Confirmed with Link: Devils sign Ben Lovejoy

[VoidCreature]

Shero knows we have to upgrade the D if we want to win a cup, but he's not going to overpay on term to get there inmediately. This is an excellent stopgap signing, and with Schneider in net it should be perfectly functional. Love it!

 

[mtnet]

Also just realized BLJ plays right side too so they're not even related (Schlemko) far as Devs D is concerned. I was trying to get on forums on phone while at the vet and it was all I could do just keeping up with the frenzy =)

I do wish DS best of luck though, he worked out much better than some of our experiments over the past couple years.

 

[MadDevil]

I wouldn't mind Lovejoy as a third pairing guy. But as a top 4 option? I'm not so sure that's going to work out well.

 

[NJDevils17]

New Jersey Devils ‏@NJDevils 1m1 minute ago
Lovejoy on fitting into the #NJDevils system: “I’m coming to be a leader and try to help young defenseman."

Pretty much what we're all saying about mentoring and being a stopgap until our guys are ready.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

Needed more of a shutdown guy over a puck mover with Larsson gone

 

[OmNomNom]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

Term was key. 4 yrs down the line our defenseman coming up will be glad there's a spot still open for them to try for

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Needed more of a shutdown guy over a puck mover with Larsson gone

Schlemko was fine defensively.

Term was key. 4 yrs down the line our defenseman coming up will be glad there's a spot still open for them to try for

Maybe. I don't like the idea of letting a good player go because you think you might have a better prospect 2 or 3 years down the road from playing in the league.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Term was key. 4 yrs down the line our defenseman coming up will be glad there's a spot still open for them to try for

to be fair, you could've said the same thing a few years ago when it looked like Merrill, Gelinas, Urbom, etc were going to be anchoring our D

not all of our guys are gonna make it. I feel confident Santini will but beyond that, meh

 

[NJDevs26]

New Jersey Devils ‏@NJDevils 1m1 minute ago
Lovejoy on fitting into the #NJDevils system: “I’m coming to be a leader and try to help young defenseman."

Pretty much what we're all saying about mentoring and being a stopgap until our guys are ready.

It's an underrated part of the signing...now they can have a vet on each of the top two pairings as opposed to just on one.

 

[Devilsgrl35]

There's really nothing to not like about this deal. Solid deal for a solid player. The more I learn about him the more I love the fit.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

Schlemko gets a choice in where he signs. Shero can't make Schlemko sign, and I can't blame Schlemko for choosing the Sharks over the Devils.

 

[NJDevils17]

Interview on NHL Network now. I like Lovejoy's attitude a lot.

I think he likes Hall.

"Taylor Hall is awesome. He is an elite player. He is so fast and you have to respect him on the ice at all times."

On another note - He was talking about being able to live a suburban lifestyle and not big city. I wonder if that's an attraction players have to playing in NJ vs NYC. People say it's an unattractive place to play but I don't buy that at all. If not suburbs, Hoboken is cheaper than the city and you can just take the Path.

 

[Zippy316]

I was saying this deal since the Larsson trade and people just kept saying Lovejoy wasn't good.

This is the perfect acquisition for us to temporarily fill the shutdown void Larsson creates, but also allows Santini/Jacobs/Mozik the chance at 3RD and to transition to 2RD in the near future.

 

[Zippy316]

Interview on NHL Network now. I like Lovejoy's attitude a lot.

I think he likes Hall.

"Taylor Hall is awesome. He is an elite player. He is so fast and you have to respect him on the ice at all times."

On another note - He was talking about being able to live a suburban lifestyle and not big city. I wonder if that's an attraction players have to playing in NJ vs NYC. People say it's an unattractive place to play but I don't buy that at all. If not suburbs, Hoboken is cheaper than the city and you can just take the Path.

For those knowledgeable about NJ, NJ is a terrific place to live.

The problem is many people have preconceived notions about NJ and almost all of them are false.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Schlemko gets a choice in where he signs. Shero can't make Schlemko sign, and I can't blame Schlemko for choosing the Sharks over the Devils.

Yes, that's a very valid and fair point. Has Shero said if he made an offer to Schlemko?

 

[Devilsfan992]

Interview on NHL Network now. I like Lovejoy's attitude a lot.

I think he likes Hall.

"Taylor Hall is awesome. He is an elite player. He is so fast and you have to respect him on the ice at all times."

On another note - He was talking about being able to live a suburban lifestyle and not big city. I wonder if that's an attraction players have to playing in NJ vs NYC. People say it's an unattractive place to play but I don't buy that at all. If not suburbs, Hoboken is cheaper than the city and you can just take the Path.

He also has a family, so a city life wouldn't work well for him.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

Yes, that's a very valid and fair point. Has Shero said if he made an offer to Schlemko?

I don't know if Shero has made any comments at all. He might wait until the end of the day.

 

[MadDevil]

I'm okay with not giving Schlemko 4 years. Granted, Lovejoy at 3 years isn't a whole lot different, but with Larsson gone we do need another righty back there, and hopefully within the next couple years Santini is ready to play a top 4 role.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

At least it's not Luke Schenn...

 

[Csonked Out]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

Schlemko was not the same post all star break as he was pretty all star break. I liked him, but his play really fell off the 2nd half of last year. personally I like a Moore-Lovejoy 3rd pairing quite a lot. I still see us adding 1 more defender to play with Merrill

 

[Emperoreddy]

I don't know if Shero has made any comments at all. He might wait until the end of the day.

Three years would of been the max Shero offered here, and I'm not sure he offered that.

Of course Schlemko took four in San Jose. I doubt many, if any, other teams offered that term.

Much rather Lovejoy on his new contract than Schlemko for 4 years.

 

[Oneiro]

Agreed. Schlemko got a bit too much term. But I do feel, on the whole, Devils fans are under-appreciating his performance last year.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Agreed. Schlemko got a bit too much term. But I do feel, on the whole, Devils fans are under-appreciating his performance last year.

They aren't. He was good, but he wasn't a revelation. Lovejoy will be a fine replacement.

 

[NJDevs26]

Schlemko is better than Lovejoy. Not signing him is not quite as stupid as not signing Stralman, but it is somewhat akin to that. He was their best D man at times last season. This is a pretty major misstep by Shero IMO.

He's better offensively for sure. That doesn't make him a better fit for what this team needs. Schlemko was another LHD that played on his off side all last year, and he doesn't bring the physical presence that Lovejoy brings. You need a LITTLE bit of bang, not every physical D is automatically as useless Bryce Salvador or Colin White at the end of their careers. He's also a vet presence that has played on winning teams, which will help our young D as well.

And yes I'm aware they still need something of an offensive presence from the blueline too eventually.