Confirmed with Link: Devils sign Drew Stafford to 1yr Deal

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

ummmmmmmmmmmmm i'm pretty sure thats not the case. the guy is almost begging for a contract from an nhl team. if that is true and he doesn't want to sign here? wow and you thought we had a shot at shatenkirk lol

based on what, exactly?

We DID have a shot at Shattenkirk and I would wager that if not for the Rangers, he would've signed here. However, I have no idea what that has to do with anything

 

[BenedictGomez]

people saying jagr would be too expensive? i dont get it when did we become a cap strapped team?

At this point, I'd love them to sign Jagr for a year just for the humor and theatrics he would bring.

Plus, he'll probably still put up 16 or 17 goals and bring a "free" 3rd Round pick in March.

 

[tailfins]

based on what, exactly?

We DID have a shot at Shattenkirk and I would wager that if not for the Rangers, he would've signed here. However, I have no idea what that has to do with anything

Why do you need sources to disprove your hypothetical? You have no information that says he doesn't want to sign here. Meanwhile, there are published reports of Jagr saying that he's waiting for NHL GMs to contact him. :

 

[NJDevs26]

based on what, exactly?

Based on his own Twitter posts and the fact he still isn't signed in late August?

I don't think Jagr's gonna be picky about where he plays given he's played so many places already. I do think he's probably a bit picky over what he wants out of said place (playing time/contract).

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Why do you need sources to disprove your hypothetical? You have no information that says he doesn't want to sign here. Meanwhile, there are published reports of Jagr saying that he's waiting for NHL GMs to contact him. :

"waiting for NHL teams to contact him" = "begging for a contract?"

um, OK!!

 

[MadDevil]

Jagr just doesn't fit with how this team wants to play. We'd have to build a line around him that plays a slower game than the rest of the team. Maybe you could put somebody like Rico, who isn't particularly fast, with him but then he's probably going to end up getting much of Zajac's responsibilities and I don't think we want Jagr out there with him. The only other option would be Boyle, but that would probably mean less of a role than Jagr likely wants.

 

[tailfins]

"waiting for NHL teams to contact him" = "begging for a contract?"

um, OK!!

but, "waiting for NHL teams to contact him" apparently means "maybe he doesn't want to sign here"? I see.

Edit: Btw - I agree with MadDevil that Jagr's not a fit for this team. I just don't know why anyone would say he's not an option.

 

[Missionhockey]

I'm speculating here but I wonder if the Zajac injury was the straw that broke the camel's back on this signing. I don't know how good Stafford is defensively, but with the very real possibility that Hischier and Mcleod will both be in the opening night lineup, I think management might want to insulate them with veteran wingers. Then again, our RW depth was pretty bad to begin with and we have a ton of cap space, so they probably would have been justified anyway.

 

[Cult of Hynes]

Good signing. One year and cheap. He is good for at least 15 goals.

 

[theoptimist]

Damien Brunner

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Damien Brunner

What?

 

[Bleedred]

I'm speculating here but I wonder if the Zajac injury was the straw that broke the camel's back on this signing. I don't know how good Stafford is defensively, but with the very real possibility that Hischier and Mcleod will both be in the opening night lineup, I think management might want to insulate them with veteran wingers. Then again, our RW depth was pretty bad to begin with and we have a ton of cap space, so they probably would have been justified anyway.

He's very bad defensively. He's pretty much useless if he's not putting up any points.

Let's just hope that Hynes doesn't decide to use him on a ''Shutdown'' line.

Maybe Zajac going down could have impacted us making this signing, in order to maybe replace some of Zajac's offense. It really shouldn't have been made to help out at all to replace Zajac's defense. Stafford may be a worse defensive player than Sergey Kalinin. Shero has made a couple of these signings for early 30's, cheaper boom or bust forwards since he's came aboard. Even though Parenteau was a waiver claim, and Tlusty was still in his late 20's.

 

[billingtons ghost]

What?

He's saying that Stafford will be Brunner 2.0. ie. He'll look good for 15 games, and then we'll all remember why he sucks and no one wants him on their team except us and then we'll listen to everyone ***** about it endlessly and how it set <insert young player's name here> back 2 years.

I mean, at this point - people say 'no risk' but there is no risk to just signing about everyone out there who is an NHL player except for the loss of playing time for kids that need to develop and that's a big big risk.

To be honest - I see picking up useless vets as counter-productive, unless Shero thinks that we can wriggle into a playoff spot.

This guy isn't like Stempniak - unless Stafford has 15 goals at the deadline - we'll get a 6th rounder for him.

 

[Bleedred]

Why are so many people adamant about having Speers come directly to the NHL at 20 years old, with no AHL time at all?

Shero and Hynes have shown over the last 2 years that they will not rush prospects into the lineup. That's one credit to Hynes that I'll give him.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I'd be happy with 15 goals.

HAHAHA You should be ultra super ecstatic with 15 goals.

I'll be ecstatic with 8 and if he isn't on the ice for like 50 against.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Why are so many people adamant about having Speers come directly to the NHL at 20 years old, with no AHL time at all?

sorry - speers was an example. Insert <youngster> here... and also - he looked good in camp last year. Why should it matter if he's 20 as opposed to 21 or 22? I don't think maturity always equates directly to age...

 

[Bleedred]

sorry - speers was an example. Insert <youngster> here.

It wasn't just you, I've seen a lot of people bring him and McLeod up.

Of course with Zajac being out for at least 2.5 months or so, that probably makes the chances of McLeod making the team go up by quite a bit. I would have thought that he had next to no shot before Zajac was injured.

 

[billingtons ghost]

It wasn't just you, I've seen a lot of people bring him and McLeod up.

Of course with Zajac being out for at least 2.5 months or so, that probably makes the chances of McLeod making the team go up by quite a bit. I would have thought that he had next to no shot before Zajac was injured.

He made the team last year out of camp - but you could be right - certainly the competition is better.

I never equated Stafford to 'fast, attacking, supportive'.. I think Speers and MacLeod are far, far, far better for the 'system' we want to play if you can call it that.

This Hayes/Stafford signings don't really follow the pattern.

 

[NJDevs26]

Stafford's making 800k on a one-year deal and Hayes is a PTO, they're not prohibiting kids from earning spots if they earn them. They're just safety-ish valves if the kids aren't ready yet. It'd be a little irresponsible to just throw out Speers and company for the sake of throwing them out if they need more minor league time.

 

[Classic Devil]

I mean, I'm not thrilled about this but we needed another top-9 veteran RW to prevent it from having too many kids in it. I'm not really sure there were any options other than Stafford that would work.

 

[Bleedred]

Stafford's making 800k on a one-year deal and Hayes is a PTO, they're not prohibiting kids from earning spots if they earn them. They're just safety-ish valves if the kids aren't ready yet. It'd be a little irresponsible to just throw out Speers and company for the sake of throwing them out if they need more minor league time.

Agreed.

And that's what happened with guys like Tedenby and Josefson, just in fairly recent memory. Now, whether they would have been good or not with extra AHL time, who knows? They may have just sucked anyway. Forcing them into the NHL at 19 and 20, with just a few games played in the AHL/North America wasn't the best idea at the time.

 

[Zippy316]

Why do you need sources to disprove your hypothetical? You have no information that says he doesn't want to sign here. Meanwhile, there are published reports of Jagr saying that he's waiting for NHL GMs to contact him. :

I mean, those reports were based on a joking tweet from Jagr I believe.

Not sure if he's just being Jagr or if he's serious.

 

[theoptimist]

Would have preferred Vanek, but I get contracts are a two-way street.

 

[MadDevil]

Would have preferred Vanek, but I get contracts are a two-way street.

Isn't Vanek a LW?

 

[Cheddabombs]

Like it. Keeps us from potentially forcing some prospects to make the jump.