looks like Arnott may be next

[MadCaptain]

Lou may want to hold off on his equipment sale during the draft party if he's trading the pick.

 

[SJ20]

Lou may want to hold off on his equipment sale during the draft party if he's trading the pick.

LOL!

 

[kellmit]

if he does trade it I hope he just trades down 1 or 2 spots and still drafts a good player

 

[MCDevils]

if he does trade it I hope he just trades down 1 or 2 spots and still drafts a good player

Did anyone watch Larsson play in the WJC?

 

[kellmit]

I didn't see a whole lot of him but I don't think he had a great tourney

 

[nj_cup]

couturier is a center i dunno if hes changed spots though from what i've read about him in the past was as center. looking back you have in 2009 a group of centers that went along with hedman..I'M NOT KNOCKING HIM hes a solid d man i'd love to have him but you look at even steve ducshen and your telling me you'd take hedman over him? i havent watched a ton of tampa hockey but his stats arent all that great. i know hes more physical then larson but i dunno if i want an offensive defenseman that early.

btw was that larsons brother taken in that draft by the yotes? even his stats at the wj werent that great (if i read that right)

i think the main problem with the devils defense is 1. the coaching robinson has to go bring in someone OUTSIDE the team to coach it. 2. bring in better players period. there are good defensemen out there on the market just gotta bring the right ones in

 

[nj_cup]

now im not dissing larrson either. i just think when you have two great wingers in parise and kovalchuk (i hope parise for long term) you want to have a great center to play there with them. zajac took a huge step back when parise went away this year so until he proves otherwise he just isnt 1st line material IMO.

if you really believe this defense to be as bad as you do then i dont think 1 defenseman is going to solve the problem. its a great start yes...buuuuut i think we are one center away from being at the least a good offensive team

 

[TiLoBrown]

Zajac has been playing a little better since moving away from Kovy.....

 

[MadCaptain]

apparently Larsson didn't do too great in the early games and then improved later on in the tourney. I only saw the bronze medal game of him vs the americans and he was fantastic.

Top Defense pair and he was out there in all critical situations. He was very calm with the puck and it seemed like slow motion. This was even with the americans throwing two bodies at him in the forecheck on a few occasions.

The part that impressed me the most was that he was always the guy to start the breakout. His D pairing passed the puck to him first every play so Larsson could then pass to the forwards. He would work perfectly paired with Whitebeard or Volch so they wont have to throw the up the ice.

He also has a right handed shot and played the point on the PP. None of the shots looked too scary or went in but it was still only one game which I saw.


After reading up on the other guys it seems that there are no superstar centers available in this draft. There are two guys which will probably be borderline 1st/2nd line centers

The only two options are couturier who is big and is a jack of all trades, master at none. He'd probably be a bigger slightly more skilled Zajac or a slower jordan staal.

The other guy is an elite playmaker with elite speed but is short and struggles to score goals in juniors (people were saying he has a good shot but he is pass first, either way he has hardly any goals). I'd compare that description to Scott Gomez. He also will probably need several years before he is ready to play in the NHL and could realistically be a complete bust.

 

[rp2five]

Agree with Cup on Zajac. He's too soft. If he's our first line center for the future, our future is bleak. Besides the nice pass to Zubrus at the end of today's game, he was invisible. Not singling him out because there are plenty of other disappointments but I expected more from him. Even against the flyers in the playoffs. Top line centers need to pick up their games and he didn't do that.
I'd like to see what Josefson does with Kovy when he's back in the lineup.

Saw a little bit of Larsson in the tourney and wasn't that impressed. I'm sure he's a great player and it's not fair to judge him based on the limited minutes I watched him play however.

 

[MCDevils]

Agree with Cup on Zajac. He's too soft. If he's our first line center for the future, our future is bleak. Besides the nice pass to Zubrus at the end of today's game, he was invisible. Not singling him out because there are plenty of other disappointments but I expected more from him. Even against the flyers in the playoffs. Top line centers need to pick up their games and he didn't do that.
I'd like to see what Josefson does with Kovy when he's back in the lineup.

Saw a little bit of Larsson in the tourney and wasn't that impressed. I'm sure he's a great player and it's not fair to judge him based on the limited minutes I watched him play however.

I don't know how you guys get any of this analysis with Zajac. He's the best defensive forward we have, and he'd be a plus player if they didn't stick him with Ilya. The notion that he's not essential when we know he's a 70 Point player with Parise is silly.

If you think Zajac's invisible you think along the same lines that Kovalchuk does.

They need to find someone to play with Ilya, Zajac obviously isn't that player.

 

[MCDevils]

He's not a center, he's a LW from what I've read.

Seems I was wrong about this. More and more of the publications now have him listed as C/LW. Did anyone watch Canada play at the WJC? Did he actually play center there, or wing?

 

[rp2five]

I don't know how you guys get any of this analysis with Zajac. He's the best defensive forward we have, and he'd be a plus player if they didn't stick him with Ilya. The notion that he's not essential when we know he's a 70 Point player with Parise is silly.

If you think Zajac's invisible you think along the same lines that Kovalchuk does.

They need to find someone to play with Ilya, Zajac obviously isn't that player.

He might be the best defensive forward, but do you honestly think he is a first line center? I expected more from him. Did you even notice him today? I noticed Sestito more than Zajac this afternoon.

 

[TiLoBrown]

I wont lie, I didnt notice today...but thats the first game all season I didnt. Cant say the same for Kovy, hell Doc himself even said it last game they he didnt notice him

 

[MCDevils]

He might be the best defensive forward, but do you honestly think he is a first line center? I expected more from him. Did you even notice him today? I noticed Sestito more than Zajac this afternoon.

I wasn't able to watch today's game, so I have no idea what was going on with him today. But by your logic, Ilya isn't an elite LW then, either. Travis has been by far our best forward this season, besides Elias of course.

Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to fight you on this. Maybe he had a bad day, but just because he hasn't gelled with Kovy this season doesn't mean he's not an elite center. They just don't play the same game. He's all work in the offensive zone with cycling going hard to the net, whereas Kovy is all rush, and tic-tac-toe passing plays. Zajac and Parise make each other better. It sucks they have to be apart.

 

[TiLoBrown]

. Zajac and Parise make each other better. It sucks they have to be apart.

Agreed, and Elias makes Kovy better....hell Elias makes everyone better

 

[MCDevils]

Agreed, and Elias makes Kovy better....hell Elias makes everyone better

They were pretty good together last year.

 

[nj_cup]

im not bashing zajac everyone is off this year. however i just wonder is it because parise isnt playing with him?

i just think a mobile center who can finish is what this team really need.

 

[devs30rko]

i'd love to see him sign here cheap on a one year deal or something but... hey, lets face it.

that 2nd line center job probably belongs to josefson next year.

 

[devs30rko]

coutourier has grown on me... i just don't like the idea of takign a wing.

i'll be a little pissed if we do, IMO it has to be coutourier or larsson. don't forget, larssons stats may not have been all that stellar at the WJC, but he's a 17 year old. even for that tournament thats young.