My Final Episode of Locked On Devils

My Final Episode of Locked On Devils

Guys, it is my final episode of being a part of the Locked On podcast network and I’m joined alongside my two good friends who have made big contributions on this platform, Jersey Joe and Jim Bearinger. There’s so much to discuss on today’s episode of Locked On Devils. So, for the final time, buckle buckle up everybody. You’re Locked on Devils, your daily podcast on the New Jersey Devils, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hi, this is Bryce Salvador and you’re Locked on Devils with Trey Matthews. Scores. Oh, Steven, nailed it. Got the puck. What a shot. The Devils win the Stanley Cup. All righty. Now, what is up, New Jersey? Welcome back to the Locked On Devils podcast here at the Lockdown Network. I’m your host, college hockey club play announcer, Dallas Ryer Pucks Pitchforks, and also part-time uh credentialed media member Trey Matthews. I almost slipped up on my own intro. I mean, it it’s hard to believe. It’s it’s hard to believe, guys. Um I’ll I’ll introduce my guest in a moment, but this is not clickbait. This is not fake news. This is not a joke. This is my final episode being a part of the Locked On podcast network. And to harp on the uh good times and to uh say goodbye my final curtain call, I’ve brought on some people who have made big contributions on this platform the past five years. You know him. Joseph Stannislaw aka Jersey Joe. He’s essentially been my my co-host um for all these years. He’s on so frequently, always giving his insight for prospects and doing his Sasquatch analytics. And the other guy, Jim Bearinger from Full Press Hockey, one of the more underrated credentialed media members out there. Jim and I have traveled across the country together covering the Devils. He’s been a big help for me in the press box. He’s always had my back and I I’ve always had his. Um guys, I have no notes for this. Um first time I’ve brought both of you on at the same time and it took till the final episode to do so. Uh there there’s no other guys I would have rather brought on to to say goodbye. First and foremost, how you guys doing? We’ll start with you, Jersey Joe. Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s been five years. Um, from the moment I had you on Hezop Hockey with Jim and uh, seeing you grow to this day, I I just can’t believe, you know, how successful you pulled this off, you know, building this podcast for Locked On. Um, if there’s a prospect out there who’s making it big, it’s you. I’m not joking. Jim can say the same thing. And cheers to what you’ve done. I’ I’ve said I’ve said a lot. Jim, you’re on next. Yeah. I mean, look, uh, Trey, it’s been great to be on here. We have to talk, bring some moves down, break some rumors down, try to calm down this Devil’s fan base because, you know, they can get a little eccentric a little bit. Um, we all we all see the tire fire that it is on Twitter sometimes. But, I mean, it’s it’s been great to be on here. It’s awesome. Uh, so awesome to talk with you all the time at a press box. we go through all these events. Uh I just say I’m honored to be here doing it. Uh I guess as they say in wrestling business, the last time is now. Last time is now. Um I don’t know where to begin, honestly. And it’s going to be so weird not having to like, you know, plan episodes or things like that. And because it’s very taxing. I don’t think a lot of people realize like a a lot goes into and you guys could speak on this. A lot goes into this job, which is, you know, having to plan, having to work on scheduling things like that, reaching out to potential guest stars. It’s it’s not always easy. And some of the guest stars I do bring on, you you don’t see the weeks of talking with the PR department saying like, can we do it this day? What what’s the schedule look like? People don’t see that side of um uh of the coin. But um Jersey Joe, let’s just uh start with uh memories like where do we begin? My god. So I remember over five years ago when Jim and I had you come on after I had um what was his name? uh Will Scouch from Scout Scouching uh after that time and we started talking about um the the LOLs of the Devils at the time were starting to come back to Earth in 2020 and trying to build from the rebuilding phase and you have some really interesting sayings. I’m like this guy has some really interesting, you know, moderation but he also has a good vision for his podcast that he’s doing. I’m like, “This guy’s gonna be a superstar regardless of being a podcaster or going professional. I love listening to him. I like what he has to say. And I really find that not only are you a great storyteller, you are a great pres like presenter of everything you do.” I appreciate that. Um, Jim, you got anything else to add? I mean, I think he took the words right out of my mouth. I think the presentation’s great. I mean, this is a great network. Uh, lucky to be on so many times. I mean, the content you come up with is is unbelievable. Keeping the Devils fan base uh in check. I know I got friends of mine who listen. Um, good friend of mine really listens to uh she goes, she’s like, “Oh, you heard that? Locked on Devils.” I was like, “Yeah, I know Trey. He’s a good dude. Uh, he’s making it big. Uh, he’s working his ass off like he’s supposed to.” And, uh, you see it’s coming. Hard work does pay off, uh, gentlemen. and you see it, you know, hard a lot of hard work in this business. Like you said, there’s a lot of stuff that goes behind the scenes that people don’t see. Um, and it’s tough to plan these episodes out every day or you do however how many times you do it during the week. It’s tough to get everything squared away, but it’s always been fun to be on here when we have to talk devils. I will throw this in here like um there were times where Jim would tell me inside scoops about like oh this person is about to be on the chopping block and I would text you uh Trey. I give you a little inside. I would say source says uh this person’s about to get it and you know he goes h all right and then all of a sudden like um I remember finally getting to meet you in person. I want to buy you a beer that one night at um Marcato tomato pie or rag next door what they would be uh it’s um was what’s it now called next to what used to be Edison A house but anyways I got I got you a slice of pizza so I I you said I don’t want to show up drunk. Yeah, I I uh technically I’m working like when I go to the games, so I don’t want to even get a little buzzed like I I just avoid alcohol in general. Uh but you know, if it was like on my off day or if I was just going as a fan, absolutely. I remember a fan even say like, “Can I buy you a beer?” And I said, “Unfortunately, no. I’m tech technically working and I don’t want to be seen with alcohol on the job. That’s not a good look.” Um, so I guess like you guys shared some nice memories of me. Let me share some nice memories of you guys. Um, Jersey Joe, the I think the best way to describe you is chaotic good. That’s the best way. That’s the best way I could describe you because you do have some great insight and I always go to you when I need some uh information when it comes to a prospect or scouting because I’ve I’ve I’ve admitted on my show I’m not really the best when it comes to analyzing prospects. I’ll read the scouting report but I can’t really get a good gauge. Will this player be special? Will this player just, you know, suit up in a few minor league games and just go overseas? I I I really don’t know. but you always pull through and I appreciate that. You also brought in your Sasquatch analytics and saying this player can lay a lot of hits or do that. But on top of that, you’re not afraid to stir the pot a little bit. I remember uh a few uh seasons ago, Devils playoffs, they were down 200 in the series and you said they should drop the mitts and start a line brawl and I said absolutely not. That’s not going to solve anything. uh and you just open up a can of worms or recently you said Arseni Gritzio will put up like Sydney Crosby numbers in his first year and rack up 30 plus goals. I highly doubt it but I think Gritzio is going to be a good prospect. That’s the best way I could describe you and our relationship. Right. Well, it’s not like I hype up every prospect. Like there are there’s every few players out of like let’s say five, seven, 10 picks you make, only a handful of players may pull it off. So, it’s like as someone who articulates and if I see a trend in a player who reminds me of a player of a star player and I love the way they play, it’s worth it for me in the end. Jim, uh, my favorite memory of you is like always coming into the press box and seeing you there. We always sat next to each other. Y and I always said going back to what Jersey Joe said, uh Jim is very underrated when it comes to credentialed media members. Like I remember we were in Vegas for uh the draft and he told me he said Trey Brett Peshy is going to sign with the Devils because they went through and traded away John Marino. So they’re going to get Brett Peshy. I think he also mentioned Brendan Dylan. Lo and behold, the very next day, it’s announced that Brett Peshy and Brendan Dylan signed with the Devils. Jim, a lot of people don’t know this. Technically, he was the first one to break the news that Sheldon Keith was going to become the head coach for the Devils. He said it was a handshake agreement and they still have to do some other stuff to make it official, but it it basically barring anything catastrophic happening, it was going to be Sheldon Keefe. And I gave him credit on social media. I said, “Yeah, I mean, look, I see a lot of other hockey media members saying like Sheldon Keefe to be the head coach, but I said, “No, Jim Bearinger technically technically he was the first one to report it.” No, I know. I appreciate that. Like, I appreciate everybody who does that for me. Yeah. I mean, look, there’s a lot of stuff I’ve told you guys off the air and on the air about things and on social media about that what goes on with the Devils and other teams. And look, you know, we all kind of, you know, I kind of had a pulse on on what happened, you know, when Lindy Ruff was down in Buffalo after that West Coast trip. I had a feeling that something was going to happen before they came home because you couldn’t do it. Um, you know, you talk to people, you get the right people and you figure out what’s going on. And yeah, it’s just always it was always fun to go to the draft, especially in the Vegas one. That was so fun going up and down. And you know, after I ran into our the GM in the hallway, I was speaking with you privately to the side. So that was that was fun. Um, you know, had some good conversations there. It’s always it’s always great to talk to the players, those young guys, especially when they’re coming up because you don’t know. And again, when it comes to these scouting, these young guys and these players, you just don’t know what they have. And it takes some time to, you know, develop in this league. Every time I would hear a player come up and I go, “Wait a sec. I follow this guy for a little while and I know what they have, but let me see what they got in like this prospect tournament and then let me see how they do in uh preseason camp and then um see how they progress in Udica.” Like I’m one of those people like my mom used to be a teacher and I always like to see benchmarks of how players do. Like if it’s not like someone who’s a star player in their own league, I would give like a little bit of a benchmark of like who they play similar to and what they can do better. What are they going to be like down the road in like the next two, three seasons. So that’s kind of like what I base off uh my reporting. So like when I looked at Grizz, the the highest I would go would be Capriovv and the lowest I would go would be like Brelin at that point. Like Breelin was in a different era, but maybe Brelin is a really good third liner, second liner in today’s NHL. And we’ll talk more about that momentarily. But before we continue, Jersey Joe, you want to make some extra money? Oh, I would like to. Uh, are we going to be buying some stocks around on that? Nope. Uh, something a little more fun. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. I love using FanDuel because it fits however you like to bet. Player props, building a same game parlay, or even jumping in live as the action unfolds. So, are you ready to play? Download the FanDuel app right now by visiting fanduel.com to get started. That’s fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. Please remember to always gamble responsibly. Yeah. No, I mean that that’s that’s smart. I like that promo coming in at the right time. Uh maybe the Devils need to do that a little bit more responsibly, too, when it comes to some contracts this uh this off seasonason. I just love how he just jumped right back in and as soon as I was done with the live read, he just says like, uh, you know, maybe the Devils need to, you know, gamble responsibly with their contracts. I look, I don’t care. This is my last day. I really don’t give a crap. I’m not going to get in trouble for this. What are they gonna do? What are they gonna do? Fire me? Like, I mean, look, I a play on words. Like, it’s a play on words, but like here’s the deal. Like if you look at it right and you know because people were asking me about PTO’s and guy what happened last year with a bank right and I’m trying to explain they couldn’t pay if even if they paid him 775 700,000775,000 right they would have put him through waiverss to make this work and he would have been claimed anyway so and you look at the guys that they brought in and we’ll talk about memories and everything but just for a second You look at all the guys they brought in. Where’s the cap space? Cuz Luke Hughes still isn’t signed. Non-existent. Non-existent. It doesn’t exist. And don’t forget, so and here’s the other because I was doing the math. I had I had some fun today because I was doing some math today. So now with the new, you know, cap LTIR rules because it’s not the full cap space. Don’t forget it’s 3.8 million of Kovich’s deal or, you know, god forbid no one else goes on it. you you have enough money to finagle to make everything kind of work the right way. Um so hopefully you know everything gets resolved. I always say you know it’s funny listening to those top insiders because go back to what Trey said. He calls me underrated and I really appreciate it. Um, you know, it’s just writing what I’ve been writing all all uh summer about Luke Hughes and all the It’s funny like deadlines make deals, right? And we’re not at the deadline yet, per se, because veterans don’t have to come until next week. Be watching an eye on that devil. We I would be watching my devil’s news about Luke Hughes and and what goes on because I I kind of see a pattern here because if Connor Zary realized missing training camp’s a bad idea, we’re going to start to soon start to see those other players re realize missing training camp ain’t going to be a good idea. Well, here’s here’s a here’s the thing. I I think it’s because Tom Fitzgerald in early July said that ressigning Luke Hughes was his top priority. Well, ever since then, uh, I’ve gone to a trip to Italy. Uh, I moved out one apartment. I recently got a new job. This is my final episode over here at Locked on Devils. All of that happened before a Lou Q’s extension, if you could believe it. So, we’re like what, over two months now since um, since Fitzy made that, you know, announcement. Something like that. Yeah. Like I’ve been seeing I’ve been seeing like the Mr. Krabs memes on on Twitter, which I get a kick out of. I’ll never watch that episode of Spongebob the same way again. But this can’t keep happening forever. And the problem is the market is dried up. Like until recently, the last trade we saw was like what in uh late uh late July? Yeah. Real trade was July. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was Yeah. It was late July. And it was it was it was a small one. was between the Avalanche and the Sharks. So, nothing like groundbreaking, but it’s just like nothing happened in August and the market is dry. No one is going to buy it on Andre Palott’s contract. What the Devils need to do, put Kovi on LTIR. That’ll free up $4 million for right now. But remember, the new CBA is going to kick in soon. So, you know, they got to they got to like get to work on this and they got to find a way to clear up some money cuz putting Kova Savage on LTIR doing the Vegas method, that’s a temporary fix. Yeah, it is a temporary fix. Real quick before you jump in here, it’s a temporary fix. And don’t forget, it’s 3.8 million of of 4 million now because of the the limit. So, okay, you deduct that from what the the upper limit is, which is 955. Okay, great. And now you can move out McDermad or whoever, right? And here’s the issue, right? Everybody I see all these comments about, oh well, it’s this easy if if the the Canadians could move Carrie Price and the Devils should be able to move Andre Pl. Here’s the difference. Carrie Price isn’t playing. It was a paper move so the Montreal Canadiens could do stuff later on. The the apples to apples comparison is like a cry or a Trouba contract, right? But I think the team likes him too much. And don’t forget, he has trade protection. He’s not going to he’s not going anywhere. Yeah. He He doesn’t want to I Look, I think he would be willing to be traded, but to a playoff caliber team, right? So, he doesn’t want to go to San Jose. He doesn’t want to go to Chicago. He doesn’t want to go to Anaheim. Andre Palot, more likely than not, wants to be on a playoff ready team because albeit he’s only played with two NHL teams his entire career, but both of them have been to the playoffs. more times than not, he’s got a couple cups to his name. So, I think Andre Palot, while you know, it’s I wouldn’t mind going to Anaheim because you’re near Disneyland, Chicago ain’t too bad or San Jose, still California, albeit taxes are really high, but you get what I’m you get the point. Like, you’re still you’re still on the Golden Coast and you could do a lot of things in California and you’ll be making millions of dollars. You’ll be fine. But I don’t think he wants to go to teams that are still rebuilding. He could go across the border from California into Nevada and be a Las Vegas Golden Knight and the Golden Knights like to work the magic with all their cap space. So, if that were to be the magic bullet, so be it. But I don’t know if they’re going to be pulling the trigger for a veteran like that. But they could. They they’ve been pulling things off. They they’ve got freaking Marner, but they’re going to have to unload another contract. And over the years, I mentioned Ivan Barbashev as another guy the Devils could, you know, want out of that. I mean, I’ve mentioned Barbershave Barb on my show before and yeah, you brought it up the last time you and I collaborated. I don’t think Vegas is going to bite on Palot’s contract. The market is just dried up right now. And unfortunately, uh, the asking price is just too high in my opinion. It’s it’s too high. Teams and teams know they’re desperate to move money, right? And so they they can they can do whatever that other teams are not going to take it. And unless like you’re moving like I always brought this example of like similar what’s going on with Detroit, right? They they’re getting they want to make trades but with Detroit it’s like oh we want all your prospects. They don’t want Andrew Cop or JT Coner. Like of course of course not. So they have to figure it out again. And this is I wrote it. I’ll say it. I put it on Twitter. I’ll say it again. This is a negotiation that the team, this is similar to what you saw in Toronto with Matthew N and John Tvaris. This is the type of deal that the team has to win. I’ll put it that way. Yeah. I mean, while this is the the last episode locked on Devils of me being the host, why don’t we go around and share our quick thoughts on the Devils heading into the season? Well, I’ll go first. I want to remain positive about the Devils. I really do. But they haven’t really shown me anything that uh signals that they’re ready to compete for a Stanley Cup. Okay. Yes, you brought on Carter Brown. He’s going to replace Eric Hollow. I’ll I’ll put my chips into that. I I I I think he’ll do well. We’ll see. If Donovan, this is probably his farewell tour as well. Like, this is probably his last go round. He’s old. Can he repeat the same success that he saw with Dallas last year? You don’t know. And Jim, I think you brought this up last month, which is the dawn of was utilized less as the season progressed for the stars. That’s what I’m concerned with. Can Arceni Gritsio, Jersey Joe, I really hope you could see into the future because if Arceni Gritsuk is able to set the league on fire right away and establish himself to be one of, if not the best rookies in the NHL, then that’s a steal for New Jersey. And now I’m like, okay, okay, that’s perfectly fine with me. They didn’t have to make a big move. They got Arseni grits. They already had their diamond in the rod. goalending is going to be good, but Marstrom and Allen are both 35 years of age and the core has got to stay healthy. Well, here’s the other part of the variable. So, like you already have Yaka Malik in the minor leagues. He’s not going to be far off when he gets a couple of starts in Udica. Let’s just say he gets a month in and let’s say Jake Allen has a problem healthwise. He’s there. And then one of those guys that they does, Nico does. Well, he could get called up and maybe he ain’t getting through waiverss because he has on a one-way deal. So, he has to stay on the roster. He’s going to have to stay up there. Yes. But he’s That’s the problem. But you in the end, the Devils may have to trade him because they don’t want to lose him for nothing. Yes, you’re right. But but so contractually moving Nico D in a trade is better. You send him to a team like Edmonton that is in dear need of a goalie and the Devils already have two PTO goalies just in case, you know, if they were to feel like, you know, one of those guys is ready to take the reigns in the AHL. So that way you don’t rush Mike Yagorov from Boston University in the middle of the season. Well, Yagorov probably has one more season with Yeah, he has at least one more if not if not another one until because he’s got to prove it again in in college that that wasn’t a fluke last year. I mean, he’s a really good goalender, don’t get me wrong, but I always say this about the NFL and quarterbacks and rookie quarterbacks and I’ll say the same thing. The rest of the league is going to catch up to him. Now you have to adjust to the rest of the league. Well, if he made it work in Russia, if he made it work in the USL, and remember the Omaha Lancers, they were and still are very bad. Yeah, he he carried that team. He was still the number one ranked goalie in North America, despite if you were to look at his bulk stats, they wouldn’t be good. No, you take into consideration that he was on the Lancers, which didn’t help him in front. He made 66 saves in one game, which was a franchise record, and they still lost. It It may be an oxymoron. They like the Lancers may be a losing franchise in the USHL for the most part of the past couple of seasons. They still produce really good developmentwise goalies. And it is guys like Yagorov. Then you had a guy like uh Cameron uh Kimal who uh got traded at the trade deadline after uh Yagorov signed on with Boston University in the middle of the season and enrolled. So that goes to show you like there is a track record uh Omaha has done, but they just can’t do anything uh forward-wise or defensive wise to help them win more games. I mean, look at the teams that uh the Devils drafted from in the USHL. They got uh Mason Mo from uh the Madison Capitals. Those guys are a perennial playoff team. University of Minnesota commit. Yep. And he’s going to be a Golden Gopher for the next couple seasons. Jim, what what are your thoughts on the Devils uh this upcoming season? I mean, um look, I still think they’ll be a top two team in Metro. I think they’ll be weak. So that’s Yeah. I mean look, they’re a playoff team. They should be a playoff team. Uh barring injuries, but this team has to stay healthy. Like I mean they have to figure it out. Like somebody’s got to stay healthy. Um that’s like my biggest thing with this team is they have to stay healthy and they can’t let and I think this is the big thing I’ve noticed over the years with this team. They can’t let the little things bother them anymore. If you’re going to be a con consistent playoff team, you have to figure out a way to work through injuries, bad play in your zone, bad slumps during the game, you have to figure out how to break out of it real quick. You can’t let stuff drag all over it again. You got to find a way to win more than three games in a row. Like the year that first year they made that playoff, what 13 games in a row with a win, something like that. Like 16 games with a point like that. You have to put streaks like that together. You can’t go three three like you can’t go back and forth. The I want to hope to see the team that I saw going to Christmas break is a team I see throughout this this season. I think Nico said it best. Play consistency. They all are frustrated. They all know it’s been an injury real season, but the excuses and the of the injuries have to go out the window. They know they can play like they have to play better. They know they have to play better and that’s that’s the big thing to me like and where is the goal scoring coming from to me is the other question. Yeah, Gritsuk he could be good and he could be like Gusev like that’s kind of like my scale of things and I hope I’m wrong but you know I want to keep my level of optimism because I fell into the trap of Gusev’s coming over. He’s going to be the next you know next great Russian that comes over. I’m cold to my expectations. I hope he I hope he fits into the system really well. But uh you know New Jersey should be good, but they got to show me something like what how aggressive can are they going to be in terms of making the roster better around their core because that’s something that they have to do. And another thing is like will the Devils move on from let’s say a guy like Dawson Mercer who hasn’t quite proven himself a little bit and they could maybe let’s say go after a Drake Bathson uh who may be a little bit older 27 years old can score some goals for the Devils maybe performs better under Sheldon Keefe and Jeremy Colatin. See here’s where I’m here here’s where I feel about Dawson Mercer. I feel like he gets too much hate. similar to Douggee Hamilton. Like if you trade Dawson Mercer away for like a another score, I feel like that just you’re breaking even. Mercer is a good scoreer. The problem is he doesn’t really have much help because of all the bottom six contributors last season, he was the best one. Albeit the bar wasn’t set that high. No, it wasn’t that high. But it’s like, but come on. Between him, Nathan Bastion, here’s the thing. Well, here’s my question then, and this is what I’ve been asking myself the whole summer when I’ve been asked about this. Is he a wing or is he a center? He’s a wing. He wants to play wing, but how the Devils are constructed, he can’t. But if he’s a wing, then why is he playing in the top six and doing it consistently? However, when Jack was out, he showed why they drafted him to be a center. So, that’s the issue. Can he be a Is he a center or is he a wing? You got to figure that part out, too. Yeah. But like the example I would use, Jim, is go back a couple seasons ago when the Devils had 52 uh wins. Mercer, I would say had a career year being paired alongside Nico Heir and Tomasar. I think Tomasar, he’s just fall. Yeah, he just took a step due to age. Yeah, due to age. Tatar was getting older and he still provided some scoring when he was with the Canadians, but father times undefeated for a reason. But Mercer paired alongside Hehishir. I I think that was a good combo. And Mercer even said it best during exit interviews. I don’t know if you were there, but he said he would much rather play wing as opposed to center. That’s where he’s more comfortable. And that tells me that you need to get another center, a bottom six center, so that way Mercer can try to score a little bit more on the wing because that’s what he wants to do. No, I understand that. And here’s the thing, like then you got to then if he’s going to play wing, then you have to consistently play him at the wing. That’s the thing. Like you have to consistently play him there. If he has a bad game on the top in the top six, you can’t you can’t take them out. But here’s the issue. This team has high expectations. This is they’re in and we’ve heard Tom Fitzgerald talk about it. We’ve heard the players talk about it. High expectations, higher standards. Everybody’s held to a higher standard now. So, it’s everybody up and down that lineup. It’s not just we’re not I’m not picking on Mercer because he does everything else really well. But is he a 20 goal scorer, 25 goal scorer, 15? Like that’s the thing there. And then on the back end, too, we you and I talked about this. The Douggee hate is ridiculous. Like I never understood it. Like we’re going to trade him away for what, Jason Robertson? Now you’re D’s worse. You’re supposed to win now. Like and and then you’re gonna rely on two 35 year old goalenders to win you games like like that doesn’t make sense to me. So again, let’s figure out the line combinations and let’s consistently stick with them. Again, dep scoring I understand is a good is a good thing to have. Do you know what it is? In my most recent article, I was talking about one of the reasons why the Devils can’t just like parlay a bunch of extra defensive players, whether it be a prospect or a fringe NHL player coming up from the minor leagues. Like the Devils have a luxury here. You you you keep Douggee. Uh Koba Savage is going to be on IR. You you’re gonna have Nets there. You’re going to have Pashi there, but you got Ethan Edwards. Luke Hughes is temp temporarily an RFA, but he’s going to have to come to terms and sign on the dotted line with the Devils. And the Devils also have in another couple years, Brennan Dylan will be 36 years old when his contract is up. And then Devils could have maybe one more season left of him if he signs a one-year deal just to make sure Salv comes in on the left side and teaches him how to be a physical hardnosed hard ass, you know, on the left side. Like you need to have a thumper and a thumper is a Sasquatch. Uh Quinn Hughes will also become a UFA in two years if if he reaches to that point. But I think the Devil’s best bet is to try to trade for him because uh I don’t know that it seems like he wouldn’t reach free agency if he if he goes somewhere else or if the Canucks completely drop the ball. Right. Exactly. And it all depends on what the Canucks do, right? Like I think it comes down to the season. If they if they’re back in the playoffs, this decision come the following year, which I wouldn’t be shocked about, you know, because if they make the playoffs again, they may try to keep them around. They have a history of doing that with their players. All right. All right, boys. We’re going to close out today’s episode shortly. But before we continue, we have an important request. Lockdown wants to hear from you. We’ve put together a survey to learn more about our listeners and make your favorite podcast even better. This is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don’t, and answer questions about our advertising. Go to lockdownpodcast.com/servey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of 10 $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that’s lockedpodcast.com/servey. You can also find the link in the show notes. Thanks for helping us out and I hope you’re enjoying today’s episode of Locked on Devils. And this is my last hurrah. So, get all your suggestions in because they will be looking for a new host shortly. Okay. I’m I’m sorry, Jersey. Joe, you had something to say? I’m I’m I will say this. for so many years coming on here. Um, I’ve been helping promote, you know, how Devil’s fans can see what the GM side of things could look, what the prospect and scouting analysis of the team is, and then how could the near and shortterm plus long-term outlooks have been the past five years. And we’re starting to see things start to pay off steadily. However, the Devils need to go for the kill and bring in another scoring winger. Drake Bathson would be a great idea. I don’t know if Mercer stays on for the whole season, but the Devils need to start looking for answers uh on top of also going for a bottom six uh addition besides having a Connor Brown there. They really need to find that um that Ryan Carter, Bernier, Gian like bottom six line. They need to roll all four. You can’t just like expect what lines one through three to score all the time. Otherwise, you’re going to look like last year and you’re going to get shut out eight or nine times. Absolutely. Definitely agree with you because you know Devil got shut out one too many times. And in fact, let’s last couple questions before we’re done before I’m done for good. Um, let’s talk lowest of lows. Like we we talked about how hard this is and how difficult it is to, you know, cover the Devils. Let’s let’s be honest with the fan base. Like what what are some lows of your guys’ career? I’ll share mine in a second, but you know, I just want to let’s let’s be real with the audience. I mean, lows I mean I mean just after 2012 I think that stretch just being around the team and coming in and you know you make the playoffs in 18 and then you just continue see first round pick you know top 10 picks and you don’t know when it is the rebuild done are they coming out of it when is it going to be over like I think they they for me I saw the success I was I saw the success as a I was around it, felt it. I understood what the it meant to win Stanley Cups for this team. That mentality, the poor drafting, the poor developing, the end of loose time here in New Jersey, this transition from Shirou to Fitzgerald, like the ownership stuff. That was the Kovville Chuck contract was Yeah, there’s a lot of there’s a lot of bad in there. It sounds a lot of bad. There’s definitely a lot of bad in there. Um, but it’s nice to see this team starting to turn around, but there’s definitely some some definitely some lows that, you know, you make the playoffs in one year, beat the Rangers in the following season. It’s just like the same interviews all the time. The guys just talking the same way, frustration, like just not making the playoffs the following year was it’s tough to be around those guys. Uh, I will say this, like even before uh Jim and I had our own podcast on Heads of Hockey um years ago, I remember uh one summer it was PE who left and then seeing uh Kovalechuk go into retirement, quote unquote, and then uh from there seeing Baddor go temporarily to St. Louis, that was really hard. uh trading for Corey Schneider um was a shock. Um this is why I don’t like trading for goalies at the top 10 in the first round to begin with. This is why I rather draft a goalie high rather than uh trade for a veteran goalie uh because of that. That’s why I get um shocked uh any time like that. But um biggest low uh seeing Ranger fans sweep uh the Devils the past few years ago. Um being heckled outside one of my favorite coffee shops uh during a trade deadline. Uh like that was rough. But um now back to a high seeing the Devils come back from down 02 to win uh four to two in the series against the Rangers. Uh that was a huge uh positive swing and starting to see things starting to turn around. Um seeing the positive drafting has fixed that. But now it’s time to go for the kill. Yep. Uh go for the kill. Let’s see what happens. I think me for me personally like I came and hosted the Devils when I in summer 2020. I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew they weren’t good. I I knew that they were just rebuilding. I think for me personally, like a an all-time low for me was my Conor McDavid fiasco. I was there. That was more That was funny. That was funny for how It’s funny now. It’s funny now, but at the time, like when I’m just like at the train station and I just see like some some account tweeting it, it already has thousands likes. I’m like, uh oh. I just I said this is going to be a long day for me tomorrow. I mean, I the problem is I was the first one to defend you because like I was in the room and I I understood the question and it’s like everybody has to realize I just watched Conor McDavid’s interviews that have happened since the with his contract. If you ask him the same question or something like multiple times, he will get annoyed. Um Trey, there was not like it was I understood the comparison. That’s why I felt like it just got blown out of proportion. But I was also there when you redeemed yourself, which was a great question for McDavid at Four Nations. That was a that was a home run. Yeah, that that that that’s one of the big reasons why I wanted to go to Four Nations. I’m like, David will be there. I’m really hoping I can ask him a question that will also go viral so that way I can redeem myself. And it and I asked him, would you like to see Four Nations return? And before you know it, he his answer was shared on TSN, bar stool, um, everywhere that like, and I’m just like, wow, this is actually more popular than the the fiasco, the Jack Hughes Gretzky comparisons. For anyone who doesn’t know, Gretzky compared Jack Hughes to himself like during an HBO special. But yeah, I admit I worded it wrong and maybe that that’s asking and I could have just said like, “What are your thoughts on Jack Hughes?” and just say and just leave it there. I I literally could have just said that. I didn’t have to mention Gretzky. You live and you learn. But that was a low for me. That was the first time in which I had to like, you know, turn off Twitter because I was like, I’m getting like I’m getting like clowned on. You you you had a little bit of like nerves, butterflies in your stomach. I mean, you’re you’re talking to one of the greatest hockey players. I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I was there. He was not nervous whatsoever. He was not nervous cuz I was standing next to him. He would have right next to him. I was standing right there. I I could still picture the question in my head like I knew what happened. Look that sometimes you got to take that break, right? Like because I know there’s a lot I there’s a lot of I don’t respond to a lot of people on on on X when it comes to some of the stuff because it is what it is, right? Like we all know. Um but no, it’s great. I mean, there’s so many highs to this thing. You talk to players all the time. You talk to everybody, talk to great, interview greats. Um, yeah. I mean, yeah, there’s some low moments, but hey, you take the highs, you take the lows, and you have fun with it. All right, boys. It’s been fun. Five years hosting lockdown Devils. Um, for the final time, any closing thoughts? Oh my god. Well, uh, for those of you trying to think about the Devils defensive core near and short term, go to Pucks and Pitch Works. I got my stuff in there. Uh, you know who where I am. I’m on Instagram. I’m on Pucks and Pitchforks. I’m on X. But you got Jimmer right here. He’s a fantastic insider. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Yes. Uh, check me out online. Uh, Devils, just everybody just pump the brakes. Don’t lose your cool. Relax. Don’t overreact. Things will work out the way they’re supposed to. This team’s on the rise. Just believe. just got to believe and everything. Just follow me at Jim Barer on Twitter, Full Press Hockey, you know where to find it. Um, we’re everywhere and it’s always it’s been a pleasure. It has been a pleasure. Devils fans, I’m not going far. Uh, you’ll still see a few articles from me here here and there, but in terms of hosting Locked on Devils, it’s time to say goodbye. So, thank you guys for everything. five years. You guys, not only Jersey Joe and Jim Bearinger, everyone else who’s appeared like Novo, James Nichols, Christy Flannry, Ken Dano, um Roose Driver, Bryce Salvador, Rachel Herszog, I could go on. The list goes on. Yeah, Don Lrea. Don Lreka recently um traveling coast to coast covering the Devils, giving you guys behind the scenes sound bites, going from recording episodes in my basement to now recording episodes in the NHL press box for Nations the draft. It’s been a hell of a ride. Um, cheers brothers. That’s all I got to say. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. And for the last time, continue to stay safe. Have a wonderful day, New Jersey. Go Devils. Unfortunately, I will not be seeing you in the next episode, but I hope to see you guys real soon. Special thanks to Jersey Joe Jim Bearinger for helping me say goodbye. The pleasure has been mine. Devils fans, thanks for listening forever and always. Have a great day.

This is my final episode. It’s not clickbait nor a joke. I am leaving the Locked On Podcast Network because I accepted a new job. Jersey Joe (Pucks & Pitchforks) and Jim Biringer (Full Press Hockey) helped me say goodbye. Thank you for all of your support over the past five years. I love you all!

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