Archives for May 2007

…I still hate the offseason.

Alas, time to discuss goalies and wingers!

PATRICIA’S WISHLIST, PART II:

WHAT DO WE DO WITH OUR BACKUP GOALIE?…

It is entirely possible that Scott Clemmensen may not be retained by Louie Lams. I’m not so sure where he stands here, because Marty did slow down as the regular season wound down and was horrifically inconsistant in two rounds of playoff glory, so it’s entirely possible that Louie is going to want a goaltender who can take some of the load off of Brodeur’s shoulders. Let’s not get crazy here — it’s not like we’re going to see Marty give up 20 games or so, but I do think he should rest a solid 10-15 games next season.

So, is Clemmensen capable?

I think he is, but as we saw this past season, Mr. Claude Julien had absolutely no faith whatsoever in #40. So sad. Clemmensen will never be a starter in this league, but I think he could be a quality #2. He has a good eye for the puck and is not afraid to take a hard shot to the chest, but his rebound control is terrible and he does have a bit of trouble moving from post to post. His biggest downfall? He simply doesn’t have experience. Such is life when you’re backing up Martin Brodeur, though.

Who’s available?

JOEY MACDONALD, BOSTON BRUINS
Much like Clemmensen, Macdonald hasn’t seem all that much playing time in his young career, and playing for a terrible Boston Bruins team surely didn’t help his stats, but I think Joey has potential. He’s shined in the AHL, but that doesn’t always translate into big league talent. I do think ultimately he can succeed in a limited role with the Devils.
WILL IT HAPPEN: He’ll sign at league minimum, which is nice. I think it’s possible.

BRIAN BOUCHER, COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Remember the days when Brian Boucher was supposed to be the Next Great Goaltender for Philadelphia? Granted, they have one of those every year, but still, Bouch seemed like he was actually going to, well, not suck. He did have that nine million game shutout streak with Phoenix, but that was pretty much the last positive thing we heard out of Camp Boucher. I do feel bad for Brian, though, cause he really did look like he was going to be a damn fine netminder. I guess giving up a three game playoff lead in the Conference Finals really shook his confidence, eh? Poor, poor Brian…
WILL IT HAPPEN: As crappy as Booooooosh has become, he’ll still probably want some money to boost his fragile ego. He still has the potential to be an amazing netminder, though, and I’m not sure he’s ready to give up the fight and fade into New Jersey backup obscurity. I doubt it’ll happen.

ED BELFOUR, FLORIDA PANTHERS
Won’t happen. Move along…

SCOTT CLEMMENSEN; FRANK DOYLE, NEW JERSEY DEVILS
It’s only fair to list Clemmensen and his Baby Devil counterpart, Mr. Frank Doyle. We’ve already discussed Clemmensen’s pros and cons, so let’s talk about Frank real quick. Doyle isn’t half bad. He has no NHL experience under his belt, but ya gotta start somewhere, eh? If Clemmensen isn’t retained, it’ll be Doyle’s job to lose in training camp — if he puts together a fine camp, he’ll easily be the backup. If he falters, then I can easily see Lou putting in a call to Clemmy as a last minute signing, provided Scott doesn’t look elsewhere…which he probably will, but will anyone else be willing to sign him to a major league contract? Doubtful.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Either scenario is possible.

—-

WIIIIIIIIIIIINGER!

This team desperately needs offense, but I’m not too sure how much money Lou will ultimately have to work with so this wishlist is really nothing more than me pining and yearning for players that will most defintiely not sign with the Devils. Of course, that still won’t stop me from doing so…of course!

MICHAL HANDZUS, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
‘Zus would be great because he can double as a winger or a solid center…and better yet, I’ve loved this man for years now. I can’t tell you how happy I was when the Flyers traded him to Chicago, because, you know, naturally I cannot be a fan of a Philadelphia Flyer.

Handzus only played eight games last season. Scary. He was sidelined with a nasty knee injury, and knee injuries are always cause for concern — they can easily become a chronic problem for some players. Alas, Zus would be the prototypical Devil — great defensively, solid playmaker, and questionable offensive talent…which sucks. He’s absolutely huge though at 6’5″ and nearly 220 pounds. Yum. I want this man on the Devils.
WILL IT HAPPEN: I sure hope so. I think Michal would fit in wonderfully on the Devils, I really do. He’d look great on the top line with Elias and Gionta, and I think having Patty work with a fellow Czech would make Cap’n quite happy.

LADISLAV NAGY, DALLAS STARS
Now, I couldn’t see how Dallas wouldn’t possibly retain Nagy, but if by some freak occurance they let him walk, I’d be somewhat interested to see him on the Devils. Granted, unlike ‘Zus, Nagy plays no defense whatsoever and has quite a smaller frame, but he does pack quite an offensive punch. I’d like to see how he’d fare on a line with Langenbrunner and Zajac, while moving Parise up to the top line and giving Cap’n the center duties.
WILL IT HAPPEN: In a word? No.

RYAN SMYTH, NEW YORK ISLANDERS
How awesome would it be to have a workhorse like Smyth on the Devils? It would seriously be a match made in heaven, for sure. This guy is truly the definition of “hard work” and his dedication to the game is really a sight to see. I can’t possibly think of a downside to Mr. Smyth other than the fact that the competition for signing him will be quite ridiculous, potentially raising his price tag way too much for the Devils to handle.
WILL IT HAPPEN: I can dream, right?

Did I ever mention how much I hate the offseason?

Seriously bumming me out folks.

Alas, with an unusually long summer comes unsually long speculation, rumors, and hearsay about where this player may or may not go, or if that player will re-sign with his team or, well, not so much.

Of course, the Devils have their own respective fish to fry, but what about the other guys out in the free agent pool? Who might sign with the Devils, who will laugh in Louie Lams’ face, and who will beg to be part of this awesome franchise?

I like to ask questions.

…especially when there are so many questions to be asked.

Alas (oh that’s totally my word!), here are the potential A’s to aforementioned Q’s…from my standpoint, of course.

PATRICIA’S WISHLIST, PART I:

WE NEED A CENTER…

If Scott Gomez decides to leave the team, Louie will desperately need to sign a center. Of course, Gomez will easily dictate what will actually be available in the free agent pool. It is quite still fresh in my memory how a Mr. S. Niedermayer more or less f’ed over the team by waiting so long to sign with the Duckies, giving Lamoriello little room for free agent signings, because, well, the quality of defensemen left in free agency was quite minimal at best. Thank the man up above that Brian Rafalski waited oh-so patiently for Niedermayer to make his decision, otherwise our defense would have looked even more disgusting than it does now. That’s just downright scary.

Enough about Niedermayer, he’s ancient history now. Let’s assume, though, that Gomez does indeed sign somewhere else. Who’s actually available?

DANIEL BRIERE; CHRIS DRURY, BUFFALO SABRES
Both Sabres are unrestricted free agents come July, and it’s probably going to prove quite difficult for Buffalo to retain both men. I’d love nothing more than to have either player on this team, especially Drury, as we’d finally have a scoring center to, well, put the puck in the net. The Devils are actually quite weak in center depth, so this pipedream would really put a smile on my face. Unfortunately, I do think this would easily be just that — a pipedream and nothing more.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Not so much, but crazier things have happened.

TYLER ARNASON, COLORADO AVALANCHE:
Ah, another playmaking center. I’d like to have Arnason. He has potential. I know, I know, lately the Devils have kinda failed in the “he’s got potential, but he’s not playing up to it” area, but I could see Arnason becoming a solid player in the Devils system. My biggest concern with Tyler would be if the system ended up stifling his offensive development, which could easily aggrivate the lad. Last thing we need is another headcase. But hey, it helps that’s he’s an American…cause, Lou likes Americans, ya know?
WILL IT HAPPEN: It just might.

JOZEF STUMPEL, FLORIDA PANTHERS
Stumpel could be somewhat fun, couldn’t he? Age does play a factor here, as Stumpy is 34 now, but he could fill the vacated Gomez role nicely. I love his size, but he doesn’t use it too much to the best of his ability. Stumpel is also natural passer and also comes from the solid playmaker-mold, but injuries have played a role in his career and that’s the last thing we need — someone else to spend his days in longterm IR obscurity.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Doubtful.

BRYAN SMOLINSKI, VANCOUVER CANUCKS
He could be fun, seeing as he’d easily win most of the faceoffs he took, but he’s also kind of on the downside of his career. 35 years old and inconsistant in the scoring realm, Mr. Smolinski’s only true perk is his skill in the faceoff circle. I’d pass.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Probably not.
——
DEFENSE?

I’m going to go ahead and assume Brian Rafalski will be retained. As much as it pains me, we ultimately need him. However, I do think that if by some freak occurance that Gomez is signed, Mr. Rafalski might as well pack his bags. It’ll be one or the other, and Rafalski will probably win out.

Otherwise, it’s my hope that Rad Brad Lukowich is also signed. I worry a bit about Rad Brad — the pickings are slim for free agent defensemen, and he’s had a relatively solid year. He could potentially be snatched up by a defensively desperate team for more money than Louie Lams would be willing to give Rad Brad. That’s not to say Brad doesn’t deserve it, but let’s be honset here, he’s not a top two defenseman.

ANDY SUTTON, ATLANTA THRASHERS
This is merely to say that Rafalski isn’t retained. Sutton would never happen otherwise. He’s not all that great defensively, which seriously kills any thought to sign him, but he is adequate. He might be able to help out on the point for our struggling powerplay, I do absolutely love his shot. Otherwise, I’m not too sure how much of an upside Andy really has.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Rafalski leaves? Maybe. Rafalaski stays? Not a chance in hell.

SHELDON SOURAY, MONTREAL CANADIENS
Ah, could we possibly see the return of Mr. Souray? Who knows, Lou does seem to like giving players a second or even third go around with the club, so it’s entirely possible. I think it could happen. His offensive upside is nice, but I do worry about his horrid -28 and 135 penalty minutes. That’s just a bit much, don’t ya think? Adding his size to the lineup would really be fun though. And adding Souray to the lineup would certainly boost our defense credibility, if only in name and nothing else at least.
WILL IT HAPPEN: I could see it, but money will play a factor.

NOLAN PRATT, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
If Souray would boost our defensive credibility by name, Pratt would boost our credibility in talent. He’s not going to score any goals, that’s for certain, but he’ll get the job done in the defensive zone. He doesn’t do much wrong, as his game is quite basic, but there’s not too much wrong with that. He also has a nice 6’3″ frame to work with, but barely weighing in at 200 is somewhat concerning.
WILL IT HAPPEN: Eh. Don’t really know.

So, that’s enough wishing for now. Check back for part two, where I’ll plead and pray for backup goalies and scoring wingers. It’ll be fun, really!

Is there something to be learned from the second round disappointment against the Ottawa Senators? You bet there is. Watching the Sens throughout the postseason, the Alfredsson/Spezza/Heatley line remind me a lot of the Elias/Arnott/Sykora line of 2000. They just seem to have an enormous amount of chemistry together and certainly are doing some damage this postseason. While the “EGG” line has had its moments, it certainly hasn’t come close to the A-Line or the Spezza Line in my opinion.

Skill level is a great thing to have in this game but it doesn’t make up for a lack in chemistry with your linemates.I think we can all agree that Scott Gomez is probably headed to another team this summer and that we should be looking for his replacement. Did you know that the Devils went 8-2 this season with Gomez out of the lineup? That reason and that reason alone is why I would permanently put Brylin up on the line with Gionta and Elias. I thought about breaking up Parise and Zajac to replace Gomez but I did see some hints of great chemistry there, especially in the playoffs and for that reason, I would leave that line alone for the time being.

We still need to bring in some guys this summer so here are my top 3 players I think could really help this team:

Mike Comrie – He’s been doing very well for Ottawa in the postseason which might him a tough to get our hands on. Sure, he doesn’t have the assist numbers that Gomez has but he has been a solid goal scorer and assist man the last two seasons and would help recover the numbers being lost if Gomez departs.

David Tanabe – I know Tanabe is a little prone to the injury bug so this choice might not go over so well
with the masses but I believe he’s got the ability to do well on this team. I don’t think he ever really fit well into Carolina’s style of play and therefore doesn’t have great numbers. He’s a quick defenseman and does really well handling the puck.

Jeff Friesen – I am not one who enjoys bringing old players back but I think if the number is right for Lou, Friesen would certainly fit in with this team again. We know he has the ability to score, in key moments and he just might add a spark to this team.

Something else the Devils should have learned against Ottawa (and Tampa Bay for that matter) is we lack in the size department. Lou needs to add size on this team so we don’t get pushed around. I am a huge Cam Jannsen supporter but lets face it, the guy doesn’t contribute that much offensively. We need to find someone this summer that can contribute to the offense and not let his team get pushed around. That is a tough thing to find but I am sure its out there waiting for us. From what I saw of Clarkson, he might be the man for this. He didn’t get much ice time but I think he deserves a chance next season. I also think it might be time to bring up Chris Minard and Nicklas Bergfors and see what they can do in the NHL.