Wed 16 May 2007
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.
May 16th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I highly doubt Friesen will ever happen — he’s been absolutely AWFUL since leaving the Devils. His career is done, unfortunately (for him.)
Minard won’t be brought up as I don’t believe he is actually Devils property. And Bergfors has been loaned to a Swedish team next season, he’s looked lost in Lowell and is hardly ready for the big time.
May 16th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
The BEg line that’s awesome. yeah despite Brylin’s minor pay-offs, he does work his ass off and we absolutely need a focused leader on that top line. I don’t think lou wuold grab Friesen caus ei haven’t heard jack about him in years (last season i actually wasn’t sure where he was and had to research it myself haha). and as for Minard, i was waiting to see his debut last season and for whatever reasons his didnt come through, so i doubt him on the roster for next season. We can absolutely look forward to seeing Clarkson and possibly Pelley.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Friesen is without a doubt finished in the NHL. His glory days ended as soon as he finished celebrating the final goal of Game 7 in 2003.
As for the physical presence, it’s there. In the form of Mike Rupp. Rupp gets buried on the 4th line often, but he has the size you are looking for and does wonders in front of the net. Add Clarkson to the mix and between the 2 of them, the Devils have a good physicality to their forward lines.
All season long I thought to myself that something was missing from the lineup. I still can’t put my finger on it, but I’m thinking it’s something with the D. Maybe a deal to bring someone like Bouwmeester in? The Offense won’t be a concern, as long as they quit this ludicrously over-conservative style. I’m all for “Devils-style” hockey, but ‘playing it safe’ when your down by 2 with 5 minutes to go is nothing short of insane. I think THAT was the axe that caught Julien.
May 16th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Welcome sir. Definately some interesting points…I’ve hated Mike Comrie for a few years now but it’s hard to disagree that he’d be a pretty decent fit. His offseason may price him out of our range though.
Also agree about the offensive-contributing big man. As sick as it makes me feel, we need a Sean Avery type player (of course, one who doesn’t play blatently dirty).
I think I’m going to go vomit now for bringing up his name…
–Josh
May 16th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
it’s all good. Sean Avery did so much for the rangers (and he better nto let marty catch on the streets) just in f’n w/people. I think this off season Cam Janssen should seriously work on his offense and become a better player for us because he was the only guy i saw that was down to exchange the big hits last season. yes he did fight EVERY friggin game but i miss scott stevens and i’d like to see a lot more cracks next season.
May 16th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I was having an argument with a good friend of mine who is a die hard Devils fan… He mentioned Lindros which made me vomit…
May 16th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Eric Lindros is fine right where he is…in Western Conference obscurity. Let him stay there. He was once a great power forward, but nine million concussions, well, kind of ruined that idea.
May 16th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
I think that the reaspon that Friesen is bouncing between teams doing basically nothing to help any team that He’s gone on to, is because He had a major sports hernia problem that included major surgery and the whole therapy bit, I don’t think that the surgery worked, He’s been in and out of the lineup because of it.It almost sounds like His career may be over, I hope not I really did like Him and would not mind Him coming back, but I think Lou may have learned the injury lesson with Almo. I would LOVE to see Arnott back, maybe Sheldon S back on D. I think that I’m getting ahead of My self because that Damn cap will keep creeping up on Lou and He will not be able to make a major move with out some salary dumping.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Friesen is a no-go; not worth the money and he never really produced a whole lot for the Devs when he played. I have to disagree with Comrie on the grounds that he handled himself a lot like Gomer while in Edmonton and Phoenix. Granted he’s doing well in Ottawa, but it’s most likely because they’re competitive (which the Devils are) and offensively creative (which the Devils are not). I see him acting like Mike Danton (sorry, I had to mention him) if he were a Devil.
I don’t think the defense has to be tinkered with a lot since there are 7 solid players. With some more time, Martin and Oduya could become better puck handling defensemen, giving the Devils a better breakout speed. Andy Greene has been incredible on both sides of the puck and deserves to play. I’d like to see Matvichuk but the big question with him is whether he can keep it up for the full season.
As for the offense, Clarkson will be up. Having Brylin with Elias and Gionta will hopefully provide the line with some much needed grinding along the boards; maybe it’ll wake Elias up since he’s been asleep for the last few months. Gomer’s gone, I don’t see a need for Rasmussen anymore (Janssen is just as offensive and more energetic), and Rupp needs to prove himself to be a force in front of the net. One of the things the Devils have been missing this year is presence in front of the goal. Gionta scored 48, most of them “garbage goals”, simply because he was in front of the goal.
Lou just has too much on his plate to work with and bringing back old Devils just isn’t going to happen. Clemmer’s staying since he didn’t have enough opportunities to show the other teams his ability to win games and I don’t see any big name signings this off-season.
Just my two cents.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
I know everyone loves Brylin but he really should not be on a top two scoring line (especially as a center), he didn’t do particularly well on the checking line in the playoffs either though, and paying $1+ million for a fourth-liner isn’t really good cap business although I doubt Brylin’ll go anywhere.
Friesen I felt lost his desire after the ‘03 Cup, he hasn’t been the same player since that year. Even being with Sutter couldn’t revive him, I’d pass. Something about Tanabe screams Andrei Zyuzin to me
May 16th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Hasan-
If you watched the games where Gomer was out, you could see that he has been shaky with the puck when he’s not called on to be a puck handler. Once he started putting up numbers, the confidence came back to him and he scored a few goals. The hope is that his hardnosed play will give Elias and Gionta some scoring opportunities and his speed (though not as fast as Gomez) will help move the puck through the neutral zone. Is he going to put up huge numbers and be a dominant center? No. But he will make his linemates better.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Yeah, I for one didn’t much appreciate the devils game plan towards the end of that Ottawa series. I mean there wasn’t a whole lot to praise, but i’m refering to the religious “pass it to scotty” technique that worked so unefectively for them. I mean, i recognized it maybe one face-off before Ottawa took mad advantage of that shit.
I believe Gomez gone will not only provide needed space under the salary cap, but also force our Captain Elias to seriously retouch on those puck handling skills (hopefully more like what we saw @the beginning of the season). Aside from Patty, pretty much everyone should brush up on being more comfortable to take the puck up @any given moment cause Ottawa sure as hell can handle the pressure while we seem to have designated drivers for every situation.
May 17th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I thought they underused the Gomez Swing during the playoffs. Even though opposing players just traced him as he skated behind the net, he was at least able to drop it back to the defenseman for either a pass to the other side (and hopefully more open ice) or to center ice (where Gomer would’ve skated passed his shadow). The best example of this was against the Rangers, where Tom Renney caught on and was the first person to shadow Gomez.
I don’t know why they rarely used this, but it hurt the breakout since Rafalski and Martin weren’t able to move the puck up ice as quickly or as well. The breakout is the one reason why I’d like to keep Gomez and I fear the gaping hole he’s going to leave in this department.
May 17th, 2007 at 10:15 am
All of this talk of shuffling lines and everything will be OK is really quite depressing. The Devils are in need of four things right now to make them competitive beyond the first round of the playoffs.
(1) Offense. Brylin will not energize the top line. Everyone is assuming Gomer is gone, and I hope it is true. Gomer is a great puck handler and our only real speed but he is not a great playmaker, he has limited vision for making the right play and he thinks far too well of himself. He is a malcontent who will demand more money than he is worth, and that makes him expendible.
If the Devils had the players to get it done offensively, they would have gotten it done. They didn’t. They don’t have the players. We need a center for the top line that can pass and shoot and has the vision to make plays. It wouldn’t hurt if he were also bigger than Gomer and could work the boards. There are only 3 unrestricted free agents that fit this bill.
Chris Drury - while he doesn’t have the size, he has the heart and he is undeniably a great playmaker and scorer. I don’t see him leaving Buffalo, and if he does someone will have deeper pockets than us.
Robert Lang - He doesn’t have the playmaking ability of a Drury, but he’s a good goal scorer and he is a big guy. He plays the boards well and would be an immediate upgrade to the top line center position.
Ryan Smyth - He has a non-stop motor and no throttle. He gives 110% on every shift. He is a character guy and prizes loyalty. It doesn’t hurt that he is also a terrific hockey player.
(2) Size - It has become readily apparent that we are getting beaten on the boards. We need players who are not only big guys, but play like big guys. (Colin White is a pussy. He’s not a dominant force on the boards in spite of his size and he is far too slow footed. He takes dumb penalties at the wrong times and would be playing for Lowell if I were making the decisions). Signing a free agent center with some size wouldn’t hurt, but I’d also like to see us sign another decent defenseman to replace Brian Rafalski, whom I wouldn’t even offer a contract to this year. Who would I choose to replace Rafalski White?
Tom Preissing - Unrestricted shut down defender with a great shot from the point. He has speed and size. He is smart. He would be a perfect replacement for either player.
Glen Wesley - He is young, he has some size, he doesn’t mind playing a physical style and he currently plays in Carolina, which employs Devils’ style defense. He would be an immediate upgrade and we wouldn’t have to teach him the system. He already plays it.
Teppo Numminen - Great all around defender who would have to be taught our system, but he is young enough and talented enough to invest in.
(3) Backup Goaltending - Martin Brodeur is not God. There. I said it. He is human. He is the greatest goalie of our era, one of the greatest ever. But he can’t play 100 game per year. Not at 35 years old. We need a decent goalie to whom we would feel comfortable giving 20-25 games per year. If we don’t have that, Marty will fade as the playoffs wear on every year. Who’s out there?
Robert Esche - Yes, he’s a head case. I’ve also seen him be a helluva goalie from time to time, and to be frank, we aren’t going to find a better goalie who will be willing to come in to backup a legend. The quirk about the Devils is that no goalie who comes in will be able to compete for the starting job. This limits our choices when looking for a backup.
(4) A no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, hard-ass of a head coach. This team needs discipline. The lack of discipline cost us any chance of being competitive in the Ottawa series. He must have an aggressive attitude while conforming to the defensive system that has worked so well for us for so long. Oh, and he also has to have the cajones to tell the best goalie on the planet to sit his ass down 25 time per year.
Pat Quinn - I think he has these credentials.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
BTW Darren, just because Mike Comrie is playing well right now doesn’t mean he’ll play that way for us. He has a deep and well-deserved reputation for sulking on teams when things aren’t going his way. He is definitely not the kind of player who would be willing to sacrifice his own goals for that of the team, such as you would need on a “system team” like the Devils. He would be a bad, bad fit here.
Jeff Freisen wasn’t all that good a player when he was young and spry. He’s terrible now.
And Tanabe’s injury problems aside, Carolina plays the same basic system we do. If he won’t fit in there, there is little chance he’d fit in here.
Wesley, on the other hand, is not nearly as fragile, is young, plays the Carolina system well and brings a physical presence that Tanabe lacks. And he’s also unrestricted…
Food for thought.
May 17th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Wesley and Teppo young?
Pat Quinn coach the Devils?
Newark’s officially frozen over.
May 17th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
A friend told Me that in A California paper there is a story about Gomez’s people heavily talking to the Duck’s people about coming over there, and the Duck’s people are pretty much talking like He is already on the roster next season,HMMMMMMMM.If that is true (who knows it could be just CA gossip) where are The Duck’s getting all of this $ from?
May 17th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Wesley and Teppo will both be 40 by Opening Day next year, I think they’ll retire with their teams anyway.
Carolina’s system is nothing like the Devils, they’re strictly offensive minded, we’re strictly defensive minded.
Esche I wouldn’t mind as a backup to Brodeur, I think 15-17 games would be more realistic, I just hope whoever the coach is realizes playing Marty 75 games isn’t going to help in the playoffs.
I’d take Burns over Quinn in a second, and Lou would too. Lou wouldn’t stand for having a whiner around, besides Quinn has his own health issues anyway.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Interesting first post, Aaron. I disagree with you over Brylin and your three choices. Brylin is fine a stop-gap measure at center for the top line; but teams will exploit the center if Brylin will play there for a season. If/when Gomez goes, I think the Devils should drop cash on Drury ASAP.
Wesley is pushing 40, Tanabe would be a regression over Rafalski. Rafalski gives you strong positional defense and a lot of points on a blueline that didn’t produce many. Let’s not turn up our nose at him because he was part of a Devils defense that TB and Ottawa dominated (yes, the entire blueline was poor in the playoffs, not just Rafalski)
I agree that size is an issue; but I think the addition of David Clarkson and a full season of Matvichuk will help. I think Minard needs to have a brilliant preseason to make the Devils; and if Bergfors is going to Sweden, I don’t see him stepping in. I need to check who at forward will be unrestricted, though; so I don’t have any suggestions - sorry.
May 18th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Excuse me, but are we talking about the same Glen Wesley who will turn 40 in 2008? I know that’s younger than me, but since when is 40 young in the NHL???
This past season was his 18th season in the NHL. So. Is he a young 40?
May 18th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Say no to all three + Glen Wesley is NOT young - from TSN below
Carolina
DOB: Wed, Oct 02, 1968
Age: 38
May 18th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Mr Dastardly,
I was simply trying to point out that its not always the best name you go out and get. I mean more times than not that usually ends up blowing up in your face. Ask the Rangers about Holik, the Flyers about Forsberg or you could even say Nashville about Kariya. Sure, Comrie has had his problems in the past and you have to honestly believe that a change a scenery for someone like Gomez might have a negative effect on his game. The one player that always comes to my mind is Bruce Driver. Did well in NJ, left the system and he tanked.
I’m not 100% sold about Friesen being done. Everyone in the media said that about Mogilny the first time we traded for him and he pounded home 42 goals the next season. They were right about him when he returned in 2005. I also didnt mean pay Friesen alot of money, it would have to be right for me to consider.
Looking at the FA list, I wasn’t overly thrilled with what I saw out there. I also have a sneaking suspicion that complete offensive minded players would never consider NJ as a place for them so that shortens the list in my opinion.
As for out Backup Goalie, I’d expect to see Clemmenson simply because I don’t think another team will give him a chance based on 5 games…
But thanks everyone for the feedback, this is exactly what I wanted….
May 18th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Dick Dastardly, I agree with you 100% on the Comrie thing. However, I have to say of Glen Wesley: define “young”. The guy’s going to be 39 in October and just finished his 20th NHL season.
May 18th, 2007 at 9:42 am
John-
I’d love to see Mike Rupp move up to help them out instead of Brylin just so that there’s more size in front and hopefully more space created for Elias and Gionta. Unfortunately, Rupp lacks strong footing (I saw him fight a few times in the preseason and he’s top-heavy to say the least) and intensity (he’s rarely seen parked in front of the net, even on the power play).
At this point, I can’t forsee a FA center filling the spot easily whether it’s because of money, available talent, and/or character. Brylin seems to be a good fit simply because he’s filled that spot well over the last few seasons when Gomer was hurt and since he came into the league in 95, I’ve learned never to underestimate his skill nor his grittiness.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Simply put….if Gomez and Rafalski go…I am not immensely worried. Clarkson will have a bigger presence…and Rupp needs to as well. Hopefully they stop matching lines so much and learn to give some guys a rest. The Devils were a lot closer to contending than anyone thought. So we need to do some tweaking to get there.
For the future, we need a fairly strong draft…the depth in this year’s class may not be there…but Conte and Lou need to do a really good job…because the time is getting closer and closer to where we will need to fill some pretty big shoes.
Welcome aboard Darren…great first blog.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Shari,
If what is being reported in the CA paper is true, that’s tampering. If the officials simply talk about the player before the July 1st deadline that can get them in trouble…for them to actually speak to his reps would get them in a whole lot of trouble.
Haven’t people learned anything from the Blues/Stevens tampering case???
In terms of wher they are getting the $$$, there are rumors that if they win the Cup, Selanne is retiring. Maybe he will anyway. That would about take care of it since he was on a one-year deal and was over the age of 35 so he was bonus eligible (he made significantly more than what his base salary showed). His cap hit was probably around $6M.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
i looked through my last few days papers sports section ( i live in san bernardino) and i saw no mention of scott gomez anything. i mean, if he does go to the ducks, who gives a shit? like sue sais, sellane’s probably retiring and Gomers not even close to a replacement (if sellane doesnt retire i doubt they’d afford money hungry gomez). He’s half the hockey player he should be right now, and he only puts forth effort when things seem to be going his way. AND when things are going his way he seems to do a lot of selfish play. I mean Gomez has done a lot for us in the past but let’s not dwell.
If Rafalski goes, it’s not too much of a problem as long as we do pick up a replacement cause as of right now he IS our best defense. I know he sucked in the play-offs but you can’t disregard the whole damn season. Everyone’s talking as if he wasn’t on the All-star team THIS season. but anyways, should Lou actually be planning to get rid of Rafalski then i’m sure he’s already figuring something out. He’ll most likey just throw Greene up in there and up Paul Martin. Or mabey he’s gonna sign someone noone’s even considering and he see’s “Devils qualities” in them cause he seems to like to stick to the organization and not bring in big namers.
May 18th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I didn’t see the Gomez article for Myself I’m just relaying what someone told me.Rafalski seems to get alot of slack, but I have always liked Him, and the way he’s been playing for the Dev’s for many years and yes He is not 6ft4 but I still like what He brings, remember the game when He played 38 mins and was a rock He gets the most minutes then anyone on the team (except maybe sometimes Martin)yes He didn’t have a solid playoff run but alot of the Dev’s didn’t play as solid as We are used to seeing, I don’t think that he is a 6mil dollar man but I don’t want to forget all of the good that he has done either.Who knows if a good D man from another team can come to the Devils and fit into the system.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
I think the one thing everyone’s neglecting at this point is the lack of leadership, whether it be by cattle-prodding Elias’s ass, pleading with Scotty Stevens to come back, bringing in a natural leader (a la Scott Niedermayer in Anaheim and Brendan Shanahan in New York), or a hard-ass coach (like Pat Burns). Something the Devils have lacked since 2003 has been the drive and passion in the playoffs. In each of the three seasons since their last cup, they were sent packing in a 5 game series (Philly 1st round, Carolina 2nd round, Ottawa 2nd round) because they couldn’t push themselves back into the series when things got tough. If the Devs can get someone to light the fire under their collective asses, then they would’ve at least gone deeper into those series.
May 19th, 2007 at 12:23 am
I’m still sticking with what I said a few months ago. Sykora is the best free agent the Devils can get. Him and Elias had more chemistry than you could shake a stick at. Throw Clarkson on their line and I think it would have the potential to be the second coming of the A-line. So what do we do with Gionta? Well, I wouldn’t mess with with the Parise line, so that would put him with Madden and Pando. That sounds like three dangerous lines to me. That is of course if they stop matching lines so much and let them all have a more equal ice time.
I agree with those that say keep Rafalski. He may not be the same Brian as yesteryear, but I still think he is invaluable, not to mention the fact he wants to remain a Devil. That’s the kind of attitude Lou likes. The same goes with Oduya. He has a year of NHL under his belt now. Pair him with a stay-at-home defenseman and give him a green light and I think he could help chip in offensively.
May 19th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Putting Gionta with Madden and Pandolfo is a mistake and wouldn’t help them produce goals. I am interested in the idea of putting Gionta with Brylin as they’ve done well together in OT and 4-on-4s, but Sykora may not be the best acquisition. I think Lou is reluctant to bring back people for nostalgia’s sake (see Mogilny and Malakhov) and traded Sykora away because he felt the A-line was too dependant on each other, which is a bad thing.
May 19th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Aaron You are right on point with the leadership comment, The dev’s have lacked the fire and intensity since Capt’n Crunch left, they have been missing a key element that gives them the one two punch that they have needed to make it past the 2nd round, Elias has lost His Mojo since being named Capt’n. He’s so foused on the C that He seems to be putting too much pressure on Himself and it is throwing Him off of His game. I can’t see Him in the locker room scaring the pants off of some Guys to get them to perform, like Scott S did. I still like the idea od Hard Ass Burns coming back to Coach. The whole idea that Lou keeps talking about, of the Guys being professionals and Coaching themselves in the locker room does not seem to be getting the job done.
May 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I just read that The Dev’s have picked up the option on Brylin, and made offers to Cam J, Johnny O, Parise ( no surprise there) and Martin. So it looks like they are not going anywhere.
May 19th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Cam Janssen could be great after a lot of work and discipline. As far as the leadership, of course they are lacking that cause elias isn’t gonna get anyone fired up before the games and be aggressive and lead by example for the most part. But aside from that, before the lockout, the devils had much more insentive to push for those shut-outs and low scoring games w/that 1000 bonus for every shut out, 500 for 1, 250 for 2 and now they dont recieve that so honestly a lot of them dont have that drive if that money they’re used to isn’t there. (which would explain why the Parise line does so bomb, not being accustomed to those bonuses, of course w/the exception of Jamie).
May 19th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Shari-
It’s sad that once Stevens left, the Devs have traded trash-can kicking tirades with 20 minute “talks”. “Talking” is for whimps and everyone knows that they have to win, so it accomplishes nothing.
May 20th, 2007 at 9:59 am
All the leadership in the world is not going to give the team scoring, which is really the big problem. In the modern-day NHL you can’t have scoring from two lines alone with the other two lines getting almost half the icetime being zero threat to score.
And having a fourth line be a total non-factor at all most nights isn’t going to help keep the first three lines fresh. Buffalo, Ottawa, even the Rangers can roll four lines with little problem. Our three lines and top defensemen were fatigued by the end of the season.
July 1st, 2007 at 5:08 pm
They should give chris minard a chance he’s been productive playing in the ahl for the past few years