They overrate the **** out of Greening. A Greening for Tallinder deal is very fair, in my opinion. Condra, I'm not too fond of.
That's about what I thought. I think they're top-9 wingers and they are what they are at this point. I too would prefer Greening over Condra. Salary diff in the trade is the only issue, but Ottawa does have a good deal of cap space.
I hope like hell Clarkson doesn't leave. Because if he does what's the bet we will be looking for a carbon copy of him in free agency the next year and offering him 5 million plus. He get's such a bad rap around here. It's almost as if him scoring 30 has been bad for his rep on these boards.
"clarkson is such a tard who can't skate, no way he will score 30 again!!!"
I don't want him to leave either. I'm afraid we might have to pay him $5 million if he gets to UFA. Burke will probably throw that at him.
If Clarkson, and Zajac both leave then Andy Greene will be our third longest tenured player. In the worst case scenario we lose Clarkson, Zajac, and Zubrus then Greene will be our third longest tenured player with Salvador being our fourth.
Doubt we lose all. Zubrus probably wants to stay I just hope not at overpayment. The vets seem to love it in Jersey as Sal just showed while a lot of the younger guys(Martin, Parise) feel spoiled, and think they're too good. As far as Patty I think he'll play after this year. I hope we don't give him a long contract cause I can actually see him retiring after another two or three years.
More on Patty, but I think he'll stay. Isn't his agent that dick Allan Walsh that wouldn't shut the **** up during the lockout? He was annoying as hell, and as bad as some of the players.
I think Patty is so far into his career that he would like to finish it with the same team he started it with. The only way I see him not staying is if he's either not wanted, or Lou majorly lowballs him with a ridiculous offer. I don't think either will happen. Plus he's a Euro so we don't have to worry about him leaving to go home unless he wants to go home, and play in the Czech!
Analysis:
The team's forward depth is abismal. At center, we have one experienced center, one second year player, one third year player, and one AHL call-up who can hopefully retain his playing abilities from the playoffs last year. Right wing is not as bad as I thought but it still lacks in defensive ability. Left wing is the weakest position even with Zubrus who is usually a right wing. I had to put in Sykora even though he is unsigned. I have never seen Barch play but I believe that his experience puts him over Tedenby and Pesonen.
The defense is what will get the team through the season. Just like last year, there is no one guy, but six or seven guys that can hold their own. If Salvador, Greene, Fayne, and Volchenkov all play around the same level as last year and Zidlicky and Larsson chip in twenty points each the team should be in the playoff hunt.
I don't expect anything special from the goalies but I expect them to not get blown out of the water.
Conclusion:
The defense will make or brake this team and Tallinder should be traded for a veteran left wing.
I really don't want the defense to be the teams strength. We're not a defensive minded team anymore, and I like Deboer's offensive system. It's been a refreshing change. I loved all the trapping, defense first teams, but I'm glad the team has finally been able to be free to go wherever it may fall.
I was critical of Deboer at first, but man am I glad we hired him and not Hitchcock. Or else we may have never fell out of the prerequisite of needing to hire a defensive minded coach, and needing to play a defensive system.
Nah, I think he stays if Lou gives him market value. This is the same guy who said before, completely unprompted, that he wants to be a lifer. TG had to drag Parise kicking and screaming before he'd even say "maybe" to that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KohoDonuts88
I think Ottawa could be a decent trade partner. They do need defense. Condra or Greening would be of interest as top-9 guys. I don't know what the deal would be but they are both NCAA guys that we know Lou loves. I'll be honest, I don't know what the "upside" is on those guys. We're not going to get a top-6 winger for Tallinder straight up, I don't think.
I'd love to get Greening here. One of my favourite players from my days in college.
Okay I needed to make some kind of lineup that didn't make me nauseous.
CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER
My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Adam Henrique ($0.854m) / Travis Zajac ($3.888m) / Ilya Kovalchuk ($6.667m)
Dainius Zubrus ($3.400m) / Patrik Elias ($6.000m) / Petr Sykora ($1.000m)
Bobby Butler ($0.525m) / Jacob Josefson ($0.900m) / David Clarkson ($2.667m)
Ryan Carter ($0.775m) / Stephen Gionta ($0.563m) / Steve Bernier ($0.775m)
Krystofer Barch ($0.750m) / Cam Janssen ($0.575m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Anton Volchenkov ($4.250m) / Andy Greene ($3.000m)
Henrik Tallinder ($3.375m) / Adam Larsson ($0.925m)
Marek Zidlicky ($4.000m) / Bryce Salvador ($3.167m)
Mark Fayne ($1.300m) / Peter Harrold ($0.525m)
GOALTENDERS
Martin Brodeur ($4.500m)
Johan Hedberg ($1.400m)
BUYOUTS
Colin White ($1.000m) / Trent Hunter ($0.667m) / Eric Boulton ($0.163m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $70,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,608,333; BONUSES: $262,500
CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $12,854,167
Having four extras AND re-signing Sykora for 1,000,000 still leaves the Devils with a TON of cap space. If the cap is 64.3 (which it is next year) the Devils still have 6 million in space. Colin White's 1,000,000 buy out is also gone after this year.
The elephant in the room is the defensemen... One HAS to be moved.
Harrold can shuttle or sit in the press box... and after the post-season and the season Larsson is having this year, he's definitely starting. Someone has to go. Zidlicky is the only defenseman on the last year of his deal but he did very well for us and will probably stay. Salvador will possibly be the captain and just signed a three year deal. He's not going anywhere. Volchy has a no trade clause, is overpaid, and has four years left. I highly doubt any team is going to be after him.
By process of elimination, it has to be either Tallinder or Greene. I think Lou likes Fayne enough that he'll start.
I think Lou either signs Sykora and trades Greene/Tallinder for picks.... or does not sign Sykora and trades the d-men in a package for a forward.
Analysis:
The team's forward depth is abismal. At center, we have one experienced center, one second year player, one third year player, and one AHL call-up who can hopefully retain his playing abilities from the playoffs last year. Right wing is not as bad as I thought but it still lacks in defensive ability. Left wing is the weakest position even with Zubrus who is usually a right wing. I had to put in Sykora even though he is unsigned. I have never seen Barch play but I believe that his experience puts him over Tedenby and Pesonen.
The defense is what will get the team through the season. Just like last year, there is no one guy, but six or seven guys that can hold their own. If Salvador, Greene, Fayne, and Volchenkov all play around the same level as last year and Zidlicky and Larsson chip in twenty points each the team should be in the playoff hunt.
I don't expect anything special from the goalies but I expect them to not get blown out of the water.
Conclusion:
The defense will make or brake this team and Tallinder should be traded for a veteran left wing.
Sorry for the inconvenience,
Sincerely,
This guy.
Stopped reading at "abysmal." You realize that forward depth was the reason we got to the Stanley Cup finals, right? And you're missing Ryan Carter.
I'm not sure what to think about Marty. He's only one month colder coming into this season, than he was last season.
Part of me thinks he'll probably be inconsistent like last year early. Still making the big saves, letting in a few softies, but having horrible rebound control. His rebound control was almost the sole reason he struggled early in the year as a lot of goals he gave up were on rebounds. He lost a few weeks after his second game of the season to injury. I'm sure that didn't help.
Another part of me thinks maybe he could surprise, and start off pretty solid. Despite how out of proportion it was taken we only lost 3 games due to his goaltending last year.
How settled our Dmen are now will do wonders for Marty from the get go. A system they all are used to and no new ones to break in.
I hope so. The fact that people feel the need that Marty has to justify every goal he gives up, and judge him on save percentage won't change I'm sure. It was his rebound control that gave him a poor save percentage early in the year. And gave up a softy or two more than usual. Once he controlled the rebounds better he improved dramatically.
The first half of 05/06 he was even worse than the first half the last two years, and had a save percentage of below 900, and GAA of around 3, with 0 shutouts that first half too. He had an injury early in the year too for a few weeks. He wound up being nominated for a Vezina that year.
With that said any predictions when we'll get the first ''Devils need to consider sitting Brodeur'' thread?
I'm not much worried about Marty. I am concerned as to where the goals will come from. I know Parise was never going to be truly replaced but I was hoping for a bit more than Bobby Butler. Still time I suppose.
Brodeur is still a decent goaltender but the anti-Brodeur posts arise because a lot of goals he gives up are straight up awful.
He's always given up goals that would be classified as bad because of his style of play. He gives up a lot of goals the butterfly goalies would easily stop, and has throughout his career. It's nothing new. I think his rebound control is his worst attribute these days, and the cause for at least half of his goals.
He's been very prone to those 7 hole goals from the point though. It cost him a shutout against the Rangers in game 4 with 5 minutes to go in the game. Ever since that Staal goal in game 7 in 09.
Watch the 01 SCF if you can, and if you can stomach it. That's the worst I've ever seen him play, and he still hasn't come close for a whole playoff series. More than half the goals he gave up were very weak. Stuff from the point, through his arm, and body undeflected without screens, 5 holes with no screen or deflection, shortside, etc.
I think I was 12 during that Cup finals, and I will not watch a game of that series ever again.
I can't blame you there. It was a horrible series, and I watched bits, and pieces of the games not too long ago. Marty was as bad as I remembered him. He had a winning record against Roy before that. In fact we chased Roy both times we played them that regular season. Every time after that SCF when we played the Avs while Roy was still there, he got into Marty's head, and Marty would give up a bad goal every time. I'm pretty sure we were shutout 2 or 3 of those last few games too.
Marty was terrible in that series though. I guess you could chalk it up to two long seasons in a row. He was better this playoffs than he was that year. He was bad for a lot of the 01 playoffs except the Pittsburgh series from what I remember. He was bad against Toronto too. However he didn't cost us in the SCF. We couldn't get much past Roy is what the problem was.
How did we play so good in 08/09 with him in the lineup for a quarter of the season, and with all of that time being when Marty was out?
Sutter took it too easy on him. He was pretty abysmal himself a couple games, and Sutter blamed Colin White or somebody else in the post game. It's a non factor though cause he would never sniff NHL ice with us.
Reading the main board predictions it feels a lot like last season. The Devils don't make the playoffs in 8 or 9 out of 10 predictions, it seems, I only glanced over 4 pages or so.
I'm not saying the Devils are some stone cold lock to be great, but they were actually good last season, not just a flukey playoff run.
I think you have to assume most things go wrong and have no good surprises for the Devils to miss the playoffs this year. That could certainly happen, but the outsider consensus is much more pessimistic than that.
Reading the main board predictions it feels a lot like last season. The Devils don't make the playoffs in 8 or 9 out of 10 predictions, it seems, I only glanced over 4 pages or so.
I'm not saying the Devils are some stone cold lock to be great, but they were actually good last season, not just a flukey playoff run.
I think you have to assume most things go wrong and have no good surprises for the Devils to miss the playoffs this year. That could certainly happen, but the outsider consensus is much more pessimistic than that.
Yup same thing last year.
''Lemaire is gone! This team finishes in 11th!''
''They finish in 13th! And this is the end of Brodeur!''
''Kovalchuk, and Parise are strong players, but the rest of the lineup sucks!''
I'm not even reading what they're saying this year.
Conclusion:
The defense will make or brake this team and Tallinder should be traded for a veteran left wing.
I am more for trading Volchenkov. I an no big fan of defensive Defensivemen anymore. Since our System got more offensive-minded since DeBoer, i am more into having offensive Defensivemen / PMDs.
With Salvador you have a good defensive D.
Tallinder can be offensively effective. I want him stay.
You forget in your analysis, that Zubrus and Elias can be C as well.
I am more into adding a good Parise-replacement.
Still a big Fan of adding Kostitsyn!!!
Nashville lacks of Defensive depth this year...
Volchenkov for Sergei Kostitsyn. This guy is a Top6 LW for sure with a scoring touch when he has the right guys in his line!
__________________
"By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series."
... probably a lot, but, depending on the extremity of Dallas' demands, it could be worth it. He'd probably be good for 25-30 goals next to Elias and Henrique.
Reading the main board predictions it feels a lot like last season. The Devils don't make the playoffs in 8 or 9 out of 10 predictions, it seems, I only glanced over 4 pages or so.
I'm not saying the Devils are some stone cold lock to be great, but they were actually good last season, not just a flukey playoff run.
I think you have to assume most things go wrong and have no good surprises for the Devils to miss the playoffs this year. That could certainly happen, but the outsider consensus is much more pessimistic than that.
In other words - STATUS QUO
We all know how things end up when experts predict us to actually finish higher than 9th
God I love this routine. It's only now that I feel how much I've missed it
I don't see Kovy staying on the right side any longer. He did well enough there, but it's time for him to play his game. You might even see Elias centering him I imagine.
And I think you'll see Harrold moved up to a depth winger. He played very well on the wing I feel, and there's little room for him on the D side.
