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hockeylovee12 · 9 months ago

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Crossing Enemy Lines

Chapter Three

Luke Hughes x Original Character

Warnings: Cussing, some toxic family dynamics, mentions of being used

A/N: I got really lazy writing this chapter so it may be a bit bumpy, but I hope you guys enjoy it. Chapter 4 will probably be out within the next week

November 12th, 2023

The sounds of blades slicing through a frozen surface fill the small practice rink in Newark, as the New Jersey Devils take the ice for their 9 AM practice.

Head Coach Lindy Ruff, gathers his players on center ice, his stern expression a clear indication of his displeasure with the personnel occupying the sea of red and white jerseys in front of him.

"Listen up boys," Ruff barks, his voice echoing off the boards, "We let in seven goals on Thursday! That's unacceptable"

Luke flinches at the reminder of Thursday's game, His mind recalling the feeling of disappointment he felt, followed by the memory of meeting Jordan.

"We can't be giving up chances like that, especially not to the Rangers" Ruff continues, his tone growing more frustrated "Jacob Trouba and his boys had a field day out there"

A surge of anger courses through Luke's veins at the mention of Jacob Trouba, prompting more unwelcome memories of Jordan to run through his mind.

Lindy continues his speech-which Luke has lost all interest in- as he feels himself getting more and more aggravated with each passing second, as the image of Jordan storming out of the cafe, plays on a loop in his head.

Then the loud sound of Ruff's whistle pierces through the air, signaling the beginning of practice. "Alright, let's start with some one-on-one battle drills," Ruff announces. "Luke, Mercer, you're up first. Let's see who comes out on top."

Luke takes a breath and skates towards the blue line, lining up in front of Dawson. As the whistle blows, they engage in a battle for the puck, sticks clashing and skates cutting through the ice. Luke tries to channel his frustration into the drill, using his body positioning to shield the puck while Dawson tries to exploit any openings in his defense.

"Good work, boys!" Ruff shouts. "Keep battling! Don't be lazy!"

The drill continues with each pairing taking a turn, and for a moment Luke's mind drifts back to Jordan.

He's mad, no he's pissed, he's pissed with the way things happened. He's pissed, that Jordan's last name is Trouba, he's pissed that out of all the fucking people he could've met, the one person, the one fucking person he works up the courage to talk to, to form a genuine fucking connection with, is the one fucking person he can't have.

A sigh escapes Luke's lips as he regains focus, and Ruff transitions the team into backchecking drills. "Forwards, I want to see you hustling back to help out your defensemen," he instructs. "Backcheck like your life depends on it!"

Luke throws himself into the drill, chasing down opposing forwards with a burning intensity. He disrupts passes and applies pressure, determined to shut down any offensive attempts.

But even as he pushes himself physically, he can't escape the nagging thoughts in his mind. He wants answers, he wants answers, to questions he doesn't even know how to ask.

He's mad, he's confused, and he's sad.

He’s sad that he met a girl he really likes and he can’t date her, he can’t hang out with her, he probably shouldn’t even talk her, and he’s sad that even if he could talk to her she probably wouldn’t wanna talk to him, because he's an idiot who fucked things up.

"Hughes, good hustle! That's what I wanna see in a game" Ruff praises. "Keep it up!"

Another sigh escapes his lips, as he continues pushing himself.

Halfway through practice, Ruff calls a five-minute water break. As the players gather around the bench, Dawson skates over to Luke with a mischievous grin. "Hey, Casanova! How'd it go with the girl you met the other night?"

Luke's jaw clenches. "Shut it, Dawson," he warns, his tone sharp.

John raises an eyebrow. "Ooh, touchy subject. Looks like our boy struck out."

"I said, shut it," Luke snaps, his patience wearing thin. The guys exchange glances, sensing the tension radiating from him.

Ruff blows his whistle, and moves the team to the net for some net-front presence drills. "Defensemen, your job is to clear the crease and make life difficult for the opposing forwards," he explains. "Forwards, battle for position and look for those dirty goals."

Luke positions himself in front of the net, engaging in physical battles with his teammates, and his mind wanders slightly, he wonders what they would say, if they knew, knew that the girl he met in the bar is Jacob Trouba’s sister. He knows they would tell him he can’t see her again, even though that bridge has already been burned.

But it’s like a part of him doesn’t know why, no actually that’s a lie, he knows why, he knows the rules, even if they’re unwritten, you don’t date an opponent's sister, doesn’t matter the sport, the league, or the team, and if there was a rulebook for the NHL, the message No Devils player should date a Rangers sister would probably be bolded in red at the top of every page.

"Box out, Hughes! What are you doing?!" Ruff yells. "Don't let them establish position!"

Luke hesitates, trying to regain his composure, when one more thought comes, a small, tiny thought racing through his mind, a thought that causes goosebumps on his skin, a thought he's trying desperately to ignore, whispering maybe, just maybe, it’s worth it. Maybe?

The practice continues with passing drills, the players focusing on crisp, tape-to-tape passes. Luke tries to lose himself in the familiar rhythms of the game, but his mind keeps wandering back to Jordan.

A few of his teammates shoot him concerned glances, almost every time they notice a change in his focus, but each time he shakes off their glances, and their reassuring words telling him to focus on practice or asking if he's alright because the one thing he knows for certain, is that even though their relationship is over, his teammates never need to know is that he went on a date with the enemies sister, or that she won't leave his mind.

Then as practice nears its end, Ruff has the team skate lines, something Luke knows he can't fuck up.

The players line up on the goal line, their chests heaving and sweat dripping from their brows.

"Alright, boys, let's finish strong!" Ruff bellows. "On the whistle, skate to the red line and back. Keep pushing until I say stop!"

The shrill sound of the whistle pierces the air, and the players take off, their skates pounding against the ice.

They push themselves to the limit, legs burning and lungs screaming for air, as they continue to skate back and forth.

Until finally, Ruff raises his hand, motioning for the players to gather around.

"Alright, boys, that's enough for today," Ruff says, his tone softening slightly. "Good job. Hit the showers. We're leaving for Detroit at 11."

*****

Jordan's eyes begin fluttering open, her body still wrapped in a cocoon of cozy blankets and sheets, embracing her in what feels like a warm hug.

She reaches for her phone, squinting as she checks the time: 11:04.

Memories of yesterday's date with Luke flood her mind, and a wave of disappointment washes over her.

With a sigh, she swipes away the notifications, her mind still groggy, and swings her legs over the side of the bed, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before standing up and making her way to the living room.

As she walks, she can't help but feel upset and angry about how things ended with Luke. She really liked him, and their connection had been undeniable.

But the fact that he couldn't see past the rivalry between his team and her brother's? It's stupid, it's frustrating and it's disappointing.

"Hey, Jordy," Jacob greets her as she enters the living room.

To her surprise, Jacob is sitting on the couch, his attention focused on the TV. He had been away the previous two days, the Rangers having a back-to-back with the second half being an away game in Pittsburg.

"Hey, when did you get home?" Jordan asks, her voice still thick with sleep as she settles onto the couch beside him.

"Not till about one this morning" Jacob explains. Jordan nods, knowing she was still awake at that time, and probably too distracted by her thoughts to hear him come into the apartment.

"How was Pittsburgh?" She asks

"Eh, same old, same old. We got the win, so that's what matters." Jacob nudges her gently. "So, Kelly told me you had a date yesterday. How'd it go?"

Jordan shrugs, not particularly wanting to delve into the details. "It was fine," she says noncommittally.

Jacob raises an eyebrow. "Just fine? Do I need to beat someone up?" he jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

A small smile tugs at the corner of Jordan's mouth. "No, no. It just... didn't go well, that's all."

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Jacob prods gently, concern evident in his voice.

Jordan shakes her head. "I'm sure. It's not a big deal."

Jacob studies her for a moment before deciding not to push further. "Alright, well, in that case, you and I are going to lunch. Come on, my treat."

Jordan lets out a small laugh, appreciating her brother's attempt to cheer her up, "Alright just let me get dressed and brush my teeth" Jordan says

She heads back to her room to get dressed, choosing a comfortable outfit for their outing.

Then the siblings make their way to a local restaurant, not too far from their apartment, the aroma of freshly cooked food and the buzz of conversation enveloping them as they step inside. They settle into a booth, perusing the menu as they wait for their server.

Once they place their orders-a salad with Salmon for Jacob and a club sandwich with fries for Jordan-Jacob leans back, his eyes fixed on Jordan. "So how's NYU treating you?" he asks, with genuine interest in his voice.

Jordan brightens a little, "It's great," she gushes, launching into a detailed account of her classes and the new friends she's made.

Soon their food arrives, and they begin eating.

Their conversation naturally shifts to hockey, with Jacob recounting the details of the Rangers' recent games. "-But the game against the Devils was great, but intense cus they're all a bunch of softies" he remarks, oblivious to the way Jordan tenses slightly at the mention of Luke's team. "Pretty sure half their players threatened to cut my head off before the third period. But the Devils are all fucking talk, the scored one goal, and kept complaining for hits we made, but the fucking lost anyway, and with the way they were playing, a power play wouldn't have made any difference."

Jordan forces a laugh, trying to push away the thoughts of Luke that inevitably surface. "Yeah, that's crazy. Y'all really hate the Devils?"

Jacob, laughs before responding "Well of course, we're supposed to plus, they're all assholes so who would wanna like them"

"Yeah, right" Jordan says

Jacob continues to talk about the game, but Jordan finds herself only half-listening, her mind drifting back to Luke and their ill-fated date. She can't help but wonder what he's doing now if he's thinking about her too.

Noticing her distraction, Jacob pauses. "Hey, you okay?"

Snapping back to the present, Jordan nods. "Yeah, sorry. Just got lost in thought for a second."

"No worries." Jacob takes a sip of his drink before changing the subject. "So, Thanksgiving is coming up. Kelly and I were thinking of hosting the team at our place this year. You're still cool with that, right?"

Jordan's heart skips a beat at the thought of being in the same room as a bunch of Rangers players, but she knows she can't say no, well actually she could but, she won't. "Yeah, of course. That sounds great."

"Awesome. It'll be fun, having everyone together like that. And who knows, maybe you'll even meet someone new." Jacob winks playfully.

Jordan scoffs playfully, "You'd want me to date a Ranger?"

Jacob shrugs "Nah probably not, but if you did I would be okay with it, as long as it's a Ranger, though, otherwise find a different sport"

Jordan forces a laugh, her thoughts once again turning to Luke.

If only her brother knew the truth, the truth that she's already met a guy who plays hockey, a guy who wears a different crest on his jersey, a guy who keeps running through her mind.

*****

The Detroit skyline looms in the distance as the New Jersey Devils' plane touches down on the runway. The team disembarks, collecting their luggage and boarding the team bus that will take them to their hotel.

As a rookie on an entry-level contract, Luke shares a room with his teammate, Alex Holtz.

Once in their room, Luke puts his stuff down and flops onto the bed.

He begins absentmindedly scrolling through his phone, when a knock at the door interrupts his mindless browsing, and he gets up to answer it.

Jack stands in the hallway, an expectant look on his face.

"You ready to go?" Jack asks.

Luke blinks, confused. "Where?"

Jack gives him a look. "To see Mom and Dad. We're getting lunch. Did you forget?"

Rolling his eyes, Luke tries to play it off, even though he really did forget "No, I just need a few minutes to get dressed."

"Alright, hurry up. I'm gonna call an Uber." Jack turns to leave.

"Okay," Luke replies, closing the door. He quickly changes into a pair of black jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a flannel before grabbing his stuff and saying bye to Alex.

The brothers meet up in the lobby and climb into the waiting Uber.

As they drive through the familiar streets of Detroit, Luke remains quiet, lost in thought as he watches the scenery pass by.

They arrive at the restaurant and spot their parents, Jim and Ellen, already seated at a table. Ellen waves them over, standing up to give each of her sons a warm hug. They sit down and place their orders, falling into easy conversation.

"So, boys, how's the season going so far?" Jim asks, taking a sip of his water.

"It's been good, Dad," Jack replies. "We've had a few tough losses, but overall, the team is really coming together."

Ellen smiles. "That's great to hear. And how about you, Luke? How are you adjusting to life in the NHL?"

Luke shrugs. "It's been a learning curve, but I feel like I'm starting to find my footing."

The conversation turns to family updates and upcoming holiday plans until Jack casually lets it slip that Luke had a date yesterday.

Ellen's eyes light up. "Ooh, a date? Give me the details!"

Luke shoots Jack a glare before turning to his mother. "It was just a date, Mom. It didn't work out. I don't really want to talk about it."

Jim leans forward, curiosity piqued. "Why not? What happened?"

"It just didn't work out, Dad. Can we please drop it?" Luke pleads, feeling uncomfortable.

"Oh, come on, Luke," Ellen says, her tone gentle. "We're just curious. It's not every day you go on a date."

Luke sighs, somewhat fighting the sarcastic urge to thank his mother, for bringing that detail to light.

"Seriously, Luke it's been a while since you've had a girlfriend" Jack states

This time the sarcastic quip isn't fought back as he responds "Thank you, Sherlock"

"We're just saying Luke, it might be nice for you to have someone" His mom adds

Luke sighs, he thinks it would be nice too, but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet,

"I know can we just drop it" Luke states, his voice raising slightly.

An awkward silence falls over the table.

After a moment, Jim clears his throat. "So, that game against the Rangers." he says, shifting the topic, which unknowingly causes just as much frustration for Luke, as their previous one, especially considering how Jim chooses to approach the conversation.

Jim leans forward, his expression serious. "Luke, You seemed a bit off"

Luke shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "It was a tough match, Dad. The Rangers are a strong team."

"That's no excuse," Jim counters. "You can't let the other team dictate your play. You need to be more aggressive, take control of the game."

"I'm trying, Dad," Luke sighs, feeling the familiar pressure of his father's expectations weighing on him.

Jim continues, "And what about that turnover in the second period? You can't be making mistakes like that, especially not in your own zone. The other team is just gonna eat that up and score on you"

Luke feels his frustration rising. "I know, Dad. I'm working on it."

Ellen, sensing the tension, tries to intervene. "Jim, honey, I'm sure Luke is doing his best. It's not easy being a rookie in the NHL."

But Jim is undeterred. "The best players find a way to rise above the challenges. If you want to make a name for yourself in this league, Luke, you need to be better."

Jack, noticing Luke's clenched jaw, attempts to diffuse the situation. "Come on, Dad. Luke's been putting in a lot of hard work. His coach has been giving him good feedback. Plus he's producing well"

"Hard work is important," Jim acknowledges, " and he is producing well, but don't forget you're a defenseman, points mean nothing, if you keep giving easy goals away."

Luke's frustration boils over. "I got it," he snaps, his voice louder than intended.

An awkward silence falls over the table again and Jack nudges Luke, silently telling him to calm down.

"So, Mom, how's the garden coming along?" Jack asks, steering the conversation to safer ground.

Ellen smiles, grateful for the diversion. "Oh, it's going great," she gushes, launching into a detailed description.

The rest of the lunch passes more pleasantly, as they finish their food, and stick to more neutral topics.

Then the check arrives, and Jim insists on paying, waving away Luke and Jack's protests. They say their goodbyes, Ellen hugging her sons tightly and making them-specifically Jack-promise to call more often, before they go their separate ways.

In the Uber back to the hotel, Jack nudges Luke. "You alright, man? You seem a bit more on edge. You usually don't let dad get to you like that?"

Luke sighs, rubbing his face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind."

Jack nods, silently clapping his brother on the back.

They arrive back at the hotel and Luke makes his way to his room, before lying down on the bed, his mind still reeling from the ups and downs of the day.

His phone buzzes with a new notification, he picks it up, seeing the contact name, it's one of his best friends Dylan Duke: Hey man, we still on for dinner tonight with Mark and Ethan at 8?

Luke types out a quick reply: Yeah, see you then.

He sets his phone aside and closes his eyes, trying to calm his swirling thoughts.

*****

Jordan sits at her desk, a textbook open in front of her and a pen poised in her hand. She's been staring at the same page for the past half hour, the words blurring together as her mind wanders back to Luke.

She leans back in her chair, a heavy sigh escaping her lips, as she recalls the nervous smile, on his face, when they met on Thursday, it was cute, charming, just like his laugh, and his hazel eyes, or his competitiveness during their game of pool, that was just the right amount of cockiness to keep him from coming off as arrogant. She can't lie, she felt a connection with him, a connection she hasn't felt in a really long time.

And just like last time, her last name ruined everything, it's ridiculous, that a stupid rivalry caused all this, a stupid rivalry she's not even a part of, ok well yes her last name, but like not her.

Jordan reaches for her phone, her fingers hovering over his contact. She wants to text him, tell him she's not her brother, and her life shouldn't be dictated because of it, she wants to tell him that, she really fucking wants to.

But how would she even say that? "Sorry my brother is your team's biggest rival, but I don't have a problem with the Devils so can we still date?"

She laughs bitterly at the thought. It sounds ridiculous, even to her own ears.

And yet, a part of her doesn't care. A part of her wants to do it anyway, say fuck it.

But she knows it's not that simple. She knows the unwritten rules, the lines that can't be crossed, blah, blah, blah, they're stupid.

Her mind wanders to past relationships, to the boys who only saw her as a stepping stone, a way to get their foot in the door with the Rangers. She remembers the hurt, the betrayal, the feeling of being used.

But with Luke, she thought'd it'd be different outcome, but the outcomes the same, just took a different route, a route still dictated by her fucking last name.

Luke had been a breath of fresh air, someone who seemed to genuinely care about her, who made her feel seen and heard. And now, she may have lost him forever.

A single tear slips down her cheek, and she quickly wipes it away, not wanting to let herself wallow in self-pity.

"Jordan!" Jacob's voice echoes from the kitchen, startling her out of her thoughts. "Dinner's ready!"

She takes a deep breath, composing herself before responding, "Be right there!"

With one last glance at her phone, she sets it down on the desk, the screen still displaying Luke's contact. She knows she can't text him, can't reach out, no matter how much she wants to.

*****

Around 7:45 Luke leaves the hotel to meet up with Dylan, Ethan and Mark. They decide on a sushi restaurant that's walking distance from Luke's hotel.

As they settle into their seats, the conversation quickly turns to life at Michigan.

"Man, you should see the new freshmen," Dylan says, a grin on his face. "They're a riot, especially this one kid from Canada. He's always trying to impress the girls with his accent. It's hilarious."

Ethan laughs, shaking his head. "Remember that party last weekend? I swear, I've never seen someone drink that much and still be standing."

Mark chimes in, recounting a particularly memorable moment from their latest hockey practice. "And then Coach just lost it, started yelling at everyone to get their acts together. I thought he was gonna blow a gasket."

As his friends continue to share stories and updates, Luke finds himself only half-listening. His mind keeps drifting back to Jordan and the way things ended between them. He also can't shake the feeling of nostalgia, missing the carefree days of college life.

Dylan notices Luke's distraction and nudges him. "Hey, man, what's up? You're too cool for us now that you're in the NHL?"

Luke snaps out of his thoughts, looking at his friend. "Of course not," he says, a small smile on his face.

Dylan grins, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "Just kidding, dude. But seriously, what's going on? You seem a little off."

Luke hesitates for a moment before opening up. "I met this girl on Friday, and I really liked her. We went out yesterday, but things took a turn for the worse." He doesn't mention her last name, keeping that detail to himself.

His friends listen intently as Luke continues. "We got into a disagreement about something, and it kind of ended everything."

Mark leans forward, his eyes sympathetic. "Do you like her? I mean, really like her?"

Luke nods, a wistful expression on his face. "Yeah, a lot."

Ethan places a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Then it shouldn't matter, man. If you care about each other, you can work through whatever the problem is."

Dylan suddenly looks serious, a rare occurrence for him. "Hold up, she doesn't hate hockey, does she?"

Luke can't help but chuckle at the question. "No, she doesn't hate hockey."

"Then Ethan's right," Dylan says, a smile returning to his face. "Whatever the issue is, you guys can figure it out."

Mark and Ethan nod in agreement, encouraging Luke to reach out to Jordan and try to make amends.

"I don't know, man" Luke says, uncertainty creeping into his voice. "What if she doesn't want to hear from me?"

"You won't know unless you try," Mark points out. "Just send her a text, see how she responds. What's the worst that could happen?"

Luke considers their advice, his mind racing with possibilities, before he lets out a chuckle "When the hell did you guys get brains?" He jokes.

"Junior year apparently" Dylan remarks, resulting in a laugh from the table.

The conversation shifts back to lighter topics, as they finish up their meal, before remaining at the table, for at least another hour, before Luke has to get back to the hotel, for room checks.

Once back in his room, he notices Alex already asleep, always an early sleeper, unlike himself, so Luke quietly changes into his sweats and a t- shirt, before lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He replays his friends' words in his head, contemplating texting her.

And in a moment of impulse, he grabs his phone, his fingers hovering over the screen. Before he can second-guess himself, he types out a simple message to Jordan: I'm sorry.

He hits send, his heart pounding in his chest as he waits for a response that may never come.

A/N I hope you enjoyed reading! Feel free to send me any comments about this story, if you like it, I'd love to hear them!

#luke hughes #nj devils #jack hughes #hughes brothers #crossing enemy lines #original story #New York rangers #jacob trouba

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toasttt11 · 1 year ago

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introducing clementine

Clementine Faye Bedard the first born of Melanie and Jim Bedard, born on August 31, 2002.

Clementine has always loved the ice since her parents set a barely one year old Clementine on the ice and she has never wanted to leave the ice since, hockey has always been what she loves.

Clementine had always been more of a guarded person especially with meeting new people, she more of a quiet person but with the right people she can open up and be a bit louder, she’s just the type of her person who enjoys listening rather than talking.

Clementine has Heterochromia, one blue and one hazel colored eyes. When she was young she didn’t really like it just ignored it but as her younger siblings grew up they were always telling her how cool and pretty her eyes were so she grew to love her eyes and never hid them.

When her sister was born she was so happy to finally have someone else to play hockey with but Madison didn’t like playing or anything to do with the ice, so when Clementine showed Connor how to play and he loved it she was so happy she had someone to play with now.

Clementine and Connor has always had a very easy relationship because of hockey, they understand each other extremely well but that doesn’t mean Madison isn’t just as close to her siblings they just enjoy other things together.

Connor has always loved hockey because of his oldest sister, Clementine truly passed on her passion to her little brother who wanted to play and be just like his sister. Connor ended up picking the number 98 inspired by his sister who plays with the number 89.

Madison has always looked up to her older sister, always wanting to be more like her big sister and enjoyed anytime she had to spend with her, Madison has always been the academic sibling and easily passed her sibling in that category something the two had always been very proud of her for.

Growing up playing on boy hockey teams Clementine didn’t usually get any respect and a lot of the players ignored her if they weren’t on the ice, she had a lot of coaches not be supportive of her being on the team and trying to play her at least as possible. When she got drafted to the devils in 2020 she was pleasantly surprised how welcoming the whole team and staff was to her, and how they treated her with a lot of respect and kindness.

When she was drafted to the Vancouver Giants she was very happy that was the team that picked her as she could stay home and not have to move away from her family, she got to see more of her siblings growing up then she would if she had to move for another team.

Carter in the last game of the 2018-2019 WHL season had shot the puck into the goal giving them the overtime win in the championship game but as she shot the puck she was smashed into the boards by someone who was two times the weight and height of her and her elbow went into boards catching all her weight.

Her elbow was dislocated and had multiple fractures and breaks, she got a surgery done right away and was in a cast and sling for three months before the doctor realized it wasn’t healing correctly and she has another surgery getting more screws put it, she was out for another six months wearing a brace the whole time and ended up missing half of the season of her draft year. When the doctors saw her injury and how bad it they didn’t know if she would ever be able to play hockey again.

During the nine months she wasn’t allowed to move her elbow she still practiced every day, she starred shooting her hockey stick with the other hand and one handed as well, she ended up starting to switch up a lot of on her stick and she stuck with a no curve on her blade at all, when she was allowed to play again her shot became even more insane, she could shoot with either hand and either side of her blade, she was the perfect center.

Lindy Ruff had joined the devils a few months before the 2020 draft and he already knew who he wanted it on the team, Clementine Bedard. He had watched out for young players for awhile and Clementine had been on his radar for years now and he was always impressed seeing her play, he never had a problem with her being a girl as she plays better than most boys he’s seen.

Clementine has met Alex on all the different zooms they had for the draft instead of anything in person because of Covid, they started texting a little bit before both getting distracted by the draft. Alex had went to the AHL and Clementine had her first season in the NHL (2020-2021). Then Alex joined the New Jersey Devils team at the end of the 2021-2022 session and the two become closer than before and reconnecting with each other.

Nico, Jack and Clementine just seemed to click together when they all met and the three definitely got closest the fastest. Nico and Jack had quickly grown to love Clementine like a little sister and have gotten very protective of her.

Jesper, Nico, Jack and Clementine all worked insanely well together and Lindy quickly noticed that, making most of the lines have two of them one and two on the other.

Clementine always played well with any line as she has insane ability to seem to make the line she plays on play really well together, she seems to just make most lines on the ice click well when she joins them, So Lindy like to move her around a lot of the lines for games.

Dawson, Daws and Clementine all met a few months before the draft and ended up playing the World Junior Championship together, they are got pretty close and it was cool to realize they all got drafted to the same team.

Nico had recommended his apartment building when he heard Clementine was trying to find a good apartment to move into in New Jersey in 2020. Alex ended up moving into the building in the beginning of the 2021-2022 season. Jack ended moving at the end of the 2022 season into the apartment building, needing a new place to live but also wanted to be close to his best friend. John accidentally picked the same building as well when he moved from Pittsburgh. Dawson didn’t even realize when he asked for help moving in he had picked the same apartment building as all of them. Luke moved in with Jack when he came to Jersey making so many of the team live in the same building.

Braden Schneider and Clementine had always had an interesting relationship, they met when they played against each other in WHL, Braden was always flirting with Clementine and she was always annoyed by him. They ended up playing together for Team Canada for a couple tournaments.

Being close to the beach growing up Clementine grew to love surfing, as it was something so different from Hockey. When she moved to New Jersey she brought many of her surfboards with her and she always would go surfing on her days off and Nico ended up joining her a lot of the times and usually Jack as well but he mostly just ended up sleeping on a towel on the beach as the two surfed. Clementine has dragged almost all of her team at least once to go surfing with her.

Clementine has always been sweeter to the younger players who joined after her as they reminded her of her own siblings Luke quickly adored Clementine adopting her as his big sister, she helped him figure out a lot of stuff and always is there for him. Clementine really helped Simon out as he moved to the New Jersey Devils during the middle of the season and was very welcoming to him. She would stay after practice late to continue to keep practicing with the rookies and would help them clean up the ice.

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lexreadsdiversely · 3 months ago

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Lex's October tbr 🎃

I'm leaning into the mood reading with this tbr. I intentionally put way more than I can finish to give myself room to switch it up as my mood changes. This is going to be so fun!

Books:

Physical tbr:

The Weight of Blood - Tiffany D. Jackson (210/413 pages complete)

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield (105/223 pages complete)

The Book of Witches - Edited by Jonathan Strahan (select stories only)

The Woman in Black - Susan Hill

Library loans:

A Short Stay in Hell - Steven L Peck

Little Rot - Akwaeke Emezi

Graveyard Shift - ML Rio (finished 9/30)

Extra Salty: Jennifer's Body - Frederick Blichert (finished 10/1)

Kindle:

Eat Your Heart Out - Dayna Ingram*

My Carmilla - Anita Zara*

Lupus in Fabula - Briar Ripley Page (BookSiren - will most likely dnf)

Under Her Skin: a Women in Horror Poetry Showcase, Vol. 1 - Edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller*

Fanfiction:

Read some halloween-themed fics. Link them here when finished.

Short(er) Stories

Hayseed - Holly Wilde*

Pumpkin Spice Lover - C.B. Walker*

This Pumpkin Spice Latte Gets Me Off In A Fun And Sincere Way Because It’s Okay For People To Enjoy Popular Things Without Being Shamed For The Perceived “Basicness” Of Their Beverage Choices - Chuck Tingle*

Read some Tor originals

* reads contingent on my budget

🦇 Goal: Enjoy reading! 🦇

#lex's october tbr #tbr #booklr #bookblr #bookish community #book community #book talk #book worm #reading community

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easypeasylindyvesey · 7 months ago

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besties lose.

this team had such an amazing regular season, historic. they set the record for most franchise wins, most comeback wins, got the most points, were at the top of the league, won the president’s trophy.

they swept washington, and got through carolina in six.

all of the matchups they were going into (including florida), they were the underdogs.

this team had EVERYTHING. they had the depth, the goaltending, the scoring ability, the POTENTIAL.

and once again, they throw it all away.

the lack of production from the big names (kreids, mika, bread) is, in all honesty, completely unacceptable. you’re supposed to be helping out the team, contributing equally just like everyone else. you are not supposed to be relying on your goalie for the entire series.

speaking of goalies, igor shesterkin is winning the award for playoff MVP. that man gave it his all. every fucking game, he had to stand on his head. he bought all that matcha just for it to lose its magic, because the 5 guys that are supposed to be in his corner FAILED him. he was the best player by a mile. no one would’ve ever measured up to what he was able to do when his team just gave up.

and now a couple of general things:

-i am very proud of laffy, both regular season and playoffs. he really came into his own. he set a new point record (including goals and assists: reg season). you could tell that he was a lot more comfortable and confident in the way he played. i’m very excited for his future here. it’s definitely bright.

-trouba needs to start playing smarter hockey. i’m surprised he didn’t take any penalties tonight, given it’s a common theme. he’s supposed to be the captain, and he can’t record PIMS every single game. i know that he does a good job with leadership off the ice, but he’s gotta start channeling it on there too.

-when the team hired lavi, i was not sure how it was going to go. despite the sadness of the current moment, he got this team to the ECF. he became apart of history with this team. i’m sure all the casuals are gonna be calling for his firing, but i really hope we keep him. he really did work miracles on the season. he always spoke very highly of everyone, even if they were struggling. he was insightful when he spoke to the media, and you could tell he was truly dedicated and excited to work with them.

-i feel that the new acquisitions (cuylle, wennberg, roslovic, rempe, gustafsson, quickie) did a really great job. they all have their own positive qualities they can bring while they play and should be happy to be apart of such a genuine group of people.

-and finally, i started this account in march because none of my friends watch hockey nor care about it, and i thought ‘why not create an account?’ if i’m being honest, there would be times where i would check some of your accounts for updates because i liked your content LOL. but because i didn’t have an actual account set up when it came to posting things, i was scared to follow y’all because you wouldn’t care if it was just a blank account. all i have to say is that i have no regrets. it’s been almost 3 months, and all of you have been so sweet, supportive, and welcoming. i feel like we’re all one little happy friend group that i always wanted. thank you for engaging with me and my account. i feel like all of you understand me more than my actual friends sometimes🤭. don’t worry, i will definitely be staying active during the off-season! i’m excited for the content we’re gonna get, and if there is anything involving jimmy or ryan, you best believe that i will be posting/reblogging it and annoying all of you because it’s what i do best. i’m very grateful to have shared this experience with you, and i can’t wait for more❤️

ok i lied.

my hopes for the 24-25 season:

1) resigning lindy. he had like 4 SOG tonight, and as a defenseman, i’d consider it a rarity. he might not score much, but he always makes good plays when he needs to, and is always giving up his body for the hell of it. he is the real definition of a warrior, and this is what the team needs.

2) resigning schneider. same thing, he’s been very steady for us all year. he’s still 22, so he continues to grow even more. the team needs him too.

3) i’m impartial about kakko, given his contract is up too. he was kinda invisible. i don’t really know if i’d lose my mind if he did get traded, but we’ll see what drury does.

4) quickie playing more games. i know he’s a backup, so he’s not supposed to play all 82, but for being 38 years old and still having the flexibility and active spirit to play a role like that, it was great to watch him in the regular season.

5) this team continuing to give me heart attacks, strokes, and contemplating my existence throughout each game, and then pulling the win out of their ass. why do i hope for this? because it’s what they did best.

forever & always, LGR❤️💙

#abby’s rants #<-i guess #rangers lb #scp2024

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bitchinbarzal · 2 years ago

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can we get iris and uncle woody content??

“Is that my squish?!” Miles shouts from the side of the rink and iris perks up from the bench.

“Woody!”

Miles skates over and lifts her into his arms “Hey sweet stuff whatcha doing here?”

“Daddy has to bring me because mama working” she explains, toying with the strap on his helmet.

“You wanna come skate?” He asks, gesturing to the ice where hardly anyone was out yet. She nods before turning to the bench and saying

“Please Mr Lindy can I go on the ice?” Giving the coach her best puppy dog eyes.

Miles joins in “Yeah Mr Lindy please?” Mocking her.

Ruff laughs “Sure kid, knock your socks off but you gotta be off by the time Shara is on… he’s always last”

“Got it!”

Miles skates around with the tot in his arms, behind the goal, sitting her on the net and even holding her out as if she was skating.

“Uncle Woody there’s Shara” she points at Yegor who’s stepping on the ice. Lindy points at the two and makes a ‘come hither’ gesture.

Miles laughs and lifts his jersey “Get in” Iris is very obviously hidden under there as he skates to the bench.

“Wood put her down”

“Dunno who you’re talking about coach”

Iris is giggling loudly under there, making everyone laugh at Lindy’s unamused face.

“Squish you’re not very good at hiding” Miles whispers comedically loud opening the neck of his jersey where Iris’ head pops up.

After their fun Iris is back on the bench, With woody’s phone as he set her the task to record him.

When he got home and watched it back he listened to her commentary

“Go uncle wood!”

“Oh no he falls”

“Ah! Ah! Sore”

#life of iris

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three-headed-monster · 2 months ago

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i promise i’m not trying to pick the debate back up again, i just feel like it’s worth highlighting the fact we're 12 games into an 82 game season! the sabres are far from the only team with players having a bit of a sleepy start (noted 50 goal scorer zach hyman has the exact same amount of goals and assists as jack quinn; elias pettersson on a $92M contract and dylan cozens each have 1 goal and 3 assists). regardless of all the couch GMs trying to sit quinn for (checks notes) missing two shots recently, he definitely improved since the start of the season; the first 6 games, he’s been absolutely invisible! now you notice him out there. lindy deploys him like he believes that too, so personally, i’m not too worried :) it’s all coming together (it might happen faster if lindy picks a line and Sticks with it, though!) (that line being anything but kulich - cozens - quinn. i feel like we’ve exhausted that!) (personally i’d give the kid line an HONEST go, or put him on the third line with greenway and mcleod. and for god’s sake, lindy, don’t move dylan to the wing! you know that's not it, lindy!)

no you're so right anon, i agree with this completely!

i mean, i know it looks really dire because the team is 4-7-1 and that's not exactly a recipe for a winning team, but i think sabres fans often get so caught up with how bad the sabres are that they FORGET to look around and see what the rest of the league is doing. like the vancouver canucks were legitimately running lines yesterday, and no sabres fan has been talking about how they've been kind of abysmal to start the year too.

this team is the youngest team in the entire nhl, at like 25 years of age. i'm fairly sure they have one man over the age of 30 and that's zucker. they're going to be streaky and not always have it every night, because they're young, and they don't always know how to bring it every night. that's how young teams ARE. the toronto maple leafs who MADE THE PLAYOFFS in 2017 were literally EXACTLY THAT, and yet i see no one mentioning it.

teams go through ups and downs, and yeah it sucks, but i feel like the 14 year no playoff streak is clouding our judgement and making it seem like these guys are older than they are. like dylan cozens has been in the league half a decade but he's 23 because he started when he was a literal teenager. over and over we've seen that you can't expect every single draft pick to break out right away, especially since the pandemic stunted everyone's growth for like 2 years. same thing with jack quinn, i think you can reasonably expect two major traumatic injuries to kind of mess with someone's development.

the problem is, and always has been, with patience. sabrestwt lovesssss to talk about how management had no patience during the eichel years and made too many moves, without realizing they talk the EXACT same way NOW. and they don't even recognize it! lindy had no patience with dylan's line (which again has not been the same for more than 2 games in a row), and they want to move jack quinn for what? a second line winger? when no one is trading second line wingers right now, and we ALL know he's going to breakout and be a star when he's gone? and with devon and upl, literally NO ONE was talking about how it might not be good to have them be a tandem this summer, until they had a couple bad games and now suddenly we need to sell the farm for a goalie.

it sucks not to win. it does. but so does making rash decisions and idk it's not like the sabres haven't seen the negative consequences of that before

#ask #again we're in year five of the rebuild #YEAR FIVE #no one REBUILDS quickly and succeeds well and if you seriously just want to 'retool' the team again ok #have fun with your 20 year playoff drought like?????#clearly the way to get out of this is to give them TIME #bad teams even make the playoffs sometimes #give them until the end of the year and if at THAT point nothing has changed #then you think about things #but it's game 12 #didn't the oilers go on a 10 game losing streak last year and then push the stanley cup final to 7 like?????#it is NOT the end of the world being 4-7-1 #the rest of the atlantic is flopping like a fish rn #you can make that up

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stereax · 1 year ago

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the kingdom is being rebuilt // the director's cut

a bit of a retrospective on the poem series :)

(and yes, I DID write those poems)

My personal favorites are marked with a (⸸) symbol. Each number links to the respective poem. Enjoy!

2 glory is a foreign word on your tongue and what little you had is left behind you, railroad tracks descending into the past. there is no curse so painful as training your replacement.

Smith's poem comes first. This one was a bit tough because, let's be real, nobody actually gives two shits about Brendan Smith. But I remembered this one interview where Smith was like "yeah my job is basically being a veteran presence for the new generation of defenseman, I'm kind of teaching them to take my job" and if that didn't hit me right in the fucking gut. So yeah. Smith's best days are definitely behind him. He's never going to reach the fame and glory of his brother Reilly. But I think there's something uniquely poignant about him.

6 welcome home, soldier. gunpowder stains your teeth and shrapnel draws lines on your arms. tangled up in you, this inferno burns. don't let it sting too much, the wings of paradise heavy on your back.

Marino is a vital part of the backbone of the Devils. The defense of this team is perhaps its singular most important part, and Marino drives the defense and the penalty kill. He is, in a sense, a grizzled soldier for the Devils' cause, upon whom much of the Devils' dreams lay, and the fire of the Devils runs through defensive efforts. We learned this in our Cup runs - defense wins Cups. Defense takes you to paradise.

7 free bird, what do you sing of? there's no more cage to restrain you, no boundaries but your own. you're where you want to be - just beside the spotlight with a grin. this laughter can heal your soul.

Oh, Dougie. Caged Bird by Maya Angelou is perhaps an overdone poem in the literary canon, but it is such a strong one and one of my personal favorites. For a player whose wings have been tied at many occasions, subverting the idea of only the caged bird singing works well. He's singing more than ever now that you've let him out - out of teams that didn't appreciate him, out of injuries that held him back - and he's found his favorite position, not being The Guy but being one of the guys, standing beside the spotlight. Let him be his introverted little trickster self. Let him have his personal space in the locker room. Let the free bird sing with joy and learn to call New Jersey home.

10 there is a door in front of you that we pray you can unlock. the key is buried deep in your chest. how much will you bleed for your desires? how much do you want it, really, and is wanting it enough to get it?

Holtzy boy has quite literally been a victim of our success, as even Lindy Ruff puts it. He was unable to find ice time, rode the bench for half a season, and then got hurt when he got sent back to Utica. This upcoming season is widely seen, even by the Devils organization, as Holtz's last chance to make the roster on a permanent basis, to open the door to lasting success. But hell, sometimes, no matter how much you want something, you just won't get it. Is that going to be his fate?

13 atlas is your name, holding a nascent world between your hands and on your shoulders. the steadiest star is not the brightest, but you've made peace with that already, haven't you? it's alright to be outshined when you set the world on fire.

Nico... Nico. This is the one that got the most attention, which is funny because I don't really consider it one of the best in this series. But anyways. Nico has carried the burden of this team the longest out of anyone - he is the top line center, expected to perform to perfection constantly. He is the Atlas for the Devils, he carries this new world of the Devils - and no, he's not the brightest, flashiest, best-goal-scoring player on this team. He's not the brightest star, and he is all too aware of it; he's always, always played second fiddle, from his very first season where he boosted Taylor Hall and enabled him to drag the team into the playoffs until today where he's not Jack Hughes. And yet - and yet Nico doesn't have to be the brightest star. He doesn't have to be Jack, and he doesn't need to be Jack, and he doesn't want to be Jack. He is steady instead, a 200-foot player and Selke nominee. He is enough the way he is. His team knows it. His team is there for him - they're all built around the steadiness of his flame, not the brightness of Jack's flame. He's already set the world on fire, so what else does he need?

14 your presence is never as pronounced as your absence. you've seen it so many times, how your job is simply to be. pull out your roll of duct tape, put on a movie for them to enjoy, and maybe you can save us yet.

Bass!!! I don't think any Devils fan is capable of being normal about Nate Bastian - as God intended, of course. His poem revolves around him being the team's "glue guy", the kind of person that binds the Devils together. Recall the Bastian Effect, where the team had an 80% win percentage with him on the ice versus 55% without. But when he's there, you don't really notice him; he's a fourth-line grinder who gets relatively limited minutes. It's only when you lose him (to a shoulder injury or to Seattle) that you realize what you're missing. The movie line comes from a Polish song I love, Scenariusz dla moich sąsiadów, by Myslovitz - I've talked about it before on this blog (I think I said it was Dawson-esque) and I can and WILL talk about how it's a very Nate-coded song as well, but that's an essay for an ask, so if you're interested in that, hit my askbox.

17 day and night blur over and over and columbus balances his egg in time to the lapping of the waves. what is your dream, but more important, what is your destiny? temporary tastes wrong on you.

Shango's poem was one of the more stopgap-type ones where I didn't have a whole lot to say about him, so I went with whatever felt right. Columbus's egg is used to described something that seems simple only after the solution is found - the original story is that Columbus challenged a group of critics (who claimed that going west to find a new trade route wasn't anything novel) to balance an egg on its tip. The critics try and fail; eventually, Columbus shows them how it's done, by flattening one of the ends of the egg. When the critics say it was easy, Columbus replies that going west was also easy, but somebody had to do it first. Shango's got some of that about him - that it's not difficult, you just have to do it. Similarly, his dream and his destiny are at odds (just like the Oilers and Flames he'd been playing against in the pictures chosen); obviously, he seems to want to be a top-line sniping winger, but he gets traded after a relatively low season for him playing third-line minutes. His destiny goes through Calgary and through Tyler Toffoli.

18 you spin the wheel on this ship, control its path through the winds that blow. a veteran stands the test of time even when time stands too. a victor remains a victor. the records cannot take them away, no matter how high the tide rises.

Pally's poem deals strongly with his tenure with the Lightning - which makes sense, given the guy still uses "we" when talking about the Bolts. Bless his veteran soul. It also calls back to Shango's poem with the marine imagery. Not much else to say here, honestly, except that he got high-sticked, lost three teeth, came back and scored a goal in that one game against Toronto. What a power move.

20 they replaced you before they even had you so you learned to change everything just to be desirable again. when your old colors came seeping through they basked in your glory and cheered. what is the price of your salvation?

Mikey's poem went through a couple of iterations before I landed on this one. The idea for it is that he was drafted to be a top-six center, but got jumped in the depth chart by Nico and Jack, so he quite literally changed everything about his game to turn himself into a luxury defensive fourth-line center specializing in faceoffs. This new style of play he pivoted to was quite different from how he played in juniors - but that old style came back during the playoffs, most notably in the shorthanded goals he scored. That last line of his alludes to two things - firstly, the giant question that hangs over his head, but it also ties back to Nate's poem, both being saviors, in a way - Nate with his Bastian Effect, Mikey with his playoff efforts.

28 the last relic of a bygone era, you have stood the test of time, a pillar of salt in this desert. it's time to let go of your family now, walk away from this home you've built on sand, and whatever you do, don't turn back unless you want to shatter into crystals and get swept away by the wind.

(⸸) Sevo... Don't talk to me, I'm still sad. But, uh, yeah - this one deals with Sevo being the longest-tenured Devil and having to leave his team as family. Remember how his wife celebrated not being traded at the deadline? Yeah. His poem alludes strongly to the story of Lot and his wife from the Bible - Sevo already is the pillar of salt, though, as the last of the old Devils, so his punishment for turning back is instead the loss of the rest of himself and his memory. He's been here since he was a baby rookie, he was the last Devil left to play under Lou Lamoriello, he's seen all of the Devils Dark Ages, and his reward is getting shipped to Ohio... God, I'm still sad.

29 don't let the nails dig too deep into your palms. this sacrifice may yet be noble even if your back chars with burnt wax and the imprints of feathers on your shoulder blades. at ease, you served well.

Mac's poem. I know we all love to dunk on Mac Black, but allow me to give you a little bit of a history lesson here. Mac was actually a kickass goalie when he started out with the Devils - his first two years, he had save percentages of .918 and .915, effectively taking over the net from Cory Schneider, who we basically broke as he tried to carry our shitty Devils Dark Ages team. Hell, we called Mac MB29, after MB30, Martin Brodeur; we thought he would be the next Marty. And then Mac broke too. So yes, he gets the motifs of Christ on the cross and of Icarus (one of my favorite Greek myths). You did your best, Mac. I hope San Jose treats you well.

33 yours is a thankless job, marked by spit and blood and sweat and all the most disgusting things. just as the flame ignites, you are extinguished, left on the street corner like a beggar with a sign. you did nothing wrong. the cruelty is that it is not your fault.

Gravy played as the other half of the shutdown pairing alongside Marino, so a lot of the same ideas are in play here, of being a soldier. Spit and blood and sweat is meant to evoke imagery of Winston Churchill's blood, toil, tears, and sweat speech. But Gravy differs from Marino in that he's leaving just as the team breaks through - he got traded from Colorado the year before they won the Cup, and he leaves New Jersey just as they throw open their own Cup window. And he leaves not because he was lacking in any way, but because Luke's here now, and Luke is simply more cost-effective, younger, and likely better as well, even as a rookie. There's nothing Gravy can do about it, and maybe that's the cruelest of all.

40 and everyone asked, isn't this enough? but there's no point in wanting if you only want so much of a good thing. there's no point in halfway prayer. the crown of kings is heavy but it won't hurt if you keep your head held high.

(⸸) Akira's poem is probably my favorite out of the entire Kingdom series, and that's saying a lot. I think it explains itself, for the most part, but the idea of it is essentially that the Devils weren't meant to win the series against the Rangers. We thought that it was enough that we got there. We said next year would be our year. Wasn't it enough to just have made the playoffs again? And in comes Akira and says fuck that noise, we're not done here. There's no reason to only want us to make the playoffs if we can go further than that, no point in halfway prayer. And through that, Akira solidified his position in Devils history, outdueling one of the best goalies in the NHL, killing a god. Now he's being looked at as our potential starter by the end of next year - but remember what happened to Mac and to Cory, how they broke when being given Marty's crown of kings, and how Vitek, too, fell apart to a lesser extent in the playoffs. If he is the successor to Marty, Akira needs to keep his head up and his wits about him - don't let this divinity get to your head.

41 god didn't hang all the stars in one day, you know. you shouldered this hurt time and again, took the love and the hate in tandem and twisted something wonderful out of it. tomorrow is another day. tomorrow is a beautiful day.

Vitek's poem serves as the counterpole to Akira's. Where Akira is viewed as the new god in the flesh, Vitek is instead deigned as a regular-season merchant. And yet, he was the god for that regular season. When we thought we would never get a good goalie again, he came and proved us wrong. Vitek is great, he just needs to be in a tandem. He can't play 50, 60 games a season effectively. Those goalies are a dying breed. But yes, Vitek's message is perhaps also Akira's opposite - leave the past in the past. And yet it's exactly the same - don't let this get to your head. You are so much better than you give yourself credit for.

42 they say that mint will grow anywhere. mint puts its roots down wherever it can and clings to itself, carving out an existence in the unlikeliest of places. imagine what you could do with sunlight and water.

Curtis's poem relies on the motif of mint. Mint is a known invasive plant - it can take root almost anywhere and it is almost impossible to eradicate once it takes hold. Curtis, too, is a bit of a journeyman, never really finding a home on any team, but perhaps New Jersey changes that. What happens with a little bit of nurturing? What happens when you open the door for mint and let it grow instead of uprooting it again?

43 unaffected by the torch spewing hot ash onto your fingers, the weight of legacy. there is a list of demands on your front door and every day it grows longer and longer. martin luther, tear down your walls.

Luke has a lot of historical references for a five-line poem. He carries the torch for the Devils as the newest rookie, helping to lead the defense forward, and yet everything he does is colored by Jack before him (and Quinn as well). He has almost too much to live up to, but it seems not to rattle him at all. Martin Luther was a priest best known for starting the Protestant sects of the Christian faith when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses (dealing primarily with the Catholic Church's corruption and indulgences) to the door of the church. This parallels with the list of demands on Luke's door, the idea that he's going to be shoved into a top-four role with the Devils with the hope that he becomes a franchise defenseman, and he's going to have to figure it out pretty damn fast. And yet when Martin Luther is called by name, it is in the same breath as the iconic quote from Ronald Reagan's speech about the Berlin Wall. Luke must transcend history in much the same way, in the way Jack already has, and carve his own legacy on the Devils.

44 the sun shines brighter on your back. when you let go of this life, will you remember the smiles or will you remember the tears? you can lay flowers on the grave of what could have been, but give a bouquet to what is first. nobody blames you for forgetting.

Woody's poem goes in the same vein as many of those who left before him, most notably Sevo's. But it also follows a line consistent with Mac's, Shango's, and even Smith's poems. See, Miles was thought of as a top-sixer for a good while during the Devils Dark Years - he was a power forward who played on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. I'm not joking. His greatest years were years ago, before he busted his hip and lost the most important part of his game, his speed. And now he leaves for Colorado as a maligned fourth-liner. It's up to Woody how he remembers us, and, on a much realer level, how he mourns his lost potential.

49 the short stick was your burden. every battle has a casualty. there's something good brewing out west even if that's where the sun sets. persevere, and you will be rewarded.

Zett has a quite simple poem that mostly just revolves around him being shipped off to San Jose. He was the most important piece (non-pick-wise) that the Devils gave up for the Timo trade, which is a bit of a testament to how weird that trade was. But, at the same time, that trade is very possibly going to set the tone for the Sharks for the years to come, with the assets they received. Zett's now being given space to grow and a looser leash, and who knows? Maybe in a few years we'll see him as part of a Sharks Cup run.

56 the wanderer keeps his bags packed and sitting by the door for the next journey. cut open all the cardboard boxes, you don't need to take the midnight train anymore. hang the pictures and make this house a home.

(⸸) Haula, oh boy oh boy. His poem isn't all that deep, but man does it hurt me. He, like Curtis, was a bit of a journeyman (I've talked about Haula's peculiar journey to Jersey before on my blog), and he's now found a home in New Jersey. Having been traded and having signed one-year contracts, Haula's spoken openly about how he's happy to settle down, get a house, and raise his son and family here. When you're a wanderer like he was, you essentially have to be ready to pack up your entire life at a moment's notice, but now that Haula's got his contract, he can finally start unpacking his life and the cardboard boxes that come with constant moving. Also, Haula being a paternal/older brother figure to Jack makes me cry. So of course I had to include a picture of them.

63 did they call you a miracle when you were born? did your mother cradle you to her chest and whisper how lucky she was to have you? or did they know that the tempest in your soul could never be tamped down no matter the odds? you write your own destiny. make it so.

Bratter is the epitome of potential, which is what his poem tries to capture. Going from a sixth-round draft pick (which almost never make it to the NHL) to one of the oldest Devils by tenure and a core part of the top-six is a feat in and of itself, almost a miracle. And hell, he has an entire fan club based around the idea of JBITBPITNHL (Jesper Bratt Is The Best Player In The NHL). Can't say the same about Nico or Jack. Bratt beat the odds to get here, time and again, and now he's signed his destiny to stay in New Jersey. It's his choice where he goes from here.

70 drape a cloth over your eyes, invisible man. let them know what you're here for, what you still want to prove. dip your hands in molten wax so they'll be seen when you wave. wear jingle bells on your ankles so they hear you coming.

Boqvist, in his time in New Jersey, was basically the least notable Devil on the ice. So he got the motif of the Invisible Man from H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man was a character that managed to turn himself, well, invisible with sophisticated science. When he finds he cannot undo this, the Invisible Man slowly goes mad. But what I'm getting at is that the Invisible Man would always be trying to wear as much clothing and accessories and such so that he would look like a normal person. Boqvist, too, if he wants to break out of his invisible mold, needs to do something to make him stand out against the backdrop of replacement-level NHL players. Oh, and I almost forgot about this. Generally, when a player left for another team, at least one of their pictures was them playing against their new team. Boqy's New Team Picture actually has him trying to beat Taylor Hall to a puck. Small world, huh?

71 you told them it didn't matter what they did as long as they used you, as long as they valued you, as long as you were valuable to them. you stood in line to buy this dream when nobody else thought it worth the price. how powerful is your belief? will you turn yourself to stone to lay the foundations of this castle?

(⸸) Siegs's poem is another of those that hits me right in the gut and refuses to let up. Siegs got traded to the Devils because - well, he requested the trade because the Capitals, who drafted him, acquired Zdeno Chara, and it left Siegs sitting on the bench or in the press box almost every game. One night, he had one single shift at the very end of the game for like, thirty seconds. So Siegs basically said "if you're not going to use me, trade me somewhere that actually wants me", and he ended up in New Jersey with Nico. Siegs was the first to take the Nico Discount to play for the Devils, back when it looked like we would never leave the rebuild, and he flat-out admitted it on multiple occasions that he took a pay cut so other players could get paid and so a team could get built around him. On a very real level, Siegs enables Dougie by covering for his defensive lapses, as well as pushes the offense forward through some incredibly clutch moments (see: his goal against the Rangers in the playoffs). He's expected to be the rock on which the castle can be built and on which the free bird sits.

82 the jester exercises his privilege and the king listens to his call. lift your cap, triboulet, and dance. there's a new path before you and an old friend to walk it with.

I almost forgot about Okhotiuk, to be honest. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Okie played a couple of games for us in December and January (when Gravy and Marino were both dead) before being shipped to San Jose as part of the Timo Meier trade. He's notable as a physical defenseman who has thrown fists on many an occasion, including (notably) against GM Tom Fitzgerald's own son while in the AHL. Okie gets the motif of jester's privilege, or the idea that a jester can make fun of things without being punished for it... like punching your boss's kid. Triboulet was a famous jester for the French king who slapped the king on the rear and, when threatened with execution, apologized because he thought he was spanking the queen. When the king decided to let Triboulet choose how he would die, the jester famously replied that he would like to die of old age and thus outwitted the king. While Okie wears Triboulet's cap to San Jose, at least he does not travel that road alone.

86 oh, prince of a new dawn, hold your sceptre tight. you know better than to listen to liars but will you let the truth overwhelm you? this is not your destination. keep pushing forward, you've yet to break the horizon.

Jack's poem deals heavily with the idea that he is the new Devils superstar. He, more than anyone else, is what makes the Devils contenders. Yes, he is self-aware and walks his own path. He knows not to let the voices calling him a bust get to him. But, at the same time, we've seen many a player get a big head at the prospect of being the deliverer of a franchise. Will Jack let his ego get the better of him, now that he knows what he's capable of? And yet, he is only the prince of this new dawn. He has not yet reached his potential or his destination. So much more is coming, and perhaps that's the scariest thing of all. A star as bright as Jack has so much left to give, but will he burn too brightly and fizzle out too soon?

88 sing it to the wolves, head tipped back, crying sweet mercy at the moon. you were made to be eclipsed but that doesn't mean you were made to be forgotten. there's a beauty in your dark.

Bahl's poem, more than anyone else's, deals a fair bit with his physical appearance as well as his role on the team. He's a lower-pairing defenseman whose main draw is being invisible, but in a good way. Eclipsed, but not forgotten. Bahl gets the imagery of a pack of wolves howling at a missing moon. There's a quiet sort of powerful energy you get from him that aligns with that, I think. (And yes, maybe there's a little bit of a hidden story being told with Jack in those photos too...)

90 when you look at the pictures years from now the regret should be that you left too soon, not that you stayed too long. when paths like these cross, they don't run parallel forever but the land they cover is lush with butterflies and daffodils.

Tuna, like a bunch of others, gets a goodbye sort of poem. I think his is fairly self-explanatory - the idea of memory of the past, just like Woody, just like Sevo. Except, unlike them, we knew Tuna was a short-term rental. We all knew his journey with us would be on the shorter side, but it doesn't mean that it hurts less to see him go. For a player like him, all we can hope for is that he holds fond memories of us when he looks back on it years from now. Oh, Vitek and Tuna for the butterflies line is on purpose, because, you know, goalies, butterfly position, but also it's Vitek, who's the most "butterflies and daffodils" player out there.

91 and just when they thought they knew you you turned yourself into something new again. wonder what you've borrowed, wonder if it's blue, because your heart's old, old and full of life. call to the masses and they will respond. they wait for your commands.

Dawson's poem plays on the saying for brides "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue". Dawson's only been getting better with time (what is a sophomore slump, anyway), and he keeps reinventing himself, being a player you can put in just about any spot in the lineup, being a collection of somethings that ends up being better than any one of those things alone. Need a bottom-six center or a top-six winger, a powerplayer or a penalty-killer, a goalscorer or a playmaker? Look no further than Mercer. He's even more versatile that Mister Swiss Army Knife Nico Hischier himself, which is no small feat. And yet, despite all that, he's such a humble and gracious kid who's genuinely grateful just to be here, a little old soul. Show me someone who hates Dawson. You literally can't find one. The last two lines call to his Player's Tribune article, where he made the entire Devils fanbase want to run through walls for him. He's got so much power - it's his choice how to use it.

96 you're in the middle of it, always, and it feels like you always have been. whirlpools under your feet when you walk, the bite and the snap of skin on skin. this might be the end of one show but the encore is just getting underway. don't take a bow just yet.

Timo gets a poem that rolls with shark-like motifs. He's known to be the center of attention - power forwards tend to be that, for better or for worse. So the idea of whirlpools when he skates tracks from that, making the ice melt underneath him with the spotlight shining down. Yes, the Trouba picture was on purpose for the line that sounds like it's referencing his hit on Timo, because it literally is. And Timo's spent his entire NHL career in San Jose - him leaving the Sharks was the last nail in the coffin of their looming rebuild. He's got eight years of being a Devil ahead of him, and we're hoping those are his best years. As one curtain closes, another opens.

00 the kingdom is being rebuilt. the castle may have been razed to the ground but the stones are being laid again, one by one, until the ship of theseus sets sail for paradise once more. this is no longer a story of survival but of flourishing despite the odds. this is no longer a story of nothing but of something greater than its pieces. this is the castle and this is the kingdom.

(⸸) The summary poem gets NJ Devil's jersey number. And I think, honestly, this is one of the most poignant of all. The pictures really make it for me. The thing about the Devils is that we have so much history packed in such a team that is often dismissed as New York's little brother. In the 1990s and 2000s, we had a legitimate dynasty that the NHL implemented specific rules (the trapezoid most pertinently) to help take down. Hell, if we didn't win the Cup in 1995, chances are that we'd have been the Nashville Predators. The story of the Devils is that of a kingdom - and that kingdom was destroyed entirely by 2010 or so. The 2012 Cup run was the last hoorah of the dying kingdom before it was dismantled entirely. But now, after so many grueling years of rebuilding, the Devils are finally back on the map.

The ship of Theseus is a thought experiment basically asking whether a ship with all its pieces replaced is still the same - just like a Devils team with an entirely new roster and staff is still the same in its soul as the one that forged that dynasty. The "story of survival" alluded to in the pictures is that of Brian Boyle, a journeyman who spent two years with the Devils in the Dark Ages during which he battled and won against leukemia. He later scored his first hat-trick on a Hockey Fights Cancer night. Many tears were shed. This is still one of the highlights of the Devils Dark Ages and probably will be forever. The "story of nothing" shows Keith Kinkaid when his goalie net fell on top of him during a Ducks game. We lost that one, by the way.

Motifs used in other poems are called back in the summary with accompanying pictures to match, most notably Siegs (and Nico) as the stones and foundations of the castle, but also Marino's idea of paradise, Bratt and Akira's beating the odds, Dawson's greater than his pieces, and Jack's being a prince of his kingdom. Nico is the castle, Jack is the kingdom. Nico is the steady star, Jack is the bright star. This team was built around Nico and its dreams are built around Jack. Do you get it now?

(⸸) (⸸) (⸸) (⸸) (⸸) (⸸)

And... cut! That's all for this! Thanks for reading this massive text post, haha :)

If you've got any more questions about the Kingdom series, please drop them in my askbox - I'd be super, super happy to receive them and answer you! :D

#nj devils #new jersey devils #hockey+poetry #the kingdom is being rebuilt: a collection of flash poetry #sterepoetry

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reverselayupz · 3 months ago

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i barely know what goaltender interference is, but i know it ain’t that

#bruins lb #boston bruins #give Lindy back his goal!!#hampus lindholm #come on smh

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toffoliravioli · 2 years ago

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ok serious talk time; things I noticed/what went wrong (bare with me it’s a long one) let’s discuss

if I was the coach of the devils I would be focusing on these points:

the devils were very much trying to match the rangers physically and it’s been biting them in the ass. they’ve been hitting more yes but what does hitting do? It slows you down. And what’s the devils strong suit? They’re fast. They work on speed and skill. they need to stop trying to play the rangers game/style. It’s like they’re playing this “see what they do then respond” game. How about not focusing on them and worry about what you’ve been so good at. Play your own game, that’s how you went 3/4 on them in the regular season. Literally there was no need to be physical bcuz your speed worked in your favor.

Another thing. For the love of all that is holy stop leaving Christopher “powerplay merchant” Kreider alone in front of the net. Don’t leave anyone alone for that matter. Are you dumb or are you stupid. He’s had to score on you 4 times in two games for you to figure this out? He’s literally the perfect example of a net front presence and you leave him ALONE EVERY. TIME. What the actual fuck are you doing, you’re better than that. If anything our pk has always been better than our powerplay so what are y’all doing.

Along the lines of the pk and penalties; how about you stay out of the box? Idk why that’s such a hard task but literally stop. Frustration is a mood killer. You get frustrated and then your stick ends up in the face of a rangers player or you end up hooking them, now you’re in the box oh no, instant rangers goal.

veterans need to step up. doesn’t necessarily have to be on the scoresheet but I want to know what’s being said between periods. I’m hoping you are not going into the locker rooms crying, feeling sorry about yourselves. Remember when the leafs had that sucky game against tampa last year and then spezza gave a speech before the third period and then they went out and won. yeah now give me that with palat or Haula or smith who apparently is such a great locker room presence. EVEN NICO WOULD BE A GOOD SPEAKER. He’s young but he’s the captain for a reason.

head macho man himself lindy ruff; sigh. ok I have many things to say but I’ll keep it simple. this fucking blender-made lines is ridiculous. Enough is enough. You tried every possible line combination and it’s throwing the entire team off. Chemistry will never be made if you can’t stick to one set of lines. Here’s my line suggestions:

Meier-Hischier-Mercer

Palat-Hughes-Bratt

Tatar-Haula-Boqvist

Shara-McLeod-Bastian or Lazar

Siegs-Dougie

Graves-Marino

Hughes-Bahl

Schmid

Vanecek

and last but not least, the dreaded powerplay. what can we even say that hasn’t already been said. shoot the puck more, stop passing something something something. you have some of the best scorers on your top line and all they do is play pass the potato with the puck. who scored tonight? Haula. A second pp unit player. Your second unit is out showing your first, make it make sense. Completely unacceptable. You have to shoot, when y’all try and set up the perfect shot you’re literally giving Igor all the time in the world to set up. We need those ugly goals, the ones he doesn’t see coming.

In conclusion I’d be a much better coach than Lindy, Fitzy this is my official job application, pls take my notes into consideration thank you very much have a lovely night have a cookie 🍪

#woah this is a read oOps #but like I had so many notes #so many things went wrong I could probably think of more #new jersey devils

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devilsupdates · 9 months ago

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I just saw this

Taking a Look at Potential Devils Head Coaching Candidates

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned some potential candidates for the Devils head coaching job, so let’s take a look at them.

By Jared W Moore Apr 3, 2024, 11:00am EDT

Two weeks ago, I wrote about what qualities the New Jersey Devils should look for from their next head coach. I didn’t really talk so much about systems or anything like that, other than I wanted somebody known for more defensive structure than the previous regime. I also talked about accountability and how there needs to be a lot more of that moving forward regardless of who the coach winds up being. If you haven’t read that, I’d suggest going back and taking a look at it as I’ll reference some key points from that article throughout this one.

Last week, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned during their “Insider Trading” segment that current interim coach Travis Green is a serious candidate for the job. In case the video doesn’t open for you (TSN can be weird sometimes with content being blocked geographically), here’s the quote of what LeBrun actually said in regards to Green and the Devils vacancy.

“My sense from talking to the Devils is that Travis Green is a serious candidate, absolutely. They love what he’s done since taking over for Lindy Ruff, the Devils feel they’re a different team, they play differently. But GM Tom Fitzgerald will probably still look at some other candidates just to have a thorough process here in terms of naming a head coach at the end of the year. So bigger names....perhaps, like (Craig) Berube, (Todd) McLellan, Gerard Gallant who hasn’t coached all year.....those are all possibilities but yes, Travis Green is very much a possibility.”

LeBrun is as credible an insider as there is and he clearly has connections within the Devils organization. His recent on-the-record conversations with Tom Fitzgerald and Martin Brodeur are proof of that. While circumstances can change and lists can change (Lindy Ruff wasn’t exactly the first choice the last time the Devils conducted an extensive head coaching search), LeBrun isn’t the type of insider who will throw anything at the wall just to see what sticks. I’m sure he didn’t just float the names of Craig Berube, Todd McLellan, and Gerard Gallant out there for no reason and on a whim if he didn’t hear from someone (Fitzgerald, Brodeur, agents, the coaches themselves) that they have some level of interest in the job. I also think if you have your sights set on a bigger name like Mike Sullivan, keep in mind that he already has an NHL head coaching job. I’ll be the first person to admit that this list is kind of uninspiring, but I don’t think its anything more than a few names LeBrun heard and that the Devils will do due diligence. I say all that to say that I wouldn’t look at the names LeBrun mentioned as a final list. Circumstances can change.

That said, that didn’t stop people from reacting to the list. Something that I was guilty of as well.

Devils candidates mentioned by LeBrun, ranked.

1. Berube

2. Gallant

3. McLellan

4. Getting hit by a bus

5. Green

After having a few days to take a step back and think more about it, I thought it would be a smart idea to take a look at each individual candidate, try to figure out why the Devils might be interested in them, and whether or not they’re the right fit.

Let’s start with the interim bench boss, Travis Green.

Travis Green

The best argument for Green getting the permanent gig might be the same argument for Principal Skinner getting his job back after Ned Flanders was fired as school principal.....he seems to know the kid’s names.

The Devils might indeed be playing differently under Green, but it’s fair to question whether or not they’re playing well, despite a 6-8-0 record since taking over.

On the season, the Devils are giving up 3.39 goals per game and are averaging just over 30 shots on goal allowed per game. In a small sample size since Green took over, they’re giving up 2.92 goals per game, however, I think that can be more closely tied to improved goaltending by Jake Allen (.923 since the trade) and Kaapo Kahkonen (.934) over what the Devils were getting the majority of the season. And while purely counting shot totals doesn’t tell the entire story of how the Devils are playing defensively, they’re giving up more shots on goal with Green on board than before (31.7 shots on goal per game). It might be true that players such as Luke Hughes have cleared the rookie wall, but this is also still a team that regularly plays Brendan Smith for some reason, so take all of this talk about defensive improvements with a grain of salt.

The Devils are also not doing so hot with the expected goals since the Ruff firing. And while I’m always the first person to point out that real goals mean far more than expected goals, it further supports the idea aren’t really playing all that well now, they’re just getting better goaltending than before.

It’s probably not fair to Green to expect him to dump Lindy Ruff’s system overnight, implement his own, and get the team to execute it when they’ve had little to no practice time and no full training camp. The Devils have played games in 14 of the 30 days since Ruff has been fired, after all. But we’ve also seen very little to suggest they’d have more structure defensively or maintain what they’ve been doing offensively. In fairness to Green, the power play has ticked up a bit since he took over. Whether that has more to do with Timo Meier taking over Tyler Toffoli’s spot on the top unit, and whether or not we should ignore that the PP was stagnant for a long stretch under Green’s coaching....I’ll leave that up to you to judge.

For what its worth, I don’t believe Green is a serious candidate to be the Devils next coach. Or at least, I hope he isn’t. John expressed his concerns with the power play back when Green was hired and I think a lot of what he wrote at that time has indeed come to fruition. Chris wrote the other day about how Green has overseen too many lifeless efforts to get serious consideration, including Friday’s loss in Buffalo, and it goes noted that a team that is supposedly still alive for a playoff spot somehow plays as uninspired, lifeless hockey that this Devils team plays.

Green does have some championship pedigree in his background with a championship at the WHL level with the Portland Winterhawks and a Calder Cup Final appearance with the Utica Comets in 2014-15, but its fair to be underwhelmed with his previous NHL head coaching run in Vancouver, as well as his tenure thus far as the interim Devils coach. I can see why Fitzgerald might want to give Green an interview as a professional courtesy, but I feel like hiring Green would be ‘settling’ and the Devils would be doing it because he’s there. The only way promoting Green makes sense is if they can’t get their preferred choice and they choose to wait until a better candidate becomes available sometime next season. Either way, the Devils should aim higher than settling for Travis Green.

Todd McLellan

McLellan brings plenty of experience to the table, as he has well over 1100 NHL games as a head coach and 9 playoff appearances on his resume. He is best known for his run with the San Jose Sharks, becoming the winningest coach in franchise history and helping the Sharks reach a pair of conference finals. McLellan landed on his feet after parting ways with the Sharks, getting the head coaching job in Edmonton, but he was fired early in his fourth season in Alberta. He took over in Los Angeles prior to the 2019-20 season and helped lead the rebuilding Kings to a pair of first round playoff exits, but was once again dismissed earlier this season.

McLellan is known for a defense-first system and clogging up the neutral zone with a 1-3-1 alignment. It’s not the most visually pleasing version of hockey to watch, and I think questions whether or not the Devils have the personnel to play that manner is fair, but McLellan has had enough success in this league to where he’s going to do things his way and want to bring this structure to his next head coaching job. I’m also old enough to remember the Devils being very successful playing a brand of hockey that could be described as somewhere between grinding, efficient, and boring.

I don’t necessarily hold it against McLellan that he got fired from his last two NHL head coach jobs (and ‘mutually parted ways’ in the third).....coaches are hired to be fired, after all. I also don’t necessarily hold it against McLellan that Cam Talbot was brutal for a six-week stretch around the time of McLellan’s firing because that’s the risk you run counting on a journeyman netminder in Cam Talbot in the first place. I also don’t hold it against McLellan that the Kings appear to lack the top-end talent a team needs to get past the Edmonton Oilers, something they have failed to do the last two seasons in the playoffs. Never mind being able to beat more complete teams like Colorado or Vegas in a Best-of-Seven series. And it should be noted that it appears the coaching change will work as the Kings have stabilized, Talbot has stabilized, and appear to be heading back to the postseason. Unlike Tom Fitzgerald, Rob Blake knew when to make the coaching change and will reap the rewards for doing so.

I do question whether or not McLellan will be able to get that level of buy-in and commitment defensively if the Devils were to hire him, as he has had issues getting that from players like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kevin Fiala. Granted, Dubois has his own history of playing his way out of favor in markets he doesn’t want to be in and Fiala won’t be confused with Mark Stone defensively, but the Devils have their share of forwards who make cursory efforts in a 200-foot game. I question whether or not the Devils have the wingers who are capable of winning on the boards and being able to retrieve pucks. But thinking more about it, I do think with some tweaks on the roster that need to happen anyways, McLellan could be an interesting hire.

Gerard Gallant

Gallant, who as far as we know is the only repeat name from Tom Fitzgerald’s previous coaching search, is back in the mix, and understandably so. His body of work at his three most recent head coaching jobs in Florida, Vegas, and New York speak for itself as he has consistently gotten his teams to the postseason. Gallant is a former IIHF World Championship gold medalist as a coach, a former QMJHL League champion, a former Memorial Cup champion, and a Jack Adams winner. He also was the coach who led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, where they ultimately lost to the Washington Capitals in five games. Gallant has been known for being a players coach, to where he’d allow the skill players to play to their strengths and hold themselves accountable. That all sounds well and good, but when the opposition adjusts, Gallant’s teams in the playoffs have often been left having no answers. Lindy Ruff outcoached Gallant in last year’s playoffs, so turning around and replacing Ruff with Gallant would be a curious choice. Gallant has also been criticized for not doing a whole lot to develop young talent, and it’s probably not a coincidence that former #1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere had a breakout season the second he left. In fairness to Gallant, his job is to coach the hockey team first and foremost win games, not necessarily try to squeeze blood from a stone in hoping that Kaapo Kakko is better than he actually is. Considering the Devils still have some young talent that needs developing in Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and eventually, Seamus Casey and/or whoever the Devils first round pick is, I think its fair to question whether you want Gallant involved. I said previously that I think the Devils team needs a kick in the pants and I don’t know that Gallant’s “let the players police the room” approach is the direction I’d go in when that clearly hasn’t worked this year under a different player’s coach in Lindy Ruff. Add in the fact that Gallant typically has a short shelf-life....shorter than he should considering his track record of success and that would suggest to me there’s something going on behind the scenes we’re not quite privy to. I don’t know if his hands off approach tends to lead to him losing the room or if he’s just a miserable jerk behind closed doors, but I feel like Gallant would be better suited with a more veteran team where the standard is understood. I think the Devils are still in the process of figuring out what that standard actually is. Just because I write on this blog that the Devils need to have the mindset that “this can never happen again” doesn’t necessarily mean the players will show up to camp next September with that mindset.

Craig Berube

The most interesting name on this list to me is Craig Berube. Berube coached two seasons in Philadelphia and made the playoffs once before famously resurfacing in St. Louis. After serving as an assistant coach on Mike Yeo’s staff, Berube took over for the fired Yeo and the Blues went from worst to first, ultimately winning the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2019. Berube followed that up with three more playoff appearances, but the Blues struggled to replicate Jordan Binnington’s brilliance in net as well as replace what Alex Pietrangelo brought to their blueline. St. Louis missed the playoffs last season and they fired Berube 28 games into this season when it became apparent things weren’t going to turn around.

What ultimately did Berube in in St. Louis was poor defense and goaltending, as their defensive zone play was not good. That said, I think a lot of these issues are more on roster construction than they are on the coach himself. Torey Krug was a desperation signing after Pietrangelo left for Vegas a few summers ago that hasn’t worked out. Colton Parayko has not been good for some time now. Their CapFriendly is littered with unmovable contracts and NTCs. Players like Ryan O’Reilly who play a good two-way game ultimately left. And while Binnington is having a good year this year, the 6x6M contract that he signed a few years ago has been a mixed bag. Some good like a .912 this year, some bad like a .894 over 61 games last year. Most of this probably isn’t Berube’s fault.

That said, I think Berube was instrumental for helping the Blues become Stanley Cup champions. They got the right level of buy-in at the right time. They played as a team and played a physical brand of hockey. Berube did play 1000+ NHL games as an enforcer, after all. Instead of letting the players hold themselves accountable, he holds them accountable (which might be part of the reason why Jordan Kyrou wasn’t too sad to see him leave). That type of hard-nosed style may have a shorter shelf-life than most coaches, but it can be very effective.

Berube would need to do a better job of having all five skaters engaged defensively than Ruff did, as that was ultimately one of the things that did both coaches in in their respective cities, but I think Berube’s approach would be what the Devils need at this time.

Final Thoughts

Upon further review, I’d probably rank Berube and McLellan as my top choices from LeBrun’s list, followed by Gallant and then getting hit by a bus. And then Travis Green. Again, its not exactly an awe-inspiring list, but its still early in the process, coaches who may ultimately become available such as Mike Sullivan haven’t become available yet, and there might wind up being another interesting name linked to this opening that we haven’t heard yet.

The pressure is on for Fitzgerald to get this hire right. Odds are if he doesn’t, he won’t get to stick around long enough to make a third coaching hire.

What do you all think?

#hockey imagine #new jersey devils #nico hischier #jack hughes #luke hughes #hockey #timo meier #john marino

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