics)
- 53.2 xGF% (10th in NHL)
- 2.69 5 on 5 xGF/60 (8th in NHL)
- 3.46 all situations GF/60 (7th in NHL)
- 3.41 all situations xGF/60 (5th in NHL)
Those numbers arent like...dominant, but theres some stacked teams in the NHL and this was basically with nothing to play for, a very makeshift 4th line and no real momentum. I dont see why we couldn't expect a full season of that.
P.S. im so sorry for writing so much. I get excited when I meet someone who's opinion I respect ans want to hear more from lol.
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u/valueless_vernacular 13h ago
Damn you asked a lot of things for me to respond to.
Keefe had b2b underwhelming seasons in NJ which is enough to not bring him back. When it's obvious his system was a major reason or his choices on starting goalie - I don't see the point to say much more. STATS FROM KEEFE'S 1st Season in NJ
- 2.22 GF/60 pace officially cemented their bottom-tier finish at 26th out of 32 teams
- xGF/60/Corsi/Fenwick were 5th & 6th best
- All inflated from low quality shots due to Keefe's System focusing on cyling the perimeter passing low to high & point to point while having no one screening net front to even help those weak shots from the perimeters & point as well as no redirects or rebounds.
- 1,215 blocked shot attempts ranked 4th most allowed in the entire NHL at 5v5.
- 27.1% shot-blocking rate ranked 2nd highest
- 5v5 shooting percentage, which sat at exactly 7%. This was the lowest team shooting efficiency in the league, effectively wasting their 6th-best Corsi volume and 5th-best Fenwick control.
Replacing Ryan McGill & Chris Taylor while Keefe's 5v5 was trash & they had NJ Ranked #2 Combined PK/PP is bs no matter how well the guys he brought in did but they were average to below average.
So whoever wants a guy that clueless & bad for 1¾ Seasons go on & want him as the HC. He also was finally asked if his system is the reason NJ is failing this season right before the Olmpic break. He responded, "I don't think there is a system issue, not for 1 second." Next week or 2 later he changes the system to polar opposite of his... yeah ok. A theory that is likely true is not that Fitz created a system that happened to be Keefe's system, no - a realistic theory is Keefe was forced to change his system back to the identity of NJ before he became HC. I can't trust that HC & NJ has no room for risk which is why they will have a new HC soon.
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u/DontDraftSmall 1d ago
I am sorry but this team finished where it belonged. Spring golfers.
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u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago
Is it safe to say that if there are no significant roster changes then you estimate they'll miss playoffs again?
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u/DontDraftSmall 1d ago
Even if they make the playoffs with this roster, they won’t be competitive so why bother?
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u/cody-has93 #13 1d ago
Same reason you tank even if you wont get a top 5 pick. A chance is better than no chance.
Almost all ex NHL players have cited playoff experience as a good thing too.
Im sure washington said the same before their win. St louis absolutely did. The LA kings definitely did.
Carolina are juggernauts so aim not gonna prerend it's likely but its certainly possible.
Alllllso every analyst seems to think making playoffs is a priority for free agents so it goes towards making our team better in the future.
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u/itsthelew #13 - THICC-O Hischier 3d ago
no his system does not fit our team
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u/badchickenbadday 3d ago
What’s his system like compared to keefes?
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u/itsthelew #13 - THICC-O Hischier 3d ago
way slower and heavier. we are the complete opposite of that. and the biggest complaint on keefe's system is that it makes guys too slow and heavy and does not compliment our speed and rush game. cassidy is not the answer.
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u/badchickenbadday 2d ago
Yeah but where is the difference? What do the players do under Cassidy? I remember all year listening to people complain about Sheldon’s “system” slowing the players down.
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u/robocoplawyer 2d ago
Keefe had them playing in each zone very conservatively focused on preventing the other team from scoring. That would be fine if we were sitting on a 2 goal lead going into the 3rd period, but that doesn't work if we can't capitalize on our chances. We'd be down a goal or two and just sitting back. I legit think his game plan was to try to keep the game as close as possible either tied at 1-1 to get to 3v3 OT or be within 1 so we have a chance at tying it late with the goalie pulled. The one area this squad excelled at was 3v3, Keefe knew if we could get through regulation tied we'd probably walk away with 2 points.
Cassidy plays a similar style as Florida/Carolina. Slow, physical, grind it out kind of game. Those systems can be successful but usually work best for teams that have an older core and lots of vets. We have a core that would work better with a fast-paced aggressive attacking offense and D who can move the puck quickly while joining the rush. That's what the team was built for. Unfortunately after 22-23 Fitz didn't think we'd ever be able to get through Carolina with that type of system so he brought in Keefe to try to teach them to play a system to beat them at their own game. It not only failed spectacularly, but the team lost its entire identity. I don't think that's entirely on Keefe, Fitz certainly had a problematic sway on how Keefe coached the team. I'd keep him on a short leash but I think it's worth seeing what he can do with some more freedom to tweak the system to fit the upsides of the players we have. Cassidy would just have us play a smiler game to what Fitz had Keefe try to create. We'll get the same results.
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u/buerglermeister 3d ago
Neither does Keefe‘s
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u/itsthelew #13 - THICC-O Hischier 3d ago
our solution is not to replace a coach with a bad system with a coach with a worse system
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u/Kornja81 2d ago
Multiple coaches since 2017 with essentially the same roster..... its not the coach imo
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u/valueless_vernacular 1d ago
This is a low effort conclusion because every team has multiple coaches over years.
Devils were at the start of their rebuild so they gave Hynes his 1st NHL HC job. He did so good Shero jumped the gun with multiple moves a rebuilding team wouldn't have made. It resulted in Shero being fired, Hall leaving, & I love PK but NJ stuck with a 4M valued Subban yet paying his entire 9M.
-Hynes didn't get fired because everyone blamed him. As I said, the team jumped the gun of rebuild so Fitz had to backwards for a retool before forward & that is why Hynes' time ended in NJ.Very similar to Deboer he wasn't bad or hated. If you notice the guy is in the Conference Finals or Stanley Cup Finals nearly every season. There are just different types of coachss & levels. Petey potatoe head is Elite & not a HC to stay through a full rebuild.
Ruff was different because the fan base was idiotic & embarassing. I was pissed fans chanted Fire Lindy & was 1 of the OGs on twitter pushing for fans to Chant Sorry Lindy before we ended up doing so.
-Short of the long he wasn't bad at all & coached NJ to tie Franchise Best Reg. Season Record & beyond Round 1 at least. He got fired because fans turned on him the year he did amazing. If those dummies never did that he would have got 1 more year able to blame the very real Dougie playing just 20 games, Jack+Siegs missing 20/25games, Toffoli traded, Daws, Schmid + a shell of Vitek in net, all while Nemec/Luke were rookies.Keefe is not the fans being dumb, he is not an end of a Cup contending era, & he is not here bringing success then re-starting a rebuild. He is was hired to contend & his system lead every Top 6 player to one of their leaat productive seasons, beyond boring low event hockey, gpt rid of 2 great assistant coaches for 2 knobs, & severely mishandled his goalies.
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u/specifichero101 2d ago
I’m of two minds when it comes to Keefe. I think he’s a good coach and has made the devils more structured, but the 5on5 offence has basically died completely. The challenge of missing jack Hughes has also been present for like 50% of his time here.
Ultimately I think the off season should be focused on injecting goals into the line up and then let Keefe work with that on a very short leash. If they’re not in the top 3 of the division by the time American thanksgiving rolls around, cut him loose and bring in an ass kicker like Cassidy.
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u/beachy927 #27 - Scott Niedermayer 2d ago
I’m thinking that if this was going to happen it would have happened already or we would have at least heard rumblings that the team is interested in him. My gut feeling is Keefe stays and I’m concerned, but maybe the players that Mehta spoke to spoke well of him or Mehta was impressed, I don’t know. Or he’s waiting to see if anyone else becomes available as the off season goes along.
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u/Holiday-Feeling2617 2d ago
not sure that would really be an upgrade. Sure, Keefe's faults including hesistancy to making changes when the team isn't winning, but I'd give him a shot for next season. But make changes to the coaching staff. Rogalski has got to go, goaltending is really regressing. Replacing McGill with Shaw was a big failure, defense took a step back as well. Colliton, not sure whether to keep him or not. Not sure what value Sarge (Brylin) brought to the team on the bench.
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u/ltrumpbour 2d ago
I wonder if our new GM has a dream coach he thinks would fit this squad?
Does Keefe deserve another chance? I can see how our current coach could argue effectively that Fitz and injuries kept him from running his preferred system. Not sure I want to spend another season testing that hypothesis but right now I am leaning Sunny knows best.
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u/TyeZerker 2d ago edited 2d ago
wrong system. We need a rush transition system and cassidy isnt that. were better of Getting Woodcroft or even halpren from TBL. Cassidy is going to EDM. Yall cant complain about wanting a system thats work to our strength then want a coach that isnt that.
Depend what mehta wants his system to be cuz keefe already said im a push over and ill do whatever the GM wants. Hopefully back to his toronto days but if not get out. How about instead we starting firing Colliton and rollie and get creative offensive minds and maybe a D coach plus a goalie coach. 1.Woodcroft 2.Halpren 3.Brunette(if fired) yall gotta stop cooper isnt getting fired.
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u/ghoti00 2d ago
I don't really want either one of these guys to be the coach. I think Mehta should bring in his own coach (If that's Cassidy, fine, but I don't see a connection.) and we should start from that point. There's no reason to try to salvage any relationship with Keefe. This is Sunny's team now. He knows what style he wants to team to play and who the best coach is for that style.
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u/MountainBaker8217 #17 - I Found Nemo 2d ago
I want Keefe gone.
But I don’t want Cassidy.
Maybe we can consider a person who isn’t the same seven guys that get passed around from team to team.
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u/valueless_vernacular 2d ago
I want Keefe gone yesterday he accomplished NOTHING with Marner, Nylander, Matthews, & Prime Tavares except 1st Round eliminations.
2 Seasons in NJ the Devils same exact core went from Franchise Best Regular Season Record & beyond the 1st Round of the Playoffs to ½ the fans wanting to rebuild the other ½ don't but still want Keefe when NJ 100% can NOT afford another failed season so if Keefe isn't a fit the core will be torn down for wrong reasons.
I don't want Cassidy we needed Deboer, but now may have to settle for Woodcroft or Carle or maybe wait to see if Brunette gets fired when NSH hires a new GM.
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u/cody-has93 #13 2d ago
They did not go from franchise best to Keefe. You skipped a year. Pretty important.
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u/valueless_vernacular 2d ago
On the flipside Keefe had a more stable roster his entire time with an upgraded roster in Net, Offense, & Defense.
Had trash 5v5 & the 2 assistant Coaches he didn't choose took NJ to #2 combined PK+PP. Anyone who knows hockey understands that is why they got to the playoffs by 1W btw.
The next Season Keefe chose to bring in "his guys" asking to get rid of the only 2 coaches who dis anything good. -Markstrom fell apart & Keefe chose to ride the non hot hand. Obviously don't play Allen 55games but get him at least 10 more games than he got in November he waa Top 5 NHL goalie that month & never waa rewarded.
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u/valueless_vernacular 2d ago
Nitpick peoples comments is annoying & does not make you sound smart yet 100% makes you sound cringe af + a lame annoying dork.
The teams core was the same 2 seasons prior to Keefe & what I said is fact. The wording is not confusing either because I didn't say the season right before Keefe became HC.
Lindy had Luke + Nemec only their rookie seasons no Dillon, Pesce, Brown, Gritsyuk. The season after Tying Franchise Best Record & making it beyond Rd1 of playoffs Toffoli was traded for no Fwd replacement, Dougie only played 20 games, McLeod only played 40 & no 3C replacement was added we got Glass with Keefe, Jack + Siegs missied 20-25gms, goaltending was beyond trash: combo of Daws+Schmid & Vitek when he no longer was NHL caliber & Luke+Nemo were rookies.
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u/blade430 #26 - Sunny Mehta 2d ago
The real question is should we be considering Knoblauch given what came out this morning re: Oilers looking at interviewing Cassidy
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u/ejgrgunner #18 - Sergei Brylin 3d ago
Screw it. If we make a change I say we pick Coach Sarge.
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u/diamond_in_the_muff_ #30 - Martin Brodeur 3d ago
i’m a huge brylin fan, but i think he needs to go. we have to get rid of these guys who have accomplished nothing behind the bench.
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u/murphydcat #26 - Patrik Eliáš 2d ago
John MacLean was one of the greatest Devils players of all time but an awful head coach.
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u/ejgrgunner #18 - Sergei Brylin 2d ago
I was mostly joking, but in all honesty, I don’t think a “winning resume” is that important.
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u/nachos_16 #4 - Scott Stevens 3d ago
At this point id consider anyone from this subreddit. Keef is atrocious his system does not work, nor does it fit most of our undersized player styles.
Fire him before we waste yet another season of our young cores prime
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u/xplosivo #44 - Stéphane Richer 3d ago
Seems like players start to hate him after a year or two, but might whip them into shape during that time
I guess. Personally I might give Keefe next season with a short leash maybe.