Devils Team Discussion (current team/player news and notes) ‎PART XII

[DirtyJerzey]

Agreed. Zubrus is voted least likely to bounce back by me. I vote Ryder most likely to bounce back. Clowe was a very good player for us when actually in the lineup.

1000% on this

 

[MichaelJ]

This, even if Severson is the better overall player we simply can't ignore the production Gelinas brings. He completely transforms the power play, which we need since we seemingly can't score goals 5-on-5.

With all this hype about Severson recently, if he really is NHL-ready, why not just dump Salvador? Seriously. The 'experience' he brings is overrated. We get more development time for one of our young guns, don't have to choose btw Severson or Gelinad when both should be here long term, and balance out R/L better. I can't see Damon being any worse than Sal.

 

[DirtyJerzey]

With all this hype about Severson recently, if he really is NHL-ready, why not just dump Salvador? Seriously. The 'experience' he brings is overrated. We get more development time for one of our young guns, don't have to choose btw Severson or Gelinad when both should be here long term, and balance out R/L better. I can't see Damon being any worse than Sal.

reading this makes me wonder... do you think the stock pile of forwards we have and the possibility of our younglings pushing forward on D that lou is creating some serious competition for the guys to create that spark we need ? even if you look at the net minders we have, shnieds is locked in 1 spot and he brings in clemmer to push kinky. if this is his plan i think lou might be on to something

 

[Bleedred]

If we could get the offense to around 20th in the league, I think we can make the playoffs. I expect us to be top 5-6 in goals against again. 65 games of Cory should ensure that.

 

[MadDevil]

Having 3 kids on defense at once is going to be risky enough, now you want to go with 4 kids?

 

[Tretyak 20]

Just a gut feeling, but I don't think anybody's getting traded. I think were going into the season as is and Lou is stocking up on forwards because of the increased likelihood that guys are going to get hurt and/or need old man maintenance days.

If we can stay relatively healthy and the youngsters on defense don't sink then we should be a playoff team. We have the second best goalie in the division and pretty well balanced forward group with Cammalleri aboard. 25-35 goals from him and hopefully 10-20 from Havlat and that should put us closer to league average, since we didn't lose any goals this summer. Obviously, that's contingent and Ryder bouncing back and the old men (Jagr, Elias) not showing there age. Not quite sure what to expect from Clowe. Hes a real wildcard because of the injury situation. Hes a damn good player when healthy.

I've got to say I tend to agree with you. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the current roster is what we start the season with. Bernier and Gionta go down, and Carter goes elsewhere. I think if Lou finds a particularly good trade for a forward somewhere he'll make it - but I don't think he's really looking for a trade.

 

[DirtyJerzey]

If we could get the offense to around 20th in the league, I think we can make the playoffs. I expect us to be top 5-6 in goals against again. 65 games of Cory should ensure that.

cory is the least of my worries. that dude has been waiting for this opportunity and he is going to do move heaven and earth to ensure his spot. him handling 60+ is not even a question in my mind.

 

[MichaelJ]

Having 3 kids on defense at once is going to be risky enough, now you want to go with 4 kids?

- if the coaching staff thinks Severson is ready I'll defer to them. Same if they feel he needs time in the A.

- risky? I don't see replacing a non-entity like Salvador with a kid as risky. If we were talking about someone who could still play, I'd stick with the vet. But, if Severson can produce at least what Salvador would give us, where's the risk?

 

[MichaelJ]

reading this makes me wonder... do you think the stock pile of forwards we have and the possibility of our younglings pushing forward on D that lou is creating some serious competition for the guys to create that spark we need ? even if you look at the net minders we have, shnieds is locked in 1 spot and he brings in clemmer to push kinky. if this is his plan i think lou might be on to something

He might just be throwing as much **** at the wall and seeing what sticks.

 

[DirtyJerzey]

He might just be throwing as much **** at the wall and seeing what sticks.

there is that to lol

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

I've got to say I tend to agree with you. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the current roster is what we start the season with. Bernier and Gionta go down, and Carter goes elsewhere. I think if Lou finds a particularly good trade for a forward somewhere he'll make it - but I don't think he's really looking for a trade.

I think the ship has sailed with Carter. I don't see him coming back. There just isn't room and he really isn't the kind of player you make room for by trading a more useful player like Ryder, Brunner, etc. I can't see us bringing in anyone else and I'm pretty okay with that. I like this group we have. In this division and conference, there's really no reason why we shouldn't be in the top 8.

 

[RSeen]

No way can we go with 4 kids. Severson needs to play in the minors this season. Salvador will be done after this year. Sev should be able to take his spot in the lineup. Hope Larsson and/or Merrill can establish themselves as top 4 Dmen. Probably need one of them to be a top pairing guy soon. Gelinas, just hope he can play decent defensively so he can stay in the lineup.

 

[Devils Army]

No way can we go with 4 kids. Severson needs to play in the minors this season. Salvador will be done after this year. Sev should be able to take his spot in the lineup. Hope Larsson and/or Merrill can establish themselves as top 4 Dmen. Probably need one of them to be a top pairing guy soon. Gelinas, just hope he can play decent defensively so he can stay in the lineup.

Have you seen him play? Do you know this, or are you just saying it?

 

[schoenfeld]

gelinas is a defenseman in name only, offensive element or not i would not trust him on anything other then the bottom pair playing volch minutes and the PP, if the return is good enough i'd move him in a second.

 

[AfroThunder396]

When's the last time a team had four defensemen under 23 in their top-6, three of which being sophomores or rookies, and made the playoffs?

 

[MadDevil]

I just think we need to cool our jets on some of the kids. It's great having all these young defensemen, but let's not rush any of them just because we hate Sal and want to see him gone. Let Severson start in the AHL and be an injury call up. Get his feet wet before throwing him in the pool. I'd rather not see another kid we're all excited about get thrown straight into the NHL, hit the wall, and then have people ***** about how we can't develop players. If we dump Sal and go with 4 kids, what happens when they struggle? Who plays the PK? How much more pressure does that put on Greene, who will already be logging a lot of minutes?

 

[devilsblood]

2 things, and both are relevant to the PK which was pretty darn good last year:

1)I'm surprised how down everyone is on Zub's, and this is coming from someone who argued hard against the idea that re-signing him last year was a "team priority". OK his offense dried up. But he still does his thing, play good d, work the PK and work hard in the corners on the offensive end. Sure playing him on the 1st line is a terrible idea but we are talking 3rd or better yet 4th line here. He is made for that role.

2)I think I read recently that Sal was our leading PK minutes guy. Volch was #2 on the team. This was a very good PK team last year. We've already rid ourselves of Volch, so let's not be so quick to jettison Sal. And yes the old school notion of a defensive defensemen is becoming more and more a thing of the past, but things get ugly on the PK, dudes need to take a puck to the face sometimes, and I'd rather that be Sal then one of the young guns.

And a notion that I agreed with and argued regularly for was that neither Sal nor Volch individually was the problem per se. It was that we had both on the squad. It was the redundancy of the offensively inept d-man that was the real issue, having one has benefits.

And let's be real, Sal, given his style, and his age is going to miss games, so it's probable that we see yet another young d-man at times, wether it be Severson, Heg or maybe McPherson.

 

[kiwidevil]

Would be kind of funny for the Devils to sign Kevin Hayes, since the Blackhawks picked him with what was originally our 1st rounder, via Atlanta, in the Kovalchuk trade.

To sign him and since we got Merrill with Atlanta's second would be brilliant.

 

[devilsblood]

Would be kind of funny for the Devils to sign Kevin Hayes, since the Blackhawks picked him with what was originally our 1st rounder, via Atlanta, in the Kovalchuk trade.

To sign him and since we got Merrill with Atlanta's second would be brilliant.

Hey I'm in on nabbing another teams prospect, but why would Hayes not want to play with Chicago? That is a excellent hockey team, with great players from which he can learn, in a great city, which just so happens to be a great hockey town as well.

And given that Toews and Kane will hog a bunch of cap I'd think Chicago is looking for relatively cheap offensive players to complement those guys. Seems like a perfect fit.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

gelinas is a defenseman in name only, offensive element or not i would not trust him on anything other then the bottom pair playing volch minutes and the PP, if the return is good enough i'd move him in a second.

and then who plays as the 6th D?

please don't tell me Peter Harrold

and I'm not saying I wouldn't move Gelinas...I probably would. but it would HAVE To come with another move to get another DMan.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

When's the last time a team had four defensemen under 23 in their top-6, three of which being sophomores or rookies, and made the playoffs?

whens the last time ANY team had 4 DMen under 23 in their top 6 and made the playoffs?

 

[schoenfeld]

and then who plays as the 6th D?

please don't tell me Peter Harrold

and I'm not saying I wouldn't move Gelinas...I probably would. but it would HAVE To come with another move to get another DMan.

hence the "if the return is good enough" part. c'mon bowl pack, get on the stick.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

No way can we go with 4 kids. Severson needs to play in the minors this season. Salvador will be done after this year. Sev should be able to take his spot in the lineup. Hope Larsson and/or Merrill can establish themselves as top 4 Dmen. Probably need one of them to be a top pairing guy soon. Gelinas, just hope he can play decent defensively so he can stay in the lineup.

Plus, with all these kids we will miss some snarl. If Severson is that good I see either Larsson or Gelly getting traded for a forward and Lou would probably go fishing for a veteran defensemen with some size and snarl.

I would love to bring back Johnny O., but he's just another puck mover with neither size nor snarl.

 

[ScottyK]

Wonder if Jared cowen is available if we are looking for a young bruiser but I think I'd rather give hegelson a shot first

 

[JimEIV]

In my opinion everything hinges on Adam Larsson.

I say this because he needs largest jump in improvement from last season. If he is able play solid top 4 minutes there is no issue.


But if he should play like has in each of the previous 2 seasons, the entire defense is in jeopardy because the gap in top 4 minutes will be too large to bridge...you'll end up with Salvador playing in way more situations and minutes than he should be and players who aren't capable of picking up the slack (Merrill and Zidlicky) will have to also.