Can you honestly say you watched Adam Larsson this year?

[Panda Bear]

Can you honestly say you watched Adam Larsson this year?

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[doulos]

Nope.

Didn't watch much of PK Subban either.

 

[Aerrol]

I live in the east. I watch the Pens and follow more Eastern teams than the West. I've seen at least 10 games, if not more.

Larsson he a good defensive defenceman. He is NOT the offensive dman we needed back there.

 

[VainGretzky]

I also have had a Vanilla Ice cream cone and the thrill is the same.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Nope.

Didn't watch much of PK Subban either.

Didn't see much of Justin Faulk either.

 

[Panda Bear]

Didn't see much of Justin Faulk either.

He looked pretty similar to last year. Larsson didn't, though.

The Devils were such a bad team offensively. They would've been dead last in the standings it not for the Greene-Larsson-Schneider trifecta.

 

[OneMoreAstronaut]

I didn't - so at the moment I'm basing my attitude only on the crushing feeling of having traded Hall.

Should Larsson turn out to be a great defenseman, I may feel better.

 

[5 14 6 1]

I didn't - so at the moment I'm basing my attitude only on the crushing feeling of having traded Hall.

Should Larsson turn out to be a great defenseman, I may feel better.

Yeah. New Jersey fans are giving good accounts of him so it has me hopeful but still.

 

[Panda Bear]

For sure. Larsson isn't worth Hall in a vacuum, but we're trading from need. Larsson passes the eye test with flying colours, and digging into his stats shows that he did extremely well in New Jersey last season all-considered.

Hall has a $6 million cap hit until 2020, while Larsson has a $4.17 cap hit until 2021. Hopefully we can that extra cap space well.

 

[TheNumber4]

Nope. But I'm loading up some games on Center Ice right now that was suggested by NJ Devils Fans.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

The problem isn't Larsson. The problem is trading Hall for Larsson. We are still a garbage team offensively even with McDavid. Hall provided needed balance. Larsson does address a need but he's not a PP player (Chia admitted as much).

 

[Crabapple]

Watched him 2/3 times. He's good, but he's not Taylor Hall good. I think if we sign Demers/Lucic on Friday we're a better team than we were last year.

But still, losing Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson really hurts. I think RNH could've been the guy going to New Jersey.

 

[Panda Bear]

The problem isn't Larsson. The problem is trading Hall for Larsson. We are still a garbage team offensively even with McDavid. Hall provided needed balance. Larsson does address a need but he's not a PP player (Chia admitted as much).

Larsson may not help our powerplay a lot, but he's exactly what we needed at even strength for puck movement: someone who can hit McDavid in stride.

I agree the problem is the trade, though. Hall's worth more.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

He looked pretty similar to last year. Larsson didn't, though.

The Devils were such a bad team offensively. They would've been dead last in the standings it not for the Greene-Larsson-Schneider trifecta.

That's about the way it seems.

 

[TheNumber4]

The problem isn't Larsson. The problem is trading Hall for Larsson. We are still a garbage team offensively even with McDavid. Hall provided needed balance. Larsson does address a need but he's not a PP player (Chia admitted as much).

He also said that we are just scratching the surface of what Larsson will become. And I am sure that means he feels the offence is coming.

 

[Stud Muffin]

Yes, he's a good Dman and instantly makes are D alot better but at the price of Hall it should get knocked.

 

[Mr Positive]

The problem isn't Larsson. The problem is trading Hall for Larsson. We are still a garbage team offensively even with McDavid. Hall provided needed balance. Larsson does address a need but he's not a PP player (Chia admitted as much).

Our offense was crap because our D was crap. They are connected. Our offense will be much, much better after this trade. Even if Larsson doesn't do as well as some think he might, he is still a great puck mover and solid defensively, which will help our forwards immensely.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

Larsson may not help our powerplay a lot, but he's exactly what we needed at even strength for puck movement: someone who can hit McDavid in stride.

I agree the problem is the trade, though. Hall's worth more.

Very true. I just hope we have enough secondary scoring so it doesn't turn into 10 years of McDavid toiling away without any support.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

Our offense was crap because our D was crap. They are connected. Our offense will be much, much better after this trade. Even if Larsson doesn't do as well as some think he might, he is still a great puck mover and solid defensively, which will help our forwards immensely.

I completely agree that they're connected, but the price was too high IMO. I doubt they'll improve. Hall was top 3 in the entire league behind Benn and Crosby for ES production the past 5 years.

 

[Asher]

There's a lot of players I didn't watch last year that I wouldn't trade Hall to get.

 

[Mr Positive]

I completely agree that they're connected, but the price was too high IMO. I doubt they'll improve. Hall was top 3 in the entire league behind Benn and Crosby for ES production the past 5 years.

I think if Chiarelli pushed for more, the trade probably doesn't happen. Larsson was a big deal to them. It had to take an overpay to get their attention, and the longer they think about it, I think the more likely they change their minds.

Also, remember that signing Demers is not a sure thing. He may prefer going elsewhere. Even trade options like Barrie or Shattenkirk are long shots really, and those players don't take the tough competition that Larsson does. The offer sheet route is a low percent wager, one that would result in a very bad cap hit on the roster. If we miss out on Larsson and then all these guys, before we know it we are doomed going into next season. For all Larsson's faults, having him gives me a lot more hope that we can make the playoffs next season. I know I'm "Mr Positive" but after we traded our picks last year for Reinhart instead of someone like Burns, I did say back then that we basically missed the playoffs just with that move (no offense to Reinhart, but we needed a top pairing guy). I am realistic about things.

 

[Oil Gauge]

Probably watched NJ a few times a year. But never really paid extra attention to him.

 

[LaGu]

I've watched Larsson a lot and for several years. I remember his 3 G and 15 A over the course of his first half-season, he looked great. 22+ mins per night and the poise, calmness and ability to get off his hard shot on the PP (yes, he can play PP) were things of beauty imo and promised great things to come. Then he got rocked by Subban, clean good hit but for whatever reason he never managed to bounce back. Physically at first, mentally afterwards, looking shy and being afraid of the puck. Last season was the first time since then that, imo, the Larsson of old started to show again and this season he has been stellar at times. Imho the sky is the limit for Larsson and I am so happy he is in EDM.


To be clear, the trade is of course at this point still unbalanced. Hall for Larsson is a clearcut loss looking at right now. But this is not like the Seguin trade for so many reasons, first and foremost that EDM traded for need and paid a hefty price, BOS traded to get rid of Seguin but the players coming back didn't really fill any gaping holes.

RHD, good #2 imo and likely clearcut #1 within a couple of years.

I am sorry to see Hall go, but with the fire power up front with McDavid leading the way he could be expended even though it will hurt the offense.

 

[LaGu]

I think if Chiarelli pushed for more, the trade probably doesn't happen. Larsson was a big deal to them. It had to take an overpay to get their attention, and the longer they think about it, I think the more likely they change their minds.

Also, remember that signing Demers is not a sure thing. He may prefer going elsewhere. Even trade options like Barrie or Shattenkirk are long shots really, and those players don't take the tough competition that Larsson does. The offer sheet route is a low percent wager, one that would result in a very bad cap hit on the roster. If we miss out on Larsson and then all these guys, before we know it we are doomed going into next season. For all Larsson's faults, having him gives me a lot more hope that we can make the playoffs next season. I know I'm "Mr Positive" but after we traded our picks last year for Reinhart instead of someone like Burns, I did say back then that we basically missed the playoffs just with that move (no offense to Reinhart, but we needed a top pairing guy). I am realistic about things.

I think this is spot on. Larsson will leave a gaping hole on the NJ defense and dealing him seemed to be a non-starter. Not because his value in a vacuum was so high, but rather because his value right now for the NJD defense was very high.

 

[LaGu]

By the way, are we sure he won't be going in a package to NSH?