PD was the coach i wanted in NJ. If he had more to work with in florida he would have made it work. He just needs to keep them play good and develping there play for the playoffs.
Last year's team had me excited out of the gate but worried about the coach. This year's team had me worried abut the team more than the coach, but with each passing game after 10 or 15 or so, I became more convinced the chemistry was right, and the coach was solid, but I still expected only a moderate shot at the playoffs and a big learning curve with so many rookies in key positions getting so much ice time that the next legit cup run would likely not see Marty or Elias on the roster... But lo and behold, last 15-20 games have convinced me there's more than just a little magic present and a deep playoff run may not be so far fetched.
With that glimmer of hope, and the added voice of support for their coach and each other, this team has me believing despite the pre-season pessimism. I want Lou and Pete to show us it's real, and push the chips all in rather than fold the pocket jacks. Sure it's still a long shot given the opposition, but it's also completely possible nobody's sitting on a higher pocket pair, and despite the bigger chip stack in the standings, we can make the hands needed with a little luck and send some of our most beloved players into the sunset remembering how they hoisted the cup much more recently than I would have thought possible a little more than a year removed from our darkest point in a long time.
I welcome the fact that I can even muster excitement at this point to see how this plays out.
Go for it guys. My body is ready.
Amen good sir.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baggy Spandex
The team I see this season is vastly different than the team I'v seen in seasons past. That's all the reason enough for me to be optimistic. Old formula wasn't working.
I don't want to hear "Goalie and no-name D is the same." It's just...different Just....something about this team has changed, and I like it.
I'm only 26 years old, but I remember '95 vividly. This team was SMOKED on paper to the Wings. Chemistry and hard work pays off.
I think one of the reasons I love hockey so much is because it's just such an emotional sport. Statistics, player rosters, etc....that stuff is important too, but hockey is just one of the those games where I think you have to look past some of that stuff and really try to have a feel for what is taking place. Everybody's opinion should have value regardless, however, I feel if you're truly in tune with this team and the vibes they're giving off, imho it's insane to not be excited about their chances. Teams that are capable kind of have a way of letting you know.
Coming into the season I fully expected this team to make the playoffs. After watching the first 20 or so games I felt this team definitely had promise for more despite the frequent brain farts. At this point, I think they have the attitude, work ethic and skill to really have a fair shot at dropping a few jaws. That's not to say they can't use some tweaking. Lou, in my mind at least, still has the opportunity to give NJ a better chance should the opportunity present itself come next Monday. But as it stands, NJ is much better then most people give (or want to give) them credit for.
This team started this mission in January 2011 and I just don't see them stopping until it's complete. Sometimes it's ok to believe. I know I do.
Last edited by nona weisbaum: 02-24-2012 at 12:58 AM.
i was a little iffy on deboer being our coach cause i live and florida and caught almost every panther game and but i had feeling if he had a better team he could do something special
I wish posters here were willing to put their name on the line when things go the opposite, in a good way for the team against what they predicted.
Rather than posters who say one thing(ie:supposed team flaw) then cry out "I knew this would happen" and point to that one certain view as the definitive downfall of the team, when we don't win.
So many people on here we so certain this team wouldn't even sniff the playoff's.
I wish posters here were willing to put their name on the line when things go the opposite, in a good way for the team against what they predicted.
Rather than posters who say one thing(ie:supposed team flaw) then cry out "I knew this would happen" and point to that one certain view as the definitive downfall of the team, when we don't win.
So many people on here we so certain this team wouldn't even sniff the playoff's.
I think I was the only person in the Room to predict a 100+ point during the off season...I think I was told I was being a little over optimistic....LOL.
I was very nervous about the defense with the loss of White...I called it the worst in Devils history...Still pretty damn close to that right now but a few good things happened that I didn't think would happen...
1. Mark Fayne actually got better this season. Most people here thought he was just playing over his head and wasn't real...Even when was doing it last season people wanted to talk about how Urbom and Taormina were "above" him..With the benefit of hindsight that is quite ridiculous today. I never believed that totally but in the back of my mind I had my doubts whether or not that he could play well for a full season....He has exceeded expectations beyond believe. Fayne has played legit top 4minutes all season and has done an excellent job. He maybe the single biggest reason that this defense isn't complete dog crap.
2. Bryce Salvador has actually been so much better than I expected that I'm almost shocked by it. His last year before he was injured he was terrible. His positioning was erratic for a Stay at Home guy and he often seemed to be at the center of every mistake. Not so much this year and he has been more than an adequate White replacement this season.
3. Adam Larsson's Rookie Mistakes. Now, when I knew we were going with Fayne, Salvador and Larsson to start the season I think I soiled my pants a little bit. Questions marks surrounding Salvador and Fayne were real, throw in a rookie who is guaranteed to make costly mistakes coupled with two regulars who very well may not have performed at the NHL level and you have a very scary scenario for the Defense.
Larsson’s rookie mistakes were about what I expected but they aren’t as frequent as I expected and they aren’t any physical weaknesses like I expected....By that I mean I fully expected him to have a difficult time along the boards with some forwards and I've seen none of that, it actually has probably been a strength of his and quite surprising for a rookie...He still seems to not be fully aware of the time and space in the NHL and how quickly things happen but his season so far has been a lot better than I expected.
1. Mark Fayne actually got better this season. Most people here thought he was just playing over his head and wasn't real...Even when was doing it last season people wanted to talk about how Urbom and Taormina were "above" him..With the benefit of hindsight that is quite ridiculous today. I never believed that totally but in the back of my mind I had my doubts whether or not that he could play well for a full season....He has exceeded expectations beyond believe. Fayne has played legit top 4minutes all season and has done an excellent job. He maybe the single biggest reason that this defense isn't complete dog crap.
2. Bryce Salvador has actually been so much better than I expected that I'm almost shocked by it. His last year before he was injured he was terrible. His positioning was erratic for a Stay at Home guy and he often seemed to be at the center of every mistake. Not so much this year and he has been more than an adequate White replacement this season.
3. Adam Larsson's Rookie Mistakes. Now, when I knew we were going with Fayne, Salvador and Larsson to start the season I think I soiled my pants a little bit. Questions marks surrounding Salvador and Fayne were real, throw in a rookie who is guaranteed to make costly mistakes coupled with two regulars who very well may not have performed at the NHL level and you have a very scary scenario for the Defense.
Larsson’s rookie mistakes were about what I expected but they aren’t as frequent as I expected and they aren’t any physical weaknesses like I expected....By that I mean I fully expected him to have a difficult time along the boards with some forwards and I've seen none of that, it actually has probably been a strength of his and quite surprising for a rookie...He still seems to not be fully aware of the time and space in the NHL and how quickly things happen but his season so far has been a lot better than I expected.
I do remember you mentioning the defense before the season started. Fayne has been a tremendous find by Lou and company. It's great to have a reliable right-handed defenseman on the team. It's been awhile. He definitely looks to be a legit 2nd paring d-man as it stands.
Salvador has been a rock and will likely be re-signed to a 1 or 2 year deal.
Can't wait to see how Larsson progresses. The guy just screams number 1 defenseman to me. Some of the things he does just gives you the sense. That slap pass to Elias in the Winnipeg game was amazing.
I wish posters here were willing to put their name on the line when things go the opposite, in a good way for the team against what they predicted.
Rather than posters who say one thing(ie:supposed team flaw) then cry out "I knew this would happen" and point to that one certain view as the definitive downfall of the team, when we don't win.
So many people on here we so certain this team wouldn't even sniff the playoff's.
love this post. love it. but I’ve come to understand such is the life of an internet message board. its almost fun to read the thread created when zach signed a one year deal. holy hell. same with whitey leaving. everyone knows everything, except those that actually make the decisions. just remind yourself it’s a message board, and steer clear from the IRL…
Last year's team had me excited out of the gate but worried about the coach. This year's team had me worried abut the team more than the coach, but with each passing game after 10 or 15 or so, I became more convinced the chemistry was right, and the coach was solid, but I still expected only a moderate shot at the playoffs and a big learning curve with so many rookies in key positions getting so much ice time that the next legit cup run would likely not see Marty or Elias on the roster... But lo and behold, last 15-20 games have convinced me there's more than just a little magic present and a deep playoff run may not be so far fetched.
With that glimmer of hope, and the added voice of support for their coach and each other, this team has me believing despite the pre-season pessimism. I want Lou and Pete to show us it's real, and push the chips all in rather than fold the pocket jacks. Sure it's still a long shot given the opposition, but it's also completely possible nobody's sitting on a higher pocket pair, and despite the bigger chip stack in the standings, we can make the hands needed with a little luck and send some of our most beloved players into the sunset remembering how they hoisted the cup much more recently than I would have thought possible a little more than a year removed from our darkest point in a long time.
I welcome the fact that I can even muster excitement at this point to see how this plays out.
Go for it guys. My body is ready.
Did you take this from a movie? It sounds like something I would hear in a movie.
love this post. love it. but I’ve come to understand such is the life of an internet message board. its almost fun to read the thread created when zach signed a one year deal. holy hell. same with whitey leaving. everyone knows everything, except those that actually make the decisions. just remind yourself it’s a message board, and steer clear from the IRL…
really, solid post.
Nahh, there were some posters who said that we wouldn't even sniff and some who were sure that we make it and the majority said we're going to be a bubble team. And you know what? We actually were a bubble team the whole season until the ASG (or until the Bernier and Poni moves) and started a big streak which makes us look very good right now and we are in a position where it's nearly impossible to not make the playoffs. But nobody saw those moves coming in the offseason and the majority was right, the team we iced for the first half of the season was a bubble team. That's it. How things went during that 4-game-losing streak wasn't cool but you can understand it when a franchise who made the playoffs so many consecutive years has an awful year and starts the next season very mediocre. That's why we're fans. I agree that we shouldn't exaggerate now and we shouldn't have exaggerated this much during that losing stretch, but man, that's why we care, we love that team and follow it every day and of course we react to things. But to say that many posters thought we wouldn't even sniff is not true.
Nahh, there were some posters who said that we wouldn't even sniff and some who were sure that we make it and the majority said we're going to be a bubble team. And you know what? We actually were a bubble team the whole season until the ASG (or until the Bernier and Poni moves) and started a big streak which makes us look very good right now and we are in a position where it's nearly impossible to not make the playoffs. But nobody saw those moves coming in the offseason and the majority was right, the team we iced for the first half of the season was a bubble team. That's it. How things went during that 4-game-losing streak wasn't cool but you can understand it when a franchise who made the playoffs so many consecutive years has an awful year and starts the next season very mediocre. That's why we're fans. I agree that we shouldn't exaggerate now and we shouldn't have exaggerated this much during that losing stretch, but man, that's why we care, we love that team and follow it every day and of course we react to things. But to say that many posters thought we wouldn't even sniff is not true.
I didn’t say the sniff thing. I always sniff, then I declare that neil peart is the best drummer alive.
no, I was talking about how people should chill the **** out when something happens, because all of us combined know jack **** when compared to lou lams, kovalchuk, or anyone else that actually works in the business. you talk about being a fan, but to me, being a fan is placing hope and faith in your team…that they’ll do the right thing and win it all every year. kind of like religion, but without the genocide. that’s all.
I don't think I want Salvador back, especially with the fact that we might have cash problems. If the $ is resolved then I could be ok with his return at a much lower cost.
I predicted 7th in the conference before the year, I said the Rags at 8 so what do I know, but anything in the playoffs is dandy for me.
