Offseason

[Nasty_Magician]

I'm hoping for at least 1 in free agency, and then hopefully we see Reid Boucher at some point next year. Even if he starts the year in the AHL and comes up midseason it would be nice.

 

[nj_cup]

i seriously cant wait for july 1st and see what clarkson gets. from us or another team it will be a horrible contract i have a feeling

 

[Nasty_Magician]

As long as we trim some of the fat and get younger I'll be ok with this offseason. I'm really anxious to see some of these young defenseman.

 

[nj_cup]

zid wont/shouldnt be brought back. i can see them buying out volenchkov and either talendar or salvador.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

zid wont/shouldnt be brought back. i can see them buying out volenchkov and either talendar or salvador.

I think I've already said it on here but ideally:

Zids, Harrold and either A-Train or Tallinder out.

Larsson, Urbom and possibly Merrill become regulars. It'll likely be a little rocky at the start as the transition for young guys on D can be tough, but I like the idea of getting young, hungry and energetic guys in the lineup.

 

[nj_cup]

yeah a good mix of 3 youth and 3 vets on the blue line would be ideal. fayne/greene and whoever isnt bought out as the 3rd

 

[nj_cup]

New Jersey Devils Salary Cap Chart

looking at this zid is the only defense that can come off the books this summer. they really have to get rid of a train and that 4 million hit for 3 more years. either trade em or buy him out. i would also seriously look into buying out or moving salvador? just saying i think they bring the least to this team and we have so much potential on the blue line we need to give the kids some looks.

i would really like to have 2 rookies on the blue line maybe even 3.
zubrus bye clarkson bye sullivan bye poni bye. i wouldnt want to rush boucher or mattuae so hopefully they can find someone via trade of ufa.

draft wise i can really see them taking a great center and putting him up with kovy. move zajac to the 2nd line (pretty stupid to have your second line center getting that salary) put elias with him and d'ag who i would resign at a minimum deal.
loko and henrique on the 3rd line
giontas line is the 4th line.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

New Jersey Devils Salary Cap Chart

looking at this zid is the only defense that can come off the books this summer. they really have to get rid of a train and that 4 million hit for 3 more years. either trade em or buy him out. i would also seriously look into buying out or moving salvador? just saying i think they bring the least to this team and we have so much potential on the blue line we need to give the kids some looks.

i would really like to have 2 rookies on the blue line maybe even 3.
zubrus bye clarkson bye sullivan bye poni bye. i wouldnt want to rush boucher or mattuae so hopefully they can find someone via trade of ufa.

draft wise i can really see them taking a great center and putting him up with kovy. move zajac to the 2nd line (pretty stupid to have your second line center getting that salary) put elias with him and d'ag who i would resign at a minimum deal.
loko and henrique on the 3rd line
giontas line is the 4th line.

Harrold will likely be gone as well. Then I agree buyout either one of those guys or trade.

Line wise, I would like to see:

Kovy-Truth-Loki
Elias-Zajac- FA?
Matteau- ? - Zubrus
CBG

Kovy can create offense on his own and those 2 would be able to keep up with him, I think they could have good chemistry.

Zajac and Elias are primarily playmakers so we would need somebody that can put pucks in the net with them, whether it's a free agent or via trade.

For the right price I wouldn't mind Zubrus as a 3rd liner, which at this point he is. I think a 3rd line with him, Matteau and a mystery center (maybe if whoever we draft is ready to make the jump? Or dare I say JJ gets another shot?) could be a good combination of physical with a hint of offense.

 

[SJ20]

Another thing that should take place this offseason, is Kovy should become our new captain.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Another thing that should take place this offseason, is Kovy should become our new captain.

Agreed, wasn't crazy about Bryce getting it. Aside from the fact he's not a game changer and struggled mightily, I think it factored a lot into the decision not to make him a healthy scratch certain, despite the fact his play said otherwise.

 

[DevFan60]

We don't have defenseman who would make a difference for the team, like Nieds, Rafal, Stevens did. Such players should have a big influence within team, then inspiration will be there too. We have-had HOF goalie which need a replacement because of age, we have forward in Kovy, but don't have D good caliber. Hopefully Larson will come out strong soon, but now we don't have D-leader.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

TG pretty much reiterating what we've been saying:

Gulitti: Lamoriello's to-do list to fix the Devils - NorthJersey.com

 

[nj_cup]

The powerplay is still amazingly bad. I dont get it. Minus Zach everyone is the same so the creativity level shouldnt have dropped much.

Heck look at the caps they have the same type of players as us. Roberio zajac backstrom elias ovie Kovy green zid that might be the only difference



Damn I wish I could see a devils pp at 20+%

 

[Vortimous]

Explain to me how Adam Oates is here and our PP is just as bad as it has been for the last what 5 years.... yet he goes to head coach and they have the # 1 PP in the league... it has to be the talent or lack there of.....

What is sad is, year after year it is bad... they work on it all the time.. but it still looks the same as the last 5 years... I dont see us doing anything different.... Same set up... same bad angle shots... same lack of scoring... same no one in front the net grinding it out....

 

[nj_cup]

whats crazy is that kovalchuk was somewhat of a powerplay threat in atlanta. come here and his play dropped off big time on the powerplay.

your right though oates is here and we suck he leaves and washington becomes great. seems to me its the people running the plays not the coaches fault.

 

[rp2five]

Absolutely, its the players, not the coaches.
Washington is running the same system and it works for them.

The problem is, other than Kovalchuk, we don't have another threat on the PP. Its so predictable that the team is trying to setup Kovy for the shot.
I know the PP wasn't all that special last year, but losing Parise definitely hurt the team on the PP. If Parise is here this season, team is in the playoffs without a doubt.

It would help us having a defenseman who can quarterback the PP. Also having a huge shot from the point is a plus.
Adding Zids was ok last year, but he is no Mike Green (when healthy).

At this point, not sure if Larsson will be a power play specialist. Right now, doesn't seem like it. Maybe one of the guys coming up like Merrill?

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I think one problem with the PP, compared to what the Caps have is we don't have anyone playing the role of Mike Green on our team. OV plays the point, yes, but having Mike Green up top allows him to take the puck down low and draw defenders. If we had somebody that was a real scoring threat from the point it would work wonders for us. Zids shots either miss the net or get blocked 9 out 10 times.

 

[nj_cup]

the devils defense has a ton of shots blocked. i really hope they are watching the caps and looking at their patience with the puck. they get the ranger down in front of them and move around him. exactly what happened on the gwg

 

[DevilishWon]

Zids is good when skating with the puck...he is terrible holding the line when passed to and that kills us a lot, especially on the PP.

I really think even with the guys we have others like Elias, henrique etc need to shoot more if only to keep the d from totally overplaying Kovy

 

[nj_cup]

since this is the off season thread wanted to ask this question.


i remember watching in the 01 playoffs espn had a "preview" of all the series. steve levy asked melrose when it got to the devils canes series. do the hurricanes have any shot? melrose said NONE NOWAY NO CHANCE WHAT SOEVER. i'll always remember that exchange. devils went up 3-0 and won in 6.

devils were BEYOND dominate season. question is will the devils ever get to that level again? we are all pretty lucky to have been able to see when our team was literally the best team in hockey. even in 03 and last year we werent the "best" team by any stretch.

whats it going to take to get back to that dominate 01 team?