lets be honest

[nj_cup]

If we make the playoffs. Does this team have a shot against Boston and pitt?

Honestly did we have a shot against them if we faced them last year?

 

[CalamityX11]

I think we do have a shot... I'm assuming Marty will be back lol...

we just need to get over this damn slump...

 

[kellmit]

I think we beat Pitt but lose pretty bad to Boston... they are amazing, if they don't win the east I'll be suprised

 

[linebackeru]

I think we beat Pitt but lose pretty bad to Boston... they are amazing, if they don't win the east I'll be suprised

yeah, I think we have a much better shot against Pitt, provided Marty and Loki are back. Zubs won't hurt either

 

[irishwhip03]

I wouldn't bet on us in either of those matchups..but then again I thought the Kings would get swept by the Nucks last year.

Just gotta get hot and healthy at the right time kinda like we did last year.

But we NEED to make a deadline move..and not a depth move either. A real move. Ive heard that guys like Vanek , St Louis and Riberio could be made available (Not to mention Corey Perry but I dont see him here). Any of them would give us a legit at winning a series or two in the playoffs. Id easily give Buffalo their choice of 5 of our minor leaguers for Vanek. Want Boucher? He's yours.

But also I really dont see us as a 7th or 8th seed.

 

[CalamityX11]

how about we keep boucher instead?

 

[Nasty_Magician]

If Marty is playing like Marty then we have a shot against any team. To do it over a 2 month span, we need another consistent scorer besides Kovy and Elias. We also need some secondary scoring like we got last year. Our 3rd and 4th lines need to contribute to the score board, especially since line matching and defensive strategies neutralize the top 2 lines in the playoffs.

 

[irishwhip03]

how about we keep boucher instead?

Id love to see what Boucher turns into. But I think anytime you can get a legit and proven scorer you should give up unproven pieces to get him.

I remember a few fans being upset we gave up Bergfors and Patrice Cormier in the Kovy deal..well that worked out pretty good for us.

Boucher might very well be the next great scorer..but if you're giving me the choice of 30 goals a season for the next 5...or a 50-50 (probably worse) chance of 50 for the next 10 , Im taking the certain 30 everytime.

But Id only give up that kinda prospect for a guy like Vanek or Perry.

 

[CalamityX11]

how about we unite the Bernier-Gio-Carter line first and foremost...

 

[CalamityX11]

Id love to see what Boucher turns into. But I think anytime you can get a legit and proven scorer you should give up unproven pieces to get him.

I remember a few fans being upset we gave up Bergfors and Patrice Cormier in the Kovy deal..well that worked out pretty good for us.

Boucher might very well be the next great scorer..but if you're giving me the choice of 30 goals a season for the next 5...or a 50-50 (probably worse) chance of 50 for the next 10 , Im taking the certain 30 everytime.

But Id only give up that kinda prospect for a guy like Vanek or Perry.

I want to see Boucher and try him out.... keep him and let him blossom. It's more of a long term franchise(if) move for me rather than a quick fix....

but obviously if the "right" player is made available, then you make the move... but sooner or later, our Elias & Kovy won't be here anymore so we need their future replacements ready.

 

[MadCaptain]

Pitt is beatable this year by the Devils. The Bruins are not beatable in the Playoffs and haven't for a while. The styles and personnel don't matchup well for the Devils.

And yes, last year the Devils would have lost 4-0 against the Bruins and likely 4-1 against the Penguins. The match-ups would have been lopsided.

 

[nj_cup]

lets face it last year we got lucky with the matchups. i just dont see us beating either team. i dont recall the defense last year making so many bad turnovers. you cant do that against sid and malkin for sure. boston will just pound our defense and they have an insane powerplay i think its 4th? or is that their pk? either way we live or die by our pp and since it sucks well we would be in trouble.

i would be down for perry/vanek/st.louis/iggy but it all depends on their contracts after this year. i know perry and iggy are UFA not sure about vanek or st.louis....i would trade boucher but not for a rental. perry getting 10 million means his trade value will be little. who is going to give up a 1st rounder for him knowing they wont be able to keep him after this season? esp since he is having a semi off year?

like irish said i will always trade for a known product instead of a what if. boucher can turn out great but what maybe 3 years from now? kovy will be 3 years older. elias probably retired broduer retired. what good will that be then? thats hoping he is as good as his 60 goals suggest. but like i posted a link to before there are a ton of 50/60 goal scorers that did squat when they got to the nhl.

Ernie Godden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

that guy holds the record for most goals in the ohl with 87. as good as boucher can be he wont help us in now or in the next 3 years i believe.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Versteeg going down sucks because he would've been the type of guy we could use. He'd probably come relatively cheap compared to a guy like Perry or an aging player like Iggy. I still say give Ales Hemsky out of Edmonton a shot. Still young enough to contribute for the next few years, he's being wasted in Edmonton, and they will have to start unloading certain guys if they want to sign all their youngsters in the coming years.

 

[CalamityX11]

man, some are really down on Boucher lol..... he's no automatic obviously but entertain the thought of a positive future no?

 

[nj_cup]

im not down on him at all. just have to give something to get something. i wouldnt deal him for a straight up rental player. it would have to be someone that is going to stay on the devils past this year.

book is still out on him but i remember the rangers could've got nash last year if kriedger was part of the deal. if they had nash last year i think they would've beat us in the ECF. now they still ended up with nash. but the kid is only getting what 8mins of ice time? and yeah he can still turn out pretty good but thats one window that closed on the rangers imo.

 

[nj_cup]

the cap situation will keep some teams away from perry like i said why give up a lot to get him as a rental when you know you cant afford him next year? only a few teams i think would be crazy to offer a lot for a rental

 

[DevilishWon]

More than anything else it depends on who is hot at the rright time. As good as they looked in the playoffs do you really think teh Kings were "the best" team in the NHL last year no and niether were we the best team in teh east. Hell the pittspens were a far better team than philly but philly clobbereed them in the playoffs. Could we beat pitts or Boston yes....if we get them at the right time...

 

[rp2five]

Last season, Philly really worried me and the Devils ended beating them rather easily. If you think about it, the toughest series besides the Kings was the Panthers series. They were a pain to play against.

I think the Devils can beat anybody if they are on a roll heading into the playoffs, especially if healthy.
Adding another scorer if possible at the trade deadline would help. But even if they can't add anybody, as long as they are playing like they did 4 weeks ago, team can go far.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Let's start by getting Marty and Zubrus back in the lineup and healthy. Zubrus in a 7 game series is so valuable. Great penalty killer and forechecker, and he can just grind away at a defense. He's also great for protecting a lead and killing clock.

 

[MCDevils]

I would have told you last year that we had a 25% chance against the Flyers and a 10% chance against the Rangers.