Mon 9 Jul 2007
The New Jersey Devils continue to stockpile defensemen, signing blueliner Vitaly Vishnevski to a three-year contract which will pay him $1.4-million next season.
He will receive $2-million in each of the following two seasons.
Vishnevski split last season between the Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators, appearing in 67 games and posting three goals and ten assists for 13 points.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian was originally selected fifth overall in the 1998 Entry Draft.
July 9th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Wow, looks like he’s from the Dano school of offense.
…
In other news, we will have Paul Martin manning one point on the power play, with the other going to a monkey.
July 9th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Nice picture, good job editing it. Hopefully he can be a physical force on the blue line and be a solid 5-6 defenseman.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:04 am
How reliable is this source? I am on the edge of my seat every day waiting to see how Lou fixes our D-core. I think Vitaly could really be a big help if this is serious. I don’t see any indication that this is for real with any of my sources however.
July 10th, 2007 at 12:27 am
I don’t know if I like this, I’ve been checking his stats and I can’t really find anything to special about him.
July 10th, 2007 at 5:51 am
I really don’t like the choices of Rachunek and Vishnevski at face value. Both are mediocre defensemen with as much offensive ability as Colin White. This leaves the Devs with 4 stay-at-home defensemen (if you include Matvichuk), 1 offensive-defenseman who hasn’t really stepped up yet (Martin), and 2 offensive(ish)-defensemen who haven’t had enough time to find their niche (Oduya and Greene).
The Devs need a proven offensive defenseman, especially for the power play, or else opposing teams will play 5-on-3 in their own zones and ignore the point altogether.
July 10th, 2007 at 6:42 am
Crap signing. We have a solid defense as of now, this guy’s going to end up going to Lowell.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Lou is probably getting as many D-men signed as possible, so he can let them all fight for a job during training camp. Then trade away the slackers, maybe for a decent forward.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Vishnevski A Devil
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
According to the NHLPA site, the Devils have signed Vitali Vishnevski for $1.4M.
I smell something brewing. Probably not anything major but why would Lou sign 2 more average guys to moderate contracts when he already has White for 3M, Matvichuk 1.3, Oduya 600K, Martin 2.5-4.5 if he can resign him now, Green 600K and Rachunek 1.4M. Does anyone else think Whitey’s a goner and possibly Matvichuk? White does nothing but take stupid penalties but we could stand to keep Matvichuk’s leadership. We’ve got 7 D now, someone’s expendable.
July 10th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Can’t find another source other than Eklund. I know he’s not 100% reliable everytime.
Will Vitaly fit into our “system?”
July 10th, 2007 at 10:56 am
HE’S ON THE DEVILS WEBSITE, SO ITS FOR REAL
July 10th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I don’t see this as a crap signing. At $1.4 million, that is very affordable. His stats don’t tell about his play. He is a solid 3rd pairing defenseman, he hits big, will fight, and is very effective at blocking shots. I think he will fit well into the Devils system and will be productive.
The defense corp still needs some beefing up: Martin, White, Greene, Matvichuk, Oduya, Rachunek, and Vishnevski. I look for Lou to make one more signing and/or trade to make this stronger.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:07 am
HE FITS INTO LOU’S SYSTEM, HE’S ONLY GONNA MAKE 1.4 MIL THIS SEASON
July 10th, 2007 at 11:09 am
It’s on the Devils website now.
I don’t see it as a bad signing. A little depth never hurt anyone and it’s not like Lou broke the bank on this signing.
However, if White does get traded, I may throw a party.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Mike –
I wouldn’t post a signing if it weren’t legitimate. I only posted the Souray drivel because it had been a slow few days and I made no indication whatsoever that the Devils had in fact signed him.
I think this is a decent signing, but I worry about our top three. I truly hope Paul Martin is ready to step into a primetime role, he’s going to need to at this point. We’re set four-six, but as of right now our top three appears to be Martin, Colin White, and Richard Matvichuk or Karel Rachunek.
It felt a bit more comforting when it was Rafalski, Martin, and White…
…hell, it felt heaps and heaps more comforting with Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, and Rafalski.
How I miss those days…
July 10th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Frisby –
I’ll supply the beer and pizza for that party.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:28 am
WE MAY LOSE A LOT OF GAMES THIS YEAR, BUT ITS GONNA BE A LOT HARDER TO PLAY AGAINST US AND WE WONT GET PUSHED AROUND ANYMORE
July 10th, 2007 at 11:36 am
The issue I have is that Lou went out and signed two 3rd pairing defensemen for 1.4 mil each. I think he overspent for two mediocre stay-at-home defensemen when the Devs already had White and Matvichuk. Granted this could make White expendable, but he plays a solid positional game and Matvichuk did a great job in the games that he played.
The Devils need to have a scoring threat from the point and losing Rafalski threw away what little threat (if you consider wrist shots that are meant to be deflected) they had. Replacing Rafalski and Lukowich with two Colin Whites at 1.4 mil each doesn’t do much good. Souray would’ve been a perfect addition because he could play both sides of the puck well even though it remains to be seen if he could do them at the same time.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:54 am
So where does this leave Alex Brooks, Mark Fraser and Tomas Harant (who very nearly beat out Oduya last training camp and had a solid year at Lowell)? I find it odd that they’re loading up with White, Matvichuk, Vishnevski on the big/slow part of the depth chart.
July 10th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Alex Brooks is not NHL material. He was a salary cap call up — Devils couldn’t afford to bring anyone else up, he made minimum so it made sense. He stuck around a while, broke his foot, and was then never heard of again.
He’s like 31 now, and I believe UFA. He likely won’t be retained anyway.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Fraser isn’t ready yet, Brooks is old, and Harant will probably start in Lowell and be used if necessary. But I think they’re missing the point here.
White is slow. Matvichuk is slow, why sign this new dude for 1.4 mil, when he’s slow also.
Plus doesn’t anyone else think Paul Martin sucks? I mean constantly gets beat, rarely uses his so called talent, coughs up the puck. I wouldn’t rely on Martin to be any type of saving grace.
Green and Oduya are the best defensemen we have.
I also wonder why we’re not trying to sign bigger guns? They have 2 solid lines, but Elias has seen better years and is slowing going down hill. Gionta can’t score 50 goals every year. So that leaves Zack. Zack is going to be a great player, but we need someone else. Someone that is better than Zack. Plus having that top scorer will put butts in the seats. For what they’re charging me ($150 a ticket) for the new place, I want to see something.
July 10th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Something to think about:
Since Rachunek and Vishnevski are both under 30, they can be sent down to Lowell without taking the cap hit.
July 10th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
NJ - Green and Martin are our best d-men right now *gulp*. they are both fast enough to chip in on offense and still get back on D. They are both smart enough to only pinch in when they have a forward covering their point. And they both play a decent positional game, though Green is better in this area than Martin.
Oduya has great promise and I hope he works out. He played some great games during the regular season. But his stock dropped severely when he completely melted down against a not very good Lightning team in the playoffs.
Rachunek will not be a reliable D-man for at least a season, which is how long it took Rad Brad to figure out the system. Or he could go the Ken Klee path and never figure it out.
White has never lived up to expectations. He hasn’t grown into a leadership role and he can’t stop taking stupid penalties. He’s too slow. He can’t cover the faster “New NHL” forwards and he doesn’t hit near hard enough or often enough to be an effective enforcer.
Matvichuk was golden during the playoffs, but don’t forget he was playing on a year’s rest. Is he the same guy we’ll see after a full season’s beating? I don’t think so. He’s old. He’s fragile. You can’t count on him for a full year.
I have a feeling that the Vishnevski signing is an acknowledgement that Matvichuk can only be a part time player. Fraser isn’t ready to come up yet and isn’t a stay-at-home d-man anyway. The new guy plays the same kind of game Matti plays. But again, he hasn’t been in our system before, so he will be unreliable for a year.
Lou likes to pair faster, offensive D-men with more stay-at-home defenders. So, what do we look like right now?
Martin(Decent)/White(Slow, Stupid)
Green(Solid)/Rachunek(Slow, Unreliable)
Oduya(Great until it counts)/Matvichuk(slow, fragile) then -
Oduya/Vishnevski(Slow, Who knows?)
Let’s just say, thank heaven for the Weekes signing, because the goaltender is going to get tired behind this bunch. We may have to switch at the end of each period.
July 10th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I agree with most of it. Martin is got to go, no size,puck nandaling,no shoot, slow no good.
Matvichuk-dinosor got to go.Losing ScotN, Rafalsky-we have no offence from D at all.By getting Vit.V. and Rachunek we have now size and litle bet of physhical, but still no offence. Thats why the Sourey thing was not that bad of a deal,but nobody wants to throw mony like Rangers do. Hope always there, maybe Lou knows that. He is a bussinasman first then GM. I looking forward to next season NJ can kik some ass not only as defensife team but with more scoring.God bles us NJD fans
July 10th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Oh Boy, I don’t know what to make of these latest moves, part of Me thinks, Boy our D is going to really suck and gone are the days of the Famous Dev’s D ruling the league,no playoffs for Us. But, I don’t think that Lou would be doing these things if He didn’t see something in these Guys that We don’t, Nieder, Raffi,Arnott,Sykora, Gomer, Gio, Patty (the list goes on and on)all of these Guys were not heard of and then they became Dev’s and look at where they are today, I didn’t like the signing of Luk at first and wondered if Lou was losing his marbles, but after a while I really liked Him and was sad to see Him go. Think of it this way, the more big boy’s that We stock up on the more Gomez gets hit,(Am I bitter? nah, well maybe just a little) and Patty, Gio,and the kids may be a little safer out there, well at least We can all look forward to next season and see how things pan out.
July 10th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Mike, easy on the caps lock.
I’d love to see Lou set up a deal to get some REAL defensemen. C’mon Lou! Give us some speed and someone on the point!
July 10th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
I still feel that Souray will be a Devil. However, I think this is a solid signing. He is a hitter and play’s solid D. I would find it hard for anyone to knock V.V. then defend an under-achiever such as Colin White. I think the best D man on our team after this year will undoubtedly be: Andy Greene. Let’s face it, Coach Julien may have suffocated Paul Martin, but even Niedermayer showed offensive prowees under Coach Jauques. Bottom line is he did play better in the playoffs, but is that saying much after his regular season? He is still living off his draft day report. Karl Rachunek is a solid player at best and who know’s what we will get out of Matvichuck this season. I agree that if I was Marty I would not feel condident and I expect some miss-communication early in the season. Johnny Oduya is the wild card, but with that being said as of right now who will be the odd man out of the top 6? I still don’t think Lou is done and I really can see Colin White and his 3mill per year being shipped somehwere. So welcome V.V. to the team, you;re already better than the guy with two Cup ring’s. I still expect to see Souray here and #5 out of here by Septmebr. One last question, I am glad we made the move neccessary to rbing Andy up full time with the Devs, but how would David Hale look right about now?
July 10th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Someone wrote about that Mark Fraser is “not a stay at home d man.” Did you ever watch a Lowell Devils game? Did you see Mark when he was up with the Devs? He is the absolute definition of a stay at home d man. Please watch the kid play then talk about type of player he is.
July 11th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Hale was too passive, I did not miss him leaving. Him leaving allowed the Devils to bring up Greene which was a great move. Of the UFA’s we signed vs. Hale, I’m happy with what we’ve got. See ya later Whitey!
July 11th, 2007 at 6:04 am
Al-
With such a weak market for FA Dmen, Lou doesn’t have much to work with already. Signing Rachunek and Vishnevski is troubling not only because of the cap hit, but both are 2nd string players at best. One of the issues with playing the Devils’ system in the “new NHL” is that you’re not running around, hitting people left and right. There’s a reason why McGillis and Malakhov didn’t cut it after the lockout.
The bottom line is that the Devils need a 1st string defenseman and signing 2 third-stringers isn’t going to cut it. Last year’s defense was weak; this year looks equal at best.
July 11th, 2007 at 6:21 am
I just want to clarify my point about Brooks/Fraser/Harant from earlier. My point is that for a $1.8mil cap hit for the next 3 years, you have better alternatives. Some people noted VV is a “depth” defenseman and there are questions if he’ll fit the system. A depth defenseman who fits the system? - Alex Brooks, who was valuable enough for Lou to recall from Lowell and keep with the Devils during the playoffs. Fraser is not ready yet, but has more than 1 full year at the AHL level and should be ready by the spring, but VV is signed to a THREE YEAR DEAL. It simply clogs the path for guys like him, Zimmerman and Glover, who should all be in training camp this year. Tomas Harant is the same age/size as VV and has several years of experience in Europe as well as a full season at the AHL now, and would cost a great deal less. Louie Lams — probably out of cap duress — took a smart approach last year by filling out the D by signing Oduya, Greene, Harant, Mottau, etc and let them battle it out in training camp. I simply think a significant cap hit for 3 years is a waste for a solid, depth defenseman.
July 11th, 2007 at 7:40 am
John-
I think you’re right about Lou letting them all have it out at training camp. On the plus side, both Rachunek and Vishnevski are young enough to send to Lowell and drop their cap numbers if they suck, a la Dan McGillis.